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Easy Gluten Free Croque Monsieur with Béchamel Honey Sauce Recipe
by Anne-Marie Nichols

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hillshire Farm®. All opinions are entirely my own.

Have you ever had a Croque Monsieur? Or tried a Croque Madame? Well, you probably know them by their more familiar names – grilled cheese with ham and the same sandwich served with an egg on top! Well, sort of as I’ll explain.

What is a croque monsieur?

My family and I were introduced to croque monsieur several years ago when we traveled to Switzerland to visit my sister. Our children and their cousins were young, so it was easy to order what was called a croque monsieur for them. (I think it was the child’s version, which was actually either a panini or an American-style grilled cheese and ham. After all, what kiddo doesn’t like grilled cheese?)

In France you can find real croque monsieur sandwiches in cafes. Served on (sometimes sugared) brioche-like bread, filled with ham, then dipped in egg batter, and topped with grated cheese, the whole thing is either grilled or baked to perfection. Another version of croque monsieur according to the NY Times is brushed with butter, filled and topped with a béchamel sauce, then cooked on a griddle and toasted under a broiler.

I’ve seen recipes with a smidge of Dijon, too. The British magazine, The Guardian, gives an excellent treatise on the croque monsieur.

If you want something truly special, you can order a croque madame, which is the same as a croque monsieur, but with an egg on top!

Getting back to a wholesome eating routine

Now that all the food eating holidays including the Big Game and Valentine’s Day are over, it’s time to encourage your family to get back into a more wholesome eating routine. But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring! One way is to take a boring sandwich and turn it into something exciting and wonderful.

That’s what I tried to do with my Easy Gluten Free Croque Monsieur with Béchamel Honey Sauce. I wanted to take a classic like grilled cheese – or in this case croque monsieur – but make it more wholesome. I also wanted to make it easy, gluten free and special enough to serve at a party.

First, I’d use Hillshire Farm® Naturals Honey Roasted Ham. Not only is it delicious and one of my kids’ favorites, but I feel good about serving any of Hillshire Farm® Naturals products to my family. Hillshire Farm® Naturals contain no artificial ingredients, preservatives, colors or added nitrites/nitrates except those occurring naturally in celery juice. (You can also make this recipe with Hillshire Farm® Naturals Black Forest Ham.)

You can find Hillshire Farm® Naturals in the deli section along with the other deli meats at Food Lion or wherever you shop. They also sell Hillshire Farm® Naturals Slow Roasted Turkey Breast and Hillshire Farm® Naturals Hardwood Smoked Turkey Breast.

Second, I’d use some great flavors along with the ham. Since a traditional croque monsieur uses béchamel sauce, I made up a small batch of gluten free béchamel sauce from my Healthy Moussaka with Gluten Free Béchamel Sauce recipe and added some honey to it to compliment the ham. The honey also echoes the sugar used in croque monsieur recipes.

Third, I used sliced cheese and gluten free bread. Let’s keep things easy and gluten free!

Make an Easy Gluten Free Croque Madame with a Béchamel Honey Sauce

Sometimes us grownups want something a little more exciting than just a grilled cheese sandwich. But we don’t want to make two entirely different dishes either! That’s why a croque monsieur recipe is so versatile since you can add a fried egg on top and turn it into a croque madame. If you like runny eggs (I do!) slice your grilled sandwich into “soldiers” for dipping into your egg and a little dish of extra béchamel and honey sauce.

Then go one (easy) step further and serve the croque madame on a bed of spring lettuce with sliced tomatoes and onions. (Save time by using bagged, prewashed lettuce.) Now you have a croque madame sandwich worthy of a fancy restaurant!

Croque madame served this way would make a lovely light dinner or a fun luncheon or brunch meal with friends. If people don’t like fried eggs, an alternative is using hard boiled eggs. (You can buy cooked hard boiled eggs at the store, too, if you’re entertaining and don’t want to bother with peeling all those eggs!) Or just serve up croque monsieurs with béchamel honey sauce dipping sauce on a bed of spring greens.

Either way – Easy Gluten Free Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame with Béchamel Honey Sauce – is a winner at lunch with family or entertaining with friends!

Easy Gluten Free Croque Monsieur with Béchamel Honey Sauce

To make a Croque Madame, just add a fried egg on top! Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Ingredients

Cooking spray

Directions

For gluten free béchamel honey sauce

Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to nearly boiling over medium high heat. Lower temperature, but keep milk hot and steamy!

Melt butter or buttery spread in a large skillet over medium heat.

Whisk in the gluten free flour. The melted butter and gluten free flour will form a paste.

Pour in the hot rice milk by the 1/2 cup, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens and bubbles.

Turn heat to low. Add salt and honey. Stir thoroughly.

For croque monsieurs

Preheat a two-sided electric griddle or panini press. Preheat a cast-iron skillet on stove top on medium to medium high heat for 5 minutes until hot.

Generously spread two slices of gluten free bread with béchamel honey sauce. Lay slices of ham then cheese on top of each.

Spread two more slice of gluten free bread with a smear of Dijon mustard. Then lay slices mustard side down on top of ham and cheese.

Lightly brush both sides of the sandwiches with melted butter.

If using an electric griddle or panini press

Generously spray the griddle or press with cooking spray. Place sandwiches with the cheese side closest to the bottom griddle. Close the griddle and cook until the bread is toasted golden brown. Repeat until all sandwiches have been grilled.

Serve immediately with béchamel honey sauce as a dipping sauce on the side, if desired.

If using a skillet on the stove top

Spray the skillet with cooking spray. Place sandwiches cheese side down and cook until golden brown. Then turn and cook until golden brown again. You may want to place a small plate on each sandwich to help it cook faster. Keep an eye on the sandwiches as your pan will get hotter as time goes on and they could start to burn! Repeat until all sandwiches have been grilled.

Serve hot with béchamel honey sauce as a dipping sauce on the side, if desired.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 30 Minutes

Servings: Makes 4 sandwiches

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hillshire Farm®. The opinions and text are all mine.