🥪 Croque monsieur

Name: Croque monsieur
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: France · Paris
Ingredients: 4 slices sandwich bread; 4 thin slices cooked ham (about 120 g); 100 g Gruyère, grated; Béchamel: 25 g butter, 25 g flour, 300 ml milk, pinch of nutmeg; Salt and black pepper

Origin: France · Paris

600kcal

per serving · 200 g

300kcal

per 100 g

32 gProtein16 g / 100 g

32 gFat16 g / 100 g

44 gCarbs22 g / 100 g

Croque monsieur is France's classic hot ham-and-cheese sandwich. Two slices of bread hold cooked ham and Gruyère, the top is spread with béchamel and more cheese, and the whole thing is baked or grilled until golden and bubbling. It is crunchy at the edges, soft and creamy inside, and a staple of café and brasserie lunches.

Diets

Not vegetarianbecause of: ham

Not veganbecause of: ham, gruyère cheese, béchamel sauce

Contains porkbecause of: ham

Contains glutenbecause of: bread, béchamel sauce

Contains dairybecause of: gruyère cheese, béchamel sauce

Not keto22 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

breadhamgruyère cheesebéchamel sauce

Recipe

2 servings25 min

Ingredients

4 slices sandwich bread
4 thin slices cooked ham (about 120 g)
100 g Gruyère, grated
Béchamel: 25 g butter, 25 g flour, 300 ml milk, pinch of nutmeg
Salt and black pepper

Method

Make the béchamel: cook the butter and flour for 1 minute, whisk in the milk and simmer until thick; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Spread a little béchamel on two slices of bread, lay on the ham and half the cheese, and close with the remaining bread.
Spread the rest of the béchamel on top and scatter over the remaining cheese.
Bake at 220 °C for 10–12 minutes, or grill, until golden and bubbling. Serve hot.

How to make it lighter

Make it open-faced on a single slice of bread to cut the bread and cheese.
Use semi-skimmed milk in the béchamel, or skip the béchamel and just grill it with cheese.
Pair half a sandwich with a large salad or a vegetable soup for a lighter lunch.

History

The croque-monsieur appeared on Paris café menus in the early 20th century and is mentioned in Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. The name joins croquer, 'to crunch', with monsieur, 'mister'; why a gentleman is involved has no reliable explanation.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →