The Test Kitchen

Croque Monsieur Sandwich

Name: Croque Monsieur Sandwich
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp butter; 2 Tbsp flour; 1 1/2 cups milk; A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste; 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated); 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed); 8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread; 12 ounces ham, sliced; Dijon mustard

4 servings

servings

5 minutes

active time

25 minutes

total time

Start Cooking

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste

6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)

8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread

12 ounces ham, sliced

Dijon mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Make the béchamel sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.

Toast bread slices in oven: Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the 400°F oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want. (Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)

Build the sandwiches: Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.

Add bechamel, more Gruyere: Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese.

Broil till bubbly: Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned. If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame. Did you love the recipe? Give us some stars and leave a comment below!

Nutrition

Serving Size

Makes 4 sandwiches

Calories

582 kcal

Total Fat

27 g

Saturated Fat

14 g

Unsaturated Fat

0 g

Trans Fat

Cholesterol

124 mg

Sodium

1720 mg

Total Carbohydrate

40 g

Dietary Fiber

2 g

Total Sugars

9 g

Protein

43 g