I had my first Gluten Free Monte Cristo at Disneyland last year and I’ve been craving one ever since. I never thought about trying to recreate this dish at home; however, I was inspired by another blogger to recreate this dish with my own Gluten Free take on it. Typically I’m not good in the kitchen but with a few minor tweaks these gluten free Monte Cristo’s turned out delicious.
I was inspired by Disneyland and my blogger friend, Jenny from the Picky Palate to recreate a Gluten Free version of the Monte Cristo Sandwich.
If you have ever been to Disneyland you probably have heard of the famous Monte Cristo sandwich that you can order at Cafe Orleans and Blue Bayou. However it isn't something that is gluten free. You can pre-order a gluten free version, for more info on how to add this request to your dining reservation please follow my suggestions here.
My blogger friend, Jenny from the Picky Palate , mentioned on her blog that her recipe came directly from Disney/D23 fan site. Since it obviously isn't gluten free, I had to make several adaptations to make it work. This took a couple of test runs to perfect the recipe, but I believe I have come up with a solution that I am happy to share.
Supplies & Ingredients Needed to make a Gluten Free Monte Cristo:
(makes 2 sandwiches)
4 slices of gluten free bread (I used Canyon Bakehouse mountain white)
2 slices of Swiss cheese (I used Trader Joes)
4 slices of thin deli ham (I used Trader Joes)
3/4 cup Pamela's All purpose Gluten Free Flour Artisan Blend (I’ve also used cup4cup brand too)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (I used Trader Joes)
1/2 cup water (might need more)
1 egg
Powdered Sugar
Canola Oil (for frying)
Candy thermometer
Small or Medium Sauce pan
Mixing Bowl
Mixing Bowl
toothpicks
Spoon
Tongs
Knife
Plate
Paper towels
Knife
Plate
Paper towels
*Blackberry jam (optional)
**For directions for an air fryer scroll down to the bottom of the page**
Directions:
* Start out by combining my dry ingredients together in your mixing bowl (salt, flour, and baking powder).
* Add in the egg and slowly start to add in the water as you mix the ingredients together by hand with a spoon or spatula. This is where I had trouble the batter was still too thick. So you will likely need to slowly add water to the batter to thin it out. I didn't exactly measure the water but it was definitely more than 1 cup of water.
* I decided to just keep the thick consistency, kinda like a cake batter.
* Pour your oil in your saucepan, place the candy thermometer inside the pan and turn the burner on medium heat. You are looking for the candy thermometer to heat up to 375 degrees before you can add your sandwich.
* While the oil is heating you can start assembling your sandwiches.
* Because gluten free bread is smaller in size you don't need as many fillings. I was able to cut my slice of swiss cheese in half and put 1 half on each slice of bread. Then I put 2 slices of the deli ham on one side of cheese before putting the two halves together.
* As suggested by Jenny, I cut the sandwiches into quarters and placed a toothpick in each sandwich to hold all the layers together.
Now here is where it is gonna get very messy. I suggest having paper towels close by to help with clean up or wear food safe gloves.
* Since the batter is thick, it isn't easy to dunk the sandwich into the batter. What I did is I spooned it on and spread a very generous coating to cover the entire sandwich.
PRO TIP: Don't leave any surface of the sandwich uncoated because it will burn.
* Gently place 1 sandwich quarter into the hot 375 degree canola oil. Leave in the saucepan for 1-3 minutes per side. Tongs are helpful to flip it and remove. Keep an eye on it, when it turns a light to golden brown color it is ready to flip.
* Once both sides have cooked, transfer the sandwich to a plate lined with a paper towel.
* Repeat steps to cook the rest of the sandwiches.
* Serve HOT, and add a generous helping of powdered sugar to the top and bottom of the sandwich.
* Optional step: Dip in Blackberry jam and enjoy!
In the photo above I cut each quarter in half so you could see the inside.
Air Fryer Directions:
Follow the same directions above for making the batter and coating the sandwich.
Place in a greased air fryer at 400 degrees.
Cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, then flip over the sandwich to cook an additional 3-5 minutes. (cook time might be slightly different based on your air fryer)
I did not cut the sandwich in quarters before cooking. I also layered the meat and cheese so that I would have an optimal cheese pull and yumminess.
I also tried cooking it once with skewers and once without, I got pretty much the same results each time. So this step is up to you.
Air Fryer Monte Cristo Sandwich is a more photo worthy and no hot oils to burn yourself on.
As you can tell these gluten free Monte Cristo sandwiches cook up very fluffy. They taste the best while they are still hot. You can eat as is or you can dip it in some blackberry jam. The inside is perfectly cooked and the cheese is all melty, you can add more cheese before cooking but I found 1 slice was enough. The sandwich is very filling and I could barely even finish 2 of the quarter sized sandwiches.
Hopefully you too will enjoy making this gluten free recipe of Disneyland's Monte Cristo Sandwich at home with your family.
Click on the photo below for the printable recipe.
For more info about Food Allergies at Disneyland I suggest reading these articles:
Disneyland Gluten Free Menu | 2021
Visiting Disneyland with Food Allergies
Gluten Free at Disneyland Community
