This easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake recipe is healthy, easy, and baked in the oven to make the perfect weeknight version of this classic dish. Done casserole/open faced style so prep is easy but all the delicious flavors you still love. With just a few simple ingredients this Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake is ready to eat in just about 30 minutes, it’s everything you want in a lightened up comfort food dinner!
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Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake
We all know I love my chicken bakes here on The Schmidty Wife, I mean lets try to imagine a world without some of my most popular chicken bakes, my Supreme Pizza Chicken Bake or my Spinach Artichoke Chicken Bake. So I was literally in the middle of telling a friend that I had hit a wall on what my next chicken bake should be when Chicken Cordon Bleu popped in my head, it was destiny.
So I changed the meal plan that very week and started development on this AMAZING Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake.
Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Just like my other chicken bakes I had requirements. This dish had to be
- easy
- healthy, or at least healthier than a traditional chicken cordon bleu
- simple (and not too many) ingredients
So because chicken cordon bleu should be creamy I opted to to start with a simple yogurt sauce just like I had made for chicken before.
The sauce consists of 4 easy ingredients, and that is only 4 if you count salt & pepper as ingredients, so really only 2. Plain yogurt and dijon mustard.
The sauce goes over top the chicken and then is covered by slices of ham and Swiss cheese.
The bake is than topped with just enough breadcrumbs to give it that breaded crunch you want the dish to have. Tossed in the oven and dinner is done!
Is this Chicken Cordon Bleu Healthy?
This answer is so relative.
So I am going to say this dish is definitely healthier than traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu. Most traditional recipes are dripping with butter, flour, sometimes even preservative filled creamy soup bases, you won’t find that here.
So because this recipes leaves out flour & butter and subs in plain yogurt, uses minimum breadcrumbs, and minimal oils I would confidently call this recipe the lightened up version.
When looking at estimated calories this dish will be about half the amount of calories as a traditional cordon bleu and guess what Low-Carb too!
You could even swap out traditional breadcrumbs here for gluten-free variety to fit your diet if needed.
So overall I guess we are calling this Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake healthy!!
How to make Chicken Cordon Bleu in Oven
Start by preheating the oven to 400ºF.
First prep sauce for the bake. In a mixing bowl combine yogurt, mustard, and a dash of salt & pepper. Stir to combine.
As far as the chicken goes a big thing I push in these chicken bakes is portion size. So you will want a chicken cutlet about 6-8 ounces in size, which yes can be hard to judge especially if you don’t really know what that means…
1 pound is 16 ounces. Half of 16 is 8 (if only my math teacher could see me now…), so you will want in total about 2 pounds of chicken to make 4 cutlets.
This doesn’t have to be exact but what I have noticed at the grocery stores is that one chicken breast is about one pound, not always but close. So grab a pack of two breasts and cut them in half vertically to make four cutlets for this dish.
If all of this is confusing of course there is two things you can do. First you can buy chicken breasts that are pre-portioned to a proper portion. Or second just use the full chicken breasts but note that the cook time will change since the breast are probably larger, which in turn might change the outcome of the dish.
Now that we have chicken math out of the way lets continue with the recipe.
In a 9×13 baking dish lay the chicken cutlets down in an even layer. Take the sauce and evenly distribute it between the pieces of chicken and spread the sauce over the tops of each of the cutlets.
On top of the sauce evenly lay the slices of the ham on each of the pieces of chicken, folding the slices of ham to fit the chicken as needed.
Do the same thing for the Swiss cheese.
I noticed that 2 slices of ham and 1 1/2 slices of Swiss cheese was the perfect amount to cover the chicken for the brands I used but the deli might do it differently where you are so adjust if needed.
With a spoon evenly distribute the bread crumbs on top of the cheese.
Now to make the breadcrumbs crunchy use a spray oil to lightly spray the tops of the breadcrumbs with oil. It doesn’t have to be very much at all but just enough to lightly cover the breadcrumbs. If you skip this step you won’t see a super crunchy breading in you finished dish. I like to use this PAM Spray Pump Avocado Oil Cooking Spray.
Transfer the dish to the oven and bake 25 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken reads 165ºF on a meat thermometer. Let rest 3-5 minutes before serving.
What is Chicken Cordon Bleu Served With?
I find that anything with veggies is great with this Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake.
- Salads are the perfect side. Try my Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad or my Roasted Pear & Pecan Salad
- Roasted or steamed veggies. Try my Oven Roasted Broccoli or my Crispy Baby Potatoes
- Mashed Potatoes or Mashed Cauliflower. Try my Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
My family absolutely has devoured this every single time I have made it, even my little non-meat eater has emptied his plate!
As funny as it is, on its own kids might not be a huge fan of dijon mustard or Swiss cheese. But something about combining it all works some magic that has even this pickiest eaters gobbling this down!
You might also like:
- Easy Pesto Chicken Bake
- Greek Chicken Bake
- Baked General Tso Chicken
- The Easiest Taco Chicken
- Easy Southwest Chicken
- 20 Minute Chicken Stir Fry
Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake
This easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake recipe is healthy, easy, and baked in the oven to make the perfect weeknight version of this classic dish. Done casserole/open faced style so prep is easy but all the delicious flavors you still love. With just a few simple ingredients this Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake is ready to eat in just about 30 minutes, it's everything you want in a lightened up comfort food dinner!
Ingredients
- 4 (6-8oz) chicken breast cutlets*
- 4 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- salt & pepper
- 8 slices deli ham
- 6 slices deli Swiss cheese
- 2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
- spray oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Prep sauce for the bake, in a mixing bowl combine yogurt, mustard, and a dash of salt & pepper. Stir to combine.
- In a 9x13 baking dish lay chicken cutlets down in an even layer. Take the sauce and evenly distribute it between the pieces of chicken and spread the sauce over the tops of each of the cutlets.
- On top of the sauce evenly lay the slices of the ham on each of the pieces of chicken, followed by the cheese.
- With a spoon evenly distribute the bread crumbs on top of the cheese. To make the breadcrumbs crunchy use a spray oil to lightly spray the tops of the breadcrumbs with oil.
- Transfer to the oven and bake 25 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken reads 165ºF on a meat thermometer. Let rest 3-5 minutes before serving.
Notes
*2 large chicken breasts cut in half to create 4 proper proportions
I found that 1 1/2 pieces of cheese & 2 slices of ham was the perfect amount to top each piece of chicken but sizes can range on cheese & meat slices so adjust if needed!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 294Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 809mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 27g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
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Peace & Love
Lauren, The Schmidty Wife
Michael says
Haven’t had Cordon Bleu in soooo long and this hit right on. Couldn’t help but go back for seconds. 10/10.
Lauren Schmidt says
Thanks Michael! So happy you liked it!
Cindy says
What can I substitute the yougurt with?
Lauren Schmidt says
You could probably successfully substitute sour cream or cream cheese with slightly different results.
CJ Ericson says
This recipe turned out great!
Do you have any suggestions on how to reheat the leftovers?
Lauren Schmidt says
I am so sorry for the long response. Although you have probably used the leftovers by now I would suggest reheating in an oven at about 350º F for 10 minutes or so (keep an eye on it) or in the air fryer at a low setting (like 350ºF) for 5 to 10 minutes (again keeping an eye on it). Reheating this way will help keep the bread crumbs from getting too soggy like they would in the microwave.
Rosie says
Hi Lauren,
Made this dinner tonight just as written. I used packaged deli ham and swiss cheese, garlic olive oil spray and panko crumbs. Crunchy and delish! This is going in to my “under 30 minute meals” Pinterest page! Thank you for sharing!
Lauren Schmidt says
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment it makes me so happy that you enjoyed it! 🙂
CJ says
Can leftovers be frozen?
Lauren Schmidt says
I have not tried to freeze this particular recipe so I can’t say for certain. If you are to try though you might have a little issue of the breadcrumbs getting soggy when you go to reheat it so I would watch out for that, besides that I think it would be safe to try to freeze it. If you give it a try I would like to hear how it goes!
Jem says
What can you use instead of mustard
Lauren Schmidt says
To keep the flavor you could try using Worcestershire sauce, I haven’t tried this though so I will note I am not sure if this will make the sauce to thin but hopefully it should work. If you don’t want to use Worcestershire sauce you could substitute mayonnaise for the mustard to keep the correct consistency.
Sarah says
Made this last night and just ate it for lunch today. It is perfectly delicious, hits all the chicken cordon bleu notes and satisfies that craving. I did omit the breadcrumbs for a little extra calorie savings but love the yogurt and mustard substitute. Did not find it missing any of that classic taste. Thank you!