30-Minute croque monsieur casserole is a twist on your fave sandwich

Admittedly I didn’t really fall in love with France when I visited like everyone else seems to. It was cold, rainy and damp, I didn’t (still don’t) speak a lick of the language, and people weren’t that friendly. I will say, though, that I ate some pretty darn delicious food while there, including a street-side café croque monsieur that knocked my socks off.

That’s pretty impressive considering it’s basically a ham and cheese sandwich. Granted, it’s doused in butter, so that might help a little (OK, a lot) too.

That lunch inspired this casserole. It’s the dinner version of a croque monsieur minus all the butter but still decadent thanks to the eggs and milk it gets soaked and baked in. It’s basically like making a sandwich for dinner, but it’ll look like you put a heck of lot more effort into it when it comes out in a baking dish.

Croque monsieur casserole recipe

The decadent French sandwich is turned into an easy casserole that will feed the family. Serve with a nice green salad, and dinner is on the table in 30 minutes.

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small French baguette, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 pound deli Black Forest ham, sliced
• 1/4 pound deli Swiss cheese, sliced
• 1/3 cup grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup whole milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.
2. Chop 1/3 of the bread slices into cubes, and set them aside.
3. Spread the Dijon mustard on top of the remaining slices of bread.
4. Arrange the bread slices so that they’re slightly overlapping in the baking dish.
5. Fold 1/2 the cheese on top of the bread.
6. Fold the ham slices on top of the cheese.
7. Top the ham with the remaining sliced cheese.
8. Put the bread cubes on top of the cheese.
9. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
10. Pour the mixture over the top of the casserole, soaking the bread cubes evenly while doing so.
11. Top with the grated Gruyère, and place in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven when the top is golden brown and crispy.
13. Let the casserole set for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing.

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