If you have never heard of chicken cordon bleu it sounds much fancier than it is. Essentially chicken cordon bleu is a French dish meaning breaded chicken stuffed with meat and cheese.
Sign me up! Especially when it’s drizzled with this tangy dijon sauce.
The trick here is to pound your cutlets thin so that as much chicken as possible can be wrapped around the ham and swiss.
My mom's secret trick here is to smear a little cream cheese on the chicken first for extra creaminess throughout.
I served this alongside some creamy mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Everything was delicious dipped in the tangy dijon sauce! I received the tarragon flavored dijon as a gift and it was perfect in this sauce! Of course, regular dijon is easier to come by so classic sauce is made with that but I loved the bright green color tarragon brought to the dish.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
4 servings | Cook time: 25 minutes
Notes: Chicken stuffed with meat and cheese? Sign me up! Especially when it’s drizzled with this tangy dijon sauce.
Ingredients:
16 oz chicken breast
4 slices good quality ham (8 slices if very thinly sliced)
4 slices swiss cheese (8 slices if thinly sliced)
Optional: 2 tbsp 1/3 fat cream cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp parmesan
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp egg whites
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp milk (I used unsweetened original almond milk)
Toothpicks (8-12)
1/4 cup dijon mustard (I used a tarragon dijon but classic or classic & 1/2 tsp tarragon works)
2 tbsp parmesan
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup milk (I used unsweetened original almond milk)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.
Divide breasts into 4 even chicken tenders, 4 oz each.
Tenderize the chicken placing it between two pieces of plastic wrap and hitting it with a tenderizer (or heavy bottom pan if you do not have one- I use my cast iron). You want the chicken to be flat and even thickness throughout to ensure even cooking and make rolling the chicken easier. About 1/4-1/2” thick should work well.
If using cream cheese, smear cream cheese on one side of each piece of chicken. Layer ham and swiss cheese over cream cheese.
Beginning at one end of each piece of chicken, roll the chicken tightly towards the other end, tucking in any ham and cheese the spills over as you go. Once the chicken is rolled secure the end with a few toothpicks. I attach almost like a boutonniere but however you prefer to secure the chicken tightly in a roll. Keep track of how many you use!
Arrange three dishes:
Whisk together the flour, salt and pepper until combined.
Pour egg whites and milk in the second plate and whisk together.
Whisk together breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning and parmesan in the third plate.
Bread the chicken by rolling the stuffed chicken in the flour (shake off any excess flour), then dipping them in the milk (allowing any excess to drip off for a second or two) and lastly by rolling them in breadcrumbs until fully breaded.
Arrange chicken on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
While baking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add dijon, parmesan and milk and whisk together. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to low to simmer until ready to serve, stirring occasionally.
Remove chicken from oven and remove toothpicks (can also be removed while eating but let everyone know how many toothpicks to look for)!
Serve warm alongside mashed potatoes and veggies and with dijon sauce spooned over top.
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Nutrition Facts are provided as a guideline only. Exact nutrition will depend on quantity, brand and ingredients used. If including optional cream cheese add 15 calories, 1g fat and 1g protein to each serving of chicken.