If you love the flavors of Chicken Cordon Bleu but don’t want the hassle of rolling all those chicken breasts this is a great option. It’s CCB for a crowd!
Chicken Cordon Bleu consists of these layers:
Chicken – You can uses leftover chicken broken into pieces or pound thin some chicken breasts (if you like white meat) or thighs (if you like dark). I prefer dark and fry in a pan until cooked through.
Ham – Thin sliced, good quality lunch meat ham sliced thin works well for this layer.
Swiss Cheese – Sliced or grated swiss cheese is the traditional flavor for this layer.
Cheese Sauce – This is a Bechamel or white sauce. Heat equal parts (1.5 tbsp) butter and flour together in a sauce pan until there are no clumps. Add 1-1.5 cups milk while stirring until you have kind of a thin gravy. Stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or optionally Parmesan and Swiss. Optionally you can add 2 T. Dijon mustard.
Pour the sauce evenly over your cheese layer. It will filter down through everything.
Panko Bread Crumbs – Sprinkle over the top or optionally you can mix them with some melted butter and then sprinkle.
Bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes until the sauce is bubbling away and the breadcrumbs are nicely browned