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This Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole is simple and delicious. It combines tender chicken and smokey, flavorful ham in a melty, creamy cheese sauce topped with crispy breadcrumbs. Your whole family will love it!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make: This chicken cordon bleu casserole is easy to make, made with simple ingredients. It’s ready in under an hour, which is perfect for busy weeknights. You can even make this ahead of time!
- Classic Flavors: If you love chicken cordon bleu, you will love this casserole version. It has all of the classic flavors tucked neatly into a delicious dish!
- Family Friendly: If you’re looking for more family-friendly casseroles that are easy to make, try million-dollar spaghetti, King Ranch, or crack chicken casserole next!
Ingredients Needed For Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
This chicken cordon bleu casserole recipe uses many kitchen staples for an amazing dinner! It’s a great recipe for using up leftover shredded chicken. You can find exact measurements for each ingredient in the recipe card below.
- Chicken Breast: Rotisserie chicken is great because it is convenient and adds so much extra flavor.
- Ham: Deli ham is really handy, but if you have leftover cooked ham, that works great too!
- Cheese: Swiss cheese is the traditional cheese variety used in cordon bleu recipes, but gouda or provolone would also be delicious. You want a creamy cheese that will get nice and melty.
- Butter: Mix with the breadcrumbs and seasoning to make the topping bake up golden brown.
- Breadcrumbs: We’re using panko bread crumbs for delicious crispiness.
- Seasoning: Italian seasoning and salt give the breadcrumb topping extra flavor.
Lemon Cream Sauce
- Butter: Unsalted butter makes the cream sauce rich and creamy.
- Flour: To thicken the sauce for the chicken cordon bleu casserole.
- Broth: Use low-sodium, good-quality chicken broth in the lemon cream sauce for flavor.
- Milk and Cream: This combo makes the sauce incredibly creamy and smooth.
- Dijon Mustard: For a light tangy taste.
- Cheese: The sauce is finished with a blend of shredded parmesan and Swiss cheese.
- Lemon Juice: Adds wonderful fresh, lemony flavor.
- Salt & Pepper: To taste!
How to Make Cordon Bleu Casserole
There are several steps to follow when making this casserole, but they’re all very simple. Once you make the topping and sauce, just assemble all of the layers in a pan and bake! Here’s how it all comes together:
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 3-quart baking dish with pan spray.
- Add the Meat: Spread the shredded chicken in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the ham evenly over the chicken.
- Make the Topping: In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, panko, Italian seasoning, and salt. Set aside.
- Making the Sauce: Prepare the lemon cream sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk to combine. Continue to whisk until the mixture becomes nutty and fragrant and the bubbling stops, which will take about 2 minutes.
- Finish the Sauce: Slowly whisk in the broth, milk, cream, and dijon. Whisk until smooth and thick, which should only take a minute or two. Whisk in the cheese slowly until it is fully melted. Whisk in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble and Bake: Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken and ham and top with the shredded Swiss cheese. Top with the panko mixture. Then bake for 30-35 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden brown. Top cordon bleu casserole with chopped parsley and hollandaise, if desired.
Tips and Variations
Here are some helpful tips and ways to make this dish your own! This Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole is so tasty. I know your family is going to go crazy for it, just like mine does!
- Different Chicken: Rotisserie chicken is called for in the recipe card, but you can use any cooked, boneless chicken. This could be leftover chicken, frozen cooked chicken, or canned. Make it easy and use what you have on hand.
- Type of Ham: While cubed ham adds great texture, any ham will do. Use deli ham that has been chopped up, diced ham, or leftover baked ham. Be sure whatever ham you use is cut into small pieces.
- Broil: Don’t be alarmed if the panko isn’t browning very deeply! You can brown it by turning the oven to broil for a minute or two. But keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
- Quicken the Thicken: When preparing the sauce, you may speed up the thickening by warming your liquids. Measure your broth, milk, and cream together in a large liquid measuring cup. Heat them for about 1-2 minutes in the microwave until steaming. This will make your sauce thicken almost instantly when you whisk it into the roux in the pan.
Storing Leftovers
- Make it Ahead: Cordon bleu casserole is a great prepare-ahead meal! You can make the sauce up to 3 days in advance. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container until you’re ready to assemble your casserole. You may also assemble the whole casserole the day before, cover it, and store it in the fridge. Allow 10-15 extra minutes of baking time, since all the ingredients will be chilled.
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: To freeze, transfer leftovers to an airtight freezer-safe storage container and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- To Reheat: Heat leftover cordon bleu casserole in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes until the casserole has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave.
More Delicious Casserole Recipes
Casseroles are some of our favorite go-to meals! They’re easy to make, flavorful, and so comforting! For all of my family favorites, check out this full list of casseroles!
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Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
This Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole is simple and delicious. It combines tender chicken and smokey, flavorful ham in a melty, creamy cheese sauce topped with crispy breadcrumbs. Your whole family will love it!
Ingredients
- 5 cups rotisserie chicken
- 8 ounces deli ham, chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon Cream Sauce
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 ⅓ cup milk
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- ½ cup swiss cheese, shredded
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 3-quart baking dish with pan spray.
- Spread the shredded chicken in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the ham evenly over the chicken.
- In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, panko, Italian seasoning, and salt. Set aside.
- Prepare the lemon cream sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk to combine. Continue to whisk until the mixture becomes nutty and fragrant and the bubbling subsides, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in the broth, milk, cream, and dijon. Whisk until smooth and thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Whisk in the cheese slowly, whisking until it is fully melted. Whisk in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken and ham and top with the shredded Swiss cheese. Top with the panko mixture and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden brown. Top with chopped parsley and hollandaise, if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 572kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 24gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 132mgSodium: 1139mgPotassium: 310mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1241IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 468mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
Please tell me how many rotisserie chickens are needed for this recipe. The recipe looks absolutely fabulous and I’d like to make this soon.
Thank you!
Hello!! You’ll use about 2 regular rotisserie chickens.
I made this as instructed with one exception. I am not a Swiss cheese fan so I substituted out the Swiss for what I had on hand. This was tasty, it was a little more liquidity than I expected, but the taste was solid. Even the leftovers reheated well.
I made this today exactly as written and it was delicious! I halved the recipe for an 8×8 baking dish, which worked out great. The only problem was that there was liquid at the bottom of the dish after baking. Next time I make this (and there will be a next time), I think I’ll just eliminate the chicken broth. Thanks very much, Alyssa!
can this cordon bleu casserole be put togetherthe day before then baked the next day?
Yes, it’s perfect for that!