Croque Monsieur

Name: Croque Monsieur
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 slices thick-sliced white bread or pain de mie; 4 oz sliced deli ham; 1 cup Gruyere cheese (or Swiss), shredded, shredded; 2 tsp Dijon mustard; 2 tbsp unsalted butter (for bechamel); 2 tbsp all-purpose flour; 1 cup whole milk; pinch ground nutmeg; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground; 2 tsp unsalted butter (for buttering bread), softened

The quintessential French café sandwich: sliced ham and Gruyere layered between toasted bread, smothered in a nutmeg-scented bechamel, and broiled until golden and gloriously bubbly.

30 minEasyServes 2560 cal/serving

FrenchLunchStovetop and OvenStandardAlcohol-FreeCorn-Free

Cook this free in the appFree. No download, no account. The screen stays awake and each step can run its own timer.

Ingredients

4 slices thick-sliced white bread or pain de mie
4 oz sliced deli ham
1 cup Gruyere cheese (or Swiss), shredded, shredded
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp unsalted butter (for bechamel)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 tsp unsalted butter (for buttering bread), softened

Instructions

1

Preheat broiler to high. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2

Make the bechamel: melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter (for bechamel) in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually whisk in 1 cup whole milk and cook until thick, about 3-4 minutes. Season with 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, and pinch ground nutmeg. Remove from heat.
3

Spread 2 tsp softened unsalted butter (for buttering bread) on one side of each of 4 slices thick-sliced white bread or pain de mie. Place buttered-side down on the baking sheet. Toast under the broiler until lightly golden, about 2 minutes.
4

Flip 2 slices (the bottoms). Spread 2 tsp Dijon mustard on the untoasted sides. Layer with 4 oz sliced deli ham and half of 1 cup Gruyere cheese (or Swiss), shredded. Top with remaining bread, toasted-side down.
5

Spoon bechamel generously over the sandwich tops. Sprinkle with remaining Gruyere.
6

Broil 3-5 minutes until sauce is deeply golden and cheese is bubbling. Serve immediately.

Cook this free in the appCooking it now? The app keeps the screen awake and times each step. Free, nothing to install.

Keep this recipe

Prints the ingredients and method only.

The French Kitchen 30 recipes from this kitchen in one printable PDF. $5, no account.

Questions

What is Croque Monsieur?

The quintessential French café sandwich: sliced ham and Gruyere layered between toasted bread, smothered in a nutmeg-scented bechamel, and broiled until golden and gloriously bubbly. This reference files it under French lunch: made on the stovetop and in the oven, rated easy and about 30 minutes start to finish.

What should Croque Monsieur look like when it is ready?

Go by the cues in the method rather than the clock. Step 3: cook until lightly golden. Step 6: cook until sauce is deeply golden and cheese is bubbling.

Is there a substitute for Gruyere in Croque Monsieur?

The entry for Croque Monsieur calls for 1 cup Gruyere cheese (or Swiss), shredded, shredded. In its place: Emmental, Jarlsberg or a good Swiss cheese melts the same way. Comte is the closest in flavor.

Can I make Croque Monsieur gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in Croque Monsieur is 4 slices thick-sliced white bread or pain de mie, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, 2 tsp unsalted butter (for buttering bread), softened. Swap the bread or crumbs for a gluten-free loaf or gluten-free panko; the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

How many calories are in Croque Monsieur?

One serving (the recipe makes 2) is about 560 calories, with 22 g protein, 26 g carbohydrate and 24 g fat, plus 1 g fiber and 760 mg sodium. The figures are estimates computed from the ingredient list.

How long does Croque Monsieur keep?

Refrigerate what is left of Croque Monsieur within two hours and eat it within three days. Reheat covered in a 300 F oven until warmed through.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,544 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.