Tartine Croque Monsieur {Easy Snacks}

Ever had a Tartine Croque Monsieur? These are one of the yummiest, hot snacks we have here. Made with Wholegrain bread, these ham & cheesy little delights make my kids pretty happy, if you've not tried them, please do, they're a really lovely little snackette!

Tartine Croque Monsieur

Melting cheese and ham, with a cheese sauce on toast. After school snacks have never been so yummy. They're bite sized, perfect for little fingers and take a few minutes to put together and then cook under the grill, or broil.

A Tartine is simply 'toast' with either a sweet or savoury topping. Croque (meaning bite in French), and Monsieur, meaning he, or him. These are most commonly known as either a Croque Monsieur or a Croque Madam (same as a the Monsieur version, but with a fried egg on top, which some believe is to represent a hat women sometimes wear!).

The Tartine Croque Monsieur version I've made here are essentially little, mini versions of Croque Monsieurs. Whilst I love a fried egg, these are too small for a fried egg so they stay as Monsieurs!

I sometimes use a white bean cheese sauce for these if I have some in the fridge, or I make a crazily fast cream and cheese sauce. You use so little of the cheese sauce, if you don't have a batch of cheese sauce in your fridge and you dont need to make any, I'd recommend using a little cream to make it. Either are delicious :)

Is Ham Clean Eating?

The ham I buy and cook with is important to me. I don't buy processed ham (and loads of the ham in supermarkets is processed), I buy a ham and cook it in the oven and then keep it in the fridge and use it over the coming few days in our meal plan.

I also buy local ham. Usually, as long as the meat is good quality and mostly Organic, I'm not to fussy about it's origins. I buy local Pork because much imported Pork is from very badly treated Pigs. Check locally to you for pork if this is an issue for you.

Best Bread For Croque Monsieur

Most Croques are made with chunky slices of white bread. In fact as I write this, I don't think I've ever eaten or seen one in a cafe that was made with Wholegrain bread. But honestly, you won't notice the difference, especially if you've made the switch to Wholegrain breads and the family have been used to eating it for a while.

For these little Tartine Croque Monsieurs I use chunky slices of Wholegrain bread cut into little squares. They're crustless, so if you have any fussy eaters who complain about crusts, these are perfect.

What Is The Difference Between Croque Madame And Croque Monsieur?

As I mentioned above, these are the same thing, except one has a fried egg popped on top. If you like fried eggs, I can highly recommend the Madam version with it's runny egg yolk. It's more of a sit down and eat at the table sorta lunch, and these ones I'm making now are a good on-the-go snack.

More Clean Eating Snacks

• Healthy flapjacks for kids
• Loaded crispy potato balls
• Peanut butter oatmeal bars
• Tuna patties

How To Make Tartine Croques

Ingredients

• 3 Slices Wholegrain Bread Chunky slices, crusts cut off
• 3 Slices Ham See the post for the Ham I recommend
• 3 tbsp Cheese Shredded
• 1 tbsp Butter Melted
• Cheese Sauce (White bean cheese sauce if using or see below)
• 2 tbsp Heavy cream
• 1 tbsp Cheese Shredded

Instructions

• Heat your cooker grill
• IF you're using the cream to make a cheese sauce, in a small pan heat the cream gently and add the shredded cheese. Stir until melted fully and put to one side
• Brush your slices of bread with a little melted butter and pop them under the grill, butter side up, until golden. Take them out from the grill, turn the grill to low and turn the toast to the un-toasted side on a board
• On the un-toasted side, spread a little cheese sauce on each piece, then layer the ham and cheese, making sure the top layer is cheese
• Put them back under the grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese is fully melted and then take them out
• Cut each piece into 4 and eat straight away

Tartine Croque Monsieur Recipe