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 cast iron is my grandmother’s. Everytime I cook fried potatoes and onions (with bacon grease) it brings me back to her kitchen.
I have a cast iron skillet passed down frm my MIL and several pieces given to us as wedding gifts. After 33 years of marriage they are well seasoned. My favorite memory involving a cast iran skillet is my Dad frying chicken in my Mom’s 12 inch skillet over the campfire every time we went camping when I was growing up. You have not had good fried chicken until you have had it fried over a campfire! Wait until you have a nice big bed of coals and put the skillet right on the coals! I know all our neighbors on the campground were drooling!
Christy, Just had to reply when the subject is cast iron skillets, I am a midwest born gal. But was raised by southern born parents.And was taught to cook southern style. Cast iron skillets were just a natural way of cooking to us.And I wouldn’t trade my southern teaching heritage for all the finest cooking classes!! And i wouldn’t trade my cast iron skillets for the best nonstick cookware out there!
I have two regular iron skillets, 1 small that I use for cornbread at my house, large pan is to much. I have 2 dutch ovens, one with a handle and a cornbread stick pan. They were ALL passed down from my grandmother and great grandmother. I wouldn’t give anything for my iron skillets. Now I want to add a griddle and a wok! I just don’t get it when people want to bake cornbread in a cake pan…..that is not cornbread! And Fried Chicken is NOT fried chicken unless you fry it in an iron skillet!
I too have my grandma’s cast iron skillets, one of which is mainly used for cornbread. (BTW — our family cornbread recipe is VERY close to Christy’s!) I too have had others come in my kitchen and scrub at it — AHHH! Fortunately, it is so old and well-seasoned that it didn’t take too much work to recover it 🙂 I wouldn’t trade it for any other pot/pan in the world. I can’t imagine how many pans of cornbread it has made over years — oh, the stories that skillet could tell!
I have 2 cast iron skillets,one from my mom and one my son found when he was hunting. He said it was burried in the earth, just the handle sticking out. I cleaned and reseasoned it. I use my skillets for just about everything, from frying to baking. Now if I could just find a good old dutch oven.
I have several cast iron pieces passed on to me from my grandmothers. I recently passed a dutch oven on to my daughter-in-law. She was delighted. My mom could cook some of the best fried chicken in one of her skillets, she of course, used lard to help with the flavor too.