Your favorite cheesy brunch sandwich gets a whole lot easier to make with this recipe for waffle iron Croque Monsieur quesadillas!
I love Croque Monsieur sandwiches with a love that shall last a lifetime.
If you’ve never had one, they are fancy grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, often topped with a creamy béchamel sauce, and every time I see one on a menu anywhere I order it.
I also love a good Monte Cristo sandwich, which is also a fancy grilled ham and Swiss cheese sandwich that is dipped in beaten egg and fried and usually served with powdered sugar and jam. I KNOW.
Both sandwiches are decadent enough that up until a little while ago I only ate them when we went out, but one day it dawned on me that I could make a lighter version in my waffle iron!
I took the main ingredients of both – tender ham and melty Swiss cheese – along with the basic method of grilling them (as you do with a classic Croque Monsieur), and the powdered sugar and jam part of the Monte Cristo.
And then I went totally rogue by using soft flour tortillas instead of bread and a waffle iron instead of a frying pan.
(Here’s where I need to sing the praises of the Southern husband. After years of painstakingly cleaning out the nooks and crannies of the waffle iron by hand…
…I finally realized that there was a waffle iron where you could pop out the waffle-y parts and put them in the dishwasher. Meaning I now do a lot more waffling of things now that it is a snap to clean up!
And speaking of my sweet Southern husband, here he is breaking in our new Carolina Dream House verandah, complete with a roaring fire, an outside TV and our sweet daughter cuddled up next to him. Happiness!
Meanwhile back at the quesadillas, I do highly recommend having some jam to dunk them in so you get that scrumptious sweet and salty vibe.
Any kind of jam will do, and if you are feeling extra ambitious, you can give my homemade strawberry jam a try!
There are NO scary canning things involved (because I am a scaredy-cat when it comes to things like that) and it’s ready in less than 30 minutes.
And now on to the actual recipe!
Here’s how you make waffle iron Croque Monsieur quesadillas!
Set your trusty waffle iron to its highest setting.
Lay out 4 tortillas and brush one side of each tortilla with olive oil. Put one tortilla oiled side down on the waffle iron.
Spread some grated Swiss cheese cheese on the tortilla (leaving about 1 inch of the tortilla empty all around the edge), followed by a few slices of thin sliced ham.
Pop the second tortilla on top, oiled side up, and close the waffle iron for a few minutes until the tortillas are browned and the cheese is melty.
This recipe calls for doing this so that you have two delectable quesadillas that in our house are enough for 4 quesadilla-loving people, but you can increase it to as many quesadillas as your heart desires.
All that’s left to do now is to cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges (a pizza cutter works great for this if you have one), shake a little confectioner’s sugar on top and serve with whatever jam you choose!
And okay, if you want to go for a more savory taste, you can skip the sugar and serve them with mustard on the side.
One way or the other…it’s a whole new world of possibilities for your waffle ironing future!
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Waffle Iron Croque Monsieur Quesadillas
Prep Time: 5 minutes- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Lunch
Method: Waffle Iron
Cuisine: American
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Your favorite cheesy brunch sandwich gets a whole lot easier to make with this recipe for waffle iron Croque Monsieur quesadillas!
Ingredients
- 4 eight inch flour tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
- 4 ounces thin sliced ham
- ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar (optional but oh so good!)
- Your choice of dippings – mustard if you are going savory, jam if you are going sweet
Instructions
- Set waffle iron to its highest setting.
- Brush one side of each tortilla with olive oil. Put one tortilla oiled side down on the waffle iron. Spread ¼ of the cheese on the tortilla (leaving about 1 inch of the tortilla empty all around the edge), followed by half the ham. Sprinkle another 1/4 of the cheese on top of the ham. Place the second tortilla on top, oiled side up, and close the waffle iron.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until the tortillas are browned and the cheese is melty.
- Remove and repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
- Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve with toppings!
Notes
Need to add something to your kitchen equipment to make this recipe? Below are some of the items we used in the Framed Cooks kitchen to help cook this up. These are affiliate links to things we use and love, which helps to pay for all that bacon I keep buying!
Hi there! I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN! My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too. And if you make this recipe, I would love you to tag @FramedCooks on Instagram so I can see the deliciousness!
Oh, the possibilities of using a waffle iron for all kinds of things. When my niece recently told me that she’d returned an air fryer gift & got a panini maker, I thought of the waffle iron I’d bought for her that could be used in the same way. I’ve got all of the ingredients to make this croque monsieur & will be making it this week.
I’m wondering if your veranda has glass windows, or is open-air? Your SH seems to be enjoying time with your daughter.
I know, aren’t they the best? Meantime our verandah has folding glass doors on the inside “wall” to the living room, and is open air on the side that faces the yard…we also have automatic screens on that side that go up and down via a remote control that we can use if the bugs start inviting themselves over. :)
Please clarify …You call for a quarter of the cheese and half the ham on the first quesilada. But do not indicate what you are reserving a quarter of the cheese for.
Whoops, excellent catch Bill and thank you! That cheese is supposed to go on top of the ham – so it goes cheese, ham, more cheese. Recipe is all fixed up now and thanks again! :)
My wife would love these cheesy waffles for breakfast. The jam looks so tempting and so easy to make Kate. Amazing recipe
Thank you! We are making them again tomorrow. :)