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Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake is absolutely delicious. Chicken breasts are smothered in an easy-to-make Swiss cheese sauce, covered in crispy, seasoned breadcrumbs, then baked until bubbly. It’s an easy chicken casserole the whole family will love!
If you love creamy chicken casserole recipes, also try this chicken divan, poppy seed chicken casserole, or chicken noodle casserole.
Swiss Chicken Bake
This is one incredible, family-loved recipe. Tender chicken breasts are cooked in a simple Swiss cheese sauce that is absolutely heavenly. Then we top the casserole with buttered breadcrumbs and the little crunchy bites are delicious with the creamy sauce.
Some Swiss chicken recipes call for using canned soup, but we skip that and replace it with a sauce that is nearly as easy to make as opening a can and is SO MUCH tastier.
After the Swiss chicken casserole goes into the oven, we put on a pot of rice and make some roasted broccoli – the cheese sauce is amazing on the broccoli! The whole dinner comes together with minimal effort and it’s always met with rave reviews at the table.
Ingredient notes
You likely have most of the ingredients to make this Swiss chicken casserole in your kitchen right now!
- Butter, flour, and chicken stock: these three form the base of the cheese sauce.
- Garlic powder, onion powder, and salt: we use these to add flavor to the sauce.
- Swiss cheese: we buy sliced Swiss cheese and add some to the sauce and use extra to put on top of the chicken.
- Sour cream: this lightens the cheese sauce and gives it a wonderful flavor.
- Panko: this is used for the crispy topping. You can use regular breadcrumbs instead.
- Butter: makes the panko get golden and extra crispy in the oven.
- Italian seasoning: adds a great flavor to the crispy topping. Try this homemade Italian seasoning!
- Chicken breasts: we use boneless, skinless breasts. You can also substitute chicken thighs.
How to make this Swiss chicken bake
You can make Swiss chicken in just 4 easy steps! Making this Swiss chicken bake is really simple! See the recipe card below for the full details.
- Make the cheese sauce: Whisk some flour and butter in a small pot. Then add the chicken stock and spices and give it a minute to thicken. Finally, add the cheese and let it melt into the sauce. So easy!
- Make the buttered breadcrumbs: Mix some panko with melted butter and Italian seasoning.
- Assemble the casserole: Half of the cheese sauce goes into the bottom of your casserole dish. Then lay 4 seasoned chicken breasts on top and cover them with the rest of the sauce. Drape 4 Swiss cheese slices over the chicken then cover them with the buttered croutons.
- Bake the casserole: This step is as easy as putting the casserole dish into the oven. Keep an eye on it while it bakes and if the breadcrumbs get too brown, cover the casserole dish with foil.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! This casserole can be assembled up to 2 days in advance and stored covered in your fridge until you’re ready to bake it. The buttered panko can be prepared ahead of time, but it’s best added to the casserole right before it goes into the oven so that it doesn’t get soggy. You’ll need to add an extra 10-15 minutes to the baking time if you’re cooking it from cold.
Yes! Just like assembling this casserole ahead of time, it’s best to leave the panko off until it’s time to bake it. Wrap the assembled casserole tightly then freeze it for up to 3 months.
Leftover Swiss chicken will keep well in your fridge for 3-4 days. They reheat beautifully so this is a great recipe to plan to take for lunch this week!
Chicken thighs can be used instead of breasts, but you’ll need to adjust the cooking time. Plan on using 8 chicken thighs and baking the casserole for 30-35 minutes.
What to serve with Swiss chicken
This chicken is cooked in lots of delicious cheese sauce that begs to be poured over something. We love making some rice to go with dinner. Simple buttered noodles are great, too. Here are a few other sides that go well with Swiss chicken:
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Swiss Chicken Bake
Ingredients
Swiss Cheese Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour can be gluten-free
- 1 ¼ cups chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- ½ cup sour cream can be light
Swiss Chicken
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs can be gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 medium chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- Minced parsley to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Butter the bottom of a 9×11 inch casserole dish.
- Heat the butter in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and let it cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt, and whisk well. Continue to whisk until the stock thickens.
- Tear the swiss cheese slices into smaller pieces then add them to the pot and stir it into the sauce. Add the sour cream and stir once more.
- In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, breadcrumbs, and Italian seasoning.
- Gently pound the thickest part of the chicken using the palm of your hand until the breasts are even in thickness. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Pour half of the cheese sauce into the casserole dish. Add the chicken and top each piece with a piece of Swiss cheese. Pour the rest of the sauce around the chicken.
- Sprinkle the buttered bread crumbs over the chicken then bake the chicken for 45 minutes, or until hot, bubbly, and cooked through. Check the chicken periodically and if the breadcrumbs are browning too quickly, cover the casserole with aluminum foil.
- Serve the chicken with some perfectly cooked basmati rice, a big scoop of the sauce, and a little minced parsley over the top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is really good. Plain non fat yogurt can be used instead of sour cream. A little white wine adds a unique flavor. Adding tomato and avocado under the cheese is a dynamite addition too. This is a fun recipe full of options. Thank you.
My husband said how good it was a bunch of times . He loved the sause. It’s the best dinner we have had in a long time. Thank you, I’m putting recipe in my cook book and sending daughter and son recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m glad that you guys loved it so much!
Is there another cheese that you could recommend instead of Swiss? My husband can’t stand Swiss cheese in a hot dish, however, he’ll eat it uncooked. Weird, I know.
You could try sharp white cheddar cheese instead!
This
Delicious!!! I used shredded swiss cheese that I had, just eyeballed it, for the sauce. Then used sliced swiss for the tops of the chicken breasts. ( never can have too much cheese!) I butterflied 2 breasts that were pretty thick, and didn’t bother pounding them. Just let them bake for about 50 minutes. So tender. Can’t wait for the leftovers. Honestly, this was good enough for company. I’m only glad I don’t have to share it this time!
Can you serve cinnamon butternut squash with this chicken
That sounds delicious!
I made this tonight. It was delish. Next time If I put a slice of ham on the chicken and cheese and added a little mustard to the cheese sauce it would be a lot like a cordon bleu. Delicious as written. Thanks.
This dish is excellent! I followed the recipe -. the only changes I made were making the sauce in a large pan and then added chicken tenderloins topped with grated swiss. Came out piping hot after a 40 minute bake. Thank you for sharing this.
Made this last night and my daugther and I loved it. I think though that next time I am gong to cut back on the butter. Served this with a salad but would go good with any cooked vegetable.
Very good as is, and served as inspiration to make something new as well!
I call it “Chicken Macrebleu”
I did a double batch of the cheese sauce using a mix of havarti, Swiss and gruyere. Cooked half a box of elbow macaroni. Diced cooked chicken breasts, diced slices of black forest ham. Mixed it all in a casserole dish and topped with the buttered breadcrumb topping. Baked at 400° for 20-30 till hot, bubbly and brown.
This is a fabulous dish! I cut it 1/2 fir just my husband and I and now I’m sorry as I’d love to have leftovers! I’m am going to make this fir a small dinner party in November. It’s that good!
Ok so this is baking in the oven now! It’s not done yet but after tasting the sauce after I put into baking dish…well, I am completely satisfied with flavor thus far..excited for the end result!
This recipe is a really good base, but it needs some tweeks. First and foremost: DO NOT USE 2 TSP OF SALT! That is waaay too much salt! I used unsalted butter and unsalted stock and it was still way too salty – and I love salty food! I started over and used less than half the salt called for and then adjusted to taste. I would suggest starting with half a tsp, or maybe less if you used salted stock/butter.
I also think the next time I make this I’ll just dice my own onion and garlic rather than use the powdered stuff. It doesn’t take that much longer to dice an onion and a few cloves of garlic and definitely tastes fresher.
I also think adding a tablespoon or so of Dijon mustard and some diced cured ham would make this dish even better (but definitely cut the salt waaaaaay back if you’re going to add those to the sauce)
Dijon mustard sounds like a great addition!
Did you use table salt? In this recipe, we use sea salt which is a lot less salty tasting. If you’re using table salt you’ll want to reduce the salt by at least half – so use 1 teaspoon in the sauce and ½ teaspoon on the chicken. 🙂
Looks good but I need Gf sauce.
Gluten-free breadcrumbs and gluten-free flour will work!
I am a line cook in a small cafe’,and I’m always on the lookout for new delicious recipes to use for lunch and dinner specials.
Thanx Bro Good info