Chicken Cordon Bleu
This Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe combines ham, cheese, and crispy breading for an irresistible dinner. The cheese stays perfectly inside with a clever technique that makes it easy to prepare!
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
Scale
- 25 Ritz crackers or other butter crackers
- 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 6 slices of ham (Virginia baked ham or Tavern ham)(if your chicken breast are large, you may need to use two slices of ham instead of 1 per each chicken breast, in which case you'll need 12)
- about 2 cups of shredded cheese, Swiss, Gruyere, Mozzarella, Provolone, etc.
- 6 chicken breast halves
- salt, ground black pepper and other dry herbs and spices (such as garlic/onion powder, dry chives, parsley, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons mustard, for the eggs, optional
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Prepare breadcrumbs: Pulse crackers and bread into crumbs in a food processor. Toss with melted butter. Spread crumbs on the baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes, tossing halfway through, until golden. Set aside in a shallow dish. (The crumbs cook very quickly on high heat, be careful not to burn them.)
- Stuff chicken: Make a small slit in the thickest part of each chicken breast, just large enough to fit the ham and cheese, cutting deep enough to make a pocket but not all the way through. Be sure to leave the chicken intact on the sides so the filling stays inside. Season with salt, pepper and dry herbs and spices. Place ham and cheese in the slit and roll up tightly.
- Chill chicken: Freeze the stuffed chicken for 15-20 minutes to firm it up.
- Bread the chicken: Set up a breading station with flour, beaten eggs (and mustard, optional), and breadcrumbs, each in a separate shallow bowl. Dredge chicken in flour, dip in eggs, and coat with breadcrumbs. Freeze for another 7-10 minutes.
- Bake: Place chicken on the prepared baking sheet and bake on the bottom rack for 10-15 minutes until golden and crispy. Move to the middle rack, reduce heat to 400°F, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until chicken reaches 160°F internally.
- Rest and serve: Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy the crispy, melty goodness!
Notes
- Preventing cheese from oozing: If you make the slits in the chicken too large, you can use toothpicks to secure the chicken when baking. This will help prevent the cheese from oozing out during cooking. Just remember to remove them before serving.
- Make ahead: You can prep the chicken up to 2 days in advance. After stuffing and breading, simply refrigerate the chicken until you're ready to bake. This is perfect for meal prep or dinner parties.
- Freezing: You can freeze both unbaked and baked Chicken Cordon Bleu. For unbaked chicken, freeze it after breading and stuffing, and store it in a ziplock bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. For baked chicken, freeze it after cooking for up to 1 month and reheat in the oven. If freezing the unbaked version, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
- Cooking tip: Use a meat thermometer to check the chicken’s internal temperature. Chicken should reach 160°F to be fully cooked. This ensures juicy, tender chicken every time.