Is there anything better than Easter brunch?? I look forward to it every year. We are creatures of habit and usually serve the same thing: ham, cheese potatoes, mimosas and spring veggies. I wanted to come up with another yummy dish that would fit right in to our menu. If I’m at a restaurant and see a Monte Cristo offered, I always order it. So I decided to try my hand at a roll up version of my favorite sweet and savory dish. These Monte Cristo Roll Ups are really easy and totally delicious! And they’re perfect for Easter brunch!
So I have a thing with Monte Cristo sandwiches. My mom and I used to head to a restaurant in South Coast Plaza (anyone remember Magic Pan?!) for their Monte Cristo’s, salads with raspberry vinaigrette and delicious rosemary bread. It is where I fell in love with the salty and sweet sandwiches. And now when I see them on any menu, I HAVE to have it. Because you don’t find them that often. And I have a thing about brunch. I “go pupule” over a good brunch. When I was thinking about the perfect recipe for Easter brunch, I thought a Monte Cristo would be perfect. Easter is all about ham, everything is better with cheese and raspberry jam just about screams brunch, am I right? What the heck is “go pupule?” It means go crazy in Hawaiian. Add this phrase to your lexicon. It is super fun to say.
*This post is sponsored by King’s Hawaiian. All opinions are mine!
While a traditional Monte Cristo is pretty much a sandwich made on french toast, I decided that sweetness of the King’s Hawaiian bread would work perfectly for this. And I also decided that sandwiches are too boring. I wanted to do this dish a little bit differently. So I decided that Monte Cristo Roll Ups just made sense. It takes only a few ingredients, and not a lot of time, so I think it is a great dish to add in to your Easter brunch entertaining. The key is SEEDLESS raspberry jam. Ain’t nobody got time for all those seeds. And you need a good gruyere – one that is salty and smells a little bit like feet. Trust me, it makes this taste the best.
The other step that is a must for this Monte Cristo Roll Up recipe is rolling out the bread. While King’s Hawaiian is known for its soft, fluffy amazingness, the roll up works better when you make the bread flat (less tearing). But you could totally skip this step if you want to just make these as normal sandwiches. But then I might think you are lazy…
Roll out your bread, layer on the jam, sprinkle on some shredded cheese and add some ham. So easy.
Place the roll ups seam side down on a baking sheet. It is ok if there are a few small tears. The ham sort of acts like a barrier to keep the cheese from oozing out all over the place although it will melt out the ends. You bake them until they are melty and golden brown, about 10 minutes. And once they are out, you can dust them with a little powdered sugar, which any self respecting Monte Cristo has.
These roll ups would make a great appetizer if cut up in to slices (does that then turn them in to pinwheels?) and are perfect for kids. They could also be made ahead of time and just heated through the morning of. They are the perfect mix of breakfast in lunch in one dish and are sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Are you a Monte Cristo fan? Are you a King’s Hawaiian fan? They just released their first ever TV commercial. So exciting! This family run company is awesome and I’m so excited for them to continue their growth and success. They are truly the nicest people! So take a sec and go check out the commercial here. Please make sure you are liking them on Facebook and don’t forget you can get more recipes right on the King’s Hawaiian site!
Easy Monte Cristo Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 8 slices Original King's Hawaiian Sweet Sliced Bread
- 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
- 1/2 pound black forest ham sliced from the deli
- 8 oz. good gruyere cheese shredded
- powdered sugar optional (for dusting once out of the oven)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll out 8 slices of King's Hawaiian bread (to about 1/4" thick).
- Spread on seedless raspberry jam.
- Top with 2-3 TBSP of shredded gruyere cheese.
- Add a piece of ham that is slightly smaller than the slice of bread.
- Starting at the bottom, begin rolling up the sandwich away from you.
- Place seam side down on a baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the tops are golden brown.
- Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Nutrition
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this is my first time hearing about Monte Cristo – what a cool recipe!!! And I LOVE Kings Hawaiian bread. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Monte Cristos are delicious Pattie! You have to try one!
these came out great! yum yum