Chicken Cordon Bleu is easy classic; tender chicken breasts are stuffed with smoky ham and swiss cheese. This version is baked in the oven until tender and juicy.
Don’t let the name fool you, like most baked chicken recipes, it is actually easy to prepare! Served with a simple dijon cream sauce, everyone raves about this recipe.
What is Chicken Cordon Bleu?
“Cordon Bleu” translates to blue ribbon and I can assure you this easy recipe is worthy of the title! A traditional cordon bleu has tender chicken wrapped around ham and swiss cheese but you can mix and match the parts to this recipe and be creative!
- HAM: Substitute ham for prosciutto in this recipe
- CHEESE: Swap out the Swiss for provolone or even cheddar cheese! Cheese slices provide a thicker cheese layer, shredded cheeses can melt into the chicken.
- BREADCRUMBS: This recipe uses seasoned breadcrumbs. You can substitute Panko or make your own seasoned crumbs by adding 1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon parsley and a pinch of oregano.
The Perfect Sauce
We make a simple homemade dijon sauce to serve with this recipe.
If you’d prefer, you can serve this with an easy cheese sauce (swap out the cheddar for parm and swiss) or even hollandaise. If you’re short on time you can skip the sauce altogether.
Easy Stuffed Chicken
Still nervous? Don’t be! We mean it when we say this chicken cordon bleu recipe isn’t difficult to make! To make this recipe, you’ll want to start by preparing the chicken.
To Prepare Chicken for Stuffing:
- Place the chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap (this keeps it from splattering juices everywhere).
- Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet or tenderizer until it is 1/4″ thick. If the chicken breast is really 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
This easy chicken cordon bleu does take a few steps but none of them are hard! Here’s a good tip: soak the toothpicks in water before securing the chicken so they don’t burn in the oven and will slide easily out of the finished chicken roll. I always put 2 toothpicks per roll so I can account for all of them when I am serving.
- Prep your chicken (above) and layer with ham and swiss cheese.
- Roll in your melted butter with garlic, then seasoned breadcrumbs and bake!
- While that’s baking prep your sauce and pour over your final dish!
Voila! A fancy restaurant meal that really is easy to make at home (but don’t worry your secret is safe with us)!
What to Serve With Chicken Cordon Bleu?
Cordon bleu is a rich meal with bold flavors so a light and fresh side makes the perfect complement. I would suggest a steamed or roasted vegetable like broccoli or roasted asparagus. Add in a tossed or Caesar Salad and a side of garlic butter rice for the perfect meal!
This baked chicken cordon bleu recipe can feed as few as four or double the recipe and have a fancy dinner party for 8! Leftovers can be made into a delicious sandwich can be made on a crusty baguette with some spicy mustard and a few leaves of crispy lettuce! Hearty and flavorful!
More Stuffed Chicken Recipes We Love
- Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast – Delicious bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts!
- Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken Breasts – A delicious take on our favorite appetizer recipe (Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers)
- Pepperoni & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts – A pizza lovers’ dream!
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken – Cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped… need we say more?
- Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast – Stuffed with a delicious mushroom cream filling.
Did you enjoy this Chicken Cordon Bleu? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless/skinless
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 slices ham
- 4 ounces Swiss cheese or Gruyere cheese
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon thyme
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cube chicken bouillon
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pound chicken to ¼” thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 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 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 chicken reaches 165°F.
Sauce
- Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add flour and cook 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 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over chicken.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course 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.
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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!
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!