The name of this recipe, Croissant Ham and Cheese Bake says enough, you know it is going to be delicious! This recipe is for an easy weekend breakfast bake made from buttery croissants, cheese, and ham baked in a delicious eggy custard flavored with mustard and thyme and drizzled with hot honey.
This easy breakfast bake is my favorite thing to make for a lazy Sunday brunch or during the holidays when you want to serve something quick and delicious for the family.
If you love savory bakes then you have to try out this recipe for Tomato and Burrata Quiche or this recipe for Mushroom Toast, made with the best mushroom pate!
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Ingredients
To make this delicious breakfast recipe, you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Remember to always use fresh quality ingredients when baking for the best results!
- Croissants
- Extra-large eggs
- Milk
- Cream
- Salt & pepper
- White cheddar cheese
- Gruyere cheese
- Onion
- Butter
- Gypsy ham
- Thyme
- Dijon mustard
- Whole grain mustard
- Honey
- Red chili flakes
- Apple cider vinegar
- Chives
Croissants – choose plain flaky croissants from your favorite bakery for this recipe, cheese croissants will also work. Using day-old croissants is best because when they dry out slightly they’ll soak up the egg custard better.
Extra-large eggs – use fresh whole eggs for this recipe, the eggs I have used weigh 56 grams out of their shell.
Cheese – for this recipe, I used a combination of white cheddar and gruyere cheese. Do the same or use your favorite strong white cheese that will melt when baked.
Onions – use yellow onions for this recipe as their flavor pairs well with the other ingredients.
Ham – I used gypsy ham for this recipe, you can choose your favorite deli meat like smoked country ham, honey ham, parma ham, prosciutto, or even salami. Get creative with what you have in your fridge.
Thyme – I used fresh thyme to flavor the onions, if you don’t have fresh thyme, dried thyme will also work.
Mustard – using Dijon mustard and whole-grain mustard in this recipe gives the custard a delicious flavor, if you don’t have either you can also use mustard powder.
Chives – finely chopped fresh chives are sprinkled over the top of this croissant bake once it comes out of the oven. If you don’t have any, you can leave them out or use green onions instead.
Honey – once baked this recipe is drizzled with a delicious homemade hot honey sauce that’s flavoured with red chilli flakes. You can choose to skip this if you’d prefer but I love the contrast of flavors between the sweet honey, strong cheese, and smokey ham.
Apple cider vinegar – this is added to the hot honey to help cut the sweetness. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar you can also use red wine vinegar.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the simple steps below to make this cheese croissant recipe. First, you will fry the onions and make the egg custard, then slice the croissants before layering everything and baking until set.
Instructions for croissant bake
STEP 1: Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and brush an oven dish with melted butter.
STEP 2: Fry onions. Add the butter to a frying pan set over medium heat, once melted add the sliced onions and thyme and fry until softened, set aside to cool.
STEP 3: Make the custard. Add the milk, cream, dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, and eggs to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine—season with salt and pepper to your taste. Add the cooled onions and half of each cheese and stir to combine.
STEP 4: Dunk croissants. Cut each flaky croissant into thirds and dip each third into the custard mixture before placing them in a single layer into your prepared dish.
STEP 5: Pour over custard. Pour the egg mixture over the croissants.
STEP 6: Add ham and cheese. Cut each slice of ham in half and roll this up before placing the ham between the croissant pieces. Tuck the ham under the croissants slightly so that just part of the ham slices are exposed. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheeses over the top of the croissants.
STEP 7: Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes or until golden brown and the custard is set, the cheese is golden and the ham is slightly crispy. Remove the dish from the oven and allow the bake to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle over the finely chopped chives.
Instructions for hot honey
STEP 1: Make the hot honey. While the breakfast bake is in the oven, make the hot honey. Add the honey, hot water, vinegar, and chili flakes to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and simmer for 2 – 3 minutes.
STEP 2: Infuse and strain. Pour the hot honey into a glass jar and let the flavors infuse for about 15 minutes before straining out the chili flakes.
STEP 3: Serve. Slice the croissant bake into 8 equal portions and drizzle the hot honey over each portion, serve and enjoy!
Hint: I like using flaky croissants for this recipe, different types of croissants will soak up the custard differently so bear this in mind when choosing your croissants.
Variations
This is a great recipe to get creative with, you can use a variety of cheeses and cold meats to make this dish. Use what you have in your fridge and think about different flavor combinations that would work well together.
If you are vegetarian, you can choose to leave out the ham and add vegetables instead. This recipe would work well with peppers and mushrooms to name a few!
Equipment
You don’t need any fancy equipment to make this recipe. Just a large bowl, a hand whisk, and a baking dish or casserole dish.
Storage
Store any leftover pieces of this croissant bake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. To re-heat I recommend placing the slices onto an oven tray and heating them in the oven for about 10 minutes before serving.
Left-over hot honey can be added to a clean glass jar with a lid and kept in the fridge for about a week.
This recipe can also be made a day ahead, cover it with aluminum foil and place it in the fridge before reheating it and serving it the next day.
Top tips
Follow my top tips below for the best-tasting breakfast bake
- Adjust to your taste, with all savory things it is best to follow your taste buds when it comes to seasoning. Make sure the custard is seasoned for you before pouring it over the croissants.
- Egg-based dishes are temperature sensitive so check the temperature of your oven with a thermometer to be sure it is set correctly.
- Make sure the custard covers most of the croissant pieces, this is important if you are using a bigger dish than recommended.
- During baking, if the croissants are getting too brown but the custard isn't yet set, cover the dish with foil and continue baking.
FAQ
Yes, you can, however, you want a dish where the croissant pieces will lie in a single layer and where the egg custard will sit close to halfway up the croissants.
The eggs I use weigh 56 grams, if you aren’t sure if you have the same eggs – weigh the eggs you have and adjust accordingly.
Absolutely, just leave out the ham and follow the recipe as is. Otherwise, you could sauté other vegetables with the onions and add this to the egg custard.
Yes, choose any gooey cheese you like - try and combine different flavors like Swiss cheese and parmesan cheese, or mozzarella and cheddar.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
This easy recipe is an absolute winner of a breakfast and perfect to make for a crowd during weekend trips away with friends, for Christmas morning, or even for Easter brunch with the family.
You can't go wrong with this ultimate breakfast casserole with melty cheese and salty ham! If you give this recipe a go, please leave a comment and star review in the comments I would love to know what you thought of this ham and cheese croissant bake.
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Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Croissant Ham and Cheese Bake
Equipment
- 1x oven dish
Ingredients
Croissant Bake
- 6 croissants large
- 1 onion finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 5 eggs extra-large
- 400 ml milk whole
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
- 100 g white cheddar cheese
- 60 g gruyere cheese
- salt & pepper
- 160 g Gypsy ham
- 1 tablespoon chives finely chopped
Hot Honey
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- 2 tablespoon hot water
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Croissant Bake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and brush an oven dish with melted butter.
- Add the butter to a frying pan set over medium heat, once melted add the sliced onions and thyme and fry until softened, set aside to cool.
- Add the milk, cream, dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, and eggs to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine—season with salt and pepper to your taste. Add the cooled onions and half of each cheese and stir to combine.
- Cut each flaky croissant into thirds and dip each third into the custard mixture before placing them in a single layer into your prepared dish.
- Pour the egg mixture over the croissants. Spoon out the onions and cheese, and distribute evenly.
- Cut each slice of ham in half and roll this up before placing the ham between the croissant pieces. Tuck the ham under the croissants slightly so that just part of the ham slices are exposed. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheeses over the top of the croissants.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes or until golden brown and the custard is set, the cheese is golden and the ham is slightly crispy. Remove the dish from the oven and allow the bake to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle over the finely chopped chives.
Hot Honey
- While the breakfast bake is in the oven, make the hot honey. Add the honey, hot water, vinegar, and chili flakes to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and simmer for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Pour the hot honey into a glass jar and let the flavors infuse for about 15 minutes before straining out the chili flakes.
- Slice the croissant bake into 8 equal portions and drizzle the hot honey over each portion, serve and enjoy!
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