Chicken Cordon Bleu is a French-inspired poultry dish, although evidence suggests that Chicken Cordon Bleu was actually developed in the United States by chefs imitating other stuffed meat dishes from Europe. The name of the dish is clearly of French origin – Cordon Bleu means “blue ribbon” in French, and in French culinary tradition, the Cordon Bleu is awarded to food or chefs of particularly high quality. The European dish most similar to Chicken Cordon Bleu is Chicken Kiev, chicken stuffed with seasoned butter, dredged in bread crumbs, and fried. The dish was also likely heavily influenced by Veal Cordon Bleu, a Swiss dish in which veal is wrapped in ham and cheese and fried.

The basic components of Chicken Cordon Bleu are chicken, ham or prosciutto, and a cheese such as Swiss or Gruyere. Many recipes also integrate bread crumbs as a crust. There are numerous ways to prepare Chicken Cordon Bleu – the simplest is to create a layered dish with chicken on the bottom, mostly cooked, with the ham and cheese added towards the end of the cooking process to be warmed and melted. Cooks attempting to make a more weight-conscious version of this dish might prefer this preparation, because it can be baked rather than fried.

Cooks can also slice a hole in the chicken, insert the cheese, and wrap the stuffed chicken in ham before rolling it in breadcrumbs and frying or baking it. However, Chicken Cordon Bleu most often appears in a rolled presentation, with the chicken butterflied and pounded flat and the ham and cheese wrapped up inside. The tightly rolled Chicken Cordon Bleu can then be dipped in breadcrumbs and fried, grilled, or roasted.

To make a basic rolled Chicken Cordon Bleu, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) while preparing your other ingredients. Butterfly four boneless, skinless chicken breasts and pound them to a thickness of approximately ¼ inch (a little under a centimeter). Lay the chicken breasts flat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and layer a slice of ham or prosciutto and a slice of cheese on top. Roll tightly, securing with toothpicks if needed. Beat an egg and set it out in a shallow dish, along with breadcrumbs.

Dredge the rolled chicken through the egg, and then the breadcrumbs, and set seam side down in a lightly oiled baking dish. Set a tablespoon of butter on top of each piece of Chicken Cordon Bleu, and bake for 35 minutes or until the juices run clear. For an optional topping, simmer ½ cup chicken broth and 1 cup heavy cream on low, adding salt, pepper, oregano, and other spices to taste, and stirring until thickened.