This Croque Monsieur with Bechamel Sauce is a delicious, traditional recipe for a slightly more elegant version of a simple ham and cheese sandwich.
This is a great lunch or even breakfast or brunch sandwich and if you’ve never had one this way, you definitely need to!
Why You’ll Love This Croque Monsieur
While there are a lot of great reasons to love this Easy Croque Monsieur recipe, you really just need to try it!
- An inexpensive yet hearty meal that will hit the spot.
- A creamy, cheesy delicious ham and cheese that is unlike any other ham and cheese you’ve had.
- It’s an easy recipe, and is great as breakfast, brunch or a lunch.
Can I add something to this sandwich?
While it won’t be your traditional Croque Monsieur if you add anything, there are dozens of ways to swap up this sandwich and make it your own.
- Try it with spinach or green leaf lettuce
- add an egg for an even more breakfast sandwich
- change up the cheese with a spicy pepper jack or a sharp cheddar
- add jalapenos, black olives, sliced pickles and more…
- really anything is possible here….
More Delicious Sandwich Ideas
Recipe for Croque Monsieur with Bechamel Sauce
Croque Monsieur with Bechamel Sauce
This is a delicious, traditional recipe for a slightly more elegant version of a simple ham and cheese sandwich.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of french bread
- ½ pounds deli ham thinly sliced
- 2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
- 1½ cups of hot milk
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- Dijon Mustard
- a pinch of pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- The traditional way to serve Croque Monsieur is with a béchamel sauce. Bechamel sauce is a mild, sauce that is delicious. To make it, put 2 Tbs. of butter in a small sauce pan on low heat. Melt the butter completely and allow it to boil for about 2 minutes (you want to see it bubble). Once it is bubbling – add the 3 Tbs. of flour – whisk until smooth. Once it’s smooth, whisk in the hot milk (I just microwaved it for 2 minutes) and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and add a a half cup of the grated cheese (or more if you’d like more – we like more). Mix into the sauce. Then add the pepper and the nutmeg. Stir and set aside.
- Lightly butter the bread, and toast it in the oven for about 4 minutes. Flip it over and toast the other side for about 2-3 minutes.
- Allow the bread to cool slightly and put several slices of ham onto the toasted bread and then divide the remaining cheese on top of the ham slices on each slice of bread. Pick up the other half of the bread and spread a think layer of dijon mustard on the underside of the top of the sandwich. You can hardly taste it but that’s the point, it’s just a light flavor there unless you desire more. Place that on top and you have a sandwich.
- Now it’s time to finish it all up. Pour the béchamel sauce over the top of each of the sandwiches. Go ahead – smother them all the way. The more, the better. No joke.
- Put the sandwiches into your 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Then, turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 1-2 minutes. You want it to be bubbly and the cheese to be slightly golden brown.
- Remove the croque monsieur from the oven immediately and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. Serve! They are delish!
Tried this recipe?Please leave us a rating and then share a photo on Pinterest or Instagram and tag us @dailydishrecipes or #dailydishrecipes — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!
Such a beautiful story, and thank you for sharing it with us. Your parents sound like very special people.
The sandwich is heavenly. One of my favorite dishes to eat in Paris!
Cheers!
What a wonderful story Nicole. How great of your mom to support your natural heritage. Thank you very much for sharing it and this recipe for Heritage #SundaySupper
What a beautifully sweet story! The sandwich sounds heavenly, too.
Yum! The cheese looks perfectly melted!
What an amazing story you have, my friend. And what a great way to celebrate a part of yourself. These look amazing!
Such a beautiful story, and thank you for sharing it with us. Your parents sound like very special people.
The sandwich is heavenly. One of my favorite dishes to eat in Paris!
Cheers!
This is such a decadent dish! I had it first at Pastis in NY and fell in love..its a once a year thing and is just so lovely.
Oh my heavens! Oh. My. HEAVENS!!!! I am instantly in love with this recipe. Seriously. I can’t wait to make it, thank you so much for sharing it for #SundaySupper, and what a beautiful story to go with it.
This is such a decadent dish! I had it first at Pastis in NY and fell in love..its a once a year thing and is just so lovely.
I completely enjoyed reading your story. However it came about that you took 5 years of French lessons…lucky you! Especially knowing now that it’s part of your family history. I wish I knew how to speak French. Maybe someday I’ll learn. LOL!
I’ve also always wanted to make a croque monsieur (or madame) but never have. Your sandwich looks indrecible!!! I think you’ve inspired me to give it a try. Mercie! 🙂
I completely enjoyed reading your story. However it came about that you took 5 years of French lessons…lucky you! Especially knowing now that it’s part of your family history. I wish I knew how to speak French. Maybe someday I’ll learn. LOL!
I’ve also always wanted to make a croque monsieur (or madame) but never have. Your sandwich looks indrecible!!! I think you’ve inspired me to give it a try. Mercie! 🙂
Such a beautiful story, and thank you for sharing it with us. Your parents sound like very special people.
The sandwich is heavenly. One of my favorite dishes to eat in Paris!
Cheers!
This is such a decadent dish! I had it first at Pastis in NY and fell in love..its a once a year thing and is just so lovely.
I completely enjoyed reading your story. However it came about that you took 5 years of French lessons…lucky you! Especially knowing now that it’s part of your family history. I wish I knew how to speak French. Maybe someday I’ll learn. LOL!
I’ve also always wanted to make a croque monsieur (or madame) but never have. Your sandwich looks indrecible!!! I think you’ve inspired me to give it a try. Mercie! 🙂