Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Published January 23, 2022 • Updated February 28, 2026
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Deconstructing classic dishes and dumping everything into a casserole dish is my favorite way to get the same flavor without the work. I do it with my keto lasagna, my pizza casserole, my keto chicken broccoli casserole, and now this one.
Traditional cordon bleu involves pounding chicken flat, layering ham and Swiss inside, rolling it up, breading it, and either pan-frying or baking. I’ve done that version. It works. But for a weeknight dinner, I don’t want to spend 30 minutes assembling individual chicken rolls. This casserole gives you all the same flavors in about half the hands-on time.
The real star here is the sauce. I make it right in the same skillet after browning the chicken, scraping up all those flavor bits from the bottom. Heavy cream, white wine, chicken broth, and a good amount of Dijon mustard. Then I stir in Monterey Jack until it’s thick and smooth. I tested this once with yellow mustard and it was just flat. Dijon has that sharpness that cuts through the cream, and it’s what makes this taste like actual cordon bleu instead of just chicken in cheese sauce.
One reader (Priya) swapped the Monterey Jack for Gruyere and said her husband thought it tasted like something from a French restaurant. I get that. Gruyere brings a nuttier depth that pairs beautifully with Dijon. Monterey Jack melts cleaner, but either works.
The assembly is simple. Chicken and ham go into the baking dish, sauce poured over the top, Swiss cheese layered on, and into the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes. I usually pull mine when the cheese is bubbling and just starting to get golden spots on top. If you want a little crunch, sprinkle pork panko mixed with parmesan over the Swiss before baking.
This also works well as a make-ahead meal (similar to how I prep my Caesar chicken). Cook the chicken, ham, and sauce, assemble everything in the dish, top with Swiss, cover tightly, and freeze. When you’re ready, thaw overnight in the fridge and bake as directed. I’ve done this three times now and the sauce reheats without breaking.
How to make chicken cordon bleu casserole
- Cook cubed chicken in a skillet until golden on all sides.
- Add cubed ham and cook for a minute to heat through.
- Make the white wine sauce by adding butter, cream, chicken broth, and white wine to the same skillet. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom for extra flavor. Stir in Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Add shredded Monterey Jack cheese and stir until thick and smooth.
- Pour sauce over chicken and ham in a baking dish. Top with Swiss cheese and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Key ingredients in chicken cordon bleu
- Chicken – Use any cut you prefer: thighs, breasts, or tenderloins. Traditional cordon bleu calls for breasts because they’re easy to slice and pound thin, but since we’re making a casserole, it doesn’t matter.
- Ham – Cube your cooked ham and toss it in the skillet with the chicken. If your ham has a lot of moisture, cook it a bit longer so the casserole doesn’t get soupy. Great way to use up leftover holiday ham. Bacon works as a substitute too.
- Cream – Heavy cream gives this sauce its richness. Nut milk works if you’re cutting calories or dairy, but cream gets you closest to the classic flavor. Other recipes use cream cheese or sour cream, but a white wine cheese sauce made with heavy cream is the real deal.
- White wine – I used a Sauvignon Blanc, but Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay work too. If you don’t cook with alcohol, skip the wine and add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice after the sauce is finished to brighten it up.
- Dijon mustard – A key component for a flavorful cordon bleu sauce. Stone ground mustard and yellow mustard work in a pinch.
- Cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes – These add a nice kick to the sauce. Optional, but I always include them.
- Cheese – Both Monterey Jack and Swiss cheese are used here. The Monterey Jack melts into the sauce beautifully, and Swiss is a must for that classic cordon bleu flavor.
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Ingredients
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs -
1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
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8 oz cubed ham (precooked)
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2 tablespoons butter
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1/3 cup heavy cream
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1/4 cup chicken broth
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1/4 cup white wine
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1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
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2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
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1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
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1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1/4 teaspoon black pepper
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1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Cut chicken
Cut the chicken thighs or chicken breast into bite sized chunks.
- Chicken (breasts or thighs)
Cook chicken
Add avocado oil to a skillet and heat over medium high heat. Working in batches, pan sear chicken until cooked evenly on all sides.
Add ham
Add ham to the skillet with the cooked chicken and cook for 1 minute to heat through. Remove all chicken and ham from skillet and set aside.
- Ham
Make white wine sauce
Lower heat on the skillet to medium heat. Melt butter in the skillet. Slowly whisk in heavy cream, chicken broth and wine into the melted butter. Scrape the bottom of the pan to break up the flavor bits stuck to the bottom. Let cook for 1-3 minutes. Don’t let boil. Slowly stir in shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Add one handful at a time and stir until melted.
- Heavy cream
- Chicken broth
- White wine
- Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)
Add flavor to the sauce
Stir in Dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Remove sauce from heat.
- Dijon mustard
- Red pepper flakes (optoinal)
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Salt
- Pepper
Assemble & bake
To a square or rectangle baking dish, add chicken and ham mixture to the bottom. Pour on white wine cheese sauce. Top with shredded Swiss cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
- Swiss cheese (shredded)
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this casserole ahead of time and freeze it?
I've frozen this three times now and it holds up well. Cook the chicken, ham, and sauce first, then assemble everything in the baking dish and top with Swiss cheese. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil, then freeze. I store the pork panko topping separately so it doesn't get soggy. It keeps for about 3 months in my experience.
How do I reheat a frozen chicken cordon bleu casserole?
I thaw mine overnight in the fridge, then bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until it's bubbling. If I forget to thaw it, I bake from frozen at 350 for about 50-60 minutes, covered with foil for the first 30 minutes so the cheese doesn't burn. Let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes before baking either way.
Can I use rotisserie chicken instead of raw chicken?
I do this all the time when I'm short on time. Just shred or cube the rotisserie chicken and skip the cooking step entirely. The sauce and assembly take about 10 minutes, so you can have this in the oven in under 15 minutes. The flavor is slightly different since you don't get those browned bits in the skillet, but it's still great.
What can I use instead of white wine?
I skip the wine sometimes and add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice after the sauce is finished instead. It gives you that same brightness without the alcohol. Chicken broth can replace the liquid volume, but the lemon juice is what actually mimics what the wine does for the flavor.
How do I prevent the casserole from getting watery?
The biggest culprit in my experience is ham with a lot of moisture. I cook my ham cubes in the skillet for an extra minute or two until they start to brown slightly. That drives off the excess liquid before everything goes into the baking dish. Also, don't over-thin the sauce. It should coat the back of a spoon before you pour it over the chicken.
What size casserole dish do I need?
I use a square baking dish for this recipe, but any 8x11-inch or 9x13-inch rectangle dish works too. If you go with the larger 9x13, the casserole will be thinner and cook a few minutes faster. I prefer the square dish because it keeps the sauce deeper around the chicken.
What about bread crumbs on top?
I add pork panko mixed with parmesan cheese on top before baking when I want that extra crunch. It's my go-to keto breadcrumb substitute and it browns up nicely in the oven. Regular panko works too if you're not watching carbs. Either way, sprinkle it over the Swiss cheese right before the casserole goes in.
How do I decrease the calories in this dish?
The biggest calorie savers I've found: swap heavy cream for almond milk, use chicken breast instead of thighs, skip the wine and use lemon juice, and go lighter on the cheese in both the sauce and the topping. I've made a lighter version with almond milk and it's thinner but still tastes good.
Brought this to a dinner party last weekend and two people who are not on keto spent the whole meal picking the Swiss cheese off the top and going back for more chicken. Nobody asked if it was low carb because it didn't taste like a compromise. The white wine Dijon sauce is doing something I can't explain.
Made a double batch Sunday and it's been holding up well all week. The white wine Dijon sauce doesn't break on reheat, which I can't say for most cream-based casseroles I've tried. 47g protein per serving has me planning another batch this weekend.
Yeah, that's the butter. Pure cream sauces break on reheat but this one holds. 47g is hard to argue with.
Dijon sauce is the star, but whoever's using just the optional red pepper flakes is selling themselves short. I doubled them and it hit completely different. Snow day staple now.
Snow day food needs heat. I add both the red pepper and the cayenne when it's just for me. The half teaspoon is conservative on purpose.
Swapped the Monterey Jack for Gruyere because that's what I had and honestly it made the whole thing taste way more authentic. The nuttier flavor totally matched the Dijon. My husband said it tasted like something from a French restaurant.
Gruyere and Dijon is actually the more traditional pairing. Monterey Jack melts cleaner but Gruyere brings that nutty depth that makes it taste like you made it from scratch.
The Dijon mustard really makes this. Easy weeknight option.
Right? I tested this with yellow mustard once and it was just flat. Dijon has that sharpness that cuts through the cream.
Made this last night for our dinner, followed recipe exactly except I doubled sauce, served with steamed broccoli... This was absolutely delicious! Hubby loved it and took leftovers for his lunch today!
Double sauce is the right call. It soaks right into the chicken. Smart that he grabbed leftovers too, the sauce thickens up overnight.
Thank you! We started doing cover dish meals at our church and this is perfect with the seasoned Panko crumbs on the top of the Swiss cheese.
Seasoned Panko holds up better at room temp than pork panko, good call for a church crowd. I do pork panko mixed with parmesan when I'm keeping it keto, but for a potluck regular panko wins.
Are you kidding me? This is FANTASTIC!!! I'm eating it for breakfast. My husband is not keto but I think he would like it over egg noodles. I only had deli ham but it worked out just fine. Thanks so much for this recipe! I'll be adding it to my rotation for sure!!
Deli ham works just as well. Yes on breakfast, this reheats better than most casseroles I make.
Hi, sounds like a wonderful casserole. Do you really need 2 lbs. of cooked chicken, or would it be 2 cups? Thanks, cannot wait to make this!
It's 2 pounds of raw chicken. 2 cups wouldn't give you as much to serve.