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Don’t let the fancy name deter you; Chicken Cordon Bleu is easy to make at home.
Chicken breasts, thin slices of deli ham, and swiss cheese are rolled jelly roll style, dipped in bread crumbs and until tender and juicy.
To make it extra special, I serve it with a quick Dijon sauce.
A Fancy Favorite Made Easy
“Cordon Bleu” translates from French to blue ribbon. Typically, it is a chicken rolled around, ham, and Swiss cheese, then breaded and baked or fried.
- This chicken cordon bleu recipe is easy to make.
- It uses with simple ingredients you know and love.
- I bake cordon blue instead of deep frying.
- If can be made ahead of time and baked before serving.
What You’ll Need To Make Cordon Bleu
- Chicken: Choose smaller chicken breasts, if possible, about 5 to 6 oz. Larger chicken breasts can be cut in half cross-wise to create thinner cutlets. Pound the chicken to ½-inch thick using the flat side of a meat mallet.
- Ham: Thin slices of deli ham are the easiest to roll, but you can also use leftover baked ham. If using leftovers, dice it or very thinly slice it.
- Cheese: Use shredded or thin slices of Swiss cheese.
- Breadcrumbs: I prefer the finer crumbs of seasoned breadcrumbs for a light, even coating. You can replace it with seasoned Panko breadcrumbs or use a combination.
Variations
- Ham: Replace ham with prosciutto or smoked turkey.
- Cheese: Swap Swiss cheese for provolone (slightly more tangy) or even cheddar cheese!
Sauce for Chicken Cordon Bleu
This cordon bleu sauce recipe is an easy homemade Dijon cream sauce. It’s simple to make with of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and parmesan cheese. Not only does this sauce pair well with my chicken cordon bleu recipe, it’s also great on veggies.
How to Prepare Chicken for Rolling
- Place a boneless skinless chicken breast on a cutting board and cover it with plastic wrap to keep the juices from splattering.
- Use the flat side of a meat mallet or tenderizer and gently pound the chicken to ¼-inch thick.
- If the chicken breast is very thick, you can butterfly it open before pounding.
- Be firm but gentle when pounding so the chicken thins out but doesn’t get damaged or fall apart.
How to Make Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Prepare the chicken breasts (above). Layer the ham and Swiss cheese on each breast.
- Roll each chicken breast jelly roll style. Roll the chicken in melted butter and then seasoned breadcrumbs.
- Bake per the recipe below. While the chicken is baking, prepare the sauce.
Voila! A fancy restaurant-style meal that is actually easy to make at home.
Serving Suggestion: Serve Chicken Cordon Bleu with a starch and a fresh vegetable.
- Try mashed potatoes or rice.
- Add steamed or roasted vegetables like broccoli, green beans, or asparagus.
Storage and Leftovers
Store leftover chicken cordon bleu in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the microwave to heat it through and then lightly pan fry it to crisp the outside. Leftover cordon blue can also be reheated in the air fryer at 320°F for 13-18 minutes.
More Stuffed Chicken Recipes
Did you enjoy this Chicken Cordon Bleu? Leave a rating and a comment below!
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 5-6 oz each
- 4 slices deli ham
- 4 ounces Swiss cheese or Gruyere cheese, shredded or sliced
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Place the chicken breasts in between two pieces of plastic wrap and, using the flat side of a meat tenderizer, pound to ¼-inch thick (*see note). Season with ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
- Top each chicken breast with 1 slice of ham and about 1 oz cheese. Roll the chicken jelly-roll style. Secure with a toothpick.
- Combine melted butter and garlic in a small dish. Mix breadcrumbs and thyme in a separate bowl. Dip each chicken roll in butter and then into the breadcrumb mixture.
- Place in a baking dish and bake 35-40 minutes or until the chicken reaches a internal temperature of 165°F.
- To make the sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in milk and wine a little bit at a time stirring after each addition until the mixture is smooth. Add in Dijon, bouillon and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil while whisking and reduce heat. Simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove the toothpicks from the chicken. Serve immediately with the sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, French© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
More Cordon Bleu-Inspired Meals
- Cordon Bleu Casserole – No cream of anything soup in this!
- Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu – Summertime favorite!
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup – Easy, dreamy, creamy!
Excellent recipe! I have made it twice and rave reviews both times. I used 2 slices of Hillshire Farms Thin Sliced ham and 1 slice of thin Swiss cheese and also a 1/4” thick, 1” x 3” piece of Gruyère cheese on each one. The sauce is to die for!
Susan, I was wondering if I could use gruyere cheese with this. glad to know it worked for you!!
Perfect! Woohoo!!!! Hubby loved it. Thank you!!!
I just made this recipe and it’s delicious! Thank you for your recipe
My husband made this for me for the very first time. It was delicious!
He’s becoming more adventurous in the kitchen at the age of 76.
We are so happy to hear that, Deb! Glad you enjoyed it :)
I made this tonight for my wife and I and it was amazing! I added prosciutto and also added sautéed mushrooms to the sauce. Perfection!
Very tasty! Made it with the sauce which really adds layers of flavor. It was even more yummy when I scraped the crusty stuff off the the mini iron skillet and put it on top. Only thing I would do different next is add more ham and make more for left overs,lol. I used Hillshire Farms ultra thin honey ham and only used 1 layer, should have gone bolder with the ham flavor but not a huge fan of ham so went light on it this time but the flavor compliments went well, so more layers next time! Thanks for this recipe, very quick & easy to make with common ingredients, cant wait to try the other stuffed chicken ideas, this will become a regular in my house.
That sounds delicious, Natalie! You will definitely have to add extra ham next time so you can enjoy some delicious leftovers.
This recipe is perfect. I follow the recipe totally and it was delicious. My husband loved it.
So good and easy! I bought thin cutlets so no need to pound. Made 18 for a dinner party of 18. I had 3 leftover. Served with rotini Alfredo and roasted broccoli florets. Everyone loved it!
Correction: for a dinner party of 9!
Made this for dinner this evening and my boyfriend absolutely loved it. The sauce on top really made this dish even better.
can chicken cordonbleu be preped ahead 1 day
Hi John, the chicken can definitely be prepped in advance. To keep the breadcrumb coating crunchy I may wait until ready to bake before coating in breadcrumbs though.
I’m making this recipe and my chicken breasts are MASSIVE. Flattened and rolled according to the recipe, they almost look like footballs. 40 minutes in the oven and still only cooked 1/3 of the way through. Any suggestions on baking time or chicken size for next time? Thanks. I’ll update the stars once I’ve cooked them through and have tried them!
Sounds like you used some very large chicken breasts! I typically use chicken breasts that are approximately 6-7oz each. I’d recommend using a thermometer and bake until the chicken reaches 165F.
If you double by making 8 chicken breasts, do you double the entire recipe?
Yes, I’d double the entire recipe Rebecca. Enjoy!
Made this as written. It was excellent!! The chicken was moist and tender. You could cut it with a fork!! I will definitely be making this again!! Thanks for the recipe!
great recipe!!!
I had my teens make this for me for Mother’s Day. The “no frying” was great. They made it with chicken thighs because no one in our family likes chicken breast.
So good! My son had three helpings, and The Pickiest 12-Year Old in America raced out to the kitchen and claimed the last piece, sliced it up and put it in her lunchbox with crackers for tomorrow.
Since the oven was hot, they made baked potatoes and roasted asparagus as sides.
Happy Mother’s Day! Thanks!
Really liked this recipe. I was entertaining a small dinner party for five and had to buy 2 pkg of chicken breasts for a total of eight breasts. Once I had butterflied and pounded out the breasts.
they were huge so I only used five breasts. My question is, can I freeze the prepared breasts once they are stuffed and rolled in crumbs but before cooking? It would be great to be able to just take the chicken rolls out of the freezer, thaw them and then cook. Any guidance would be good. I have seen some oher chicken cordon bleu recipes tht say they freeze well so I assume this would work with this recipe. Thanks.
Hi Judith, I haven’t tried freezing the prepared breasts, but think it would work as you’ve described. You may want to spray the coating with a cooking spray to help with the crunch as the coating may be a bit softer.
Or maybe freeze the rolls uncoated, then thaw, coat with crumbs, and cook. Seems like a great idea to freeze and have on hand!
Delicious and fun to make! The hubby loved it!
I love your recipes. So delicious and so economical.
Made this for dinner tonight. The family loved it. Made me promise to make again.
This recipe was delicious and oh so easy to make! Skipped the sauce and just made the chicken. It was moist and not dried out. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Can’t wait to try the sauce out next time.
You’re welcome Tammie, so glad you enjoyed it! Definitely try the sauce!