Let me tell you about my absolute favourite French sandwich – the Croque Monsieur. Think of this recipe as your ham and cheese toastie’s sophisticated Parisian cousin!
Do you crave something warm, cheesy, and utterly satisfying? This Croque Monsieur recipe is exactly what you need. It’s essentially a ham and cheese sandwich upgrade with a delicious French twist that transforms a simple lunch into something special.
The beauty of this recipe? You can totally make it your own! Love cheese? Go ahead and pile it on! I personally prefer using thick slices of bread to keep me fuller longer, but if you use thinner bread, don’t worry if you have some ingredients left over.
When it comes to the béchamel sauce, you’ve got options! Want to make your own from scratch? I’ve included all the steps below. Prefer to save some time with a ready-made sauce from the supermarket? That works perfectly too! There’s absolutely no judgment either way – both will give you a delicious result. The beauty of this classic French recipe is that you can adapt it to fit your time and comfort level in the kitchen, while still enjoying an amazing homemade sandwich.
Ready to elevate your sandwich game? Let’s get cooking!
Croque Monsieur Recipe
White (béchamel) sauce ingredients:
- 3-4 tablespoons of butter
- 20g | ¾ oz Plain flour
- 200ml | 7fl Milk
- Salt and Pepper for seasoning
Croque Monsieur ingredients:
- 2 Slices of bread per sandwich
- 4 Slices of ham er sandwich
- 80g | 3oz of grated (Emmental) Cheese per sandwich
- White béchamel sauce
Pre step:
Time needed: 15 minutes
Making the white béchamel sauce instructions:
- Melting the Butter
Add the butter to a small-medium sized saucepan.
- Combining Flour
Once the butter has gently melted sprinkle in the flour
- Creating the Roux
Continuously stir together until you have a light brown paste (1-2 minutes)
- Incorporating the milk
Gently and slowly add the milk to your blend and whisk to avoid having a lumpy paste
- Seasoning the Sauce
Once the paste has no lumps add salt and pepper for taste
Croque Monsieur instuctions
You will need 2 slices of bread per sandwich
- Layout your slices of bread and coat one side of each bread in white sauce.
- Take one slice of bread and add ham slices and grated cheese to the white sauced cover part of the bread
- Place the second slice of bread on top with the white sauce covered part facing the cheese and ham.
- Now you will have something that resembles a sandwich! Add the white sauce to the outside of the top slice of bread
- Sprinkle cheese on top of the white sauce covered bread
- Bake in the oven or grill until the sandwich starts to golden
- Take the sandwich out the oven/grill and slice in half
The next step is to allow the sandwich to cool for a few minutes before tucking in. I like to add a small side of salad with this to balance the meal and voila! You have a tasty Croque monsieur.
I would love to know about how tasty you have found this recipe. Try this at home and share your experience below.
