The legendary Croque Monsieur sandwich is a staple of French bars and cafes, appearing on menus starting in 1910. What separates it from other ham and cheese sandwiches is the creamy béchamel sauce poured on top. However, the quality of the ingredients is also essential.

I’ve made a Croque Monsieur on a large loaf of French bread, but today seemed like a good time to try this famous French sandwich on the Country Loaf. It turned out great!

Often made on sliced bread, I thought it would be fun to try making it in muffin tins for fancy hors d’oeuvres or as a fun savory muffin-shaped breakfast sandwich.

Swiss Gruyere cheese is the classic choice, and I love it. It reminds me of my mother’s cooking. She made a fabulous potatoes au gratin with Gruyere cheese, salt, pepper, and a little bit of chicken broth. (That’s it. But it was divine. Funeral potatoes sagging under great quantities of milk and cheddar cheese are disappointing in comparison.) Whenever I try to make it, the dish doesn’t live up to Grandma’s potatoes in my children’s memories, so I like using Gruyere in other recipes. 

Pick a nice quality sliced ham and a real Swiss Gruyere. I recommend splurging, though Gruyere can be expensive. It’s affordable when you can find it at Costco. If not, you have a few choices at a decent price at Trader Joe’s.

The béchamel sauce is the most work, but not difficult. Because I love it, I slipped a little Gruyere in the sauce as well.

CROQUE MONSIEUR Sandwich
CROQUE MONSIEUR SANDWICHES STEP BY STEP

Croque Monsieur Sandwich Recipe

Serving Size:
12 small sandwiches
Time:
20 minutes
Difficulty:
Moderately difficult

Ingredients

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  • Butter the muffin tins
  • Cut bread in circles to cover the bottom of the muffin tins.
  • Top with ham slices that are slightly smaller than the bread circles.
  • Depending on the size of your muffin tins, top with 1-2 tablespoons shredded Swiss Gruyere.
  • Place another slice of ham on top
  • Cube the leftover bread and crusts from the bread circles and sprinkle on top
  • Pour the béchamel sauce over the croques 
  • Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes and then put under the broiler until there are some golden spots on the sauce.

Directions For the Béchamel Sauce

  1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat
  2. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of flour while stirring. Stir for three-five minutes. It shouldn’t smell like raw flour anymore.
  3. When the paste (the roux) is cooked and has a nice golden color (not brown) add
  4. ½ cup of milk and whisk 
  5. Slowly add 1 ½ more cups milk, 1/2 cup at a time while whisking like mad. 
  6. When the sauce is just thickened, add a pinch of nutmeg, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, stir, and then add a cup of grated Gruyere, stirring until it melts. Remove from heat.

Tips

  1. The sandwiches were nice and gooey right out of the oven, but I preferred letting them cool for a bit until they’re just warm. You need to use a fork if you’re eating them immediately, or you can wait until they’re more set up and you can eat them by hand.
  2. If you top the sandwich with a fried egg, it’s called a Croque Madame. 
  3. The Americanized version is dipped in egg and is known as the Monte Cristo. For that recipe, click this link.