That's Some Good Cookin

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I’ve been thinking about this casserole for a couple of weeks now and am so excited to finally have been able to pull this off. The concept as I formed it in my mind was super simple, but I suddenly became stymied by how to make the sauce. I mostly knew what flavor profile I wanted, but for some reason I kept avoiding really working out the details.

Finally, after a considerable amount of time spent giving myself motivational speeches, I made the sauce. The base is a basic bechamel (white sauce). For building layers of flavor I used lemon juice, dijon mustard, and smoked paprika. This sauce turned out so delicious.

Grocery Store Dilemma–Swiss Cheese and The Man at the Deli Counter
The three main elements in chicken cordon bleu — chicken, ham, and swiss cheese — are present, of course, in this casserole. They are layered, making for very simple preparation. The only catch in making this for the first time came when I went to the deli counter at my grocery store and the man behind the counter asked me which kind of Swiss cheese I wanted. “Regular Swiss cheese,” I answered.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he questioned.

“Ummm…yes…no…yes…no…welllll, I thought that’s what I wanted,” I said.

“What are you making?” he asked. I explained that I was making Chicken Cordon Bleu (I didn’t want to explain the casserole thing).  “Oh well, in that case,” he said, “may I suggest that you use Baby Swiss Cheese. It has a milder flavor and I like it better than regular Swiss Cheese although the regular Swiss Cheese is traditional in chicken cordon bleu.”

I felt my will power and determination melting away, like wax on a lit candle. I guess that I just have one of those faces that says, “My mouth is only pretending it knows what it’s talking about.” In the meantime, the deli guy had sliced a piece off of both of the cheeses and handed them to me to sample. There was a definite taste difference between the two cheeses. I was in crisis. I had to make another decision. I hadn’t planned on having to make any decisions about the type of Swiss cheese I was going to purchase.

As is so often the case with me, I am a tower of indecisiveness when given closely related options. So I just stood there, looking hesitant. And indecisive. “Tell you what,” the man said, “I’ll give you a 1/4 pound of each one and you can decide at home which you like best. Make half of your recipe with one kind and half with the other kind.”

“Okay. Thank you.” I replied cheerily, wanting to appear as if I really had some control over the situation.  The man sliced the cheeses and handed me my packages. “Let me know how everything turns out,” he said. “I’d be interested to know which one you prefer.”

Yeah, that’s going to happen. I am the master of my fate…

I almost let myself get trapped into which ham I should use, but I squared my shoulders and didn’t waste any time with trying to figure out the perfect ham. Thin sliced deli honey ham in a one pound package in the lunch meat section. No way was I going back to the deli counter and choose between honey ham, black forest ham (yummmmm!), hickory smoked ham, Boar’s Head hams (several), etc. So, the lunch meat section had Oscar Meyer deli-style honey ham on sale in the one pound package and I made my decision without a moment’s hesitation. I AM the master of my fate…really, I am. I only needed 1/2 pound, but the extra 1/2 pound would be put to good use either in sandwiches or in a second trial run on the chicken cordon bleu casserole.

The Rest of the Story

So, which did I prefer? The Baby Swiss. Why? Because it had the word ‘baby’ in it and cute little holes instead of the big gaping holes of a good traditional Swiss cheese. That’s why. And it was delicious. And it melted all creamy and smooth. It was perfect. The deli guy was right.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Cooked chicken either from a roasted deli chicken or from a home baked or boiled chicken is the right choice for this casserole. Use both white and dark meat for flavor and moisture content. The first time I made this dish, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They ended up being dry and chewy, spoiling the otherwise excellent flavors of the casserole. My best suggestion is to use a rotisserie chicken from Costco, if there is a Costco near you. I really can’t say enough good things about those Costco chickens; talk about finger lickin’ good!

A crunchy, simply seasoned panko bread crumb topping finishes this casserole beautifully. I love the texture contrast that it brings as well as the subtle flavor.

Update 7/18/2012
Due to the recent notoriety of this recipe and some very helpful suggestions from readers here and on Tasty Kitchen, I am changing the recipe slightly.

  1. The amount of butter in the topping has been lowered from 6 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons. You may even be able to get by with less. Let me know what works for you.
  2. Initially the sauce may taste perfectly seasoned, but after the casserole cooks, salt from the ham and the baby Swiss cheese is released, adding extra salt to the overall casserole. Therefore, I have lowered the salt in the sauce from 1 1/2 teaspoons to 3/4 teaspoon. Depending on your salt sensitivity and the saltiness of your chosen chicken, ham, and cheese, you may wish to lower the salt in the sauce more and also either lower or delete the seasoning salt in the panko breadcrumb topping.
  3. The sauce may seem thin, initially, so I have given the option of using 3 cups milk instead of 3 1/4 cups milk. I have found that the sauce develops nicely with about 15 minutes cooking time over medium low heat and frequent stirring. If you choose to speed things up, by using less milk and/or more flour, your results may not be as desired. My best advice is to leave the sauce recipe as it is written to preserve flavor and texture.
  4. AND, I just can’t help but put this personal note in here. The casserole was designed to “imitate” the flavor of chicken cordon bleu in a casserole form. It has been suggested by some folks that this recipe would be good with the addition of noodles or broccoli. While that may be true, and I can see how the addition of either one of those items would have their merits, this should no longer be called a chicken cordon bleu casserole. Certainly it is a good base recipe for changes and additions. The sauce would be good with quite a variety of different casseroles. However, I really have never had broccoli or noodles wrapped up in my chicken cordon bleu. Just a thought. 😉
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Print Recipe

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

The classic flavors of chicken cordon bleu come together in this casserole of the same name.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Servings: 0
Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

  • 1 whole cooked chicken about 6 cups, diced or shredded
  • 1/2 pound very thinly sliced deli-style honey ham I used Oscar Meyer Deli-style Honey Ham
  • 1/4 pound approximately thin-sliced Baby Swiss cheese, regular Swiss cheese is also acceptable (Baby Swiss recommended for taste and creaminess when melted)

For the sauce:

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 3-3 1/4 cups whole milk yes, you need the fat to help the sauce perform well
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice or the finely grated zest from one lemon if you are concerned about the lemon juice causing the sauce to break. I've never had a problem with the sauce breaking, but I acknowledge that this can happen.
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

For the topping:

  • 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • 4 tablespoons butter melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt I used Johnny's
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried parsley

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
  • Put cooked shredded or diced chicken on the bottom of the baking dish.
  • Rough chop the ham and scatter it over the top of the chicken.
  • Lay the Swiss cheese on top of the ham.

For the sauce:

  • Melt the butter in a large sauce pot. When butter is melted, quickly stir in the flour to form a smooth roux. Do not brown!
  • Once the roux is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in the cold milk while stirring briskly to make a smooth sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients.
  • Pour sauce evenly over the casserole, being certain to get some of the sauce around the edges of the pan.

For the topping:

  • Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium sized microwaveable bowl. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir in the panko bread crumbs, seasoning salt, and crushed dried parsley. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
  • Bake casserole uncovered for 45 minutes until hot and bubbly throughout and topping has turned a light golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

Notes

Since this recipe has appeared on the Tasty Kitchen Blog, there have been questions about the lemon juice causing the sauce to break. I have not encountered this problem. If you have any concerns about this happening with the sauce, I would suggest that you use lemon zest from one lemon in place of the lemon juice. Stir the zest into the sauce along with the mustard, salt, paprika, and white pepper.
This is an original recipe by Terri @ that's some good cookin'

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. OH YUM!!!! This looks so tasty! I’ll be making this soon!

    I made your Sunday Best Dinner Rolls last night and they blew me away they were so good! I made them with pot roast and kept ooo-ing and aaaa-ing with every bite, basically I was super annoying through the entire meal:) GREAT RECIPE! I have a really good (IMO) cinnamon roll recipe, but after tasting your rolls, I bet they do really make good cinnamon rolls!

    Reply

  5. I’m so proud of you right now. You chose my favorite type of swiss to sell while I worked at harmons. I might also suggest lacy swiss if you like the small holes :). And if you every get confused on a good ham from boar’s head…go with tavern. It’s the best. Love you mom.

    Reply

  8. The casserole looks delicious. No doubt delicious too. Glad the deli guy persuaded you to use the baby swiss (smile).

    Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.

    Cheers.
    Velva

    Reply

  12. This looks delicious, and I love that you addressed all the feedback from people! You’re right about not calling it the same thing if you’re going to add broccoli and all sorts of other things 🙂

    Reply

  13. Your recipe inspired me to make a similar dish. It’s in the oven at the moment and let’s hope it turns out! I added mushrooms and onions. Three different types of cheeses and simplified the sauce to a heavy whipping cream sauce with cracker pepper. I guess we will see. Your dish looks amazing and I plan to make it when I have a little bit more time on my hands.

    Reply

  15. Hi, my friend just made this recipe and raved about it. I made it tonight, but I’m cooking for a glu-tard (gluten free diet, doctor prescribed.) I made a few changes to accommodate his restrictions and it still ended up awesome. My sauce even ended up a little too thick and I had to thin it down with more milk. Here’s my changes to make this a GF dish:
    Substitute out the flour for gluten free all purpose flour. (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
    Substitute out the panko and in the topping for crushed gluten free crackers. (I had a box of stale cheddar Nut Thins on hand, so I also dropped the seasonings in the topping mixture)

    Reply

    • Hi, Janice. I haven’t ever frozen this casserole, so I cant’ speak from experience. However, my gut instinct says “no” to freezing prior to baking. I highly suspect that the sauce would not hold up if frozen. Additionally, the ham (since it is a lunch meat-style ham) would give up water when it defrosts, making the casserole runny. The casserole may do okay if baked before freezing, but I can’t say it with any degree of certainty. Perhaps you could make the casserole for a meal and set a small portion aside for freezing, just as a test. If you decide to experiment with freezing, please let me know how things turn out for. Thanks for your question. ~Terri

      Reply

  17. My daughter made this when we visited. It was SO good. Her 5 and 3 yo don’t like it (no I don’t know what’s wrong with them) but her almost 2 yo practically inhaled it. My 13 yo also polished off what was left…can’t wait to try it on the rest of the family.

    Reply

    • Hi Mom of Six. Thanks for letting me know that you and your family enjoyed this casserole (except for them two youngins)! 😉 Kids are so funny about what they will and will not eat. The day that two of my little grandsons wouldn’t eat hotdogs at my house because their mom “always makes the ones like they have at Costco and puts dill mustard on them”, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

      Reply

  18. Hi Terri,
    Had to say THANKS for posting this recipe on Tasty Kitchen! 🙂 I fixed it for dinner last night and both my husband and I decided this is definitely “a keeper” recipe!!
    I didn’t have any Dijon mustard, nor did I have all the ingredients to make my own so I had to leave that out….it was still great.
    I also didn’t have any smoked paprika 🙁 so had to do the old standby and make my own with 2 parts paprika and 1 part cumin….works great.
    With it just being hubby and myself eating it there’s plenty left so that I don’t have to fix dinner tonight. 🙂
    I’m looking forward to having it for leftovers and I don’t normally look forward to leftovers. 🙂
    Just one more thing…..now that I’ve found your site through Tasty Kitchen it’s time for me to go explore your site…. 🙂

    Reply

  19. My wife and Chief daughter loved this. It was moist and had great taste. I layered the bottom of the baking dish with cooked rice before adding the rotisserie chicken, ham, sauteed onions and the Swiss cheese. I also doubled the sauce. My Chief daughter suggested sprinkling bacon bits on top with the Panko bread crumbs the next time I make this dish.

    Reply

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