Mini Baked Croque Monsieur

4.84 from 6 votes

Try this classic French recipe for mini baked croque monsieur with ham, cheese, creamy béchamel, and melted Gruyère.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: French

Servings: sandwiches

Calories: 394kcal

Author: Adina

Preparations: Preheat the oven to 430°F/ 220°C. Slice the baguette into thick slices, about 0.5 inches/ 1 cm thick; I had 20 thick slices to make 10 mini sandwiches. Grate the cheese and cut or fold the ham slices to fit the bread pieces.
1 French baguette + 1 cup Gruyère cheese/ 100 g + 20 very thin slices of cooked ham

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until it begins to turn slightly golden. Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously. Stir in the mustard, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and grated garlic.
scant ¼ cup butter/ 50 g + ⅓ cup all-purpose flour / 60 g + 1 ½ cups whole milk / 375 ml + 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard + 1 garlic clove + a few gratings of nutmeg + fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Thicken bechamel: Continue stirring and let the sauce bubble, thickening and becoming slightly elastic. Once thickened, remove from heat and set aside.

Top each slice of bread with a generous amount of béchamel sauce - about one tablespoon per slice, or more if the slices are larger.
Sprinkle grated cheese over the sauce. On half of the slices, add two slices of cooked ham each. Cover the ham with the remaining cheese-covered slices, cheese side facing up.
Bake mini croque monsieur in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is golden brown (Note 5). Serve immediately.

Bread: I had about 20 thick slices of baguette, making 10 sandwiches. You can use a larger bread if you prefer; my baguette slices were small and thick, just 3 or 4 bites per sandwich.
Type of bread: This recipe can also be made with slices of toasted white bread or any bread you prefer. Sourdough or multi-grain bread works well, too, but if you want to keep it as traditional as possible, white bread should be your first choice.
Cheese: You can use another type of good-melting, tasty cheese like Emmental, Comte, or Cheddar.
Assemble: You can fully assemble the sandwiches before baking, placing the cheese-sprinkled pieces on top of the ham-covered ones. However, I’ve found that some of the top pieces can slide off the bottom during baking, especially if the baguette slices are very small. It’s easier to bake the pieces separately and assemble the sandwiches afterward. The sliding won’t happen if the slices of bread are larger.
Make in advance: The croque monsieur can be assembled a few hours in advance. Keep the sandwiches in the fridge until ready to bake.