Name: Easy toasted ham and cheese sandwich (Cheat's Croque Monsieur)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 1 sandwich
Ingredients: 2 slices brioche bread; 1 egg; 1 tbsp milk; 3 slices Princes canned ham; 20 g mozzarella (sliced); 20 g hard cheese (e.g. cheddar) (sliced); salt and pepper (to taste); butter (for frying)

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Lift a run of the mill ham and cheese sandwich with this easy ham cheese toastie or Croque Monsieur, combining brioche eggy bread, stringy mozzarella cheese and versatile Princes canned ham.

A toastie – toasted sandwich – might be known as the staple of students and a hangover from 60s bedsit dwellers – the sandwich toaster itself must surely be past its glory days – but that doesn’t mean it has to be, or even should be, forgotten. A few minutes can take a ham and cheese sandwich from the essence of ordinary to something much more enticing; crunchy, gooey and oozing cheese.

Here, we’ve lifted the sandwich by using a nice light brioche bread: the added butter makes for a sinfully tasty sandwich, but it does mean that it joins the list of occasional treats rather than frequent staples. Rather than go with the traditional croque monsieur recipe using a bechamel sauce, we’ve decided to go for an eggy bread/french toast influence, and soak the bread in an egg and milk mixture. This means that we can cook our sandwich in a frying pan and get that lovely brown, crunchy layer on the outside. It’s better if you don’t cook it too fast, so that the heat has time to melt the cheese properly. The other advantage of this recipe is that it’s a lot faster than having to make a bechamel sauce, and when it comes to a snack like a toastie, speed is of essence.

The only thing you have to watch out for is that the soaked bread can be a little delicate. I just soak one side, which I use as the outside of each sandwich. And don’t stand on ceremony – once served, start eating almost immediately.

Pop over to Come Home to Princes, where you find lots of other recipes, including some more from me.

4.86 from 27 votes

Enjoy this toastie, combining brioche eggy bread, stringy mozzarella cheese and ham.

Easy toasted ham and cheese sandwich (Cheat's Croque Monsieur)

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

10 mins

Lift a run of the mill ham and cheese sandwich with this easy ham and cheese toastie, combining brioche eggy bread, stringy mozzarella cheese and ham.

Course: Snack

Cuisine: British, French

Keyword: Easy Croque Monsieur

Servings: 1 sandwich

Calories: 750 kcal

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Ingredients

2 slices brioche bread
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
3 slices Princes canned ham
20 g mozzarella sliced
20 g hard cheese (e.g. cheddar) sliced
salt and pepper to taste
butter for frying

Instructions

Beat the egg and milk together in a flat bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste, and soak the brioche – one side of each slice only.
Assemble the sandwich, with the soaked sides of bread outwards; a layer of ham topped by the cheese.
Fry gently over a medium heat until golden and the cheese has started to melt. Eat immediately!

Nutrition Facts

Easy toasted ham and cheese sandwich (Cheat's Croque Monsieur)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 750 Calories from Fat 423

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 47g 72%

Saturated Fat 23g 115%

Cholesterol 388mg 129%

Sodium 1633mg 68%

Potassium 289mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 38g 13%

Sugars 1g