- April 18, 2020
- Breakfast
Keto Low Carb Croque Madame
Elevate your favorite hot ham and egg chaffle sandwich into this classic, French style dish that everyone will love!Try this delicious cheesy chaffle base, homemade keto friendly white sauce, topped with a thick slice of ham, Gruyere, and finished with a fried egg!
Any true Chicagoan knows the importance of a good brunch. I’ve lived in many cities and states and one of the best parts of being home again is hitting up all my favorite brunch spots! I’ve learned that most areas across the country fail to do brunch the right way (in my humble opinion). Therefore, I wanted to share one of my favorite, easy to make, at home breakfast or brunch recipes that is keto and low carb.
I originally used this Low Carb Naan bread recipe as a base for this Croque Madame breakfast sandwich when I first shared it two years ago. It was good, but with the invention of the popular chaffle I knew this recipe needed an update. Considering I had a lot of delicious leftover keto ham recently, I felt this classic recipe was calling for a face lift and a little culinary tweaking!
Get all the details on how to make this insanely delicious chaffle breakfast sandwich (though I definitely at this for dinner… no meal discrimination here) below. I’ll walk you through some simple tips and techniques to doing this take on a classic French dish the right way!
“School” Supplies:
- Dash Mini Waffle Maker (for the chaffles)
- Baking Sheet
- Small Pot
- Small Frying Pan
- Whisk
- Measuring cups
- Cheese Grater
“Class” Notes:
Post holidays, I’m often scrambling for some keto leftover ham recipe ideas. I love this homemade take on a keto ham and asparagus strata recipe or could even toss some diced up pieces into these popular Keto Starbucks Copycat Egg Bites, but really what I often crave is a ham and cheese keto breakfast sandwich.
A Croque Madame is a take on a Croque Monsieur. These are classic french ham and cheese sandwiches with the addition of a bechamel (white sauce). The only difference from the Monsieur to the Madame, is that the Madame has the addition of a fried egg. And a great addition it is!
Here are some helpful tips to making your keto chaffle bread, your keto friendly white sauce, and how to assemble and prepare the perfect ham, egg, and cheese low carb keto recipe!
How to make chaffle bread?
If you are on a keto low carb diet and haven’t discovered what a “chaffle” (aka cheese/egg in the shape of a waffle) is then you have be missing out dearly. There are dozens and dozens of recipes across the internet, but I prefer to keep it super simple and just use egg, cheese, and salt and pepper if desired.
I have tried to make these in a larger, standard waffle maker, though it cooks up it doesn’t take on the signature crispy texture that you get when you use a miniature size waffle maker. If you haven’t invested in a Dash yet, for a small amount of money you can be in chaffle heaven with this one!
Classic chaffles typically use mozzarella or cheddar cheese. I opted to stick with Gruyere to help enhance the flavors in my Croque Madame instead. Freshly grated is my favorite way to go, it melts better, gets crispier, and has less additives. Combine the egg and cheese in a small bowl, season, mix, and cook for 3-4 minutes in the dash until crispy.
These sandwiches are served open face, so they are easy quick and easy prep for this recipe. Sometimes I make a batch and keep them in the freezer and use them for recipes like this when desired too.
How do I make a keto friendly bechamel sauce?
Bechamel is a classic french white sauce. This is typically a roux (cooked butter and flour used for thickening) and milk or heavy cream that’s cooked until thickened. Because this is a gluten free and keto recipe there are no classic roux’s being made here!
Instead this recipe uses a combination of heavy cream, grated Parmesan, and grated Gruyere instead. This takes a classic bechamel and makes it a cheese sauce essentially (also called a mornay sauce), though I alter the flavor here it pairs nicely and helps make a nice, thick sauce.
Heat the cream on medium heat and whisk to prevent scorching. Slowly whisk in your Parmesan and your Gruyere so it melts and doesn’t separate. If you notice separation of the cheese from the cream, and a tiny (I mean tiny) bit of xanthan gum or cornstarch to help it along. It’s thicken enough when it coats a spoon. Set the sauce aside on the stove or transfer to a small storage dish for assembly!
How to properly assemble your Croque Madame-
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place the chaffles across the sheet and layer on about two tablespoons of your bechamel/mornay sauce. The little waffle grooves make ideal pockets for holding the yummy sauce!
Place a thick slice of your leftover holiday ham or even a slice or two of sliced ham from the deli at your local grocery store. Cover the top of the ham with more grated grueyer and pop in the oven to bake until heated through and the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
While you can opt to bake this with an egg carefully added to the top and nestled between the grated cheese, I find that baked eggs are not my favorite. I prefer a perfectly cooked white and a nice runny yolk. The ideal prep for this is to just fry up your eggs and add them on at the end (poaching works equally as well). Cook your eggs while the ham and chaffle bakes and top them when they come out of the oven!
Serve these up as is, with a favorite side salad or side of asparagus. Store leftovers for later in a container and reheat on a baking sheet until heated through again and enjoy!
Love this keto friendly breakfast recipe? Check out the other popular breakfast and brunch recipes you can make too:
Bon Appeteach,
-L
Keto Low Carb Croque Madame
Ingredients
- 6 Chaffles 3 Eggs & 1 & 1/2 cups of grated cheese
- 6 Slices of Ham thick cut or deli style works
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 & 1/3 cup Shredded Gruyere Cheese divided
- 6 Eggs
- 2 tbsp Butter
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- 1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Make six chaffles (I used Gruyere cheese as the base cheese for my chaffles for this recipe) by combining the three eggs and the 1 & 1/2 cups of cheese together and mix well. Add a few tablespoons to a greased, preheated (dash) waffle maker and cook for 3-4 minutes until crispy. Place the cooked chaffles on a parchment paper covered baking sheet and set aside.
- 2. In a small pot, heat the cream on medium heat and whisk to prevent scorching. When the cream has heated, slowly add in the Parmesan and 1/3 cup of shredded Gruyere in small handfuls at a time. Whisk it in so it melts and incorporates into your cream. Repeat until all the cheese is mixed in and the sauce coats the back of a spoon. *See notes below if your sauce separates*
- 3. Add about two tablespoons of your sauce to the tops of your chaffles. It fits nicely in the waffle grooves! Add a slice of ham and top with a few tablespoons of the remaining shredded Gruyere cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes. The food should be heated through and the cheese melted and a little golden brown.
- 4. While the chaffles bake, fry your six eggs up in the butter and top each baked chaffle with the fried egg (poached can be made instead). Sere with your favorite roasted veggie or side salad.