This crazy easy version of chicken cordon bleu is so packed with flavor you would never guess how quick it is to make. All the flavors of tender chicken, flavorful ham, rich sauce, and crunchy bread crumbs are all wrapped up in this one dish wonder. Since it is so simple and flavorful, this Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe is the perfect thing to whip up on a busy weeknight. You can have it from fridge to iven in as little as 15 minutes and on the table shortly after.
As you guys probably well know by now, when it comes to making dinner I am all about the best combination of easiest and tastiest. I love to cook, I really do, but at this stage of my life, nothing sounds worse than spending hours in the kitchen cooking only to turn around and spend hours cleaning up. I love to take my favorite recipes and flavors and take the essence of what makes them so yummy and break it down into a much easier to make dish. This Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe is just that!
It really doesn’t get much easier than this! Instead of making a traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu where you have a chicken breast that you have to pound, stuff, roll, coat, and then after all that make a sauce, this dish is a bit less traditional but every bit as delicious AND about 100 times easier. It is a bit like Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole style!
If you want a few more easy dinner recipes like this make sure to check out all of my easy chicken recipes here!
What is Chicken Cordon Bleu?
Traditional chicken cordon bleu recipes create a dish where a chicken breast is pounded thin, then stuffed with ham and french cheese, most commonly swiss, and rolled in bread crumbs and baked. Often it is served with a creamy dijon sauce and more cheese on top.
My version of chicken cordon bleu takes those flavors and layers it to bake in a casserole for easy and simplicity in both preparation and clean up. As a bonus it is also low carb by nature and can be lower carb by omitting the bread crumb topping.
How to serve this Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe
Chicken cordon bleu is generally served with sauce and vegetables or starch on the side. Since the casserole has additional sauce to give it tons of flavor and keep it super moist, I usually serve it in one of the ways listed below.
Serve Chicken Cordon Bleu on top of:
- Rice (as pictured)
- Mashed potatoes
- Pasta
Serve Chicken Cordon Bleu with a side of:
- Roasted potatoes
- Green beans
- Asparagus
- Crusty garlic bread
Chicken Cordon Bleu low carb serving options:
- On a bed of sautéed spinach with garlic
- On cauliflower rice (see how to make cauliflower rice here)
- With a side salad
- With a side of roasted veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, etc)
How to make Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
As I mentioned before, this recipe isn’t strictly traditional, but more of an easy take on these delicious chicken cordon bleu flavors. If you want to follow along below, I will go through how to make this chicken cordon bleu casserole style and also give you my notes along the way as well as a few places you can make adjustments to your own preferences. If you want the quick version, feel free to scroll down to the bottom of this post for the recipe card.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Ingredients
- 3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts– This will be about a pound and a half. If your chicken breasts are small you can use 4. If your chicken breasts are extra large, you might want to cut them in half (butterfly them,) before putting them in the casserole dish so that they cook more evenly.
- Salt & pepper for seasoning
- 1/4 lb shaved ham- I have to be honest, I am not really a ham person in general so I don’t have super strong loyalties here, but I am pretty particular about meats for my family! Since, I am pretty picky about my meats, I went ahead a paid a few extra dollars and used Boar’s Head Black Forest Ham. Make sure to use a ham that has great flavor so that it keeps the dish super flavorful. You could also substitute prosciutto here for a more “grown up” flavor.
- 6 slices provolone cheese- Classic Chicken Cordon Bleu recipes usually use swiss or other french cheeses. If you like swiss cheese, feel free to substitute it here. My doesn’t care much for swiss cheese, so to make it a bit more kid friendly I went with provolone in this recipe which has a nice mild flavor that compliments the dish.
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs- Make sure to buy unseasoned since we have so much flavor going in to the dish itself. You don’t want to over power it with the topping.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Sauce Ingredients
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup- I used Campbell’s 98% fat free cream of chicken soup. You can also use the regular version in this recipe.
- 1 package Italian dressing mix- This isn’t the most traditional way to make chicken cordon bleu sauce, but it makes the dish incredibly delicious without much effort so it is a huge win for me!
- 1 cup sour cream- You can use regular or light sour cream, I just recommend against using fat free because of how it combines.
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard- This helps add to the traditional flavor of chicken cordon bleu
Chicken Cordon Bleu Instructions {Step by Step}
- First, make the sauce by mixing the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, italian dressing mix, and dijon mustard until combined in a medium bowl.
- Lay the chicken breasts flat in the bottom of a large baking dish. Try to have them touching as little as possible so that they cook more evenly.
Spread the ham evenly over the top of the chicken breasts to cover them as much as possible. I really like shaved ham because it makes it easy to both spread it over the top and is easy to serve and eat without making much of a mess, especially for the kiddos.
Then spread the soup mixture over the top of the entire casserole dish. I dump the bowl over the top and just use a spatula to spread it over the entire dish as evenly as possible.
- Lay the provolone cheese out evenly on top of the soup mixture about 2 pieces on each chicken breast.
Last, top the entire thing with the panko bread crumbs. There is no need to use butter here since the oils in the cheese will come out as the dish bakes and keep the bread crumbs nice and crispy.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven preheated to 375˚F for 40-50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165˚F. Each oven cooks a bit differently so check it at 40 minutes and then continue to cook as needed. You shouldn’t have to cover the chicken cordon bleu, but if it starts to become more browned than you want, just loosely cover with a piece of foil for the remainder of the cooking time.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
I hope that you and your family enjoy this as much as we do! This is a great recipe to add to your meal rotation and a life saver on busy nights. If you enjoy the recipe, then I would absolutely love it if you left me a comment below. I read each one and they make my day. Or snap a pic and tag me on my food Instagram @easyfamilyrecipes. It is so much fun to see your take on the recipe. Most of all, enjoy a hot meal on a busy night and spending sweet time with your family.
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Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts about 1.5 lbs
- 1/4 lb shaved ham
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 package Italian dressing mix
- 1 cup Sour cream
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, italian dressing mix, and dijon mustard until combined.
- Lay the chicken breasts flat in the bottom of a large casserole dish and season with salt and pepper. Divide the ham equally to the number of chicken breasts you have and lay it on top of each one. Then spread the soup mixture over the top of the entire casserole dish.
- Lay the provolone cheese out evenly on top of the soup mixture. Last, top the entire thing with the panko bread crumbs.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40-50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Christine says
Thank you for sharing this recipe my family loves it!
Heidi says
This was AMAZING!! The whole family loved it even my picky eater. Thank you ?
Kimber says
That is the best when you get the picky eaters cleaning their plates! Hope you find some more great recipe inspiration here!
Chris Young says
Can I make this and freeze ahead of time?
Kimber says
I think that would work, just make sure to thaw it completely before baking or it could make the chicken tough. Enjoy!
Debbie says
Hi there. Is the soup a condensates soup or ready to eat soup? Thanks
Colleen says
Can you make this recipe with something other than sour cream?