Chicken cordon bleu is a classic dish for the ages. It is also an accidental dish that has stood the test of time. Many believe chicken cordon bleu to be a French dish created by the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. However, it originated in a Switzerland restaurant when two large bookings turned up and the cook did not have enough portions to serve everyone. The resourceful chef came up with the idea of making schnitzels and filling them with ham and cheese. The dish was so good, it was awarded “Le Cordon Bleu” (“the blue ribbon”), used in France to recognize an excellent cook. This dish is one of my favorites.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Active: | 50 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
- Kosher salt
- 4 thin slices deli ham
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, whisked with 1 teaspoon of water
- 1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons picked fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon, halved
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
Instructions
- For the chicken cordon bleu: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, pound each piece of chicken, one at a time, using either a meat mallet or wooden rolling pin, to about 1/4 inch thickness. Working with one flattened piece of chicken at a time, lay the chicken on a clean surface with a long side facing you. Season with salt. Lay a slice of ham on top and season with more salt. Top with a slice of cheese and then roll the whole thing up tightly into a long log. Secure with a toothpick and set aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken, ham and cheese. Season each log with salt.
- Prepare a dredging station. In a wide, shallow dish, add the flour and season with salt. In a second dish, add the egg and water mixture. In a third dish, combine the breadcrumbs with the thyme, garlic and onion powders and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Working with one chicken breast roll at a time, first dip into the flour, shaking off any excess. Then dip into the egg and transfer to the breadcrumbs. Press the crumbs down to ensure they adhere to the chicken. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and let melt. Working in batches if necessary to prevent crowding, add the chicken to the pan. Cook the chicken until golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
- Transfer each piece of chicken to a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. Bake the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 165 degrees F, 6 to 8 minutes.
- For the shallot-Dijon cream sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, swirling or stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and reduce for 1 minute. Add the cream and mustard and whisk to combine. Give a squeeze of lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and cook, whisking continuously, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chives. Set aside and keep warm.
- Working with one piece of chicken at a time, remove the toothpicks. Slice the chicken crosswise into 5 rounds and arrange in a single layer on a plate. Squeeze some lemon juice over the chicken. Spoon some sauce on top of and around the chicken. Repeat plating with the remaining chicken and sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1019 |
| Total Fat | 53 g |
| Saturated Fat | 25 g |
| Carbohydrates | 47 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 83 g |
| Cholesterol | 409 mg |
| Sodium | 1189 mg |
Reviews
I made this with some Parmesan roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli and we really liked it, but it is NOT a 50 minute recipe. I cook 2-3 meals a day and it took me about an hour and a half. Yes, that is partially because I am neurotic about keeping my kitchen free of cross contamination, but anytime you are touching the chicken 5/6 times…(season and roll with the ham and cheese, flour, egg, panko, pan, and then oven)… that just isn’t a quick recipe no matter how skilled you are. It’s delicious but I wouldn’t recommend it for a weeknight!
Absolutely wonderful!!! The sauce was soooo yummy. Only thing is it took baking my chicken twice as long… I am sure because sizes vary.
This was incredible, from the first bite to the last. Winner all around, the whole family loved this. I need to tweak my skills around flattening the chicken to roll, but the taste was perfect. Thanks GZ !!
Everyone loved it except the sauce; too much mustard.
I made this last night. It’s absolutely delicious!!! I didn’t have deli ham. I used some baked ham I had in my freezer, but I’m sure deli ham would be just as good, and easier to roll the chicken. The only other tweak was I added 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the panko and mixed it. This made the panko cook up crispier. I got this trick from Tyler Florence. Also, I had to bake my chicken longer than the time suggested in the recipe, but who cares. This dish is 5+ stars!!
OMG!! This recipe was absolutely fabulous exactly as written! The sauce is to die for. If you want to prepare an extremely easy BUT elegant meal, this is it! Will be in my regular rotation
I have always wanted to try my hand at this dish – it’s a restaurant favorite. GZ made it sound so easy, and I was amazed that I pulled it off!! My family and I LOVED it. I did use vegetable oil instead of olive oil, which worked quite well, but I wondered why the recipe calls for olive oil? Anyhow, thanks for making this an achievable dish!
Made this last night. This dish was really easy and tasted soooooo good. I will definitely make this again. I served a green salad with lemon dijon vinaigrette and that was enough. Winner!
OMG! So good! I have made chicken cordon blue for years and this is the best! Chicken is tender and the flavor from the sauce! Wow!
I write quite a few reviews on FN but never one like this. This dish is OUTSTANDING!! I’ve made chicken cordon bleu several different ways and this is by far the best recipe. I followed the recipe exactly except for these minor tweaks: I used ghee and olive oil to fry the chicken and I made about 25% more of the sauce than the recipe called for. I did this bc I served the chicken over a bed of sautéed butter nut noodles. Nice presentation, delicious and almost keto. My one minor criticism would be that a lot of the cheese oozed out even though I tooth picked the ends of the rolls. Next time I may sub prosciutto for the ham and a Swiss/gruyere mixture for the cheese. BTW….I cooked in the oven for 10 minutes and chicken tempted out at 132. Added 5 more minutes and it tempted out at 160. Pulled it and carry over brought it to 165. Juicy and tender. Thanks GZ.
Update: 4/20/23. Made changes as I suggested above and it was a no go. The ham imao is better than the prosciutto and the Swiss is better than the Gruyère. Keep sauce lose and don’t over sauce. Far be it from me to second guess an iron chef. My bad.
Update: 4/20/23. Made changes as I suggested above and it was a no go. The ham imao is better than the prosciutto and the Swiss is better than the Gruyère. Keep sauce lose and don’t over sauce. Far be it from me to second guess an iron chef. My bad.