Creamy cheese sauce, crispy bread crumbs, and savory ham make this Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole comfort food at its absolute best!
You can never have too many chicken recipes. It’s a meat that’s just super easy to work with and you can make it so tasty in so many ways. The only thing better than a good chicken recipe is a good chicken casserole recipe.
Let me tell you friends, this chicken cordon bleu casserole recipe is certainly at the top of my favorites list! Tender chicken layered with pasta, creamy cheese, and yummy ham, it’s a dinner that is as easy as it is delicious!
CHICKEN CORDON BLEU CASSEROLE
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Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of my all-time favorite meals. Who doesn’t love breaded chicken stuffed with a delicious cheesy sauce and ham? I mean, what’s not to love? Well for me, what’s not to love is the labor involved in making a homemade chicken cordon bleu.
As a busy mom with two teenage boys, I simply don’t have time to be pounding chicken breasts super thin, stuffing them, and then pan-frying them. I’d much rather have an easy-to-prep chicken cordon bleu casserole recipe. Instead of taking all that time to individually roll each chicken breast, just layer it into a casserole dish. You’ll have yourself a cheesy delicious meal that the whole family will love!
Why do they call it Cordon Bleu?
Cordon Bleu directly translates to “blue ribbon” in French. And believe me, when I say, this easy chicken cordon bleu casserole deserves a blue ribbon! In France, food deemed “cordon bleu” is just really, really good food (which this recipe is!).
Really, the idea behind chicken cordon bleu originated from the Swiss “schnitzel”, or super thin meat filled with cheese that’s then breaded and fried. Whether it’s from Switzerland or France, I’m glad that chicken cordon bleu exists because it is just SO yummy.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole Ingredients
Ham – I especially love making chicken cordon bleu casserole after Easter because I always have leftover ham lying around just begging to be used. You can either use leftover ham in your casserole or a ham steak from the grocery store!
Cooked Chicken – you’ll want about 2 cups of cooked chicken to make your chicken cordon bleu casserole. You can pre-cook some chicken breasts or make a shredded chicken cordon bleu casserole by picking up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store!
Egg Noodles – I always like serving traditional chicken cordon bleu with egg noodles. This basically means I knew that I had to make chicken cordon bleu casserole with pasta too! I’ve found that egg noodles hold up really well in this casserole, but feel free to use regular pasta as well.
Ritz Crackers – I love the buttery flavor these crackers add to the top of this casserole. They’re easy to crush and I almost always have a box in the pantry.
If you don’t have any Ritz on hand, you can substitute Panko bread crumbs. Just add a pinch of salt to the breadcrumbs before stirring them into the melted butter.
How to make Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
The downfall of so many casseroles (in my humble opinion) is that they take FOREVER to bake. Not chicken cordon bleu casserole though! Thanks to all your meat and pasta being pre-cooked, you’ll only need about 20 minutes of cooking time! A perfectly delicious casserole on the table in under 45 minutes, sign me up!
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Next, spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set it aside for later.
- After that, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then cook the egg noodles according to the package directions. Drain the water once the noodles are cooked.
- Now you’re going to get working on your cordon bleu sauce. In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in your flour to the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute.
- Slowly add the chicken broth to the pot, whisking constantly. (Nobody wants a clumpy sauce!) Then, add in the milk and cook until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Next, add in your dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.
- Remove your sauce from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup Swiss cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.
- In a large bowl, combine egg noodles, cooked chicken, and ham and pour the dijon cheese sauce over it. Give it all a really good stir, you want everything to get totally coated in that yummy sauce!
- Pour your chicken mixture into the prepared baking dish
- Now it’s time to make that delicious, crunchy casserole topping! Melt 4 tablespoons butter and combine with the cracker crumbs.
- Top the casserole evenly with the last of the cheese and then finish it up with the buttery Ritz cracker crumbs. Make sure the crumbs are spread evenly, you want every bite of this casserole to have some crunch!
- Place your chicken cordon bleu casserole in the oven for 20 minutes. When the cooking time is up, your casserole should have a golden brown topping and the sauce should be bubbling.
- Serve warm with chopped parsley and a little shredded parmesan cheese for garnish.
What to serve with Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
So this chicken cordon bleu casserole with pasta is a complete meal in and of itself. That being said, I always like to serve it up with some veggies or a salad on the side. (Gotta get those teenagers eating vegetables whenever I can!)
If I’m looking to make some vegetables as a side, I always pair chicken cordon bleu with my famous green beans with bacon. They’re salty, crisp, and nutritious! When I want to serve a salad, I’ll mix up a simple Caesar salad or even this delicious bacon blue cheese kale salad.
Want some more easy family dinners? Try out some of these other Real Housemoms favorites!
- Spinach Stuffed Chicken
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Bake
- Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
- Leftover Ham & Lentil Soup
- Cheesy Broccoli Ham Casserole
- more DINNER recipes…
Tools used to make this Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole recipe
Baking Dish: I love this baking dish because it comes with a cover, so it goes straight into the fridge with the leftovers!
Medium Saucepan: every good kitchen needs a go-to saucepan! I’ve had this one for years and love it!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces egg noodles
- 6 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup Swiss cheese shredded and divided
- 2 cups cooked chicken chopped or shredded
- 1 cup ham diced
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed
- Fresh parsley finely chopped, for garnish
- Parmesan cheese shredded, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook egg noodles according to the package directions.
- While the noodles cook, add 2 tablespoons of butter to a medium saucepan. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the chicken broth while whisking constantly. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, whisking often.
- Add the Dijon mustard, Worchestershire sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir to combine and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove sauce from the heat and add 1/2 cup of Swiss cheese to the sauce. Stir until the cheese it melted.
- Place the cooked egg noodles, cooked chicken, and ham in a large mixing bowl. Pour the cheese sauce over everything and stir until well coated.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Swiss cheese over the casserole.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium bowl. Add the Ritz cracker crumbs and stir that together. Sprinkle the cracker crumbs all over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley and a little shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish. Serve warm.
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