Rich and Creamy Croques Madames

Thin slices of toasted-on-all-sides bread, melted cheese, rich Mornay sauce, and Dijon mustard, with a fried egg on top.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director

Daniel is the editorial director of Serious Eats, where he leads the site's editorial strategy and oversees everything from recipe development to articles on food science, cooking techniques, and more. He's a former food editor at Food & Wine and has cooked in New York City restaurants.

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Updated April 04, 2025

Why It Works

  • Slicing the bread thinly ensures that it doesn't overwhelm the filling.
  • Toasting tender bread on both sides gives the sandwich plenty of delicate crunch.
  • Cheesy Mornay sauce adds an extra layer (or two) of richness.

A good croque is all about nailing texture, bread-to-filling ratio, and the goo factor. This recipe, which calls for thin slices of toasted-on-all-sides bread, melted cheese, rich Mornay sauce, and Dijon mustard, is a case study in getting it right—and the fried egg on top is just the icing on the...sandwich.

Two croques madames sandwiches on a cutting board.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

April 2016

Recipe Details

Rich and Creamy Croques Madames Recipe

Cook 5 mins
Active 30 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 4 servings
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Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large cast iron or nonstick skillet, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add eggs and cook until whites are mostly set, about 3 minutes. Cover and cook until whites are set on top, about 1 minute; be careful not to keep covered too long, or top of yolk will begin to cook. Season with salt.

  2. Transfer 1 egg to top of each sandwich and serve right away.

Special Equipment

10-inch cast iron skillet or 10-inch nonstick skillet

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
776 Calories
44g Fat
57g Carbs
37g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 776
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 44g 57%
Saturated Fat 24g 118%
Cholesterol 312mg 104%
Sodium 1762mg 77%
Total Carbohydrate 57g 21%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 37g
Vitamin C 2mg 11%
Calcium 483mg 37%
Iron 5mg 27%
Potassium 526mg 11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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