Mini Croque Monsieurs

These mini croque monsieurs are so easy to do for any party or get together and I can personally guarantee that everyone will love them.

They are essentially a posher and much tastier version of a cheese and ham toastie, cut into bite sized pieces and you can assemble them the day before to get ahead too.

Far cheaper than the eye watering cost of picky bits in the shops, these little morselswill definitely have you scurrying back into the litchen to make more.

Bon appétit!   

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Baking Time
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• Brunch & Light Bites
• In case you missed the last recipes!
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Prepare in advance
• Perfect for entertaining at Christmas and all year round
• Family friendly
• Easy to make
• Customise the ingredients
• Guaranteed to please!

I absolutely love picky bits and it's great to have friends round at Christmas or in the summer and just have a few tasty snacks.

However, the cost of ready made snacks is truly eye watering, so here is something that you can make at home and the only skill you need is to be able to spread the bread!

Although, I've used French cheese and ham for this recipe, you can swap them for any ham and cheddar to keep costs down too.

There are lots of ideas to change the ingredients if you want to vary these little ham and cheese toasted sandwiches.

Just know that when you pop them in the oven, everyone will gravitate to the kitchen when they start to cook!

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🥘 Ingredients

A note on some of the ingredients.

• Bread - a thick sliced bread works best for this and I just used a supermarket basic one.
• Cheese - Comte has a rich nutty taste or you could use Gruyere. However, these cheeses tend to be more expensive and a full flavoured cheddar works well too.
• Ham - French supermarkets have an eye watering selection of ham, but you can use any leans ham you prefer.
• Cream cheese - full fat works best as the reduced fat option is more watery.

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• Sharp knife
• Oven tray
• Cheese grater
• Mixing bowl

🔪 Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190 C / 375 F / 170 FAN / Gas 5.

Grate the cheese and trim the crusts from the bread.

You could, of course, leave them on if you prefer.

Butter 4 slices of bread and place butter side down on a baking tray.

Put the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat lightly to loosen it.

Add 100g of the grated cheese, mustard and nutmeg and mix well.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

You will prbably need less salt than you think as the cheese tends to have a salty taste.

Spread the bread with half of the cheese mixture.

Add a layer of ham to each slice of bread.

You might prefer to trim the ham to fit if needed.

Spread the remaining 4 slices of bread with the remaining cheese mix.

Place these slices over each ham layer.

Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

⏲️ Baking Time

Bake for 20 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

I cut each croque monsieur into 6 pieces.

The cheese will start to ooze!

🥙 Substitutions

• Ham - use any ham you prefer
• Cheese - many hard cheeses would work, such as cheddar or red Leicester

📖 Variations

• Vegetables - try thinly sliced tomato or mushrooms added to the ham or add chopped onion or peppers to the cream cheese mix. Make it vegetarian and leave the ham out altogether.
• Meat - swap the ham for sliced pepperoni, Chorizo or sliced chicken, turkey or beef.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - store any leftovers in a covered container for up to 2 days. 
• To reheat - in the oven for 5 minutes.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• You could prepare the mini croque monsieur then cover and place in the fridge the day before you want to serve.

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

More finger food ideas like this

• Duck Croquettes
• Caviar Canapés
• Chicken Wing Confit
• Quiche Lorraine
• Tarte Flambée
• Oysters
• Crab Canapés
• Cake Salé
• Smoked Salmon Canapés
• Ham and Cheese Palmiers
• Chicken Sausage Rolls
• Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings
• Pork Belly Bites
• Prawn Canapés

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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In case you missed the last recipes!