These Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants only use four ingredients and can be made in about 20 minutes! Using ham, Gruyère and puff pastry, they are delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Great for using up leftover ham from the holidays!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fred Meyer. The opinions and text are all mine.
When I was a kid, my mom and I would sometimes go to a cafe called The Perfect Cup. This was a special occasion, for days when we were out shopping and were able to afford an extra treat. With our shopping bags in tow, we sat in the bustling cafe and I got to feel like such a grown up eating my ham and cheese croissant and sipping on my New York Soda. I’m not sure how I even got the idea to order the Ham and Cheese Croissant, as I’m fairly sure I had never had one before. But after the first time I tried it, I would never order anything else when we had lunch there. This was not a sandwich, ham and cheese on a croissant, but actually had ham and melty cheese wrapped in the buttery croissant. It instantly became a favorite for me. Even now, years later, if I am ever in a cafe that has one on the menu I will order it.
I had never really considered making my own until I found myself with an abundance of leftovers of my Flame Crafted Ham from Fred Meyer. The ham is delicious as is, fully cooked with a sweet and smokey glaze, and it makes a lovely holiday meal. It does, however, serve 11-14 people, so we had an abundance of leftovers. And in my house we can only eat the same meal two or three times in a row before we start to get antsy. There are so many options for the leftovers – I also put some in a frittata, and throwing some into a cheesy pasta dish is not a bad idea either. But my mind kept going to my beloved Ham and Cheese Croissants.
Now, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I generally like to keep the meals here simple, fairly quick and easy. Croissants are anything but that. The lamination process of the dough takes time and effort, and the results are worth it. But for those of us that don’t have the time or patience to spend on an authentic croissant, there is a sneaky little shortcut that gives pretty delicious results. And that ingredient is puff pastry. Is it the same as an authentic croissant? No. But it is still delicious.
With that shortcut, these four ingredient Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants are something that you can make the morning after your holiday dinner, and only spend a few minutes on. They are also pretty great for lunch or dinner with a green salad and a glass of white wine.
I used Gruyère here because the flavors are all so perfect together. The cheese is sharp which cuts the richness just a little. I also found that they best way to avoid having the cheese melt out of the croissant and all over the baking sheet was to cut them into batons rather than grating it. There will still be some cheese that melts out, so I very strongly recommend lining your baking sheet to avoid sticking and a nasty cleanup. I used silpat, but you might also try parchment paper.
Do you usually have ham for the holidays? What is your favorite way to use the leftovers?
Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry slightly thawed*
- 12 ounces ham cut into narrow slices
- 4 ounces gruyere cut into batons**
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper, set aside.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the sheet of puff pastry into a rectangle (10-11 inches long)
- Cut the puff pastry into 6 narrow triangles. Place a few slices of ham and a few batons of cheese at the wide end of each triangle. The exact amount will vary depending on the size of the triangle, but approximately 2 ounces of ham and 1/2 an ounce of cheese each.
- Starting at the wide end of the triangle, roll the dough towards the pointed end, wrapping up the ham and cheese in the dough as you go.
- Place each croissant on the lined baking sheet. In a small dish whisk the egg until scrambled. Brush the egg wash over each croissant. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden.
Notes
**cut the cheese into batons rather than grating it to avoid too much cheese melting out. Be sure to line the baking sheet as some cheese will still melt out onto the baking sheet.
Nutrition
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Lauren says
Could store bought croissant dough in the scary popping tube work for this recipe as well?
Meghan says
Hi Lauren – yes, that should be fine!
Arlene Mobley says
This is a great recipe to use up leftover holiday ham. My family would love this.
Meghan says
Thanks so much Arlene!
Veena says
Ham and cheese the classic combination. Bet they tasted awesome. Would be a great treat for my kids play dates. Thanks!
Meghan says
They are so good together! Thank you Veena!
Ruby & Cake says
omnomnom I am in love with this idea for hammy leftovers. Your story about how you ate them with your mum is sooo sweeet.
Meghan says
Aww, thank you so much Ruby!
Clarissa says
Ah, these are so easy! And you’re right, what a fantastic way to use up holiday leftovers!
-Clarissa @ The View From Here
Meghan says
Thank you so much Clarissa!
Melissa @ My Wife Can Cook says
These sound delicious! And so easy. I love ham and gruyere together!
Meghan says
Thank you Melissa!
Meg | Meg is Well says
Ham and melty cheese is one of my favorite savory breakfast combos. Add the puff pastry and I’m in foodie breakfast heaven. And I love store bought puff pastry! It makes life easy and still tastes pretty darn good!
Meghan says
Yes, puff pastry is the best, right?? Thanks Meg!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
I love using croissants to make yummy dishes. These look perfect for a brunch item, or for a weeknight dinner along side a salad. Awesome.
Meghan says
Thanks so much Gloria!
Stephanie | The Foodie and The Fix says
These look delicious, Meghan! I love using store-bought puff pastry dough, it’s such a tasty short cut! I do something similar with my older daughter, as you did with your mom. We call them “Mommy and Ava dates” 🙂 We go to lunch, then Starbucks where she gets a hot caramel apple cider and we chat, then shop. Love it!
Meghan says
Awww, so fun Stephanie! I bet she will treasure those memories!
Jessica @ Citrus Blossom Bliss says
This looks like a really lovely little sandwich. My future MIL made pepperoni rolls in the crescent rolls and they were lovely but these sound SOOOO good! We always have ham and turkey (and lasagna…Italian problems) but there’s a 100% there will be too many leftovers. This looks like a great way to use them up!!
Meghan says
So fun! Thank you Jessica!
E.A. says
Yummm!! What an appetizing share!! I LOVE the pictures & although I’ll use goat cheese for 1/2 the recipe, I am so excited to try this…perfect timing for after-holiday options, too~🌝
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Meghan says
Thank you! I bet it would be great with goat cheese!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says
All the warm and fuzzies there, Meghan! So nice that you and your mom would go to that café and now you still love that sandwich. I can completely understand why! Love that you used puff pastry here. That stuff is amazing and so many uses. This would be a perfect lunch right now 🙂 Happy Monday!
Meghan says
Thanks so much friend!!