croque-madame-casserole
This crowd-friendly croque madame breakfast casserole features slices of crusty French bread coated in Gruyère cheese, ham, a delicious egg mixture, and béchamel sauce. | peteandgerrys.com
This crowd-friendly croque madame breakfast casserole features slices of crusty French bread coated in Gruyère cheese, ham, a delicious egg mixture, and béchamel sauce. | peteandgerrys.com This crowd-friendly croque madame breakfast casserole features slices of crusty French bread coated in Gruyère cheese, ham, a delicious egg mixture, and béchamel sauce. | peteandgerrys.com
Arrow Created with Sketch. Back to The Recipes

Croque Madame Casserole

  • Meals
Star Created with Sketch. Star Created with Sketch. Star Created with Sketch. Star Created with Sketch. Star Created with Sketch.
5/5 - 21 Ratings
PRINT Print
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time
Serving Yield 4-6 servings

If you haven't tried this recipe's French-style sandwich namesake, it's definitely one to add to your list. This casserole has all the same elements—crusty French bread, melty Gruyère, salty ham, and silky béchamel sauce—with the added bonus of being a fridge-friendly crowd-pleaser. As if all that doesn't sound delicious and outrageous enough, a few eggs are baked right into the top layer so that you get some yolky goodness in every bite.

By: Foodness Gracious

Ingredients

For the casserole:

  • 1 French baguette or crusty loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3-4 cups)
  • 6 Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, plus 2 extra for topping the casserole
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 1/2 cups Gruyère cheese, grated and divided
  • 2 cups cooked ham, diced

For the béchamel sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg

Nutritional Information plus

Servings: 6 

Amount Per Serving: Calories 670, Fat Cal. 360, Total Fat 40g (62% DV), Sat. Fat 20g (100% DV), Trans Fat 1g, Cholest. 370mg (123% DV), Sodium 1530mg (64% DV), Total Carb. 30g (10% DV), Fiber 1g (4% DV), Sugars 9g, Protein 47g, Vitamin A (25% DV), Vitamin C (2% DV), Calcium (90% DV), Iron (20% DV), Vitamin D (35% DV). 

Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

For more information about how we calculate our nutritional content and to read our nutritional disclaimer, please check out our Recipe Nutrition Facts blog post.

Directions

To make the casserole:

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Step 2

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, half-and-half, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the bread, 2 cups of the Gruyère, and diced ham. Using your hands or a spatula, mix the ingredients well, ensuring that the egg mixture soaks into the bread.

Step 3

Transfer mixture to a 2-quart oven safe dish and spread out evenly. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

To make the béchamel sauce:

Step 1

Melt butter in a nonstick pan on medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 2-3 minutes.

Step 2

Gradually add 1 cup of the milk to pan, whisking constantly over medium heat until no lumps remain. The sauce will thicken as it cools, so the remaining 1/4 cup milk should be reserved for use later.

Step 3

Once the sauce is smooth, stir in nutmeg, remove from heat, and set aside until the cassreole is done.

Step 4

Once the casserole is done, remove from oven and turn the heat up to 425F. While the oven gets to temperature, bring the béchamel sauce back to the burner on low heat. Whisk in the remaining quarter cup of milk until sauce is smooth again.

Step 5

Remove foil from casserole and pour the béchamel sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere. Return casserole to oven and bake for about 8 minutes uncovered.

Step 6

Remove casserole from the oven and carefully create two slightly sunken holes with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each hole and place back into the oven until the egg whites are firm.

Step 7

Sprinkle casserole with extra fresh thyme and serve hot with a cup of coffee for a classic French flavor.

Farm Team Tips:

Gruyère is preferred for this dish, but Swiss, Gouda, or a mixture of Parmesan and Romano are good substitutes.

When choosing your bread, look for something hearty, rustic, crusty, and unsliced. Avoid regular sliced sandwich bread, which is too thin and will dissolve and fall apart when combined with the egg mixture.

To reheat the casserole, cover with foil and bake at 400F until warmed through. If you're pressed for time, a minute or two in the microwave will also work.

Rate this Recipe
Share this Recipe

How much did you enjoy this recipe?

How much did you enjoy this recipe? Rate it from 1-5 to let us know!

x

COMMENTS

* Required

RESPONSES

Liz Paquette

May 10, 2020

Should the 1 1/2 cups of whole milk divided be under the béchamel sauce part instead of the casserole part? Other than that it was absolutely delicious (:

Reply Page 1 Created with Sketch.

1 Reply

[email protected]

May 11, 2020

Great catch, Liz. The amounts were correct but the instructions were a little confusing. We've made the appropriate corrections to hopefully make it more clear what's to use when. So glad you still enjoyed the recipe!

Reply Page 1 Created with Sketch.

Tracy Kolson

June 17, 2019

Thanks for the free range eggs.

Reply Page 1 Created with Sketch.

1 Reply

[email protected]

June 17, 2019

Thank you for supporting our small, family farms, Tracy!

Reply Page 1 Created with Sketch.

Vickie Evans

May 10, 2019

BREAKFAST

Reply Page 1 Created with Sketch.

Amy

March 26, 2019

Recipe for croque madame casserole

Reply Page 1 Created with Sketch.

Brandt Stenberg

March 25, 2019

Food

Reply Page 1 Created with Sketch.

Related Recipes

Eggs Benedict Bread Pudding

  • Protein-Packed

Skillet Monte Cristo Sandwich

  • Meals
  • Protein-Packed

Brioche Brunch Strata

  • Meals
  • Protein-Packed

Eggs Benedict Bread Pudding

  • Protein-Packed

Skillet Monte Cristo Sandwich

  • Meals
  • Protein-Packed

Brioche Brunch Strata

  • Meals
  • Protein-Packed

Croque Madame Casserole

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time
Serving Yield 4-6 servings

If you haven't tried this recipe's French-style sandwich namesake, it's definitely one to add to your list. This casserole has all the same elements—crusty French bread, melty Gruyère, salty ham, and silky béchamel sauce—with the added bonus of being a fridge-friendly crowd-pleaser. As if all that doesn't sound delicious and outrageous enough, a few eggs are baked right into the top layer so that you get some yolky goodness in every bite.

By: Foodness Gracious

Ingredients

For the casserole:

  • 1 French baguette or crusty loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3-4 cups)
  • 6 Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, plus 2 extra for topping the casserole
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 1/2 cups Gruyère cheese, grated and divided
  • 2 cups cooked ham, diced

For the béchamel sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg

Directions

To make the casserole:

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Step 2

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, half-and-half, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the bread, 2 cups of the Gruyère, and diced ham. Using your hands or a spatula, mix the ingredients well, ensuring that the egg mixture soaks into the bread.

Step 3

Transfer mixture to a 2-quart oven safe dish and spread out evenly. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

To make the béchamel sauce:

Step 1

Melt butter in a nonstick pan on medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 2-3 minutes.

Step 2

Gradually add 1 cup of the milk to pan, whisking constantly over medium heat until no lumps remain. The sauce will thicken as it cools, so the remaining 1/4 cup milk should be reserved for use later.

Step 3

Once the sauce is smooth, stir in nutmeg, remove from heat, and set aside until the cassreole is done.

Step 4

Once the casserole is done, remove from oven and turn the heat up to 425F. While the oven gets to temperature, bring the béchamel sauce back to the burner on low heat. Whisk in the remaining quarter cup of milk until sauce is smooth again.

Step 5

Remove foil from casserole and pour the béchamel sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere. Return casserole to oven and bake for about 8 minutes uncovered.

Step 6

Remove casserole from the oven and carefully create two slightly sunken holes with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each hole and place back into the oven until the egg whites are firm.

Step 7

Sprinkle casserole with extra fresh thyme and serve hot with a cup of coffee for a classic French flavor.

Farm Team Tips:

Gruyère is preferred for this dish, but Swiss, Gouda, or a mixture of Parmesan and Romano are good substitutes.

When choosing your bread, look for something hearty, rustic, crusty, and unsliced. Avoid regular sliced sandwich bread, which is too thin and will dissolve and fall apart when combined with the egg mixture.

To reheat the casserole, cover with foil and bake at 400F until warmed through. If you're pressed for time, a minute or two in the microwave will also work.