A Croque Monsieur becomes a Croque Madame by simply adding a fried egg to the top of a Croque Monsieur. People tend to have definite opinions about Monsieur vs Madame. In my opinion, the addition of an egg with a runny yolk takes this sandwich to the next level. Having enjoyed these delicious french sandwiches in Paris, I have experimented with quite a few recipes back at home and concluded that…
Nobody does this sandwich as well as Ina Garten. This recipe is from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook, which I highly recommend to anyone who loves French food. Her bistro-style recipes are decadent and doable.
Quick and easy, with most of the effort lying in preparation, her Croque Monsieur recipe comes together quickly.
Printable recipe here:
Croque Monsieur, Croque Madame
A Croque Monsieur becomes a Croque Madame with the addition of a fried egg on top. The added egg with a runny yolk really takes this sandwich to the next level.
Having enjoyed these delicious french sandwiches in Paris, I have experimented with quite a few recipes back at home. Nobody does this sandwich as well as Ina Garten. This recipe is from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook, which I highly recommend to anyone who loves French food.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups hot milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
- 5 cups of grated Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
- Dijon mustard*
- 8 oz baked ham, sandwich slice thickness (not too thick, not paper thin either-)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter/flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat, add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan- and set aside.
- To toast the bread, place the slices on two baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
- Lightly brush half of the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half of the remaining gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle withthe remaining Greyere, and bake the sandwich for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3-5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.
- For a Croque Madame, simply top with a sunny side up egg.
Notes
A few notes-
*My favorite dijon mustard is Trader Joes brand
A Croque Madame is the same sandwich with an egg on top. 
If you love this recipe, I recommend Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris Cookbook for many reasons. Not only for the recipes, but for her additional resources that include where to shop and eat in Paris if you are a food lover, recommended French ingredients, French cookware, and restaurant recommendations.
If comfort food is on your agenda, consider trying these incredibly easy to make short ribs. They won’t let you down!
If you like to always be prepared with ingredients on hand to level up a meal on the fly, consider making a compound butter with leftover herbs before they go bad. Then you can add compound butter to steaks or chicken as they come off the grill, or to bread, or vegetables. The possibilities are endless.
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