These ham and cheese croissants are incredibly easy to make. They are ham and cheese “foldover” sandwiches that make an elegant lunch or easy snack.
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We were waiting in line at Starbucks when my son pointed out their fancy looking Ham and Cheese “Foldovers”. I don’t remember the price, and we didn’t buy one, so I don’t know what theirs tasted like, but I knew I could make ham and cheese croissants at home. For less.
At our next stop I bought a package of puff pastry as well as some ham and Swiss cheese. The rest, as they say, is history.
Why Make These Ham and Cheese Croissants.
They are simple to make and delicious to eat. Plus, it feels a little fancy to be eating puff pastry for lunch. You’re going to love the taste and texture of these ham and cheese croissants!
They are a fun French food to make at home. There are a lot of very French elements in this recipe, but I can’t say that I’ve ever had anything like this when I lived in France. However, I found this video on YouTube, so my conclusion is ca existe en France. Oh la la! It’s a thing, obviously. (Try more of my French recipes!)
You can dress them up however you like. Starbucks used a béchamel sauce in theirs. The lady in the video uses Dijon mustard and creme fraiche. I’m good with plain old ham and cheese.
They’re great for using up leftovers. If you’ve got leftover baked ham from a holiday meal, be sure to freeze ham sliced and ready to go, so you can easily make this dish! The same goes for the leftover slices swiss cheese or deli ham on your charcuterie board.
This is a super versatile “base” recipe or template. You can mix and match the filling however you like. Turkey and Brie are nice as would cheese and pepperoni. I mean, really, what wouldn’t taste good wrapped up in puff pastry? In France, they serve cow brains in puff pastry, so I think the sky’s the limit.
It’s a great Starbucks replacement. Originally a savory breakfast item in 2015, these ham and cheese foldovers are no longer available at coffee houses, but no loss! You can make them at home.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these easy ham and cheese croissants:
puff pastry – You can make your own or buy this frozen or fresh at the grocery store. Sales on puff pastry usually happen at the holidays. Buy extra and stock up.
sliced ham – I like uncured Black Forest ham, but you can use whatever you like. In fact, I highly recommend using up what you got. Scroll down for some variations.
sliced Swiss cheese – Emmenthaler and Gruyere have the best flavor, but American swiss is fine, too. Again, use what you have.
egg wash – this is 1 egg beaten mixed with one tablespoon water. It helps the pastry bake up golden brown and keeps the folds attached.
Variations: this is a great “base” recipe or recipe template to jazz up with whatever you have on hand. Consider some of these combos:
- Turkey and Pepper Jack
- Brie and a slather of Fruit Jam
- Turkey, Brie, and Red Onion
- Pepperoni, mozzarella, marinara sauce
- Roast beef and cheddar
- Cooked sausage and cheddar
Step by Step Instructions
Here’s how to cook up your own Ham and Cheese Croissants:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Lay out a sheet of puff pastry on one of the prepared baking sheets. Cut the pastry into four squares. Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry on the other baking sheet. You should have eight squares. Spread them out evenly on the trays.
Divide the ham slices among the eight pieces of pastry, laying the ham diagonally across the middle of the pastry, covering two corners. Place half a slice of cheese atop each portion of ham.
In a small bowl prepare the egg wash by beating an egg and adding a tablespoon of water.
Fold over the uncovered corners of pastry, brushing them with a bit of the egg wash to help them glue together. Brush the exposed pastry with the egg wash.
Bake the foldovers until golden and puffy, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
I hope you enjoy these as much as we do! Bon appetit!
More Tasty Ham Recipes
Tell us what you think!
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Ham and Cheese Foldovers
Ingredients
- 1 17.5-oz package frozen puff pastry thawed
- 8 oz sliced ham , such as Black Forest
- 4 oz swiss cheese slices cut in half
- 1 egg beaten mixed with one tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lay out a sheet of puff pastry on one of the prepared baking sheets. Cut the pastry into four squares. Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry on the other baking sheet. You should have eight squares. Spread them out evenly on the trays.1 17.5-oz package frozen puff pastry
- Divide the ham slices among the eight pieces of pastry, laying the ham diagonally across the middle of the pastry, covering two corners. Place half a slice of cheese atop each portion of ham.8 oz sliced ham, 4 oz swiss cheese slices
- In a small bowl prepare the egg wash by beating an egg and adding a tablespoon of water.1 egg
- Fold over the uncovered corners of pastry, brushing them with a bit of egg wash to help them glue together. Brush the exposed pastry with the egg wash as well.
- Bake the foldovers until golden and puffy, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
- Turkey and Pepper Jack
- Brie and a slather of Fruit Jam
- Turkey, Brie, and Red Onion
- Pepperoni, mozzarella, marinara sauce
- Roast beef and cheddar
- Cooked sausage and cheddar
Nutrition
This post was originally published on July 23, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Anne
Such a tasty, savory breakfast item in place of the usual sweet options. I read these would be good along side of chili. Agree, Great idea. I forgot to thaw my dough. Used the defrost option on my microwave for 5 minutes. OK option in a pinch, but not preferred because the dough didn’t “puff” enough.
Jessica Fisher
Good to know. Happy new year, Anne!
annie
Ooooo. These sure are tasty!
I think I left the pastry dough to unthaw too long. It was room temperature. And perhaps I also used too much egg wash brushes over the top. The result was the dough looked a little flat after baking. I refroze 4 of them, unbaked, before reading all the comments. I’ll add a comment once I try baking them.
Kathleen D
I had one sheet of puff pastry left over from making a dessert so I decided to try these. OMG so good! They taste just like pain au jambon that I get from my favorite bakery Tartine in San Francisco when I visit. I ate these for my breakfast all last week.
Card group
Made this for my card group and everyone loved it…I used deli ham sliced thin and Swiss cheese… next time I will add more meat and cheese… I had couple left and next day put in my toaster oven and it was just as crispy as the day prior…
Samantha Brabant
Starbucks uses a bechamel sauce..definitely not necessary but I made them for a baby shower with homemade puff pastry. OMG delicious, for a treat…
Rina Jurceka
Would you freeze these kind of like fancy “hot pockets”?
Jessica Fisher
You could do that. The best results would be if you made the puff pastry yourself and froze these before baking. I don’t believe you can refreeze commercial puff pastry without baking it. Freezing after baking might work, though you will lose some texture upon reheat. What I would do is next time you make a batch. Cool, chill, and freeze one of them. Then see how you like it. In this way, you won’t freeze a whole batch that you might not love.
Shannon
I would add something else like asparagus or spinach. I have
Made puff pastry and it is a lot of time. I don’t like crescent rolls
For anything – ugh
Tami
Are these able to be made a head of time? like day before and either freeze or keep in fridge and cook next morning. ?!
Jessica Fisher
I don’t know that you could freeze them since puff pastry is usually already frozen. But you could definitely assemble them the night before and refrigerate.
MgMama
My kids love grilled ham & cheese sandwiches, and this would be a great twist to that. I’ve used crescent rolls before, but I love the puff pastry idea! However, feeding 3 growing boys … this would cost us a lot! Each of them could eat 2 easily, and thats not including, my husband, daughter or myself!
LeslieT
We made these last night for dinner and they were yummy! A few notes: If you forget to thaw your puff pastry, you can microwave it for 30-60 seconds and it’ll be just perfect. We tried dipping ours in yellow mustard, ketchup, dijon mustard, and honey mustard. I preferred the dijon, son preferred the honey mustard, daughter liked the yellow. Only things I’ll do different next time are use a little more ham, and maybe a stronger cheese, like an aged Swiss. Plan on two per person, unless you have a hungry teen boy, then 3!
Jessica Fisher
Glad you liked them! Sounds delicious with the different mustards. And yes, you do want to eat more than one. 🙂
Erica
I usually make these with crescent dough but tried it last night with puff pastry, ham, and cheddar-Jack cheese. Big hit!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! Glad to hear it!
jillbert
I say go for homemade! It mostly takes time and you can freeze your homemade puff pastry. It will be cheaper and, if you double batch it, will make a lot. I use a recipe from King Arthur Flour Cookbook (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-puff-pastry-pate-feuillete-recipe) and it will make 18 croissants (which we use for pain au chocolat). Double it and you are in paradise!
Martha Artyomenko
It does take the easy factor out a bit, but I made a buttery roll recipe, which is super simple. Then I roll into four circles, cut each into 8 pieces and roll meat and cheese inside of them. They are smaller, so 2-3 a person for lunch, but doesn’t take much time to make.
Karen
What about crescent roll dough? You know, the one in the tube in the refrigerated section!
Sandi
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I have some in the fridge, probably past the use by date because I never make such things and cannot recall why in the world I even bought them, and this would be a great way to use them up. I can see sliding a little dijon mustard between that ham and cheese, too. Yummy!
Jessica Fisher
Yes, Dijon would be a great touch.
Jessica Fisher
Yes, that would work. They would be smaller, unless you put several together.
chantel
Try Grocery Outlet for puff pastry. I have been getting the 4 pack there for $4.99. I know every Grocery Outlet is different but the NV and OR Grocery Outlets both have had them ultra cheap. (Yes, when I find them at this price, I buy a bunch for the freezer!)
Jessica Fisher
Thanks for the tip!
Tastycook
Would packs of uncooked croissant work instead if puff pastry?
Jessica Fisher
I have never seen that in the store. Where do you get it? I imagine it would definitely work.
Tastycook
Probably I should have called it crescent rolls – my mistake. Obviously the mind was switched off!!! I have the ham and I have the cheese – just need a quick trip to the store (maybe tomorrow) and I’ll give these a try.
Jessica Fisher
Yes. I’m sure those would work, but they’d be smaller.