Savoury french toast with ham and melting cheese
A savoury french toast filled with cooked ham and cheese, dipped in a batter of eggs, milk and parmesan that fries into a crisp golden crust.
Are you looking for something quick for brunch or an improvised dinner, using what is already in the fridge?
Then savoury french toast is what you need. I will walk you through filling the bread with ham and cheese, mixing a batter of eggs, milk and parmesan, and frying it to a crisp golden crust.
The idea is simple: take the sweet french toast technique and turn it savoury. The parmesan in the batter is the detail that makes the difference, because in contact with the pan it dries and forms a crunchy frico-like crust that bread alone could never build.
There are at least three good reasons to make it: twenty minutes from start to finish, ingredients you always have, and the kind of dish that pleases everyone from children to last-minute guests.
The most common mistake is cooking over too high a heat. The surface burns in seconds while the cheese inside stays intact: you need a medium-low flame and a little patience, four minutes per side. And do not soak the bread, or it falls apart when you turn it.
Serve it immediately, cut diagonally, while the cheese still stretches. With a salad alongside it becomes a full lunch.
Ready? Let’s get started with savoury french toast.
Steps
- Slice the mozzarella thinly and let it drain on kitchen paper for a few minutes, so it does not release water in the pan.
- Spread a thin layer of mustard on two slices of bread if you like, then fill with the ham and cheese and close with the other two slices, pressing the edges together.
- Beat the eggs with the milk, the parmesan, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper: the parmesan in the batter is the detail that builds a crisp frico-like crust in the pan.
- Dip each sandwich in the batter for 15 seconds per side, without soaking it: it should absorb at the surface, not become wet through to the middle.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat and melt half the butter. Low heat is essential: over a high flame the outside burns before the cheese melts.
- Cook the sandwiches for 4 minutes per side, pressing lightly with a spatula, until golden and crisp and the cheese inside is stretchy.
- Move to a board, cut diagonally and serve at once with a grind of pepper.
Helpful tips
Day-old sandwich bread absorbs the batter better without falling apart.
Always cook over medium-low heat: it is the only way to get a molten centre and a golden outside.
For a vegetarian version, swap the ham for grilled courgettes or sun-dried tomatoes.
You can assemble the sandwiches and chill them for an hour before dipping, which makes a brunch far less hectic.
Average nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 38.0 g
- Sugars
- 5.0 g
- Protein
- 26.0 g
- Fat
- 24.0 g
- Saturated fat
- 11.0 g
- Fiber
- 2.0 g
- Sodium
- 900 mg
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