Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu
Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu is a restaurant-quality meal for a fraction of the cost of dining out. It’s super easy and can be prepped in advance. Just bake when you get home from work.
Pin Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu to make later
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu
A quick reference so you can add the items to your shopping list.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
- Deli Ham
- Swiss Cheese
- Italian Breadcrumbs
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Can I Prep Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu in Advance?
Yes, you can absolutely do prep work in advance. I have done everything in the recipe through putting the breadcrumbs on top of the chicken early in the day. Place the chicken in a baking dish, cover, and refrigerate until you are ready to bake it.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and uncover it. Let it sit on the counter while your oven comes to temperature. It’s a good idea to use a metal baking dish when preparing this in advance. You don’t want a glass or ceramic dish cracking due to temperature changes from the fridge to the oven.
What Type of Wine Can I serve with Chicken Cordon Bleu?
A bottle of white wine or light red would be the best choice. For a nice crisp white, choose a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc although a buttery Chardonnay, such as the Vergelegen in the photo, would also be nice. The latter would complement the buttered breadcrumbs.
A light red would be a Pinot Noir or Merlot but a Rosé would also be lovely. Just don’t go too sweet.
Tips and Tricks for a Successful Chicken Cordon Bleu
The chicken is easy to make and pairs nicely with white wine. It is important to note to be very careful when slicing the chicken. You do not want to cut all the way through for obvious reasons.
Fold up the deli ham so it fits into the slits in the chicken. Wedge the ham and cheese so it stays.
You don’t want the cheese and ham falling through. You can make this in advance of a dinner party and refrigerate it as I mentioned above.
Use your hands to pat the breadcrumbs on top. Using a spoon will spill them all over the pan. Trust me on this one or you will have breadcrumbs all over the pan and not on the chicken.
The buttery breadcrumbs and saltiness of the ham are a fine combination with the wine.
What Side Dish Can I Serve with Chicken Cordon Bleu?
There are so many options! Chicken cordon bleu is such a versatile dish. I like to serve a potato and a green vegetable and often switch up what I offer.
For a starch consider twice-baked potatoes, roasted fingerling potatoes, or continue a theme with Hasselback herbed potatoes.
For a green vegetable try one of our favorites green beans with bacon and caramelized onions. It’s a bit labor-intensive but so worth it. An easier recipe would be string beans with shallots. Parmesan roasted zucchini boats are another delicious option.
If your family is like mine, they enjoy bread with dinner. Cheddar dinner rolls are from-scratch yeast bread. A quicker option would be monkey bread biscuits. They start with convenience food.
Why We Love This Recipe
- It’s super easy to make and comes together quickly.
- You can prep it in advance and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake it.
- It’s impressive enough to serve to company.
- Perfect for a busy night, even if you don’t do any advance work.
- It’s tasty and has all of the elements of traditional chicken cordon bleu.
Recipe for Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu
Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 16 slices of Swiss cheese from the short end of a block
- 8 slices of thinly shaved ham cut in half
- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a bowl combine melted butter and breadcrumbs. Set aside.
- Cut 4 slits in each chicken breast without cutting all the way through the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Into each cut insert a slice of cheese and half a slice of ham, rolled, next to it. Place each chicken breast in a baking dish. Top with breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees F. 45 – 50 minutes, until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked.
So Ellen recommended this to me after asking her for a good dinner idea. This recipe did not disappoint! It was super easy and delicious. What I loved was being able to use some leftover ham I had in the fridge. I am going to add this to my “go to list” of dinner recipes. Thanks Ellen!
Absolutely love this idea! I’m always a fan of cheesy chicken, and those breadcrumbs look so buttery and delicious. Great recipe!
This sounds wonderful. It is so nice to find a recipe that gives a suggested wine pairing. I can’t wait to check out all the other recipe/wine pairings. What a great idea!
A great pairing of good food with good wine. South African wine is always so good, it must be fascinating to visit the wine regions and learn more about it.
I love hassleback potatoes, but I have never had hassleback chicken. Great for a dinner party!
The flavors of this look fantastic!
Beautiful recipe presentation! And I can see how this rich meal would work well with the Chardonnay! I’ve been fascinated with the wines of So Africa since first tasting them last August when we featured them on #WinePW.
Welcome to the group Ellen. I am a big fan of recipes you can prep ahead and then pop in the oven while you greet your dinner guests with something delicious in a glass. Thanks for the recipe.
Sounds like a tasty pairing! Thanks for joining us.
Welcome, Ellen. I’ve made hasselback potatoes lots of times but never thought of doing it with chicken. Great idea!
Sorry I missed out this month, but a belated welcome to you! I love reading about the Vergelegen Estate — what a cool experience.
This is a lovely pairing, too hungry now! Cheers!
Looks delicious, Ellen!! I’ll be sure to keep this pairing in my back pocket!! Welcome to the group:)
Your pairing sounds delicious! I need to try more wines from South Africa, starting with the Vergelegen Chardonnay Reserve, I hope I can find it. Cheers!
Welcome to #winepw! Thanks for a simple yet delicious pairing that will be perfect here in Florida – where it’s summer year-round!
Welcome to the Wine Pairing Weekend group! Your pairing looks delicious. I’ve made hasselback potatoes, but never chicken. Now I have a recipe.
The Vergelegen estate is beautiful, we visited last year. Very memorable and delicious wines.
So glad you decided to join our group Ellen. This recipe sounds wonderful and I will have to keep an eye out for this wine from South Africa.