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My sister got me a panini press for Christmas. Cause that’s what a thirty-something year old mom of two kids asks for for as a gift. Exciting stuff, I know. And when I asked for it, I knew exactly the first thing that I wanted to make with it. A Monte Cristo Panini. See, I’m a huge fan of French Toast and of all things both sweet and savory. When I told my sister of my plan for her gift, she had no idea a Monte Cristo was… how is that even possible? I thought that 30 year olds brunched as a profession. Well, I was going to right this wrong and school her on what she had been missing.

The assembling and cooking of the Monte Cristo Panini takes almost no time. The only things that requires a little time and preparation are the raspberry sauce and you have to have some French toast. Usually, I use leftover French toast. Whenever I make French toast, I make a ton at once just so I can have leftovers. For two reasons. One- French toast heats up really well and my kiddos love it for breakfast. And two- then I have some leftover to make Monte Cristo’s. Duh.

Let me show you how I made this Monte Cristo Panini 👇🏻

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First, being by making the raspberry sauce. Mix together 1/4 cup of water and 1 tsp cornstarch. Add the water-cornstarch mix, 6 oz fresh raspberries, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 tsp of lemon juice to a sauce pot over medium heat.

Bring the raspberry mixture to a boil and then lower the heat so that the raspberries are at a gentle simmer. Mash up the raspberries as they cook, stirring occasionally.

The raspberries will break down and thicken up as they cook, about 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken more upon standing.

Strain your Raspberry Sauce:

Remove the raspberry sauce from the heat. In your sink, place a mesh strainer over a medium bowl. You’re going to strain the seeds out of the raspberry sauce so you don’t have to chew your sauce.

Starting with a little at a time, pour some of the sauce into the strainer. Help the sauce along, using your rubber spatula to push the sauce through.

Discard the seeds as needed.

Pour more of the sauce into the strainer and keep pushing the sauce through the strainer. Continue until all of the sauce has been strained. Set aside.

Sandwich Assembly:

Grab your French toast slices. I used leftover Classic French Toast (linked below). Heat up your panini press according to manufacturer’s directions.

Assemble your sandwiches. Place sliced turkey, ham, and Swiss cheese in between the French toast slices. Add as much or as little as you want, just remember that you’ll have to close the Panini press.

Place the sandwich in the panini press and cook until the cheese is melted and the French toast slices are toasted.

Cook the remaining 3 sandwiches. Dust them with confectioner’s sugar. Serve the sandwiches with the raspberry sauce on the side (or spread some onto the sandwich… or BOTH).

These Monte Cristo Panini’s are fantastic for breakfast, brunch or lunch, or even dinner. Any time of the day!

Enjoy!!

Here is the French Toast recipe that I used. 👇🏻

These are the recommended products that I used to make this delicious recipe! These are not only products that I use, but products that I love.

Have you tried this recipe? Thinking about it? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave me your thoughts below in the comment section.