Wonderfully indulgent, this croque monsieur brunch bake is sure to be a crowd pleaser in your household. This recipe is ultimately multiple cheese, mustard and ham toasties, overlapping on each other in a casserole dish, with an eggy milk mixture poured all over and baked until bubbling, golden and delicious.
The best part of this recipe is it can be made ahead for the ultimate ease and tastes just like our favourite French toastie, but turned into an easy hands-off bake.
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Yields:
6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
45 mins
Cal/Serv:
613
Ingredients
50 g butter, softened, plus extra to grease
12 crusty white bread slices
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
12 ham slices
200 g Gruyère, coarsely grated
3 medium eggs, plus 2 yolks
450 ml milk
2 tsp. Worcester sauce
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions
Step 1Grease a rough 3 litre ovenproof serving dish. Lay 6 slices of bread on a board. Spread each with the mustard, then divide the ham slices and 150g Gruyère equally between the 6 slices.
Step 2Butter the remaining bread slices and press on top (butter-side down) to make 6 sandwiches. Slice each sandwich in 1/2 diagonally and arrange in the greased dish.
Step 3In a jug whisk the eggs, yolks, milk, Worcester sauce and plenty of seasoning. Pour over the sandwiches, then chill to soak for at least 30min (up to 12hr).
Step 4Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Scatter over the tomatoes, followed by the remaining 50g Gruyère. Cook for 20-25min, or until golden brown and the custard is set. Serve.
GET AHEAD: Prepare to end of step 3 the evening before you want to serve. Cover and chill. Complete recipe to serve.
If you're veggie, feel free to leave out the ham, or you could try smoked salmon in its place for a variation on this classic.
If you're after another winning brunch recipe, our hash brown baked eggs is sensational.
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
