Making homemade Monte Cristo with creamy Mornay sauce is just as satisfying as indulging at your favorite brunch spot, delivering rich flavors and a delightful combination of textures. Paired with crispy breakfast potatoes, this dish creates the perfect brunch fare to impress family and friends alike.
🍞 The Ingredients
The ingredients are simple, yet they come together to create one of the best sandwiches of all time, offering a delicious blend of flavors and textures that is truly unforgettable. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
🧀 Variations and Substitutions
- Bread - The sky is the limit here. Sourdough is firm and absorbs the egg mixture wonderfully, but you could also go with sliced white sandwich bread, brioche, pumpernickel, or honey whole wheat.
- Proteins - Turkey and ham are traditional. You can go with the thinly sliced variety from your local deli. Or, use thickly sliced ham from your leftover holiday ham or perfect roast turkey.
- Spread - The combination of creamy mayonnaise with Dijon mustard as a bump of tang to the sandwich, which complements the sweetness in the flavor profile. You can go with only mayonnaise, if desired. Substituting deli-style, brown, or whole grain mustard gives even a bigger bump of flavor.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Build a Monte Cristo Sandwich
- Step 1: Heat ham and turkey in a skillet and set aside
- Step 2: Combine the mayonnaise with the Dijon and spread over the top sides of the sliced bread.
- Step 3: Top with grated Gruyere.
- Step 4: Add a layer of warmed ham
- Step 5: Add a layer of warmed turkey.
- Step 6: Add more cheese on top and top with the bread, mayo/Dijon side down.
🔥 How to Prepare a Monte Cristo Sandwich
- Step 7: Mix in a bowl eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla.
- Step 8: Place the sandwich in the egg mixture, then flip and gently press on the sandwich.
- Step 9: Carefully remove the sandwich and place it in the skillet with melted butter.
- Step 10: Cook until browned, flip and cook the other side until browned.
- Step 11: Remove, halve, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Step 6: Serve at once with homemade Mornay sauce and jam.
Expert Tip
Let each side of the sandwich soak long enough to absorb a good amount of the egg mixture, usually about 1 minute per side. Once you place the sandwich in the skillet with hot melted butter, you may need to use the edge of your spatula to remove any excess egg that is cooking on the edges of the bread (or, leave it, if you prefer!).
🍽️ How and When To Serve
- We recommend serving this sandwich with freshly made Mornay sauce, a lush béchamel sauce with melted Gruyere and Parmesan cheese stirred in.
- Finish the sandwich off with a dusting of powdered sugar.
- Keep the sandwiches warm in a low-temperature oven (250°F) as you prepare them for your guests.
- These sandwiches are fantastic brunch fare, but they are so satisfying, they are wonderful for lunch or a twist on Sunday dinner.
- Serve them with Diner-Style Hash Browns and mix fresh fruit for an unforgettable meal.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend sliced sourdough, but most varieties will work. Thicker slices work better than thin ones as they will absorb more of the egg mixture.
You can make them in advance, and we would recommend reheating in a large skillet with simmering butter. However, the texture will be best when served soon after frying up in the skillet.
It is believed to be named after Alexandre Dumas' novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, though the exact origin of the sandwich is unknown, and it may have been inspired by the French "Croque Monsieur.
🍳Other Amazing Egg and Bread Recipes
Now, you just gotta drop everything and go make this incredible sandwich. It very well may change your life!!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
The Best-Ever Monte Cristo Sandwich with Mornay
Video
Equipment
- A skillet (preferably non-stick), large enough to hold at least 1 sandwich.
Ingredients
- 6 slices bread thickly sliced, white or sourdough are excellent
- 4 slices ham thick-cut, or 8 thin slices
- 4 slices roasted turkey thick-cut, or 8 thin slices
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cups Gruyere cheese shredded
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter plus more, if needed
- Powder sugar for dusting
- 1 cup Mornay sauce for serving, optional
- fruit jam for serving, optional
Instructions
- There will be 2 slices of bread for each sandwich. Place all 4 on a cutting board.6 slices bread
- Heat the ham and turkey in a large skillet until warmed through.4 slices ham, 4 slices roasted turkey
- Mix the mayonnaise and Dijon in a small bowl. Use a butter knife to smear the mayo/mustard mixture onto the top-facing side of each slice of bread.¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- For both sandwiches, follow these steps. Add ½ cup of cheese on top of the mayo/mustard mixture. Add a layer of ham, then turkey, and then another ½ cup on top. Place the other slice on top of the cheese, mayo/mixture facing down.2 cups Gruyere cheese
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Gently mix until the eggs are just beaten.4 eggs, ¼ cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Place the sandwich in the egg mixture, let sit for a couple of minutes, and press with your hands. Then, flip the sandwich, and let it sit, soak up the egg mixture, and apply a little pressure to compact.
- Melt the butter in a skillet (preferably non-stick) large enough to hold 1 of the sandwiches.4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Gently remove the sandwich from the egg mixture, allowing excess egg to fall off. Carefully add the sandwich to the melted butter and cook until browned on the bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the sandwich with the help of a couple of spatulas and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. Serve with preserves and Mornay sauce.Powder sugar, 1 cup Mornay sauce, fruit jam
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in October 2015, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe with new tips and photography and a fabulous new video in April 2021!
Dave says
Thank you, Kris, thank you, Wesley, for another "keeper" as my husband Greg refers to the HTFAL recipes I make. The heat and humidity in Los Angeles today made sandwiches like your Monte Cristos perfect. I left off the Mornay sauce and opted for fries and pickles on the side. I think there might be a typo in the recipe - it calls for browning the ham and turkey after they've been added to the sandwich. Oh, and we used challah to use up a loaf on hand - really good!
Kris Longwell says
Hi Dave! Woo hoo! So so happy you and Greg loved the monte cristo! And THANK YOU for the heads up on the recipe instructions! We've updated that to be more clear! Challah bread sounds heavenly! Thank you so so much for sharing and for the GREAT review! We appreciate that so much! Give our love to Greg!!! xoxo
Cindy says
I’m making this TONIGHT wish me luck. I absolutely loved watching your instructional video made me feel like I was in the kitchen with y’all getting a personal lesson on how to make a Monte Cristo. Thank you
Kris Longwell says
GOOD LUCK, Cindy!! You've got this!!! Let us know how it turns out!!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Julie Amato says
Hey Guys!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it today for Father's Day Brunch - My first time attempting this - it's my hubbies fav to order when we go out for brunch so was nervous haha! This turned out soooo good!! Your video was so fun to watch as well!
Cheers!
Mary says
This is dinner tonight and you have a new fan. Wesley is a wonderful combination of my brother and my wonderful two Savannah friends. It's almost like being in the kitchen with them.
krislongwell says
That is so awesome to hear, Mary!! We are so thrilled you found us and we couldn't be happier we (especially Wesley) help make it a little more fun in the kitchen. Please stay in touch!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Lisa says
Can this be made in advance and warm up? I have so many other things to make at brunch. Or will it get soggy?
Kris Longwell says
Hi Lisa! So sorry for the delayed response. Because a Monte Cristo is similar to a grilled cheese, we wouldn't recommend making them in advance because the bread would become really soggy. However, you could get everything fully prepped (including the batter) ahead of time, which would make preparing the sandwiches pretty easy. Hope this helps and hope you have a spectacular brunch! Sounds wonderful! Let us know how it all turns out! Best, Kris & Wesley