Overnight Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole
Overnight Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole is a version of the Monte Cristo sandwich with ham and cheese. Bake and serve with a side of jam!
Today enjoy this Overnight Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole, a spin on the Monte Cristo sandwich that I remember so well, my parents always ordering it when we ate out. This time, transformed into a delicious breakfast casserole.
Overnight Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole
Breakfast is a great place to gather with the ones you love. Especially over the holiday season! Here are 4 Make-Ahead Breakfast Casseroles that you might want to try! Or, a classic Monte Cristo Breakfast Burrito Bake – also on the blog.
This is what I love about holidays. Connecting with friends over meals, Christmas cards and letters, holiday parties, and coffee dates. Long walks, sitting by the fire, Christmas music, and watching movies together.
And waking up to a scrumptious breakfast casserole that you made the day or two before. Pull it out of the fridge, pop in the oven, and you have a beautiful breakfast to serve your family, friends, or neighbors.
Monte Cristo breakfast ingredients:
- Franz Innkeeper’s Cranberry Orange Bread (or you could use any berry bread, like raspberry)
- Canadian bacon
- Swiss and Gruyere cheese
- Honey mustard
- Orange cranberry relish from Trader Joe’s or raspberry jam
- Eggs and milk
- Salt and pepper
Overnight breakfast casserole
Thanksgiving and Christmas is a great time to plan some simple meals. Breakfast is easy, too, any time of year. But especially scrumptious during the winter months. Last year I shared my Winter Breakfast Casserole during the holidays–so good. This year, make this Breakfast Braid Brunch Board, or this Banana Bread Brioche French Toast recipe!
Many breakfast dishes you can make the night before. I just love getting organized the night before, don’t you? Pull the breakfast casserole out in the morning and bake, filling the house with delicious aromas.
How to make a breakfast casserole
Prepare this breakfast casserole the night before serving (or up to 2 days prior), following the recipe below. Lay the bread out on a big board to assemble.
Cut the “sandwiches” in triangles.
Place the pieces in a 9×13 pan, tips up!
Pour the egg mixture over the sandwiches; cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days.
In the morning, preheat the oven, remove the covering, and bake according to directions!
Being able to assemble a meal ahead to make the morning more relaxed works for me!
This kind of hosting takes the stress out of the reluctant entertainer! :)
What is Monte Cristo breakfast?
A breakfast monte cristo is basically a French Toast Monte Cristo Sandwich. It usually involves turkey, ham, bacon, lots of cheese, eggs, and tasty preserves, tucked between two slices of thick bread.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar right before serving!
What should I serve for Thanksgiving breakfast?
Today I’m sharing these amazing Thanksgiving breakfast recipes:
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole [Real Housemoms]
Cheesy Breakfast Sandwich Sliders [RE]
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bagel Breakfast Board [RE]
Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls Recipe [RE]
Can you make breakfast in a slow cooker?
You can make breakfast casseroles in the slow cooker. You can add these ingredients and cook on low for a few hours – DELISH!
Here are a couple recipes that we enjoy:
Overnight Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole [Family Food on the Table]
Slow Cooker Pesto Denver Omelette Breakfast [RE]
Happy Holidays, Friends!
Get the Recipe:
Overnight Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 loaf specialty bread, such as Franz Innkeeper’s Cranberry Orange Bread (or what's in season)
- 16 oz Canadian bacon, or ham slices
- 4 oz Swiss cheese, sliced
- ¼ cup honey mustard
- ½ cup orange cranberry relish, or 1/2 cup favorite preserves, like peach or marmelade, or raspberry jam
- 1 ½ cups shredded Gruyere cheese
- 1 ¾ cups cups milk
- 8 large eggs
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- ¾ cup Raspberry Preserves, optional
- Fresh sage, garnish
Equipment
- 9x13 baking dish (I like to use a ceramic baking dish)
- Large bowl (These glass bowls are so handy for baking)
Instructions
- Prepare a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- On a large surface, lay out the slices of bread. On half the pieces, arrange the Canadian bacon, then the sliced Swiss cheese on top. Add 1 Tbsp. of the cranberry relish or raspberry jam; spread.
- On the other half, spread the honey mustard (be generous with the amount you spread on, as it makes it really good). Put the pieces of bread together to make a sandwich; cut into triangles.
- Place the triangles in the prepared pan, triangle points up. You will need to push together to make them all fit.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the sandwiches. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and chill overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Uncover the dish and bake for 30-35 minutes ur until golden or the eggs have set (not runny).
- Remove; let cool for 10 minutes. Garnish with a few sage sprigs. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with a side of maple syrup or jam! Makes about 8 servings.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I really loved the flavors. But it took a lot longer to bake. the center was still way too wet after the suggested bake time. I almost gave up hope that it would ever set up properly. I’m going to try it again but go in knowing it’s just going to take awhile.
Always check the center of what you are baking because ovens are different! I haven’t heard this from anyone else. Try it again! :)
such an easy recipe! made it for Easter morning brunch and it was perfect. I found and used a loaf of croissant bread! it was an instant hit! This is my new go to breakfast casserole for sure 👍
This was my 1st recipe from your site and you have an immediate fan! I made your casserole for Christmas morning and boy was it a hit! I used an few day old baguette and strawberry jelly and it was perfect. Even my very hard to please MIL couldn’t stop raving. Can’t wait to explore more of your recipes!
I prepared this 2 days ahead of time to make Christmas morning easy. I used Brioche, Canadian bacon, roasted turkey slicesand a holiday jam. You were spot on about the honey mustard making is sooo savory. Wowza!!! This casserole is everything about Christmas in one dish… if Christmas were a flavor. This is going to be my Christmas morning breakfast tradition going forward. Thank you for such an amazing dish!
I made this tonight for our small group. We live abroad and I couldn’t find the bread so I used cinnamon raisin mini bagels. After I made the sandwiches I cut them in half. It was a hit!
Thanks for a great recipe! I used brioche bread as I couldn’t find cranberry/orange in time for this batch. Also, I left my bread out overnight to dry out a bit, and made a tall stack of “sandwiches” with ham and cheese between each layer of bread…then cut through the tall stack with a good bread knife to make triangles. The result was a bit more ham and cheese per bite of bread, and MAYBE a bit more efficient?
Sounds great!
I absolutely love this recipe…so easy to put together. I did make a couple changes, used brioche bread and layered a slice of turkey with the ham!! Also it is even better the next day if you are lucky enough to have leftovers!
Wondering if I could use brioche bread for this?
Yes you can!
This looks AMAZING. Can’t wait to make this ahead for summer camping.
What other type of bread would be a good substitute for the cranberry orange bread?
You could use any berry bread (raspberry would be amazing since you could serve this with raspberry jam!)
Can this be frozen? If so should I bake it first? Plans got cancelled but I have all the ingredients so I need to make it.
I have never tried freezing this recipe, Marlene!
I forgot to ask another question! What would be a good substitute for the Grueyere cheese?
Swiss cheese!
Can I use English muffin bread for this recipe? And I would have to put all jam on the side. Sounds and looks delicious!
Hi, Marlene. I’ve never tried English muffins but I bet you could. Come back and let me know if it worked! :)
This recipe looks wonderful. The Monte Cristo is my husband’s favorite sandwich, so I know he will love this casserole. How many slices of bread is there in a full recipe? I would like to make a half recipe as there is only my husband and I. Looking forward to making this for Easter breakfast.
Easy to prepare and it’s delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Can’t wait to make these sandwiches !! It’s only myself and husband, but I will scale the recipe down. I have always been intimated to make these but not any more…looks simple but yummy. Thank you.,
I made today and was a big hit with family and friends. I put together yesterday afternoon, using lingonberry jam and a nice locally baked french bread. I make cranberry orange bread all the time and next time will have on hand for recipe. Thanks for the share. Great recipe and easy to do ahead.
OH! Yummy. I am going to try this. With our son newly married, things are a bit different this year. More festivities, yeah, also means we will need two different Christmas breakfasts. Yumm! This will be perfect. Thanks! Merry Christmas friend!