Mini Croque Monsieur

5 from 4 votes

This delightful mini croque monsieur recipe is a perfectly easy, perfectly elegant and exquisitely delicious breakfast idea that will impress any guest!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: French

Servings: croque monsieur

Calories: 297kcal

Author: Genevieve Morrison

Equipment

cutting board
sharp knife
sauce pan
whisk
foil or parchment-lined baking sheet

Ingredients

For Ham Roses - Optional

2 slices french ham - or smoked ham
6 parsley leaves - for garnish

For Béchamel Sauce

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. all purpose flour
6 oz. whole milk
2 tsp. dijon mustard
nutmeg - a nice sprinkle
salt - a nice sprinkle
pepper - a nice sprinkle

For Croque Monsieur

½ baguette - 12 ½ inch slices
6 slices french ham - or smoked ham
4 oz. gruyere cheese - or emmental cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For Ham Roses - Optional

Slice 1 piece of ham into ½ inch slices. Slice 1 piece of ham into ¼ inch slices. Carefully roll the ½ inch slices into a rose, then roll the ¼ inch slices around the other. Place roses in a container and refrigerate until croque messieurs are finished and ready to serve.

For Béchamel Sauce

Over LOW-MEDIUM heat, add 2 tbsp. unsalted butter to a sauce pan and melt. Add 2 tbsp. flour and whisk into the butter. Add 6 oz. (170 mL) whole milk to the pan and whisk, making sure flour and butter are perfectly mixed. Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens. This takes about 3-5 minutes. Once sauce has thickened, remove from heat. Add 2 tsp. dijon mustard, a nice sprinkle of nutmeg, and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. Set aside.

For Croque Messieurs

Pre-heat oven to 425 F. (220 C.). Slice a baguette into 12 slices, a little over ½ an inch. On a foil or parchment-lined baking pan, lay baguette slices down and liberally coat each piece with béchamel sauce.
For perfectly-sized ham for your bread, fold a slice in half and use a piece of baguette to cut around. Repeat with 6 more slices. Place the ham you cut, and the extra pieces of each slice on top of 6 slices of bread.
Thinly slice 4 oz. gruyere (113 mL) into ¼ inch slices. Place 2 slices of cheese on top of ham. Place the tops, béchamel side down, on the ham and cheese, then coat each top with one more thin layer of béchamel sauce.
Add a few more pieces of cheese on top. Place baking sheet on the BOTTOM RACK, and bake for 5-7 minutes. Remove pan and place on TOP RACK. Increase temperature to 450 F. (230 C.). Allow cheese to bubble and brown on top for 2-3 minutes. Remove, place ham roses and parsley leaves on top and serve.

Notes

Make sure the tops don’t slip.

On the last step, when you move your baking pan from the lower rack to the top rack, and turn up the heat, the ham tends to expand and the cheese melts rapidly, so the tops may slip right off. Simply watch carefully through the oven glass when doing this step to make sure the tops stay secure. I find it's helpful to move them all close to one another so they all keep each other's tops secure, then fold up the tin foil around them, so they're all nice and snug.

To reheat croque monsieur:

Reheat in a 350 F. (175 C.) oven for 10 minutes and serve.

Nutrition facts are an estimate.

Nutrition