Monte Cristo Sliders
These Monte Cristo Sliders are a scaled down version of one of my favorite sandwiches ever, made famous by the Blue Bayou Cafe at Disneyland. They are perfect for parties or a Mother’s Day brunch, and a great way to use up leftover ham or turkey from holiday dinners!
This month my friend Amy from House of Nash Eats is helping me out since I am still in the throes of newborn life. I honestly haven’t cooked anything for three weeks, only warmed up random things I can find in my fridge. We are still waking up every 2 hours to eat, so brain capacity is severely limited. Totally wishing I had some of these Monte Cristo Sliders, though!
I’m Amy from House of Nash Eats and Jenni’s partner-in-crime for the Historically Hungry series that we have been doing together. I’m so happy for Jenni’s family with their newest little addition and am so glad that I can help her out even in a way during this special time by sharing one of my favorite recipes with you on her blog!
If you have never had a traditional Monte Cristo Sandwich before, they are a sweet-meets-savory delight that is similar to a croque monsieur. Monte Cristos are made by layering sliced turkey, ham, and swiss cheese between two slices of thick bread, like a nice rich challah bread. Then the entire thing gets dipped in batter and fried to golden brown perfection before getting sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with a side of raspberry jam or blackberry preserves for dipping.
Monte Cristo Sliders are a fantastic and easy take on the original and have that same delicious sweet-meets-savory quality with less effort since we are skipping the messy dipping in batter and frying part.
These monte cristo sliders start with a package of King’s Hawaiian rolls. They are already so soft and slightly sweet so they are the perfect bun for these sliders, but you could use other rolls if you prefer. I find it easiest to leave the rolls connected to each other (which is how they come in the package) and just slice in half horizontally through the center using a serrated knife so that you are left with just a bottom and a top section to work with instead of messing around with individual rolls.
Then it is just a matter of layering the turkey, ham, and cheese between the halves of the rolls in a 9×13-inch pan and generously brushing the tops of the rolls with a mixture of melted butter, egg, and flour. While not a true batter like an original monte cristo, the egg and flour help give the sliders that classic monte cristo taste. I like to make sure to use a pastry brush to get the sides of the rolls as well and not just the tops.
The monte cristo sliders need to be tented with foil before baking so that the tops don’t brown too quickly. The foil gets removed during the last 10 minutes or so of baking so that the sliders can turn a beautiful deep golden brown, then you need to let them cool for 10-15 minutes so that the cheese can set up a bit before slicing the sliders apart.
Dust them with powdered sugar before serving and be sure to provide raspberry jam or blackberry preserves for dipping the sliders in. It might sound strange dipping a savory ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich in a fruity jam, but it is really an amazing combination and these monte cristo sliders just aren’t the same without it!
My entire family loves these monte cristo sliders and they are fun to make with kids because it’s so easy for them to layer everything and brush on the melted butter mixture. Really the only thing they will probably need help with is slicing the rolls in half!
Monte Cristo Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 12 count package King’s Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls
- ½ pound sliced turkey I like the oven roasted kind from the deli
- ½ pound sliced ham I like the black forest kind from the deli or leftover ham from Christmas or Easter dinner
- ½ pound sliced Swiss cheese
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling over the tops of the sliders
- Raspberry jam or blackberry preserves for dipping
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Without separating the King’s Hawaiian rolls, slice them in half horizontally and place the bottom half in the baking dish. There will be plenty of space between the rolls and the edges of the pan, or you could double the recipe and fit 24 sliders into one pan if you are serving a crowd.
- Layer the turkey slices, then the ham slices, then the swiss cheese slices onto the bottom parts of the rolls before placing the tops of the rolls back on.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, flour, and dijon mustard, then brush it generously over the tops of the rolls. If there is space between the sides of the sliders and edges of the pan, I use a pastry brush to coat the sides of the rolls in some of this mixture.
- Tent with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and let the sliders bake 10 minutes longer until the cheese is completely melted and the sliders are a deep golden brown on top.
- Remove from oven and let the sliders cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing into individual portions.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve with raspberry jam or blackberry preserves on the side for dipping.
Nutrition
Looking for other awesome fun recipes for Brunch? Try these out!
French Toast Breakfast Bake
Blueberry Cream Cheese Rolls
Biscuit and Gravy Casserole
These sliders look absolutely delicious! What a great and fun idea for a quick meal or for a party or game night!
Yummy Amy! And love that you are enjoying the new baby Jenni!
What a delicious way to start the day!
It’d like to take these to a reunion, so the dipping in jam might be a hassle. Could I lightly coat the cut side of the bottom layer of rolls before adding meats and cheese?
They sound awesome!
Yeah, I think that would work just fine! Let me know how it goes!