This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These Mini Croque Monsieur Bites are the perfect addition to your upcoming holiday parties! Flakey puff pastry, a blend of cheeses, sliced ham, and a beautiful béchamel sauce come together for a bite you are sure to love.
If you aren’t familiar, a croque monsieur is a French bistro classic. It’s a hearty sandwich with thinly sliced ham, swiss, gruyere, and Dijon. The sandwich is topped with béchamel sauce and baked until perfectly bubbly. With those classic flavors in mind, I’ve taken them and made them into a mini, handheld version that’s the perfect appetizer or breakfast addition for the holiday season.
Ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter
- All-Purpose Flour: Sub Cassava or Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour for Gluten-Free!
- Whole Milk
- Salt + Pepper
- Fresh + Dried Thyme
- Garlic Powder
- Dijon Mustard
- Gruyere Cheese
- Swiss Cheese
- Garlic Powder
- Puff Pastry Sheet
- Smoked Deli Ham
step-by-step:
Step One: Thaw the Puff Pastry
This is the most important first step! Either thaw the puff pastry overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for 4 hours.
Step Two: Make the Béchamel
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth and the flour is slightly toasted. Continue to whisk while you pour the milk into the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook, while whisking, until the sauce is smooth and the consistency of an alfredo sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, thyme, and Dijon mustard. Set aside to slightly cool while you prepare to assemble.
Step Three: Make the Cheese Mixture
In a small bowl, mix together the gruyere, swiss, garlic powder, dried thyme, and pepper.
Step Four: prepare the puff pastry
Unfold the thawed puff pastry on your floured counter and gently roll out the pastry. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 12 3” x 3” squares. Place a square in each muffin tin opening, pressing down with your fingers to form the pastry into the tin, making a mini crust. Using a pastry brush, brush the Dijon around the bottom of each cup and up the sides of the pastry until the bottom is entirely coated.
Step 5: Fill the Cups
To each muffin cup, add the chopped ham, some bechamel, and some of the cheese mixture. Garnish each cup with an extra piece of ham on top of the cheese and sprinkle with fresh thyme.
Step 6: Bake, Cool, Enjoy!
Bake the Mini Croque Monsieur Bites for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden on all sides and the cheese is bubbly. Allow the bites to cool for about 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the tin.
Recipe FAQs:
When making the bechamel sauce, if your sauce seems overly thick while cooking, add more milk 2 tablespoons at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. It also might get too thick as it sits to cool. You can thin it out when it’s cooled by whisking in 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk!
Yes! You can use gluten-free puff pastry and swap in cassava or gluten-free all-purpose flour for the flour in this recipe. Please note that gluten-free puff pastry does not typically get as flakey, but will still be delightful.
These reheat great! You can assemble as directed, cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. Once ready to serve, bake at 350℉ for 10 to 15 minutes, until the bites are warmed through.
I hope you and your guests love these Mini Croque Monsieur Bites as much as I do and that you enjoy this recipe year after year.
For more holiday bites:
Baked Feta with Olives, Soppressata and Thyme
Mini Croque Monsieurs
Ingredients
For the Béchamel:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour plus more for dusting the board
- ⅔ cup whole milk plus more as needed
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ tsp fresh thyme plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
For the Cheese Mix:
- ½ cup finely grated gruyere cheese
- ½ cup finely grated swiss cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme, plus more for serving
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
For Assembly:
- One [14-oz] puff pastry sheet thawed in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight before using; see note for gluten-free
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 6 slices smoked deli ham diced small (about ½ pound)
- 3 teaspoons fresh thyme
Instructions
- Make sure your puff pastry is thawed.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Spray a muffin tin generously with cooking oil spray and set aside.
Make the Béchamel:
- In a small saucepan, add the butter and turn the heat to medium. Once the butter is melted, add the flour. Whisk, until the mixture is smooth and foamy, and smells slightly toasty, cooking for about 1-2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in the milk, stirring to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened and there are no clumps. The sauce should be about the consistency of an alfredo sauce.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, thyme, and Dijon mustard. Allow the bechamel to cool entirely before you assemble. After it cools, if the sauce looks too thick, I like to whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk to thin it out.
Make the Cheese Mix:
- In a small bowl, mix together the gruyere, swiss, garlic powder, dried thyme, and pepper. Set aside.
Assemble:
- Remove your puff pastry from the fridge. Dust your working surface lightly with flour. Unfold the puff pastry on your surface and lightly roll out the pastry, just until the fold lines are less visible. Using a sharp knife, cut along the border of the pastry so you have straight edges. Cut the pastry into 12 3” x 3” squares.
- Place a square in each muffin tin, pressing down with your fingers to form the pastry into the tin, making a mini crust. Add 1 teaspoon of Dijon to each tin. Using a pastry brush, spread the Dijon around the bottom of each cup and up the sides of the pastry until the bottom is entirely coated.
- To each muffin cup, add about 2 tablespoons of chopped ham, 2 teaspoons of bechamel, and 1 heaping tablespoon of the cheese mixture. Garnish each cup with an extra piece of ham on top of the cheese and sprinkle with fresh thyme.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, minutes until the pastry is golden on all sides and the cheese is bubbly. Allow the pastries to cool for about 10 minutes to allow the sauce and the cheese to settle before carefully removing them from the tin.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It says to allow to cool completely before removing from pan, so I assume these are served at room temperature? Can they be made ahead of time and if so would you reheat or just allow to come to room temp?
yes- you can just warm them back up in the oven if you make them ahead of time. I need to adjust that to say let cool for 10 mins so that they are still warm. Not cool completely. I apologize for that error.
So delicious, made them in mini muffin tin so I got 20. Glad I did, as they are very rich & serving with other appetizers. Also go farther😬😉
Definitely make again!
fun idea!! thanks for sharing.