Chicken Cordon Bleu

Impress your friends and family with Chicken Cordon Bleu! Thin chicken breast is topped with prosciutto and Swiss cheese, then rolled, breaded, pan-fried, and baked to crispy golden perfection. Dinner never tasted so good!

Best Chicken Cordon Bleu on a white plate with mashed potatoes and butter, a silver fork and a red and white stripped napkin against a blue background.
Marta Rivera

Chicken cordon bleu is one of those meal-in-one dishes, which appeals to my family’s tastes in different ways.

It has the crispy exterior from the breadcrumb mixture that the kids enjoy. The salty prosciutto appeals to my husband’s love of all things pork, and the creamy Gruyere center is the highlight for me.

What Is Chicken Cordon Bleu?

My family and I stayed at a hotel near Rothwald, Switzerland, and the proprietor of the hotel told us a story about the beginnings of the dish we know as chicken cordon bleu.

Swiss in origin, chicken cordon bleu was created in a tizzy. According to legend, the cook of a small inn in the village of Brig, Switzerland was caught off guard by a last-minute dinner rush.

Having very little meat on hand with which to feed the unexpected crowd, she decided to pound pork out into a thin schnitzel, then stuff it with ham and cheese to bulk it up. Turns out, the dish was such a hit that the diners declared she was worthy of Le C ordon Bleu—The Blue Ribbon—the highest honor awarded to a French chef.

Over time, the recipe has evolved into a dish that’s made with chicken. The first known reference of Chicken Cordon Bleu was in the New York Times in 1967. Nevertheless, it’s still as impressive as it was on that frantic day in Brig.

Homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu on a white platter with lemon wedges.
Marta Rivera

How To Make Chicken Cordon Bleu

To cook chicken cordon bleu, a boneless, skinless chicken breast is gently flattened with a meat mallet to a 1/4-inch thickness, similar to a pork schnitzel. The meat is then wrapped around a simple stuffing of sliced ham and Swiss cheese. It is then breaded and pan-fried.

While the classic cooking method is pan-frying alone, this recipe finishes the dish in the oven. Pan-frying gives the chicken an über-crispy crust, while the final bake in the oven ensures the chicken is cooked through (and gives you a few minutes to prepare your side dishes).

Tips for Flattening Chicken Breasts

It’s important for the chicken breast to be thin enough to cook in the allotted time, without being so thin that it’s easily torn when stuffed or rolled.

I like to place a breast between two pieces of parchment paper and pound it out firmly, but not too aggressively, with a meat mallet. Taking your time prevents tearing the chicken breast.

When the breast reaches 1/4-inch thickness, remove the top piece of parchment and keep the thin chicken breast on the bottom piece of parchment. Stuff and roll the breast while on the parchment for easy clean up.

Classic Chicken Cordon Bleu on a plate with mashed potatoes and butter
Marta Rivera

Gluten-Free Chicken Cordon Bleu

To make chicken cordon bleu gluten-free, go ahead and replace the all-purpose flour called for in this recipe with rice flour. Then replace the breadcrumbs with gluten-free panko or pork rind “breadcrumbs.”

What Is the Sauce for Chicken Cordon Bleu?

A wedge of lemon squeezed over your cordon bleu is about as saucy as it gets!

Remember, our girl in Brig was struggling to feed that crowd of people as it was. There was certainly no time for a sauce! Sauce-making would just make this slightly fussy recipe even fussier. The juicy chicken and gooey cheese filling is so good, you won’t even miss a sauce.

Homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu on a white platter with lemon wedges.
Marta Rivera

What To Serve With Chicken Cordon Bleu?

My family loves it when I serve mashed potatoes and a simple green salad alongside this chicken.

Save yourself a little time, and make these Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes. This Mixed Green Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese is always a hit. Toast the pecans for the salad while you’re finishing the chicken.

If you’re more of a noodles and green vegetables person, lightly buttered egg noodles and green beans also go nicely with this recipe.

Storing and Freezing Chicken Cordon Bleu

Cordon bleu is notoriously time-consuming—with the stuffing, and rolling, and breading, and such!

I don’t recommend cooking this dish ahead of time because part of the excitement of chicken cordon bleu is watching that molten cheese ooze out from its center. I tried it the day after I made it, and the dish, once reheated, was drier than the day I made it.

I am, however, a huge fan of prepping it in advance and freezing these for later. This is a great Sunday prep meal to have stockpiled in the freezer for surprise guests or busy weeknights when you need dinner on the fly.

  1. I get the chicken pounded, stuffed, and rolled when I have a little extra time.
  2. Then I wrap them individually in plastic wrap, store them in a container, and pop them in the freezer. They will keep for up to two months. (This is a great recipe to double!)
  3. The day before I want to make them, I take the amount I need out of the freezer and thaw the chicken overnight in the refrigerator.
  4. Then on the day I want to eat them, I just bread the prepared chicken and cook it. Anytime you can pull off something that looks and tastes gourmet on a weeknight without the stress of doing it start to finish is a win in my book.

Need More Great Chicken Recipes?

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Prep Time 45 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 75 mins
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 large eggs, beaten

  • 1 1/2 cups panko or breadcrumbs

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

  • 4 breast boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 1/2 pounds), trimmed of excess fat

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 8 slices (about 4 ounces) prosciutto or sliced ham

  • 4 ounces Gruyere or Swiss cheese, cut into 1/2-inch thick sticks

  • 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying

  • Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Mix the spices:

    In a small mixing bowl, combine the salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Set aside.

  2. Prepare the breading station and baking sheet:

    Prepare your breading station by arranging three shallow dishes in the following order: flour, beaten eggs, breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs should be closest to your frying pan as that will be the final step in the process before frying. Add the chopped parsley to the dish with the breadcrumbs and stir to mix well.

    Season both the flour with a 1/2 teaspoon of the spice mixture. Season the breadcrumbs with 1/2 teaspoon of the spice mixture and the chopped fresh parsley. Set these aside while you prepare the chicken breasts.

    Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and set it aside. This will allow hot air to circulate under the chicken, letting it bake on all sides without the risk of getting soggy.

    Three dishes lined up to batter chicken cordon bleu -- one with breadcrumbs, one with eggs and another with flour.
    Marta Rivera
  3. Pound the chicken breasts:

    Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of parchment paper and use a meat mallet to flatten them to a 1/4-inch thickness.

    Photo of chicken sandwiched between two sheets of parchment paper and hands are using a meat tenderizer to pound it flat to make the best chicken cordon bleu
    Marta Rivera
  4. Season and fill the chicken:

    Slather a teaspoon of mustard onto the flattened chicken breast, then season the meat with a pinch of the spice mixture. Slightly overlap two slices of the prosciutto in the center of the chicken. Place a baton (stick) of Gruyere on top of the prosciutto at one of the longer sides of the chicken.

    Marta Rivera
    Marta Rivera
    Marta Rivera
  5. Roll and secure the filling:

    Starting with the cheese side, roll the chicken over the cheese until the meat and cheese are fully encased in the chicken. If you can, try to fold the chicken over the ends of the cheese to prevent the cheese from oozing out during cooking. Use one or two toothpicks to secure the chicken bundle.

    Marta Rivera
    Chicken breast rolled and being secured with a toothpick
    Marta Rivera
  6. Heat the frying oil and the oven:

    In a 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat, bring the oil to 350°F. Heat your oven to 350°F.

  7. Bread the chicken:

    Lightly dredge the chicken bundles in the flour. Pat off any excess flour, and coat the floured chicken in the egg, allowing excess egg to drip off, then press the chicken bundle into the breadcrumbs to coat it completely.

    Three dishes lined up to batter chicken cordon bleu -- one with breadcrumbs, one with eggs and another with flour.
    Marta Rivera
  8. Fry the cordon bleu; then finish it in the oven:

    Once your oil is hot, add the chicken to the pan. Fry the chicken for 5 minutes on each side. (You may have to do this in batches. Crowding the pan can reduce the oil’s temperature and leave you with a soggy crust.)

    Once the chicken breasts have finished frying, drain them on paper towels before transferring them to the cooling rack topped baking sheet, and place them in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

    Easy Chicken Crodon Bleu being fried in butter in a black cast iron skillet.
    Marta Rivera
    Breaded and fried chicken cordon bleu on a a bakers cooking rack.
    Marta Rivera
  9. Serve and slice:

    Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving. The thrill of a chicken cordon bleu is cutting into the bundle, separating the pieces, and watching that glorious cheese ooze out.

    Serve the cordon bleu while hot with lemon wedges, mashed potatoes, and a simple green salad.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
997 Calories
61g Fat
54g Carbs
63g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 997
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 61g 78%
Saturated Fat 11g 57%
Cholesterol 215mg 72%
Sodium 1904mg 83%
Total Carbohydrate 54g 20%
Dietary Fiber 7g 27%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 63g
Vitamin C 108mg 542%
Calcium 425mg 33%
Iron 5mg 29%
Potassium 911mg 19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.