Chicken Cordon Bleu is breaded and fried chicken that has been stuffed with Swiss cheese and ham. It’s served with a Dijon cheese sauce.
I like to refer to Chicken Cordon Bleu as my “fancy chicken.” When you take the time to stuff chicken, cook it and then serve it with an easy-but-elegant sauce… I think it deserves to be noted as fancy! So I save this recipe for when I am having people over and I want to serve something impressive.
Ingredients needed:
- chicken breasts
- salt/pepper
- sliced Swiss cheese
- sliced ham
- all purpose flour
- eggs
- panko breadcrumbs
- garlic powder and onion powder
- vegetable oil
- fresh parsley
How to make Chicken Cordon Bleu:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post. In this recipe, you will need a meat tenderizer for flattening the chicken.
The first step is flattening the chicken so it’s easy to stuff and roll. Place a chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap. Use a meat tenderizer to pound out the chicken until it’s 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Repeat with all of the chicken breasts.
Sprinkle salt/pepper on the flattened chicken breast, and then add Swiss cheese and ham. Roll it into a tight log, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the rolled chicken. Dip in flour, then egg and then breadcrumbs.
Heat 1/2 inch of oil in the pan to 350 degrees F. Add the breaded chicken to the pan, and cook until golden on all sides. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F. (about 15 to 20 minutes).
The chicken is delicious on its own, or you can make the sauce to go with it! Follow instructions for making the cheesy Dijon sauce on the stove. Drizzle it over individual servings. Garnish with parsley. Enjoy!
Here are a few more chicken recipes you might like to try:
- Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken with Mustard
- Garlic Butter Chicken
- Indian Butter Chicken
- Cranberry Chicken
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients
CHICKEN:
- Four 6 to 8 ounce boneless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 8 ounces Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces ham, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1¼ cups panko bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- vegetable oil, for shallow frying
- minced fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
CHEESY DIJON SAUCE:
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1½ tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk, warmed
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¾ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
PREPARE THE CHICKEN:
- Place 1 chicken breast onto a large cutting board between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet to pound it out to about ¼ to ½-inch thick. Repeat this process with the remaining 3 chicken breasts.
- Lay the pounded chicken breasts out flat on a large cutting board and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Place 2 ounces of Swiss cheese on each chicken breast, and top each with 2 ounces of ham. Starting with the smaller end of each chicken breast, roll it up into a tight log. Roll each log up tightly in plastic wrap, twisting the ends to close. Place the chicken logs onto a plate and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.
COOK THE CHICKEN:
- When the chicken is fully chilled, get ready to bread and cook it. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Put the flour into a shallow bowl. Lightly beat the eggs in a separate shallow bowl. To a third shallow bowl, stir together the panko breadcrumbs, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, remaining ¼ teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- To bread each chicken log, unwrap it from the plastic wrap. Dredge it in flour, shaking off the excess. Coat it in egg, letting the excess drip off. Lastly, roll it in the panko mixture.
- Add about ½ an inch of oil to a large, deep frying pan. Heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350°F. Add the breaded chicken to the hot oil (working in batches if necessary so you don’t overcrowd the pan), and cook until the chicken is golden on all sides. You can turn the heat down if necessary to keep the oil at around 350°F. This takes about 3 turns in the oil, and about 5 minutes. Once the chicken is golden, place all 4 pieces onto the prepared baking tray and bake at 350°F until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F, about 15 to 20 minutes.
MAKE THE SAUCE:
- Add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk. Turn down the heat to medium-low, and whisk in the Dijon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Bring up to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add half of the gruyere and whisk to combine. Whisk in the remaining half of the gruyere. Once fully incorporated, whisk in the parmesan.
SERVE:
- Garnish the Chicken Cordon Blue with parsley and serve along with the Cheesy Dijon Sauce to drizzle on top.
Notes
- The sauce reheats well over low heat on the stovetop, whisking constantly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
