An easy Chicken Cordon Bleu which is quick to prepare, and baked rather than fried. All the flavour, all the crunch, a beautiful golden crumb, and it’s better for you!
This retro classic is here to stay – always!
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken stuffed with ham and cheese, coated with crunchy golden breadcrumbs. You’d swear it’s fried – but it’s baked.
The classic way to make Chicken Cordon Bleu involves breast pounded until thin, layered with ham and cheese, rolled into a log, chilled, dredged in flour then egg then breadcrumbs then deep fried (and you need a lot of oil to deep fry them). It’s not dissimilar to Chicken Kiev in this respect.
But phew! I got tired just typing that out!! And it’s certainly not something that I’m making tonight. 🙂
BUT – you can definitely make my Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu tonight. Because it’s just that – EASY.
How to make Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
I stuff my Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu simply by cutting a pocket into chicken breast, then stuffing it with cheese rolled up inside ham (helps stop the cheese melting out, terrific reader tip!) . Secure with toothpicks – and that’s it! The stuffing is done!
Choose your own adventure: Crumbing
Next up is the breadcrumb. I’ve got 2 methods to choose from:
Method 1: Super Easy – Smear mayo and mustard on the chicken, then sprinkle over breadcrumbs. The mayo-mustard mixture acts as glue / flavouring and oil to help make the breadcrumb toasty gold; OR
Method 2: Quick Dredge – Dunk chicken in egg flour mixture (combined in same bowl), then in breadcrumbs.
After coating the chicken with breadcrumbs, just give them a quick spray and voila! Ready for baking!
Super Easy vs Quick Dredge
Here’s a comparison of the 2 methods. There’s no denying the Quick Dredge comes out better looking, and it’s the option I’d use for company. Plus, full coating of crunch.
But the Super Easy version is just so darn quick and easy, and really, the main thing is just the absence of crunch on the underside of the chicken. Small compromise for the convenience, in my humble opinion!
Secret Tip: Oven Toasting Breadcrumbs
If you’ve ever baked something crumbed and been disappointed by how it came out pale and splotchy and/or not as crunchy as you hoped, I think you’re going to love this cheeky tip.
Just spread the breadcrumbs out on a tray, spray with oil, then bake for 3 minutes. This oven toasting gives the breadcrumbs a head start on the colour / crunch factor.
Outcome: Baked crumbed / breaded chicken that is beautifully golden all over and truly crunchy, like it was deep fried! Optional extra step, but truly worth it in my view.
PS Some recipes do this in a skillet – oven is easier. 🙂
And here’s a comparison of the Chicken Cordon Bleu with and without toasting the breadcrumbs. See how splotchy it is without the toasted breadcrumbs compared to the toasted breadcrumbs??
Whichever method you choose, you’ll be greeted with the same glorious sight of molten cheese oozing out of the warm ham stuffing inside the juicy chicken breast, and all that golden crunchy crumb….
And to top it all off, that MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE!!!!
I think you need to change this weeks’ meal plan. Immediately. 😂 – Nagi x
More crunchy crumbed chicken
Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders and also the Parmesan version
Oven Fried “KFC” Chicken Tenders (11 secret herbs & spices!)
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast – LOW CARB marvel!
And more baked crunchy crumbed things
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Watch how to make it
In the video, I demonstrate how to make one breast using each crumbing method: Super Easy and Quick Dredge. The recipe makes 2 chicken breasts using one of these methods.
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Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients
Breadcrumbs
- Panko breadcrumbs – 1/2 cup for Super Easy or 1 cup for Quick Dredge
- Oil spray
Chicken
- 2 small chicken breasts, around 6-7oz/180-210g each
- Salt and pepper
- 4 slices swiss cheese (Note 1)
- 4 to 6 slices of ham, about 2.5oz/75g (Note 2)
Method 1: Super Easy
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
Method 2: Quick Dredge
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp plain flour
Dijon Cream Sauce (makes 1 cup)
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour
- 1 1/4 cups milk (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan).
- Spread panko breadcrumbs on a baking tray and spray with oil. Bake for 3 minutes or until light golden. Remove and scrape into bowl straight away.
- Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, as per the photo below.
- Fold the cheese in half and place 2 pieces inside each pocket. Do the same with the ham. Close the pocket, seal with 2 toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Super Easy Method
- Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Spread onto the top and sides of the chicken (not underside).
- Sprinkle panko over the chicken, using your other hand to press the breadcrumbs onto the side of the chicken. Spray with oil.
Quick Dredge Method
- Whisk egg and flour. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into the panko breadcrumbs. Transfer to tray, spray with oil.
Baking
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove toothpicks, serve with the Dijon Cream Sauce.
Dijon Cream Sauce
- Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Add half the milk and whisk until the flour mixture is blended in.
- Add remaining milk, mustard and cheese. Cook for 3 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened. It will thicken as it cools.
- Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chicken.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Flashback: before he knew how to swim – looking out longingly at all the ducks teasing him mercilessly, wiggling their tails and flapping their wings…..
Thank you, Thank you, I hate to cook. I find it to be a necessary evil. However, my daughter-in-law had me over for dinner and served this recipe to me. I was hooked. It is the best chicken breast I have ever eaten. I came home and tried the recipe and I am making it tonight for the third time. It is wonderful and my husband not only loved it he was impressed I made it. Thank you again for giving me a glimpse of cooking I actually enjoy.
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!!! Thank you for letting me know Nannette! N xx
Yum! This was super great! Thought a sauce on cordon bleu sounded weird but, made it and glad I did! So glad this is low carb for my DH! Will make this again.
I. haven’t. ever tried to make. chicken cordon bleu, but. I am. tomorrow night, the recipes. that. have been. shared have made. it so easy! I am. one. of. those cooks. that. if. I. have. To. mess with the( food too much. preparing. it. I. cannot. eat! WEIRD. but. I. can. do. this! thanks!!!!
I hope you do give it a go Patricia!!
Fantastic! 🙌🏻 Thanks for letting me know Terri! N xx
Just made this using the short cuts. Best chicken I’ve ever had. Served with our the sauce but with broccoli cuts tossed with peppercorn dressing and baked. Perfect dinner. Thank you.
WHOOT! 🙌🏻
This was a very easy weeknight recipe. I only had roasted garlic panko bread crumbs but they worked perfectly with the recipe. (BYW…loved the toasted Panko tip). I didn’t have dijon so I used Gulden spicy brown mustard instead. I served it with steamed spinach which went well with the sauce. My husband really loved it!!
Great to hear Laura! Thank you for coming back to let me know! N xx
This was amazing !! just made it for Easter dinner serving 10, everyone just loved it. I chose to use White Cheddar instead of Swiss, and butter instead of mayo on the chicken bread because I didn’t have mayonnaise. Much less messy than the dredging too. I did not toast the Panko bread crumbs. Wow so good!
The sauce went so well with it,but the chicken was so moist it didn’t need it.
Will make it again!
Thanks
I’m so thrilled to hear that Maria! Wow, what an Easter feast!N xx
I loved the idea from one of your readers to wrap the cheese inside the ham! Also, bechemel can be more subtly seasoned by using dry Coleman’s Mustard and a drop of Worcestershire! Your Panko trick will go down in history!!! Good job!
It’s such a neat trick! I plan to add a recipe video to this recipe soon so I’ll update it!
Just made this for my family. Fantastic! I wasn’t sure about the sauce but the second I tried the chicken with it…wow! It really compliments the chicken, ham and cheese. Can’t wait to make it again. Rice pilaf was one of my sides and the whole family mixed the sauce in with that. Thanks for sharing yet another awesome recipe.
Hello Nagi!
My name is Ashley, I’m 14 years old and I just used this recipe and it was really good! It was super easy and everyone in my family loved it! My sister rates it 100/10 and my mom rates it 10/10. I was really worried about the mustard because I’m not big fan of it, but in the end it made the food taste great! Thanks for the great recipe! I’m going to make this again in the future!
Hands down the Message of the Week! You are clearly a FAR better cook than I was at your age, no way would I have been able to make this! So pleased your sister and mom loved it – N xx
I was wondering, what would you recommend to make? Every Monday I try a new recipe and see if I can make and after seeing how many recipes you have, I want to know which one is your favorite so that you can recommend it to me.
You mean recipe out of ALL the recipes on my site?? Impossible! 😉
Hi Nagi,
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I plan to do so very soon. I’ve tried several of your recipes and the have all been wonderful.
A tip I picked up for stuffing chicken breasts – wrap the cheese in the ham. It will melt perfectly and stay inside the chicken breast.
I love that tip Yvonne! THANK YOU, I will use it when I update this recipe with a video 🙂
New take on old classic…Excellent!
Thank you!!! 🙂
Absolutely delicious!!! Followed your shortcut recipe & browned the panko breadcrumbs – that is something I will always do from now on! You are right about serving this for company ? I served with rice pilaf & green beans, but I’ll make your potato stacks soon!
Thank you so much for a great recipe and your post, so helpful!!!
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed this Jacki! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know – N x
Hello….I am making this recipe to donate to our Church’s freezer….Is there a sauce that would work if it is frozen?….The instructions on the meals is for the people to microwave the frozen meal…..I read that you shouldn’t freeze dairy….Can you help me here by recommending a sauce that works well? Thank you.
Hi Charlotte! How lovely you are to be cooking meals to donate. ❤️ Dairy can definitely be frozen and I actually froze béchamel sauce (which this sauce is based on) the other day and it was fantastic. What I would do is keep the sauce separate from the chicken and if you can, instruct for them to mix the sauce to make it silky again. N xx
This was so good! I made it for my family last night. I will definitely use the pre-baking technique to brown breadcrumbs for other recipes. I was feeling lazy and didn’t make the sauce, and it was still good, but I can see that the sauce would have made it fantastic. Thanks for the great recipe! I’m so glad I found your blog! I’m now searching for ideas for Thursday’s dinner. I know I’ll find something great on here!
I’m so pleased to hear that you enjoyed this Molly! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know! N x
What temp do you bake the chicken at?
It says 350.
This was a hit at our dinner table tonight! I really appreciated your tip on baking the breadcrumbs, as it isn’t something I have ever read about! Its made such a difference.
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this April, thank you for letting me know! N x
The flavour of the sauce is flat, and would be better off with a reduced whipping cream instead of milk and flour.
Hi Ash, I’m sorry you didn’t like the sauce, it’s a classic one that I really love! I personally find that the butter is enough to make the sauce rich, making this the French way, rather than using cream 🙂
Just made this with genoa salami rather than ham. The bread crumbs made from multi-grain, as I dd’ntt have white bread. Just a winner, winner, winner!
Fast, great, exquisite meal for any night to make your mate feel pampered.
Fantastic to hear Ray!! Thanks very much for letting me know! N x
Thanks Nagi, love this recepies, so easy to make and very tasty!
Woo hoo! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed it Lorraine, thanks for letting me know! N x
Thanks, Nagi! This was delish. I haven’t had this dish in years and this version does not disappoint. The sauce was great, too. I started to skip it because I was cooking while helping my boys study, but my husband is from Texas and loves a good creamy sauce or gravy. He loved it.
Oh wow! I’m so happy that you tried and enjoyed this JL, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
This recipe looks fantastic! But, wow, that jam is beautiful. What type or brand is the ham?
Don’t know if you have ever tried any of the Kentucky Legend fully cooked and sliced brand ham. It is delicious, on the dinner table, a sandwich or in recipes!
Thanks for the tip Bonnie!!! 🙂
I figured that! Not sure of the brand of the ham, just got it from my local deli!
Sorry, ham not jam