Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole
Loaded with ham, turkey and gooey cheese, this Monte Cristo Breakfast casserole is the best brunch dish ever. No need to make it in advance because you can easily assemble it in minutes and bake it right before your guests are ready to eat.
I know, it’s good Friday and I’m posting about ham and turkey but let’s look at this as last minute preparation for Easter Sunday. I don’t think I posted any fish recipes for you at all during lent so this has probably clued you in a bit on my feelings of sacrifice. I like to eat all the things…..no matter what day it is. And even though I used to give up meat and chocolate and coffee, I actually forget about it now that I’m older. I have no excuse really…except that I haven’t been to church since my son was baptized. Shame away, my friends. I can take it.
I do love Easter though and I did go to church growing up all.the.time. So, I’m not totally clueless and I know what it’s all about. But for me, it’s always been about the food. Really. Easter is my favorite holiday of all because of the traditions we’ve made with my family surrounding food. I come from a large Polish family so we’re blessed with piles of pierogie, kielbasa, and FRIED CABBAGE!!! Gah! I can’t even stand it, it’s making me so hungry. We also eat later in the day…like a lunch/dinner thing. Let’s call it lunner. So we need a hearty breakfast first, to keep us going when we’re swarmed with relatives we haven’t seen in months. I like to make a casserole for breakfast because it requires minimal hands on time and I can bake it while I get ready for the day. This Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole is pretty killer. In my opinion…it’s better than the sandwich.
As usual, I found all my ingredients at ALDI so it was very inexpensive to make. ALDI even has their own french bread which was perfect for this casserole because it’s hearty and can sop up all the custard without turning to mush. I used their deli turkey and black forest ham with a healthy dose of shredded swiss cheese. Then you just whisk together the eggs, half and half, salt and pepper. Once you assemble the casserole you pour the mixture over the bread and bake. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar before serving and pour a bit of warmed raspberry preserves over top. This is so wonderful to serve any overnight guests…except they may never leave. So maybe you don’t want to make it for your guests. It depends on how much you like them I guess.
If you like Monte Cristo Sandwiches, you will LOVE this Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole. It would be great served with a side of fruit or this Winter Citrus Salad. Make this a showstopper by cutting and serving family style at the table…that gooey cheese deserves a round of applause. I’m totally serious. Happy Easter (or Passover), my friends! I hope it’s filled with good food and full bellies.
Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Specially Selected French Bread cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 8-10 slices Premium turkey breast
- 8-10 slices Premium black forest ham
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Happy Farms Swiss Cheese
- 2 cups Happy Farms Half and Half
- 5 Goldhen large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- confectioners' sugar for dusting
- 3/4 cup Berryhill Red Raspberry Preserves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, place half the bread in an even layer to cover the bottom. Sprinkle half the cheese over the bread and top with the turkey. Top the turkey with the ham and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Place the remaining bread on top of the cheese and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the half and half, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour the entire mixture over the bread being sure to coat everything. Press down on the casserole with a place so all the bread begins to absorb the mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is puffed and golden brown.
- While the casserole bakes, heat the preserves in a small saucepan until syrupy.
- When the casserole is done, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and top each serving with a spoonful of the raspberry preserves.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by ALDI. All opinions and statements are my own….as always. 🙂
Food is a big focus in our house on Easter, too, and ham always leads the charge! This breakfast casserole looks absolutely wonderful.
Thanks so much, Dara! Ham is a close runner up! 🙂
Oh I am more than OK with this on Good Friday – Monte Cristo sandwiches are one of my favorite breakfast foods. This casserole needs to happen!! Thanks for the recipe!
I agree it is much better than a sandwich
Oh my….what a delicious breakfast. I think I might need to make a last-minute menu change and include this on Easter morning!
oh my gawwwwwsh yes!!
O.M.G. I’m going to have to make this. I think even Imogene would power through this, even with only one tooth!
I’d love to see that! 🙂
Now I am so hungry. I am wanting this casserole. I used to always shop at Aldi when we lived in the south. Now the closest one is 35 minutes away. Bleh. Beautiful pictures, pinning this, maybe we’ll even have it for Easter brunch!
Thanks, Allie! My ALDI is not super close so I just go with my list and stock up on the things I know I’ll need for the next few weeks. Always worth the trip!
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I LOVE Monte Cristos but I’ve never had them for breakfast! I have to make these asap! We have an Aldi here and I LOVE shopping there!
ALDI is the best! And so is this casserole! 🙂 It’s so easy and cheap to make.
Whoa. Like seriously, Kellie!! I’ve been wanting to try a Monte Cristo sammie forever, but I never do. I have a ton of ham and homemade raspberry jam, so I’m all over this casserole!
Thanks, Kirsten! It’s so, so amazing and really easy. Let me know what you think!
This looks so amazing! I have not had a Monte Cristo before but I know I would love it and this casserole too!
Thanks, Nancy! You must fix that immediately…the Monte Cristo sandwich is the king of sweet/savory sandwiches. 🙂
Um, YES PLEASE! This looks amazing! What a great dish. 🙂
I’ve got to go to Aldi’s more often. They have the best prices, and this casserole looks amazing. I didn’t realize they had French bread too!
I am SO IN LOVE with this idea! I am one of those annoying people who can never decide between a sweet or savory breakfast, so when I discovered the Monte Cristo it was totally life changing. And now this- this is even better because anything made in one dish always wins. I hope your Easter was fun! Easter has always been my favorite food holiday too. All those rich, creamy, eggy, sweet dishes after Lent… YUM!
Thanks so much, Allie! I hope you had a wonderful Easter too!
This is so pretty I might not want to eat it. I totally would though. There’s no way I could resist for long. I’m with you on Easter, I love the food. It’s all about the food for me.
I wish all you people who talk about how great it LOOKS or SOUNDS would actually try is and comment on it AFTER you make it. Those of us who see the recipe don’t want to know what you think of the ingredients and how fab and tasty it sounds, or how much you can’t wait to make it. We want you to comment once you’ve made it. That is what comments are for. As far as I can see as of this writing, not one of the people who commented had tried it when they commented, nor did they come back after making it to actually tell any of you or me anything useful about the dish after making it. How are we who see it on Pinterest supposed to know if it’s truly any good?
Nonsense.
Hi Sheila,
Thank you for your comment. Have you tried the recipe? Did it not work out for you? I sense some frustration in your comment. Just to let you know, I test my recipes multiple times before I publish them. This is a favorite of my family and if you had trouble with it, I would love to know so I can help you through it.
Kellie – The Suburban Soapbox
I am actually making this for Christmas brunch. It does look good and, of all the recipes I found for Monte Cristo casserole, I liked this one the best. You should probably just delete my nonsense comment above. I was frustrated about something else and shouldn’t have taken it out in that rant. Sorry about that. I will try my very best to comment after I’ve made the recipe so I don’t sound like a complete hypocrite. 🙂 Anyway, thanks for the kind reply (that I totally didn’t deserve!). One question though – have you ever tried making it and letting it sit in the fridge overnight? If so, how did it work out? I am thinking of doing that to make sure the bread is good and moist before baking. I have done this with similar breakfast recipes with the french bread and it worked out well.
THANKS AGAIN…Sheila
Hi Sheila, no worries at all! I appreciate all comments from my readers….it helps me decide what type of recipes to share will all of you. In answer to your question, I have made the casserole by assembling the night before and it’s worked well…just be sure to use a firm crusty bread (day old bread is best). I hope you have a very merry Christmas!
I was thinking of making this for Christmas breakfast, too. But I’m concerned about my bread selection. I don’t live near an Aldi’s and I’m pretty sure if I don’t choose a good type of bread, I’m going to be left with a soupy mess and the family will be eating Cheerios for Christmas breakfast.
My bakery choices are HEB and Walmart :/ What do you suggest I buy?
Hi Shannon, Thank you so much for visiting. Walmart definitely has some great options in their bakery section. You can go with a french baguette or a smaller italian loaf. Any firm crusty bread would work well. The casserole doesn’t need to sit overnight so you should be fine with whatever bread you choose.
Flavor was really good but the bottom never set up. I even cooked it a little longer. Raspberry preserves add a great touch of flavor.
I made this for Christmas day brunch. It was good, but needed something extra. If I made it again, I may put more salt, and/or a little mustard/mayo combination in it. Not sure what would add flavor. Maybe some sharp cheddar cheese, too. Glad I tried it. Thanks for the recipe.
Same here, Sheila. The flavor was great but the bottom was soggy and I cooked it extra long because it just looked raw on the bottom. I feel like it would have been better for me to rotate/flip the sammies after I poured the batter instead of just smooshing them to soak it up.
Hi Shannon and Sheila, I’m sorry you both felt the casserole did not work out. Please note that the bottom will be more of a custard consistency, not firm like a french toast because it is a breakfast casserole. Also, if your bread was not firm to begin with or you sliced it too thin…it will not have enough bulk to absorb the egg mixture. Just to let you know, this recipe was tested multiple times before it was posted and I haven’t run into a problem with soggy bottoms. I will test the recipe again to see if I can troubleshoot the issue you both ran into. Thank you for your comment and Happy New Year.
I didn’t have problems with a soggy bottom. I actually spooned the egg mixture over the top bread first to let it soak in well before I poured the remaining over. It wasn’t a bad breakfast casserole. I would just tweak it a bit. Still glad I tried it. Happy New Year to you all as well.
Monte Cristo sandwich is my husband’s favorite. He is going to love this! He’ll think I’m amazing! Thanks so much!
LOL! It’s my husband’s favorite too and he LOVES this. 🙂
I’m not big on any other berry than strawberries. Can I possibly use strawberry jam or something else? I love the sound of this casserole. Merry Christmas!
Absolutely!
I have made this at my B&B and my guests LOVED it! It’s always a hit with the guests and it’s very easy to make/put together.
That being said, I had a question regarding preparing the night before. Looking over the recipe I could see where one could assemble everything and stop before coating with the egg mixture, wrap in cellophane and chill overnight then in the morning add the egg mixture and bake. However, I’m wondering if adding the egg mixture and chilling overnight would work as well? Or would it make the bread too soggy? I could give it a shot and see, but was wondering if you had experimented with this or had any suggestions about how much could be done the night before.
Thanks!
I did make it once by assembling the whole thing the night before and it did take a little longer to bake. I’d add 10-15 minutes to the baking time to ensure the bottom isn’t soggy.