Chicken Cordon Bleu

For this oven baked Chicken Cordon Bleu, chicken breast is stuffed with black forest ham and swiss cheese, then rolled in crunchy panko breadcrumbs. It’s a great easy dinner!

I ate chicken cordon bleu all. the. time. when I was a kid.

This chicken cordon bleu came in a box. Frozen. The quality was questionable. But oh boy, did I love the flavors.

Fortunately, chicken cordon bleu is pretty simple to put together yourself using scratch ingredients. And this stuff is far better than any frozen version you can buy.

Chicken cordon bleu is typically deep-fried or pan fried, but here we simply bake it in the oven. It’s much healthier and also much less of a pain (who else hates setting up a deep fryer?!)

Once you’ve made this dish once, you can also play with the fillings a bit. I use a modest amount of ham and cheese in the middle, but you could add a few extra slices of cheese and make it extra gooey and delicious.

You can also turn it into a sandwich and make this Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini next time!

How to Make Chicken Cordon Bleu:

I start by mixing together a simple spice mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and thyme:

This isn’t necessarily traditional of chicken cordon bleu, but I really prefer my food to be well-seasoned and the flavors go great here.

Sprinkle this spice mixture all over chicken breast cutlets, along with salt and pepper, then lay them out on a flat surface.

Add a slice of black forest ham and two slices of swiss cheese onto each chicken cutlet:

Roll the chicken tightly lengthwise, and secure with a few toothpicks. You really don’t need more than three per chicken breast:

The chicken rolls are going to look hideous but trust me, it will all turn out okay when you slice the chicken later.

Set up a breading station with flour, egg wash, and panko breadcrumbs, and bread each rolled chicken breast in that order:

Line the rolled chicken cutlets up on a sheet pan:

If you have some handy, spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray to encourage browning, but know that it’s not necessary. I’m not using any here.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the cheese is gooey and the chicken is cooked through:

Because the thickness of the rolled chicken varies depending on the size of your chicken cutlets, I find it important to use a thermometer here (affiliate).

Remove the toothpicks from the chicken, then cut into slices:

What to Serve with Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Roasted Cauliflower are two of my favorite healthy sides to serve with this chicken.

Potato Gratin is also heavenly, just a bit heartier, or you could do some simple Steak Fries and bake them at the same time as the Chicken Cordon Bleu. Enjoy!

Can you make Chicken Cordon Bleu ahead of time? You can roll up the chicken breasts and secure a day in advance, then roll in the flour/egg/breadcrumbs right before baking and pop it into the oven.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 45 mins

Chicken cutlets are stuffed with black forest ham and swiss cheese, and coated in panko breadcrumbs.

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Ingredients

• 1.25 lbs chicken cutlets (I had 6)*
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs whisked with 1 tbsp water
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/3 lb thinly sliced black forest ham
• 1/3 lb thinly sliced Swiss or Gruyere cheese
• cooking spray optional

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• In a small bowl, mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and thyme. Sprinkle evenly all over the chicken. Season the chicken evenly with the salt and black pepper as well.
• Set up a breading station by placing the flour in the first bowl, the whisked eggs in the second, and the panko in the third.
• Lay out the chicken cutlets on a flat surface, and place a single layer of both ham and cheese on each cutlet. Roll each one up tightly lengthwise, then secure with 3 toothpicks.
• Dip each chicken roll in the flour, then in the egg, then in the panko breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess coating every step of the way. Place on a baking tray.
• If you have cooking spray, you may spray the tops of each chicken roll to encourage browning.
• Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, until it registers at 160F on the inside using a thermometer. Baking time may vary depending on how big your chicken cutlets are, so a thermometer is important to making sure you don't over or undercook the chicken. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then remove the toothpicks and enjoy!

Notes

*I buy a typical 3-pack of chicken breast, then cut them into cutlets myself, getting 6 pieces to use for this recipe. You could also just purchase them already cut at the store. See my Chicken Milanese post if you need step-by-step photos for how to cut the chicken cutlets from chicken breasts yourself.

Nutrition

Calories: 376.58kcal, Carbohydrates: 25.22g, Protein: 37.56g, Fat: 12.9g, Saturated Fat: 5.87g, Cholesterol: 167.58mg, Sodium: 980.52mg, Potassium: 517.47mg, Fiber: 1.24g, Sugar: 2.61g, Vitamin A: 421.66IU, Vitamin C: 1.13mg, Calcium: 251.24mg, Iron: 2.59mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Author: Joanne Ozug

Post updated in October 2019. Originally published August 2012.