For years I believed that chicken cordon bleu was a French invention, but it actually originated in Switzerland as a schnitzel filled with cheese around the 1940s, originally found in a cookbook around 1949.
This copycat chicken casserole dish is a super creamy ranch in flavor topped with a creamy cheese sauce stuffed with deli ham.
The chicken is sliced thin, lightly sauteed then cooks up fast in the sauce baked in the oven.
I love the ease of making this casserole in a throw-away pan for less cleanup.
This recipe is perfect after a holiday with lots of leftover ham left and looking for another recipe to repurpose it, this is perfect for it.
If you're a huge fan of chicken cordon bleu and simple recipes, this will be your favorite casserole and your family and friends will love it also.
You may also like to try our Chicken or Pork Lombardy which is a wine-based chicken with mushrooms and also loaded with melted cheese or our Mississippi London Broil recipe for two easy delicious meals.
Scroll down to get this easily printable recipe to get started on this super easy family-loved chicken recipe.
Classic Chicken Cordon Bleu
What I love the most about this recipe is with just a few simple ingredients this turns into such a tender creamy bold-flavored chicken.
The recipe has several kinds of cheese combined melted together added to make this yummy casserole.
The original French classic chicken recipe requires much more work of pounding the chicken than stuffing it.
Just buy the chicken already thinly sliced for a quick meal in no time.
Tips
- preheat oven
- season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste granulated garlic powder and herbs
- buy thinly sliced chicken breasts or cut them 1/4 inch thick
- make sure the cream cheese is whipped or spreadable
- always grease your pan or line it with parchment paper (you can also use a disposable pan)
- add red pepper flakes for a little heat
- use any kind of cheese you prefer and substitute
- for a garnish add bleu cheese crumbles
Tool You May Need:
- 13 x 9 baking dish
- measuring spoons
- measuring cup
- bowl
- spoon
- cheese grater if using block cheeses
- knife
- cutting board
Ingredients You Will Need(scroll down to the printable recipe card for exact measurements)
- chicken, (or turkey filets can be substituted)
- cream cheese
- granulated garlic powder
- deli ham or leftover holiday ham
- salt, pepper
- assorted cheeses
- butter
- heavy cream or half and half
- Italian seasoning or chopped fresh parsley
- Optional: Italian breadcrumbs or crushed buttery crackers for garnish before baking
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Easiest Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe Ever
With just a few ingredients this casserole is perfect for any chicken recipe collection.
I really love the ease of these baked chicken breast recipes in one pan especially ones that make a sauce to pour over the side dishes we prefer.
We hope you try this recipe, anyone that's a huge cheese lover, and especially a bleu cheese lover.
Yield: 6
Easy Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu
This is an all-in-one pan chicken rolled up with ham covered in cheese sauce that can be a topping for rice, pasta, or even crusty French bread.
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless thinly sliced chicken breast and enough deli black forest ham for each thinly sliced piece of chicken
- 1 container spreadable whipped cream cheese
- granulated garlic powder
- 1 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper (around 1 teaspoon each)
- 1/ 4 cup oil for frying canola, vegetable, blends
- Optional Garnish:
- Italian flavored breadcrumbs, buttery cracker crumbs, or seasoned panko, bleu cheese crumbles, extra slices of swiss, mozzarella, provolone,, or Havarti cheese on top
- Sauce Recipe: (Pour over the chicken and then bake covered on 350* for 1 hour.)
- 4 slices of Swiss cheese or Gruyere cheese
- 1 cup extra sharp cheddar or Havarti cheese
- 4 tablespoons of whipped cream cheese
- 1 cup of half and a half or heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano and Parmesan combined grated cheese
- 1/4 cup of feta
- 4 tablespoons crumbled bleu cheese
- 1/4 teaspoons of each, granulated garlic powder, salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and parsley.
- Heat and combine all ingredients just until the cheeses are melted around 3 to 4 minutes on low heat, then set aside.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Make cheese sauce first.
- Oil spray a casserole deep 13 x 9 pan and set aside.
- On a cutting board spread each piece of chicken with whipped cream cheese, add a piece of deli ham, sprinkle with granulated garlic powder.
- After you have repeated this with all chicken slices.
- Note: after rolling them you can attach them by using toothpicks or butcher's threads to each one.
- Roll chicken into the seasoned flour ( you can also add dried Italian seasoning and granulated garlic also if you prefer more seasoning.)
- In a large frying pan heat around 1/4 cup oil and brown chicken seam side down on each side for around 2 minutes each side.
- Place them in the casserole pan seam side down.
- Pour the melted cheese sauce over the chicken.
- Sprinkle with breadcrumbs or buttery crackers crushed and cover loosely with foil.
- Bake at 350 until the chicken is cooked all the way through around 35 minutes to 40 (depending on the thickness of the chicken) removing the foil after 20 minutes. The internal temperature should be 165 for chicken cooking completion.
- Garnish: bleu cheese crumbles if preferred and cheese slices 10 minutes before the chicken are completed cooking.
- Suggestions for Serving:
- Cooked rice, cooked pasta, crusty bread over a bed of assorted cooked vegetables, or sauteed greens of any kind.
Notes:
Tips
- preheat oven
- season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste granulated garlic powder and herbs
- buy thinly sliced chicken breasts or cut them 1/4 inch thick
- make sure the cream cheese is whipped or spreadable
- always grease your pan or line it with parchment paper (you can also use a disposable pan)
- add red pepper flakes for a little heat
- use any kind of cheese you prefer and substitute
- for a garnish add bleu cheese crumbles
Nutrition Facts
Calories
1104.91Fat (grams)
106.25Sat. Fat (grams)
23.29Carbs (grams)
15.96Fiber (grams)
1.17Net carbs
14.79Sugar (grams)
2.25Protein (grams)
24.09Sodium (milligrams)
645.63Cholesterol (grams)
106.91
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Other Recipe Serving Suggestions
roasted garlic mashed potatoes
twice-baked potatoes
rice
favorite pasta
Tuscan garlic bread
roasted vegetables
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2009. It was edited and re-published in 2021.
