March 18, 2025
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My mum made croque madame for lunch when I was a kid. Not as something special, not as a treat, just as a normal Saturday at home. It’s food that becomes so much part of your life that you stop noticing it, until you’re somewhere else and suddenly miss it.
Every French person knows how to make one. It’s a foundational recipe, easy to make and always good to eat. A proper béchamel is what makes it, and the fried egg on top adds even more delicious richness!
Table of Contents
Where croque madame comes from
The story starts with the croque monsieur, and it starts with a rumour about cannibalism! In 1910, the cafés along the boulevard des Capucines in Paris were competing hard for the lunchtime crowd. One of them, Le Bel Âge, run by Michel Lunarca, was winning, and his rivals had put about a rumour that he was a cannibal. One lunchtime Lunarca ran out of baguettes, so he improvised with pain de mie, toasting it to get the crunch back. A nervous customer asked what meat was in it. Lunarca, enjoying himself, replied: c’est de la viande de monsieur, meat from a mister. The sandwich was on the menu by the next day, and Proust was writing about it within a decade.
The croque madame came much later, after the Second World War, entering the dictionary in 1948. The only difference is the fried egg on top, and the name comes from the wide rounded hats women wore at the time, which the egg apparently resembled. But what a difference it makes. The yolk, broken over hot béchamel and melted cheese, becomes a sauce of its own, and the whole thing stops being a snack and becomes a meal!
The béchamel is what separates both of them from a grilled cheese sandwich. It goes on top before grilling and forms a golden, slightly crisp layer that holds everything together and gives a richness melted cheese alone can’t. It’s also one of the five French mother sauces, so learning to make it properly unlocks a great deal more than a sandwich.
Ingredients
- Bread — something with structure that can take being buttered, filled, sauced and grilled without collapsing. A good white sandwich loaf or pain de mie is traditional. Sourdough works if you want more flavour, but avoid anything too open and holey, since the béchamel will fall straight through.
- Gruyère or Emmental — grated, so it melts evenly. Gruyère has more character; Emmental is milder and stretchier.
- Ham — any good plant-based vegetarian ham slice works.
- Butter, flour and milk — for the béchamel. Whole milk, and equal weights of butter and flour for the roux.
- Nutmeg — a pinch, and genuinely classic in béchamel rather than optional. It’s what makes it taste French rather than like a plain white sauce.
- Eggs — fried until the whites are set and the yolks still runny, since the yolk becomes part of the sauce.
The five French mother sauces
If you’d like to try making all five at home, I’ve written up all the recipes for you. Subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll send them straight to your inbox!
How to make croque madame
1. Make the béchamel and get it right
Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook it a minute or two until it smells biscuity rather than raw. Then add the milk gradually, whisking hard between additions. Tip it all in at once and you’ll be chasing lumps for ten minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper, and let it cool slightly so it thickens.
2. Build the sandwiches
Lay out two slices of bread, top each with ham and a generous handful of grated cheese. Spread béchamel on the other two slices and lay them sauce-side down on top. Press gently. Keep back a good half of the béchamel and cheese, because the top layer is what makes it a croque.
3. Fry both sides in butter first
A couple of minutes each side in a hot buttered pan, until golden and crisp. This step is what gives you a crunchy base rather than a soggy one, since the grill only cooks from above and the bottom slice would otherwise stay pale and soft.
4. Béchamel and cheese on top, then under the grill
Onto a tray or straight under the grill in an ovenproof pan, with the rest of the béchamel spread over the top and the remaining cheese scattered over. Three or four minutes until bubbling and golden brown in patches. Watch it, because it catches quickly.
5. Fry the eggs while it grills
Butter in a separate pan, and cook until the whites are set but the yolks are properly runny. Time it so the eggs are ready the moment the croques come out, since a set yolk loses you the whole point.
6. Assemble and serve immediately
Egg on top, straight to the table. The béchamel firms up and the yolk sets as it cools, and there’s no getting either back. This is not a dish that waits.
Tools for this recipe
Check out my favorite kitchen essentials and cookware!
- Use an ovenproof frying pan if you have one, so you can fry the sandwiches on the hob and slide the whole pan under the grill without moving them, which is one less thing to wash and one less chance of it falling apart.
- Use a grater for the cheese, because pre-grated carries anti-caking starch and melts less smoothly.
- Use a saucepan with a heavy base so the béchamel doesn’t catch while you whisk.
Tips for success
- Warm the milk before it goes into the roux: cold milk into hot roux is the main cause of lumps. It doesn’t need to be hot, just not fridge-cold.
- Make the béchamel thicker than a sauce: it should hold its shape on a spoon, since a runny one slides off the bread and pools on the tray instead of forming that golden crust.
- Fry the sandwich before it goes under the grill: skipping this gives you a croque with a soft, sad bottom slice. The grill only works from one side.
- Grate more cheese than you think you need: half inside, half on top. The top layer is what browns and blisters, and it’s the best part.
- Get the grill hot before the croques go in: you want fast browning, not slow drying, which leaves the béchamel pale and skinned over.
- Cook the eggs last and to order: everything else can wait a minute; a runny yolk cannot.
How to store it
- Freshly made: This is the honest answer, it doesn’t keep. The béchamel firms, the bread softens and the yolk sets within minutes. Make what you’ll eat instead.
- In the fridge: Leftover béchamel keeps 3 days covered with cling film pressed to the surface to stop a skin forming, and it’s useful for gratins or a croque the next day.
- In the freezer: You really can’t freeze an assembled croque madame. Just make it fresh when you fancy it instead.
Variations
- Croque monsieur: simply leave off the egg, which is the original and still the most ordered sandwich in France.
- With Mornay sauce: béchamel with cheese whisked into it, which is the more indulgent brasserie version and makes the top layer even richer.
- Croque provençal: add sliced tomato inside, which cuts the richness and is a common southern variation.
- With mushrooms: sautéed mushrooms with thyme layered in with the cheese, which makes it more substantial and works well without the ham.
- Croque savoyard: swap the Gruyère for Reblochon, which melts beautifully and takes it firmly Alpine.
- Fully vegetarian without the ham: roasted peppers, spinach, or a layer of caramelised onion in its place, all of which give the savoury depth the ham would have.
FAQ
What’s the difference between a croque madame and a croque monsieur?
The egg. A croque madame is a croque monsieur with a fried egg on top, and the name comes from the wide rounded hats women wore at the time, which the egg was said to resemble.
Why is it called a croque monsieur?
The story goes that a Paris café owner, rumoured to be a cannibal, joked to a customer in 1910 that his new toasted sandwich contained “mister meat.” The name was on the menu the next day.
Do you put béchamel inside a croque madame?
Traditionally it goes on top only, with just ham and cheese inside. Plenty of modern versions put a little inside as well, which makes for a richer sandwich, and both are perfectly good.
What bread is best for a croque madame?
Pain de mie or a good white sandwich loaf, thick enough to hold up. Avoid anything with large holes, since the béchamel will run straight through.
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 15 minutes 
Total Time 30 minutes 
Servings 2Description
Ingredients
- 4 slices white bread
- 2 slices plant based ham
- 100 gr Gruyère cheese or Emmental
- 25 gr unsalted butter
- 25 gr plain flour
- 300 ml whole milk
- 1 pinch nutmeg optional, but recommended!
- 2 egg
- salt and black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
1. Make the béchamel
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly, until you have a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time, to avoid lumps. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens, then season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Assemble the sandwich
- Preheat the grill to high. Lay out two slices of bread and top each with a slice of ham and a generous sprinkle of grated cheese. Spread a spoonful of béchamel over the remaining two slices and place them sauce-side down on top. Press gently together, keeping back half the béchamel and cheese.
3. Fry the Croque
- Heat a little butter in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and cook a couple of minutes on each side, until golden and crisp.
4. Grill
- Transfer to a baking tray, or leave them in an ovenproof pan. Spread the remaining béchamel over the tops, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, and grill for 3–4 minutes, until bubbling and golden.
5. Fry the eggs
- While the sandwiches are under the grill, fry the eggs in a little butter in a separate pan, until the whites are set but the yolks still runny.
6. Serve
- Place a fried egg on top of each sandwich and serve immediately, with a green salad or a handful of cornichons.
Notes
- Classic recipes use pain de mie to let the flavours through, but sourdough or wholemeal work too.
- No ovenproof pan? Assemble on a baking tray and finish under the grill.
- Leftovers, unlikely as they are, reheat best in a hot oven.
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If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out! Leave a ★★★★★ rating and your thoughts in the comments, it helps fellow French foodies discover this recipe too. Snap a photo and tag @obviously.french on Instagram. Come talk about it in our Facebook group. And don’t forget to save this recipe to Pinterest so you’ll always have it handy for your next French-inspired meal!
