Creamy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Make dinner time exciting with an iconic dish turned into pure comfort food.

Table of Contents

• 🗝️ Key takeaways
• ❤️ Why you'll love it
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 📖 Variations
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🧊 Make it a freezer meal
• 🥫 How to store leftovers
• 💭 Things to know
• 👩‍🍳 FAQs
• 📚 Related recipes
• 🍽️ Serve with...
• 🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
• 📞 The last word
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🗝️ Key takeaways

• This casserole is SO much easier than classic chicken cordon bleu!
• Easy enough for busy weeknights and back to school Absolutely evaporates at potlucks.
• Be sure to check out the Freezer meal section. I'll tell you how to make this in bulk and have dinners for the craziest of nights!

❤️ Why you'll love it

• Tender, creamy, and crisp textures all from simple ingredients
• A much easier casserole version of delicious chicken cordon bleu
• Cream sauce comes together with a soup mixture—no tricky roux

This chicken cordon bleu casserole recipe uses shredded chicken and leftover ham so you can feed the whole family with what you already have in the fridge!

Does your family prefer chicken and rice? Try this one dish no peek chicken casserole!

🧾 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

📖 Variations

• For the Chicken: Use shredded chicken breast, chopped thighs, frozen (and thawed) pulled meat, or a ready-to-go rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store.
• Swap the Ham: You can chop up some deli ham if you don't have any precooked. I ask for extra thick slices so that it's easier to cube.
• Make It a Full Meal: Stir in some cooked rice and a bag of frozen peas or carrots (or both!) and you've got carbs, veggies, and protein!
• Add Some Spice: It's not exactly part of the classic dish, but you can substitute the ground mustard with smoked paprika or a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little kick.
• Make it Southwest-Style: Add a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, and substitute the cheese for Pepper Jack or Monterey Jack. 
• Add Extra Veggies: Mushrooms and chopped asparagus are also yummy in cordon bleu casserole.
• Make it Deluxe: Substitute the provolone with Swiss cheese slices or smoked Gouda. Then, swap the onion and garlic powder for the real thing. Carmelize the onions, first, if you have some extra time.
• Other Helpful Ideas: Instead of mustard powder, add a bit of your favorite dijon mustard. Cream of chicken soup works in place of the mushroom. Also, garnish with some fresh herbs when serving, like parsley or rosemary.

🔪 Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.

1. In a large bowl, mix the soup, milk, and spices.
2. Stir in the chicken and ham.
3. Pour mixture into a prepared baking dish.
4. Cover the top of the casserole with cheese, bread crumbs, and melted butter. Bake.

🧊 Make it a freezer meal

I love having several extra meals in my freezer but not all recipes can be frozen. Luckily this one freezes like a champ.

Double or quadruple the recipe and then follow the instructions below to have a delicious dinner at your fingertips.

Don't re-freeze the leftovers.

How to assemble

1. Spray a 9x9 casserole dish with no-stick cooking spray or oil it. Disposable aluminum casserole pans work fine.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the condensed cream of mushroom, milk, dry mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and ground pepper.
3. Whisk to combine.
4. Add the diced ham and the cooked chicken. Mix to coat them with the condensed soup mixture.
5. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly in the pan.
6. Place the cheese slices on top.
7. Sprinkle the grated Parmigiano cheese on top of the Provolone slices.
8. Cover tightly with plastic wrap then wrap with aluminum foil. This will help prevent freezer burn.
9. Label it with the name and date.
10. Freeze for up to 4 months

How to thaw and bake

1. The night before you plan to bake the casserole remove it from the freezer. Take the aluminum foil off but leave the plastic wrap on and put in the refrigerator to thaw.
2. About an hour before serving remove the plastic wrap.
3. Top the casserole with the Panko breadcrumbs.
4. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes. If the breadcrumbs brown to fast tent a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top.
5. Casserole will register 165F in the center when you stick an instant-read thermometer in the center.
6. If the chicken cordon bleu casserole wasn't completely thawed it may take a few minutes more.

Bake from frozen

I get it. Sometimes you don't think about getting it out to thaw or life happens unexpectedly and you have a frozen casserole on your hands.

No worries!

• Remove casserole from freezer.
• Take off the aluminum foil AND the plastic wrap.
• Do NOT add Panko crumbs yet. Put the aluminum foil back on the dish, sealing it tightly.
• Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Make sure it's not still frozen in the middle. if it is return to the oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven, remove the aluminum foil, and add the Panko crumbs and return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Serve.

🥫 How to store leftovers

Chicken cordon bleu casserole is an easy weeknight dinner with leftovers that taste just as good as the first night—as long as they're stored and reheated properly!

Refrigerate or freeze

Once the meal has cooled, cover the casserole dish with a lid or some plastic wrap.

You can also scoop the casserole leftovers into an airtight container but try to keep the breadcrumb topping facing up. Refrigerate for up to three days.

You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.

How to reheat leftovers

Avoid using the microwave to rewarm the leftovers, for best results. It's similar to this chicken piccata casserole - it'll work okay, but the topping won't be as crisp.

Instead, place the leftover chicken cordon bleu casserole into a ramekin or heat-proof bowl. Then, warm it up in an air fryer set at 350 F degrees for three to four minutes.

You can also use a preheated oven if you don't have an air fryer. It'll work the same way to heat up the creamy insides while keeping the panko breadcrumbs crisp. However, it'll take a little longer than in an air fryer.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Since all of the meat used in this casserole is fully cooked, you might not need to bake it for the full length of time. It just needs to warm through. Don't overcook it or it'll dry out.

• "Parmigiano" generally refers to a type of Parmesan cheese that has been aged for a few years. If you can't find it, use grated Parmesan.
• This delicious casserole is great as is, but it's even better served over a bit of rice or buttered egg noodles. That way, you can enjoy every bit of the cheesy, saucy goodness.
• Chicken cordon bleu casserole makes a great freezer meal. Assemble it in an aluminum foil casserole pan (leave off the breadcrumbs, though) and freeze until you're ready to eat. Bake until warmed through, adding the breadcrumbs for the last 20-30 minutes. It could take up to an hour and a half to bake fully from frozen.
• The aroma of the creamy sauce is heavenly, but don't dig in right away. The casserole is piping hot straight out of the oven.

If you like creamy comfort food be sure to check out this crockpot angel chicken!

👩‍🍳 FAQs

📚 Related recipes

• With the perfect balance of flavor and quick prep, Cheesy Noodles and Ham Casserole is an easy dinner idea that satisfies every time!
• Crockpot French Onion Chicken tastes like the classic soup, but only needs five ingredients and takes just minutes to prep!
• Chicken and stuffing casserole is a hearty weeknight meal that's always a family favorite.

🍽️ Serve with...

Still looking? Here are over 50 more great side dish ideas for chicken cordon bleu casserole.

🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends

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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.

• 9x9-inch casserole dish

📞 The last word

This is such a delicious, and unexpected, weeknight dish! Creamy, cheesy comfort food that tastes a little fancy - it doesn't get much better than that!

And, if this is your favorite kind of meal try this cheesy chicken hashbrown casserole or classic tuna casserole.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

First published January 6, 2023. Last updated August 13, 2023 to add the Freezer meal section.