This is the ultimate make at home Monte Cristo Sandwich – with turkey, ham and cheese in a sandwich that is cooked French toast style. If desired, serve with powdered sugar and raspberry jam. It’s a sweet and savory combo that will convert even a skeptic!

If you love sandwich night as much as we do, you also need to check out the recipes for this Club Sandwich, Egg Salad BLTs, or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Monte Cristo Sandwich cut in half with jam drizzled on it

If you are a regular reader, you know that I am a huge fan of the sweet and savory combination. And now, looking back, I’m starting to wonder if this love started off with a Monte Cristo sandwich long ago.

I’ve been eating these sandwiches for a long time. It wasn’t my mom who made them when I was younger, but my brother. And I’ve grown to love and appreciate this sandwich – maybe more than any other.

2 full monte cristo sandwiches stacked on top of each other

What is a Monte Cristo Sandwich?

So now you might be asking – what is a Monte Cristo sandwich?

If you’ve been do Disneyland, you probably know. They serve their famous Monte Cristo that you can get at Cafe Orleans is a deep fried sandwich with ham, turkey and cheese. Then it is served with berry jam and dusted with powdered sugar.

But Disneyland wasn’t the first to make these sandwiches.

It is believed that the Monte Cristo started off as the French Croque Monsieur, a grilled cheese sandwich with Gruyere and ham. Then, starting in the 1930s, more variations of this sandwich started to show up cookbooks, then in the 1950s, it made its way onto a menu in a southern California restaurant under the name of Monte Cristo. It then made its debut at Disneyland in 1966.

Dipping a Monte Cristo Sandwich into Jam

Ingredients

There are many versions out there, but this is what I think you need to make the perfect Monte Cristo. My version is grilled instead of fried, which makes it much easier, and less messy, to make at home.

White Bread – I’m usually a wheat bread kind of girl, but you need white bread for these sandwiches.
Deli Sliced Meat – You’ll need both ham and turkey. I like to get it super thin sliced at the deli counter, but even pre-sliced meat will work.
Provolone Cheese – I just buy this sliced, as it is way easier. You can also use Swiss, which is more traditional.
Milk, Eggs, Butter – your traditional batter mixture. You’ll make the batter from the milk and eggs, then cook the sandwiches in the butter.

How to Make a Monte Cristo

Whisk the eggs and milk in a shallow pan.
Melt the butter in a large skillet.
Make the sandwiches by layering a slice of bread, cheese, ham, another slice of bread spread with mayonnaise, turkey, cheese, and then another slice of bread. Press it down to make sure it all sticks together.
Dip each sandwich in the milk and egg mixture, then transfer to the hot skillet.
Cook until the sandwich is toasted on both sides and the cheese is melted.
Serve dusted with powdered sugar and with raspberry jam on the side.

Monte Cristo Sandwich with Raspberry Jam with bite taken from it

More Variations on the Monte Cristo

Monte Cristo Crepes
Monte Cristo Sliders
Italian-Style Monte Cristos
Monte Cristo Sandwich Loaf
Monte Cristo Waffle-Wiches
Monte Cristo Style Croque Monsieur

Helpful Tools

I like to use a good nonstick skillet to cook these sandwiches, although a cast iron pan would give some good color to the sandwiches.
A small ramekin or cup for jam is super helpful if you want to dip your sandwich.
If you serve with powdered sugar, it’s helpful to have a small strainer so that you don’t get big clumps of powdered sugar all over.

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