Don’t get me wrong…I love classic chicken cordon bleu in all its gloriousness. I really do. But sometimes I want an easier way. Less work but same delicious flavors and taste.
Enter Chicken Cordon Bleu the Easy Way. Simply put, boneless, skinless chicken breast halves are cut in half lengthwise to make two thinner chicken breast cutlets. Single layered in a baking dish, they are topped with ham, swiss cheese and buttery bread crumbs and baked to golden perfection. Served with a creamy Parmesan-Dijon sauce, and this easier chicken cordon bleu is just as satisfying as the original without all the fuss of pounding, rolling and toothpicking. Honestly, the hardest part of this recipe is whisking the sauce together while the chicken bakes (and if you’ve been around here long enough you knew I had to come up with a cream-of-chicken-soup-free sauce – your sauce-loving lips will never be the same after this simple, homemade, creamy version).
Sure, this easy version isn’t quite as pretty as the real thing, but when your hungry husband and four boys are guzzling down dinner like they haven’t eaten in a year, then pretty is really the last thing they have on their minds, let’s be serious.
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Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Note: fresh bread crumbs here make all the difference. I save the heels of my bread stashed in the freezer for just a recipe like this when I need to grind up fresh bread crumbs quickly in my blender or food processor. Also, try to find really thick chicken breasts – it makes it easier to cut them in half lengthwise and still have a good-sized portion.
*Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
For the Cordon Bleu:
3 large chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (to form two thinner chicken breast cutlets)
12 slices deli ham
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 to 1/2 pound thinly sliced swiss cheese
For the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and melted butter. Set aside.
Lay the cut chicken breasts in a single layer in the 9X13-inch dish. Layer each chicken breast with two slices of ham and top with 2 slices of swiss cheese, shingling across the chicken breast to make sure the entire chicken breast is covered with ham and cheese. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the chicken.
Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely, the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden.
While the chicken bakes, in a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly, while cooking the flour/butter mixture for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking quickly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules and salt. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken is finished baking.
Serve each chicken cordon bleu portion with warm sauce.
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
What a delicious and quick version of classic Chicken Cordon bleu Mel. It looks so decadent. The warm Parmesan Dijon Cream Sauce sounds heavenly. Thank you so much for another wonderful recipe. I love your site & the recipe so much.
Have a great week!
Beautifully done!
Looks good! What kind of chicken bouillon granules do you use? I need a decent brand recommendation to have around the pantry…
Thanks for thinking of me yet again Mel! I have been wondering for awhile what to do with my bread heels. Looking forward to making this!
You have done it again, Mel! That looks like the most delicious Chicken Cordon Bleu ever! The sauce must be especially yummy…my family will love this!
I think I’ll have this for dinner tonight! So nice when you already have everything on hand.
you are a dear! this is the dish my husband requested for fathers day and i was dreading the pounding and rolling. i am going to give this recipe a try. love your site and share it with EVERYONE!
mmm Chicken cordon bleu is my favorite! I cant wait to try this version! Thanks so much.
I love this stress free, hassle free version of an old favorite!
This looks great! Can hardly wait to try it. Thanks.
Mel–when you say to cut them in half so that they’re thinner, do you mean thinner as in side to side thinner (about the shape of a chicken strip), or do you mean thinner as in top to under side thinner? Clear as mud? Haha! Thanks for an easier take on a great meal classic! I’ll try it soon! –Kim
I tried this tonight for dinner. We all loved it! The only comment I have is that the sauce is saltier than Lot’s wife!!
I would probably omit the salt, because the boullion and parmesan alone do the trick. At least for me. Thanks for the great recipe!
Okay, seriously!? I keep thinking I should try chicken cordon blue this way and have yet to do it. It’s so nice to see you were able to pull out and pull off the ideas swirling around in my head! Sweet! I, too save the heels of breads just for breadcrumbs. Makes me feel a bit more frugal and I love that!
Hi Kim – I cut them in half so they are thinner like a pounded chicken breast (not like a chicken strip). Make sense?
made this tonight! it was soo easy that i was able to throw it together with my 4 little boys in the kitchen with me. i used chicken tenders because that was what i had and they worked great. it was so delicious i don’t think i will make it any other way…unless it’s for company ha ha! thank you so much i love your recipes!
I am new to your website over the last few months and LOVE your recipes! One of my good friends shared it with me and our family is loving the good cooking in our house. I am excited to make this Chicken. It looks easy and delicious. Thank you for what you do!
mel, you seriously saved us from a night of nasty leftovers or expensive pizza. i always know i can count on your site. this was delicious and SO easy. the sauce was awesome too. i linked this up on facebook. thanks for such awesome recipes!
I’m going to try this with chicken tenders–that’s what’s in the freezer. The sauce looks yummy, I will watch the salt amount unless you have chicken granules that are salt free.
Love your site–but I think I’ve already mentioned that!
I have a similar recipe my mom has always made, but we always end up dipping in ranch or something since the recipe has no sauce. We will definitely be adding the sauce to our recipe! Thanks. You really are brilliant.
Mel, I love all your chicken cordon bleu recipes. I’ve tried both the breadbowls and the casserole and love them both. I’m excited to try this one too. I’m sure it won’t let me down. None of your stuff ever does!
I made this on Friday night for dinner, and it was great! There was only one small problem – my sauce was not saucy at all! It was really really really thick. I don’t know if I cooked the flour mixture too long, but it seemed to thicken up way before the 3-5 min was up. I even whisked in extra milk at the end to try to loosen it up, but it didn’t help much. The chicken definitely needed the sauce for flavor, in my opinion. But the leftover sauce used the next night was really just bad, but not in a flavor way – just texture! It was a giant glob! Any ideas on how to fix that for next time? Because this was yummy (and SO easy), so there’ll definitely be a next time!
Hi Tiffany – not sure why your sauce was so thick! If you make it again, either increase the liquid or decrease the butter/flour ratio, but honestly, I’m kind of bemused why it would have cooked up so thick and so quickly. Mine is definitely on the runnier side of thick when I make it.
This recipe (both recipes, actually) = PERFECTION. Never going to mess with the real cordon bleu, this is now my absolute go-to for this meal. HOORAY, you ‘ve done it again!
My 14 year old daughter made this for dinner this week. It was delish and I would make it again. Thanks for sharing.
This recipe ROCKS my world! Thanks so much for posting it! It’s SO easy, and SO delicious! I actually got to thinking that this recipe could be altered in many ways….as in you could pile anything on that chicken, add a little bread crumb, and you’re good to go!!
I made a chicken parmesan version….chicken cutlets, topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and the homemade bread crumbs. It was delicious and my 3-year-old gobbled it up, which is kindof a miracle! It turned out a little liquidy, but my husband actually had the idea to put pasta underneath to soak up some of the liquid, so I’ll have to give that a shot next time.
From one mom of boys to another, thanks for the recipe that left my kids speechless (because they were eating). I posted this today…http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/09/easy-chicken-cordon-bleu.html
Christy
I made this last night for dinner. When my son found out I was making Chicken Cordon Bleu he asked every 5 minutes if it was done yet. He scarfed up his piece in about 5 seconds. My husband said, and I quote “that was great, make that again.” Overall I would say it was a resounding sucess and will be put into “my favorites” folder. Served with rice pilaf and roasted Brussels sprouts.
Another winner!!! My husband said he was getting tired of chicken, but that this was really good. Easy and yummy!
Made this recipe last night and it was delicious! The only change I would make is leave out the additional salt in the sauce. Will be making this again soon!
Hey, Mel! I saw this recipe on Pinterest, but it was a photo from another blog who made your recipe and posted their experience. Glad she linked back to you so I could thank you for the recipe. (I also changed the URL of my Pin so it leads to this post) I have it in the oven now–can’t wait to try it! We are having it with asparagus and roasted baby potatoes.
Mel, I hadn’t really been in the mood to cook for a few months and I finally got reinspired from your blog! I am actually excited to make dinner again! I’ve never attempted C.C.B. b/c it seemed way too labor intensive and I also O.D.ed on the store bought kind at the Cannon Center at BYU. I made this tonight and it was delicious!!! I used chicken tenderloins because that’s what I had. I bundled two together and wrapped a large piece of deli ham around it. It worked great. The only thing was, I feared the sauce would be too salty but didn’t follow my gut and wished I had. I ended up adding quite a bit of water to the sauce until the salt was toned down. I agree with a few of the other commenters to let the bullion, worcestershire and parm do their thing without the additional salt. I will be making this for years to come! You have the best food blog around!
I made this the other night and we loved it! I didn’t have parmesan so I subbed more swiss in the cheese sauce. Turned out wonderful! Thanks Mel!
I made this tonight and it is EXCELLENT but I had the same (minor) problems as Tiffany and Michelle Watabe. The sauce thickened up before the three-minute mark and ended up thicker than pancake batter and very sticky. Next time I’ll use more milk and/or not cook it as long. It was also *incredibly* salty which was unfortunate because the flavor was oh. so. good. Next time I’d either leave out the salt or just use a couple shakes.
It surprises me that I haven’t commented on this recipe yet because I’ve made it twice now. Another slam dunk! I’ve successfully made the encased chicken cordon bleu only once in my life (using one of your posted recipes, of course), but this will be my go to recipe when ever I want the dish now. The other way is such a hassle!! The sauce is delicious (admittedly my sauce turns out thick too), and such a great compliment to the chicken. Thanks again for another great recipe!!
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