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    Home / Breakfast / Croque Monsieur

    Croque Monsieur

    The French café’s answer to the grilled cheese — ham and melted Gruyère between crisp buttered bread.

    ⏱ 15 minPrep time
    🔥 20 minCook time
    🍽 4Servings
    🏷 BreakfastCategory
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    Croque Monsieur is the French café’s answer to the grilled cheese: toasted bread layered with ham and Gruyère, napped in a creamy béchamel, and baked until the top bubbles and browns. Crisp at the edges, molten in the middle, it is pure indulgence.

    A bistro lunch staple since the belle époque, it pairs beautifully with a simple green salad and a glass of dry white wine. Top it with a fried egg and it becomes a Croque Madame.

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    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Melt the butter, whisk in the flour, and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and simmer until thick. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, then stir in the mustard.
    2. Spread a little béchamel on 4 bread slices, then layer on ham and half the Gruyère. Top with the remaining bread.
    3. Spread the remaining béchamel over the tops and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
    4. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, then broil 2 minutes until deeply browned and bubbling. Serve hot.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Use good ham and real Gruyère — the béchamel is what lifts this beyond a grilled cheese. For a Croque Madame, crown each sandwich with a fried egg.

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    Recipe details

    Prep15 min
    Cook20 min
    Servings4
    CategoryBreakfast
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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