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.
My mother would always fry chicken in her large skillet. She wash’t from the south, born in Iowa, but she sure could fry chicken. I asked for it every year for my birthday dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy,the gravy also made in that skillet from the drippings!! Mmmmm!
I have alway been told that you only cook cornbread in a cast iron skillet. so when I moved out on my own my grandmother gave me a nice seasoned cast iron skillet of my own! Well this year my daughter has been learing to cook from my uncle. He has taught her to cook salmon patties in the cast iron skillet and to cook stewed potatoes! That is her favorite meal!
I have a very small cast iron skillet from my grandmother( who lived to 99) and my daughter will only eat my hamburgers if it is cooked in it. I has this wonderful flavor that no other one has.
My favorite cast iron #8 skillet is my ‘cornbread skillet’ and is used for nothing else. I found this skillet at a yard sale priced at $1 back in the late 60’s; the nice lady said “I would have cleaned it up if I had any idea someone would buy it”. Under my breath, I said to myself “and I wouldn’t have wanted it if you had cleaned it up”. I placed the skillet in the fireplace during a nice fire, burned it off, allowed it to cool, washed and dried well, rubbed it down with solid Criso and placed it in a plastic bag to season. After a couple days it was ready for baking beautiful cornbread. It isn’t used daily now as a pan of cornbread lasts a long time for 2 people; I slice and wrap individually in foil and freeze the extra. I only have to wipe it out with paper towels when still warm and it is ready to go. Also have my grandmother’s cornstick pan and several more cast iron skillets. The beautiful designed muffin pan disappeared many years ago. I am finding as I grow old(er), they are becoming harder for me to lift and place in or out of the oven. They will be passed down to my granddaughters who will probably promptly put them in a dishwasher. LOL!
When I got engaged to my (now) husband, the minister’s wife gave me a cast-iron skillet as a wedding gift. I love using it. I have never burned anything in it in 31 years of marriage. Since I am not the best cook in the world, it
is as though God is watching out for my and my cooking when I use it.
My husband gave me a set when we got married! he knew the way to my heart! i LOVE my cast iron skillets! when is the cornbread festival, South Pitt isn’t far from where we live in Cleveland…..Sooooo gonna be there! lol….and actually, Lodge Cast Iron is up there too!
I gave my daughter all my cast iron cookware as I can no longer lift it, my hands are bad but let me tell you I sure miss it! Nothing is better than cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet. I had several skillets, a dutch oven and several other smaller pots.