When I think of brunch food I immediately think of waffles. Oh I love sweet waffles topped with bananas and nutella, or maple syrup or ice cream! What I love even more is a savoury waffle. I’ve taken my previously posted Spinach Croque Madame recipe and subbed in waffles for the usuaI bread. BRUNCH heaven!!!!

What is a Croque Madame?

First we need to discuss what a Croque Monsieur is. A Croque Monsieur is the most decadent French sandwich with crispy buttered bread , ham, melting bubbly béchamel and gruyère. Sounds delicious right? Grab my Croque Monsieur recipe here.

Now what turns a Monsieur into a Madame? The addition of a perfectly fried egg with a luscious runny yolk. A Croque Madame is topped with a fried egg with crispy edges and that runny golden yolk takes it over the edge. I’m a Croque Madame convert, BUT I wanted to make a meatless version so I chose spinach as my substitution for the traditional ham, as it’s the perfect match to the creamy béchamel.

Catering Your own party? Yes you can!

The key to a successful catered event is prep, planning and timing. Almost every event involves cooking components of dishes ahead of time and assembling and finishing onsite.

One day we will be able to gather and throw wonderful parties again. When that time comes, a recipe like this can be scaled to serve a larger crowd and would be perfect for a bridal or baby shower because it’s a showstopper.
Prepare the recipe adjusting the quanties as needed. Assmble the sandwiches on large lined sheet pans a few hours before showtime leaving the eggs off. Fry all of the eggs ahead of time but just slightly undercook them. Once the whites are done very gently transfer them to a plate.
place the sheet pan of prepped sandwiches in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until the béchamel is bubbling. Top each with an egg and return to the oven for 1 minute or so.

Making Spinach Croque Madame Waffles

It looks like there are a lot of steps here but they are pretty quick. You can make a lot of the components ahead of time.

Freeze waffles ahead of time so they are ready to go. My waffle maker makes round waffles which I cut into quarters for his recipe. You will need 3 round waffles or 12 pieces of waffle for this recipe.

Make the béchamel the day before OR cheat with a good quality jar of Alfredo (so good)

The spinach take only 5 minutes but can be done ahead OR Change the flavour profile by using leftover veggies or turn it back into a traditional Croque Madame and use ham.

I’m calling for gruyère cheese because it’s my favourite, but you can use any cheese you like. Provolone, mozzarella, swiss, Gouda would all work.

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