Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken cordon bleu is a chicken breast filled with ham and cheese, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fried until the outside is crisp and the cheese inside has melted. In this version you cut a pocket into each breast, fill it with a ham-wrapped slice of mozzarella and a few sage leaves, and fry it in a pan for 8–10 minutes on each side. Many people call it “gordon bleu”, but the name is French. Every time I serve it, I wonder why we don’t make it more often.

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Last updated 8 October 2026

Recipe

Cordon bleu

Prep

10 mins

Cook

20 mins

Serves

4 persons

Ingredients

• 2 slices of good ham – I use Prosciutto Cotto, an Italian cooked ham, which can be purchased in most supermarkets
• 2 slices of fresh mozzarella – or a pair of slices of mild / medium-cooked cut cheese
• 2 large chicken breasts or 4 small ones
• 2-4 sage leaves – depending on size
• 1 dl rye flour
• 1 egg
• 1 dl breadcrumbs
• Olive oil or butter or a mixture for frying
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Fold the ham slices around each slice of cheese.
2. Carefully cut a pocket in both chicken breasts on the flat side and put the ham cheese pack into the pocket together with a few sage leaves.
3. Close the pocket with a toothpick and turn the chicken breasts into rye flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Be especially careful about the closure.
4. Whip the egg together, turn the chicken breasts into it and turn them in the breadcrumbs.
5. Fry the chicken cordon bleu on both sides in the greased pan until they are cooked – approx. 8-10 minutes on each side.
6. Cut them into two pieces to make four half – if you have not made 4 small ones.

Step by step, in pictures

The six moves in the recipe card, from ham parcel to the finished cut.

1. Wrap the cheese in ham
2. Cut a pocket and fill it
3. Close with a toothpick, turn in flour
4. Egg, then breadcrumbs
5. Fry 8–10 minutes a side
6. Cut in half to serve four

What is cordon bleu?

Cordon bleu is a piece of meat wrapped around, or filled with, ham and cheese, then breaded and fried. It started as a schnitzel with cheese; chicken is now the most popular version.

The name means “blue ribbon” in French. According to Larousse Gastronomique, as cited on Wikipedia, it was originally the wide blue ribbon worn by the highest order of knighthood, and it later came to describe food prepared to a very high standard. The dish is usually credited to Switzerland, although its exact origin is unclear. The first known mention is in a cookbook from 1949.

How do you keep the cheese from leaking out?

Seal the filling twice. First fold the ham around the cheese, so the cheese is already wrapped before it goes into the chicken. Then close the pocket with a toothpick and be especially careful with that closure while you turn the breast in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Take the toothpick out before serving.

Should you fry or bake chicken cordon bleu?

This recipe fries it in a pan, 8–10 minutes on each side in olive oil, butter or a mix of the two. Many American recipes bake it instead. Whichever you choose, the chicken is done when the thickest part reaches 165 °F (73.9 °C), the USDA’s safe minimum internal temperature for poultry. The USDA says a food thermometer is the only accurate way to check, so don’t go by the colour of the crust.

What sauce and sides go with cordon bleu?

Béarnaise is the sauce I suggest: serve this béarnaise sauce with hasselback potatoes and a tomato salad. For a simpler plate, pan-fried potatoes, stewed carrots and edamame beans go well with it, as do baked potatoes or hot honey carrots.

Which ham, cheese and meat can you use?

I use Prosciutto Cotto, an Italian cooked ham you can buy in most supermarkets, but any good sliced cooked ham works. Fresh mozzarella can be replaced with a mild or medium sliced cheese.

I have also tasted it with pork, but I prefer chicken. That is a matter of taste: a veal or pork chop, or another piece of meat, can replace the chicken breast.

How do you make schnitzel cordon bleu with pork or veal?

If the pork or veal is too thin to cut a pocket in, there are two ways to do it:

1. Pound the meat thin and flat, fold it around the ham, cheese and sage, close it, then turn it in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fry it as in the card.
2. Coat the meat in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fry it first. Then put it on a baking sheet, top it with ham, sage and cheese, and put it in the oven, under the grill if you like, until the cheese starts to melt.

For the plain breaded version without a filling, see Wiener schnitzel. Bon appétit!