Rich, Comforting Monte Cristo Skillet
This Monte Cristo Skillet recipe flips the classic, dipped sandwich into a simple, shareable skillet bake. Using cast iron ensures you still get those crisp, buttery edges while the inside stays rich, custardy, and loaded with savory meats!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Rich, Comforting Monte Cristo Skillet
- 🕐 Ready In: 55
- 👥 Serves: 8
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Martha White Cotton Country Cornbread Mix, cooking spray, chopped cooked turkey, chopped cooked ham, shredded Swiss cheese, eggs, milk, mayonnaise, honey mustard, salt, pepper, currant jelly, powdered sugar
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: You'll love this Monte Cristo Skillet recipe because it's part lunch, part breakfast, part sandwich, part dessert, and all the way good! There's no bad time to whip this up.
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A Humble, Award-Winning Brunch Favorite!
This Monte Cristo Skillet was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2006 National Cornbread Festival. It caught my eye because I recently had my very first Monte Cristo Sandwich and absolutely loved it. Southern Living sent me to Charleston to do some presentations for the Taste of Charleston Festival. Have you ever been to Charleston? Oh my goodness gracious, is that a beautiful town! With every sight and sound, I became more determined to bring my family back there someday so I could experience it with them (it is hard to enjoy a trip without the folks you want to share it with beside you).
As I’ve started traveling from time to time, I’ve taken a cue from my adventurous counterparts at SL and started making it a point to try something new in each place if possible. In Charleston, I had my first Monte Cristo Sandwich, and it was right up my alley. I ate it in the cafe of a beautiful hotel right downtown. The flavors were a unique combination for me: Ham, cheese, battered and toasted bread drizzled with a sweet fruit preserve and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. It was part lunch, part breakfast, part sandwich, part dessert, and all the way good!
So when Martha White offered to guest post, I got nosing around for what recipe I thought would appeal the most to everyone, and as soon as this skillet came before my eyes, my heart just settled on it. This recipe is quick to throw together and feeds six people. I like strawberry preserves with mine, but feel free to use whichever you like best.
What You’ll Need to Make the Monte Cristo Skillet:
- Martha White Cotton Country Cornbread Mix
- cooking spray
- chopped cooked turkey
- chopped cooked ham
- shredded Swiss cheese
- eggs
- milk
- mayonnaise
- honey mustard
- salt
- pepper
- currant jelly
- powdered sugar
How to Make a Monte Cristo Skillet
1. Bake and Cube the Cornbread
Whip up your cornbread mix according to the box directions, but bake it right in your 10 1/2 inch cast-iron skillet.
Because the pan is wide, the cornbread will turn out thin, which keeps the final dish from feeling too heavy. Once it’s done, pop it out to cool for a few minutes, then slice it into bite-sized cubes.
2. Build the Layers
Set your oven to 350°F. Wipe any loose crumbs out of your skillet with a paper towel and hit it with a good spray of non-stick oil. Drop those cornbread cubes right back into the bottom of the pan, then layer your turkey, ham, and cheese evenly over the top.
3. Whisk the Egg Mixture
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mayonnaise, a tablespoon of mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk until it’s completely smooth, then pour it evenly over everything in the skillet so the cornbread can start soaking up that savory custard.
4. Bake Until Golden
Pop the skillet in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the center is completely set, and the cheese on top is melted and lightly browned.
5. Whisk the Sauce and Serve
While that’s going, warm your currant jelly slightly in a small bowl until it loosens up. Whisk in a tablespoon of honey mustard until smooth.
Slice the hot skillet into wedges, hit it with a quick dust of powdered sugar, and serve it warm with that sweet-and-tangy jelly sauce on top or on the side!
Ingredients
- 1 6 oz. package Martha White® Cotton CountryTM Cornbread Mix
- Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
- 1-1/2 cups chopped cooked turkey
- 1/2 cup chopped cooked ham
- 1-1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey mustard divided
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup Smucker’s® Currant Jelly
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the cornbread mix according to package directions, except bake in a 10 1/2-inch cast iron skillet (cornbread will be thin). Remove cornbread from skillet; cool and cut into cubes. Wipe out skillet with paper towels; spray generously with no-stick cooking spray.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Place cornbread cubes in skillet. Top with turkey, ham and cheese. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon mustard, salt and pepper until well blended. Pour evenly over ingredients in skillet. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
- Melt currant jelly by warming slightly. Add 1 tablespoon honey mustard; whisk to blend.
- Remove skillet from oven. Cut in wedges, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with currant jelly and mustard sauce.
One day I will get over my fear of cast iron cookware…… its that season and keep seasoned that worries me ……
Look around second hand stores and buy a used one that has already been seasoned. Just don’t buy one if you see rust on it.
Don’t know if you have a Cracker Barrel restaurant near but they sell seasoned cast iron and have a very nice selection usually behind the cashiers on your way out.
I’m gonna have to make this for my husband. I was showing this recipe to him and he said it sounded like the sandwiches we had at Pattis Restaurant in Grand Rivers, KY. That’s been about 15 years ago! I was surprised that he remembered it.
My grandma got married in 1905. They had little but she had her cast iron. She was 80 when I was born. I remmeber standing by the wood cook stove in her kitchen and watching her stoke the fire to make corn bread in her iron skillet. Mom always made our thanksgiving dressing in a monster size iron skillet. We never had cake pans – we used different size skillets to make beautiful layers. When I touch grandama’s or mom’s pieces they are with me. When I was a new bride we went to visit a preacher living in the mountains. His wife had a massive collection of iron skillets hanging in her kitchen. They had six grown boys and countless grandchildren. She cooked every meal in her skillets. Just cooked our families meal tonight in a new lodge skillet. Why would anyone choose another cookware? My son’s and grandchildren will enjoy these pieces – no doubt.
I love reading these posts! Cast iron and Revere ware..I don’t think anything can kill them. I think I’ve done everything to those pans learning to cook and they still work!
I really should have a cast iron skillet! Someday I will… 🙂
I love seeing these postings about cast iron!. I have a cast iron skillet that’s well over a hundred years old, and three others that are at least 60 years old. My mother gave me the first one and when she died, I inherited the others. To me they are precious beyond any monetary value. I just used two of them yesterday, a great pot roast with fantastic gravy…. and an upside down cake… But nothing fries potatoes like cast iron….. and on and on. I have so many beautiful, shiny pots and pans that just take up space…. I always use my heavy old antiques…. A few years ago, for Christmas my daughter bought me a cast iron dutch oven…. it sits permanently on my stove top. I use it so often…. and by the way, I store my iron skillets in my oven. I even leave them in when I’m baking if I don’t need the shelf space. Once they’ve been well seasoned, they never need soap… just use a soft brush and hot water and they are once again ready to use. Can’t beat the good old things……..
BTW…. I’m also a southern girl… my entire family was born and raised in east Tennessee. So, obviously pinto beans, fried chicken….. and all those delicious foods that we never forget, were part of my upbringing and even today, a big part of our cooking.
I have the iron skillet that belonged to my great Grandmother, my Grandmother, my Mother and now me. My Mother used it until I was almost grown. It was the only thing my Mother had of her Mother’s. She passed away when my Momma was 5. It was so well used it had become thin and then the handle broke off. My Father took it…had the handle reattached and then painted it….black on outside and white on the inside to look like it did when it was new. He made a special holder for it and it’s hanging on my kitchen wall with a recipe for the chocolate pie filling that my Mother always made in it. It is a precious family treasure that will be passed on to my daughter!
I forgot to add….my daughter will be passing it on to her daughter who is 14, when she sets up her house!