Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
This Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe is a keeper! Chicken cutlets topped with honey ham, Swiss cheese, fresh breadcrumbs, and the Parmesan-Dijon cream sauce makes it extra delicious!
I originally published this recipe in 2011 and have since added new photos, updated the recipe, and added more helpful information.
I remember the first time I made Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was an epic failure. Kale and I had only been married a few months. One night we planned to have some friends over for dinner, and I thought making Chicken Cordon Bleu would be a great dish to impress with! It involved pounding the chicken, which I had never done, and rolling the chicken, and blah blah blah. Yeah, it didn’t turn out so well. At all. It was lacking in flavor and looked silly. I was so embarrassed!
EASY CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
Now looking back at that disastrous dinner, I wished I would’ve had this recipe for Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu! It is so delicious and could not be any easier to prepare. There are no loops you need to jump through. All you do is cut the chicken breasts lengthwise to form thinner cutlets then layer the ham and Swiss cheese right on top. Sprinkle on some fresh breadcrumbs and pop them in the oven. So easy and so good!
What really makes this chicken so outstanding is the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce to spoon over the top! It is super delicious. This chicken will be a permanent dish in our dinner rotation. A big thank you goes out to Mel from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe for such an awesome recipe!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise to form 2 thinner cutlets. (You will have 6 thin chicken breast cutlets total)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 12 slices honey ham
- 12 slices thinly sliced Swiss cheese
PARMESAN-DIJON CREAM SAUCE
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and melted butter. Set aside.
Lay the 6 chicken breast cutlets in a single layer in the baking dish. Layer each chicken breast with two slices of ham, overlapping so they cover the entire breast. Lay two slices of Swiss cheese overlapping to cover the ham. Repeat with all chicken breasts, ham slices, and Swiss cheese. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the tops of all the chicken.
Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, cheese is bubbling, and breadcrumbs are golden brown.
PARMESAN-DIJON CREAM SAUCE
Prepare the sauce while the chicken bakes. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the 2 Tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly. Cook for about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, still whisking constantly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules. Continue to whisk constantly until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Once the sauce has thickened, turn the heat down to low and stir in the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Keep the sauce warm until chicken is finished cooking. Serve each chicken cordon bleu with warm Parmesan-Dijon sauce. Enjoy!
SERVINGS
This recipe is designed to comfortably serve six people, making it a great choice for family dinners or small gatherings. Each serving is generous, ensuring that each portion is fully satisfying with chicken, ham, Swiss cheese, and that scrumptious sauce!
VARIATIONS
- Cheese: Swiss cheese is the classic choice, but you can use your favorite cheese here! Using a cheese you like, will ensure this tastes extra fabulous!
- Breadcrumbs: fresh white breadcrumbs are what we prefer. If you like more of a crunch you can use crushed Cornflakes instead. Panko and crushed ritz crackers would work just as great!
- Sauce: The Parmesan-Dijon sauce is a game-changer, but you can also eat the chicken without it!
LEFTOVERS
This dinner also makes great leftovers. (That is if you have any to spare once your family has cleaned their plates.) Simply store any extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. When you’re ready to reheat, you can do so in the microwave or bake in the oven on a baking sheet.
ENJOY THIS RECIPE? HERE ARE MORE CHICKEN FAVORITES!
Ranch Chicken – juicy, tender chicken breasts covered in a crispy golden coating of cornflakes, Parmesan cheese, and zesty ranch flavoring
One Pan Brown Sugar Italian Chicken and Veggies – this sweet and unique dinner is packed with protein, vegetables, and your kids are going to love it!
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas – all your favorite fajita ingredients are cooked together in one spot to save you on dishes, and cooking preparation.
Sweet and Sour Chicken – this popular Asian dish, just got a whole lot tastier and healthier. Breaded pieces of chicken tossed in a sweet and sour sauce.
Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise to form 2 thinner cutlets (you will have 6 chicken breast cutlets in total)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 slices honey ham
- 12 slices thinly sliced Swiss cheese
Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and melted butter. Set aside.
- Lay the 6 chicken breast cutlets in a single layer in the baking dish. Top each chicken breast with two slices of ham, overlapping so they cover the entire breast. Lay two slices of Swiss cheese overlapping to cover the ham. Repeat with all chicken breasts, ham slices, and Swiss cheese. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the tops of all the chicken.
- Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, cheese is bubbling, and breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce
- Prepare the sauce while the chicken bakes. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the 2 Tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly. Cook for about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, still whisking constantly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules. Continue to whisk constantly until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Once the sauce has thickened, turn the heat down to low and stir in the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Keep the sauce warm until chicken is finished cooking. Serve each chicken cordon bleu with warm Parmesan-Dijon sauce. Enjoy!
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this looks great!! I need an easy chicken cordon bleu recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Love these!
This looks so good! I am going to have to try it! I too struggle with pounding the chicken breasts. One of my hubby’s favorite dishes is Chicken Kiev which is even HARDER for me that Cordon Bleu. At some point I need to master that for his sake;)
I love chicken cordon bleu. Yours looks really mouthwatering!
My favorite dish and you just made it weeknight accessible! Genius!!
This is the same version of cordon bleu that I make and we love. I haven’t made it in ages though. Your photos looks delicious. I’m putting this on the meal plan for next month sometime. Thanks for the reminder!
Mmmm… definitely going to have to try this!
Wow Holly…this looks AMAZING! I am adding it on next weeks menu plan fo-sho!
y-u-m. The chicken looks delish, and that sauce–yum!
Holly I love chicken cordon on bleu. That looks really good and I have to agree fresh bread crumbs do make a difference. I giggles about your first attempt. I too had my share of disasters when I first got married. It is so funny to look back at them now.
looks like you have mastered the cordon bleu!
I’ve so been there with making recipes to impress that somehow do the opposite. 🙂 I love this take on chicken cordon bleu. I think I could handle it!
We’ve all had our fair share of disasters 🙂 This chicken looks great though!
Holly this looks delicious! Thank you so much for the sweet comment on my blog 🙂 I’m so glad you found mine so I could find yours, new follower! xoxo
Mel should have a cookbook. I’m surprised she isn’t slammed with offers. Her recipes are winners! The first thing I noticed was that cream sauce. I was totally won over by the sauce..lol. Love this and your picture too Holly!
This batch looks delicious. I love chicken made this way. Great pictures as always.
I love to make this dish, but I’ve never used a sauce. Yours sounds amazing…I will make it exactly as you posted next time 🙂 Yummy!
Thanks for the tip on the chicken! I had almost the same experience. I pounded the chicken, rolled it up, stuck toothpicks in it, and what happened? It all came apart in the oven. Gah! Your idea sounds so much better. 🙂
I’m sure we all have times like that when we first started cooking!! But this recipe sure does look like a winner!!
Gosh I got to get me some of this! Looks Delicious Holly! I love that you just cut and stack! So much easier than the whole pounding, blah, blah, blah 🙂
This sounds wonderful and it certainly is easy to do. I love recipes that are easy on the cook :-). I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Just made this for supper tonight and my husband and I both LOVED it! I used one slice of ham because mine was big, and I used shredded swiss cheese (because then the leftovers would go on salads). I also omitted the salt from the sauce because I think my bouillon cubes were a bit bigger than called for…and since those are salty – I omitted the actual salt. But we both agreed it’s a keeper! FYI: my husband does not like swiss cheese, but he still loved the recipe. MMMMMM. I love all the recipes I try on your blog, so keep up the great work!
I just made this tonight for dinner, and it was perfection. I used a homemade bread that had a sundried tomato seasoning in it, and then in the sauce, I used the Pampered Chef dijon seasoning instead of the mustard (only because I was out of the real thing). My 7 year old, who typically doesn’t like what I cook said, “I’ve arrived in Heaven” after his first bite. And let me tell you, compliments like that are few and far between. Thanks for such a great recipe that can be made so quickly. I love Chicken Cordon Bleu, but I never make it because it’s so laborious, but this, oh, this was genius!
This looks and sounds absolutely perfect! I would devour a couple of pieces as I LOVE chicken cordon bleu. Happy Easter to you and yours Dearie. XO
This sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it. Is there a recipe for the breadcrumbs to follow? Hoping to following your suggestion to use fresh. Thanks!
Used this recipe with left over turkey after Thanksgiving and it was amazing and, I’m sure, just as good with chicken.
This was great!! I didn’t even cut the chicken because I was using Chicken Steaks from Market Day that I had on hand in the freezer and it still turned out perfectly.
I made the Chicken Cordon Blue for supper tonight and it was DELICIOUS!! This is definitely a keeper recipe and I’ll be making this dish quite a bit from now on. I had some hamburger buns in the freezer, defrosted them and they made the most delicious bread crumbs to top the chicken. The sauce iis quite easy to make and very very tasty. Thanks, Holly, for sharing this wonderful recipe from Mels Kitchen Cafe. I am enjoying your blog immensely and look forward to making more of your great recipes!
I made this over the weekend and it was ah-may-zing. I loved the sauce, will be added to the rotation for sure.
It’s in the oven now and the sauce tastes amazing! I know you said not to use store bought crumbs, but I did, because I made two new recipes tonigh and each required a sauce, and I ran out of steam! I will use fresh crumbs the next time.
Oops! I forgot to add that I didn’t add any extra salt to this. there was plenty with the parmesan and chicken cube. Going onto frequently used recipes on Pinterest.
Oh. My. GOODNESS! I just made this and I can’t believe how easy and tasty it was!!! Even my extraordinarily picky husband loved it. In fact, he actually said, “Wow! This must’ve taken a LOT of work!” Isn’t that the BEST… when a meal is so lovely people actually think you slaved in a hot kitchen for hours!!! 🙂 I am elated!
I’ve tried chicken cordon bleu before. No matter how much I pounded out the chicken, when I rolled it, it was still much too fat and took way too long to cook. By the time it was cooked through, the outside was dry and tough. It was awful. This recipe is something I will use over and over again.
Also, I have to say, I discovered your blog a few weeks ago and have already made 3 or 4 recipes and they’ve all been a hit. You are AWESOME!
Made this tonight and it was really good! The sauce made it extra special. Your recipes are life savers!
The sauce is by far better than the usual coating the chicken with Dijon and mayo and covering it in crumbs.
I had to make some changes though. I discovered someone ate all the Swiss before I made it, plus I had no Parmesan. So I substituted with havarti, provolone and mozzarella. Still delicious. lol Also sprinkled salt and parsley on the prepared breasts before baking.
This was so good! We licked the plates clean! That sauce was perfect and it all came together quickly. Great Sunday dinner! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Omg! This is delicious! I am gluten intolerant so i used gluten free bread crumbs and GF flour. Absolutely wonderful!
Easiest and tastiest recipe for cordon bleu i’ve ever made. My family loves it. I haven’t made the sauce though, because my family prefers the chicken without it.