Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants for that Special Breakfast

Ham and cheese croissants are quick and easy; great for a special breakfast or brunch. Prep ahead. Eat now or pack a picnic—no washing up.

Ham and cheese croissants are our go-to ‘special’ breakfast. They are easy to make and relatively inexpensive for a treat.

They have become our Christmas morning tradition, eaten at the park or the beach. I can prep them the day before, slip them in the oven for a few minutes to cook, and then pack them in a lunchbox before heading out.

While calling this a recipe is a bit of stretch, after all, you’re just bunging some cheese and ham on a store-bought croissant; it is a good breakfast to have on your radar when looking for an easy special treat.

Ingredients and Costs

The ingredients are all in the name: ham, cheese, croissant.

You can add other things to the basic recipe, which I’ll cover below. But in the meantime, let’s look at the costs.

I purchased all ingredients for this recipe from our local Woolies and Coles.

For this recipe, I used home-brand Swiss cheese slices. It would be cheaper to slice cheese from a block or use regular sliced cheese.

While we normally buy a big family pack of ham slices and freeze it in portions (much cheaper per kilo) for this exercise, I’ve gone with a small pack of ham, so there is less leftover.

These items are all cheaper at Aldi if you want to save even more.

All prices are in Australian dollars, updated August 2022.

	No. of Serves	Total Cost	Cost Per Serve	Cost for 4 Serves
Croissants	3	$2.50	$0.83	$3.33
Cheese Slices	10	$4.60	$0.46	$1.84
Ham	4	$2.00	$0.50	$2.00
Total		$9.19*	$1.79	$7.17

*To feed a family of four, you would need to buy 2 packs of croissants, bringing the total cost up to $11.60.

Preparing Ahead and Cooking Tips

Ham and Cheese croissants can be prepared ahead of time and then heated up just before serving.

Cut the croissants in half, layer in the cheese and ham (you will need to tear or fold both to fit), put the top back on, and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for one or two days.

When you’re ready to serve, place on an oven tray and cook for 5-10 minutes at 180°C until the cheese has melted slightly and the croissant is warm and flaky.

To reduce washing up, bake these in the oven on the foil trays they came on. The foil trays can then be recycled – just be sure to pick any food off them.

If you’re cooking for one or two people and have an air fryer, use the air fryer to save money on electricity. The average oven uses about 2.1kW per hour (according to Canstar, although they can use less) and an air fryer, depending on the size, around 1.3kw – 1.7kw per hour. They also need less to no preheating time, further reducing electricity use.

If you don’t mind the croissants turning out flat, a sandwich press is even quicker and cheaper (and you can enjoy these even if you don’t have a full kitchen). While some sandwich makers use about 2kw per hour, you only have them on for 2-3 minutes, making them fast and economical.

To pack on a picnic, place them in a container and leave the lid off so they don’t steam up and become soggy.

Variations

While the basic ham and cheese are timeless, you can spice it up by adding mustard, chutney, relish, mayo, aioli, spinach, rocket, lettuce, or fresh tomato.

Apart from the mustard, most of these ingredients are better off added after you’ve baked the croissant, so they stay fresh.

What to Do with Leftovers

You can use any leftover ham and cheese to make sandwiches, toasties, or melts.

Or chop them up, stir into combined whisked eggs and milk, and bake for a quick frittata Lorraine. Put a piece of store-bought shortcrust or puff pastry underneath, and you have quiche Lorraine.

Another alternative is to stir through cooked, hot pasta for a super simple cheesy ham pasta. Or you could finely chop the cheese and make these cheese and ham muffins.