Sometimes, you just need a warm, comforting supper; something that will fill your belly and keep you satisfied.
This casserole (or, as I like to call it, hotdish) is admittedly not the most healthy on earth. But, trust me, Terri’s recipe is worth the extra calories.
Let me show you how it goes together.
Here’s what you’ll need: 1 whole chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken), thinly sliced honey ham, thinly sliced baby Swiss cheese, butter, flour, milk, lemon, Dijon mustard, salt, smoked paprika and white pepper.
For the topping you will need: more butter (duh!), panko bread crumbs, seasoning salt and parsley.
Roughly chop the ham.
Butter a baking dish. I like to hold onto a stick of butter with the wrapper, but if you like to get your hands greasy, that’s alright, too.
Place the shredded or diced chicken in the bottom of the pan.
Put the chopped ham on top.
Place the sliced cheese on top of the ham.
Now make the white sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until bubbly and smooth. Slowly add the milk. Cook until thickened. Add the lemon juice …
… mustard, salt, paprika and white pepper. Bring up to a boil and remove from heat.
Pour the sauce over the chicken/ham/cheese in the pan.
Time to make the topping: Melt the butter. Stir in the breadcrumbs, seasoning salt and parsley.
Just look at that buttery goodness. Mmhmm.
Sprinkle the topping over the sauce-laden chicken/ham/cheese. Oh yeah.
Bake at 350ºF until bubbly and the topping is lightly browned.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Then, dig in!
Recipe Notes:
1. I thought this was brilliant. It tasted a lot like Chicken Cordon Bleu, only richer and creamier. Which is always good, in my book.
2. The sauce didn’t seem to want to thicken up too well for me. Next time I might add a bit more flour.
3. The lemon in the sauce was brilliant. It added just the right amount of tang.
Thanks so much to Terri for sharing this delicious recipe! Make sure to check out her blog, That’s Some Good Cookin’, for more lip-smacking recipes. This Cinnamon Roll Cake looks insane. And this Browned Butter Banana Bread sounds scrumptious.
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Description
Classic flavor, homespun ease.
Please note: due to comments about the salt content of this recipe, the amount of salt has been reduced.
Ingredients
- FOR THE CASSEROLE:
- 1 whole Cooked Chicken, Bones Removed, Meat Diced Or Shredded (rotisserie Chicken Is Excellent, Should Be 5-6 Cups Of Chicken
- ½ pounds Very Thinly Sliced Deli-style Honey Ham, Rough Chopped
- ¼ pounds Thin Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- 4 Tablespoons Butter
- 4 Tablespoons Flour
- 3 cups Whole Milk (or A Bit More If Needed; Whole Milk Is Required)
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- ¾ teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoons Smoked Paprika
- ¼ teaspoons White Pepper
- FOR THE TOPPING:
- 1-½ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
- ½ teaspoons Seasoning Salt
- 1-½ teaspoon Crushed Dried Parsley
Preparation Instructions
(2/19/2015—Please note: due to comments about the salt content of this recipe, the amount of salt has been reduced.)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
Put cooked shredded or diced chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Rough chop the ham and scatter it over the top of the chicken. Lay the Swiss cheese on top of the ham.
For the sauce:
Melt the butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. When butter is melted, quickly stir in the flour to form a smooth roux. Do not brown! Once the roux is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in the cold milk while stirring briskly to make a smooth sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Stir in the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, smoked paprika and white pepper. Bring sauce just back to a low boil and turn off heat. Pour sauce evenly over the casserole, being certain to get some of the sauce around the edges of the pan.
For the topping:
Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium sized microwaveable bowl. Heat it for 30 seconds at a time and stop once it’s melted. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir in the panko bread crumbs, crushed dried parsley. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
Bake casserole uncovered for 45 minutes until hot and bubbly throughout and topping has turned a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.
_______________________________________
Newly-married Erica Kastner shares her wonderful recipes and amazing food photography on her blog, Cooking for Seven. She also writes about crafts and posts more of her beautiful photography in her personal blog, EricaLea.com. There really isn’t much that this amazing young lady can’t do, and we’re thrilled she does some of it here.
48 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
Beth on 9.29.2012
I make simple white sauces frequently, and as far as adding the cold milk goes, that’s why your sauce was thinner. If you add cold milk it takes FOREVER heating and stirring to get the sauce to thicken. BUT if you add scalding milk (I microwave mine for a bit until it is steaming) the thickening happens almost immediately. Also when cooking the roux, if you get it to a nice golden brown color, it seems to taste better as it has cooked out most of the floury flavor. Just my two cents on the thinness issue
Anne on 7.25.2012
I made this last night….so good. My husband and son loved it. Very easy and
quick.
BHH on 7.20.2012
delicious! made with skim milk, and still turned out great~ may have reduced the milk by a 1/4 cup. definately on my rotation!!
TG on 7.18.2012
The credit wasn’t there earlier this morning, so she probably added it when someone said something. Still, she didn’t credit Erica even though she copied the first paragraph of this post.
Sara on 7.18.2012
I thought this was just ok. Extremely rich! I love rich but this was almost too rich! (I cannot believe I just said that) I do plan to make again, leaving out some butter in the breadcrumbs and adding egg noodles as the bottom layer.
randi in canada on 7.18.2012
She did credit and say the recipe was adapted from the That’s Some Good Cookin’ blog.
Susan on 7.18.2012
http://www.manymakings.com/2012/07/18/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/ Weird. Someone totally copied, even your text!
Ruby on 7.17.2012
I really like the idea of adding egg noodles to this as well (thank you Kari Lindsay). This looks delicious
Deborah Y, Reno on 7.17.2012
Made this last night. My husband loved it. I didn’t have trouble with the sauce being runny, but I did let is simmer awhile to really thicken. Next time I will use less butter in the panko crumbs as it is so rich I don’t think it needs that much. It was very good with a salad on the side.
Amanda T on 7.16.2012
Made this on Saturday night. My family almost licked the dish clean.
Terri @ that's some good cookin' on 7.15.2012
Since there have been some concerns with the sauce breaking with the addition of the lemon juice, I suggest using lemon zest in place of the lemon juice. The finely grated zest (using a microplane is best) of one lemon should be adequate.
teejay on 7.15.2012
great pot luck dish!
Diana on 7.14.2012
Great pics, I’m drooling, it looks amazing!
I’d never thought making this in a casserole, so clever, thanks for sharing it!!
Kathy on 7.14.2012
I researched white sauce recipes, and it’s typically 2 T butter and 2 T flour to 1 cup of milk so it makes sense that this didn’t thicken enough. I can’t wait to try this (with mozzarella instead of Swiss). Thanks for sharing!
John@PGISelfDirected on 7.13.2012
Can’t. Type. Properly. Mouth. Watering. So. Much!
Anita Johnson on 7.13.2012
@queenofblodgett…I made this last night and now remember why I don’t “do” white sauces. It seemed to be OK until I pulled it out of the oven…the sauce had broken and it was a soggy, mushy mess….I won’t be making it again. SO disappointed..
queenofblodgett on 7.12.2012
I thought I posted this earlier but it’s not here – how do you add lemon to bechamel sauce without breaking it. I’ve tried twice and ended up with a mealy sauce both times.
dep31 on 7.12.2012
Wow – this looks like it would be a lot easier to assemble than regular chicken cordon bleu as well. We butcher chickens on Friday – I’ll have to give it a try next week!
Kristin on 7.12.2012
Yum! I’m going to make this and take it to potluck. Otherwise I might eat it all myself!
Travis Cotton on 7.12.2012
Looks yummy!
Kari Lindsay on 7.12.2012
My husband loves Chicken Cordon Bleu. This looks amazing. I might make some extra sauce and add some egg noodles for a one dish meal ( just because my husband has to have the starch and meat with his dinner, I think it is great the way it is).
Aunt Dee on 7.12.2012
Tried this last night as I had some cooked chicken to use up. Husband and 2 teenage boys cleaned up the ENTIRE thing, but left me one small spoonful! I used skim milk to lower the fat, and it worked fine. It just took a bit of cooking to thicken it up.
Lou on 7.12.2012
I’m sitting her at work.. taking a “what up in BLOGoshpere World today” break… and my eyes land on THIS!!!!????? I DONT THINK I CAN GET HOM EFAST ENOUGH TO MAKE THIS HERE PEACE OF HEAVEN ON A PLATE!!!
I mean seriously!… i absolutely LOVE to enjoy a wonderful peace of “Chicky-Bleu” and my 2 year old likes to call it!… I AM GOIMG TO BLOW MY DAUGHTERS AWAY w/ this one!!!!!. Thanks to the genius foodie brain that thought this one up. THANK YOU!!!!!
Nanette on 7.12.2012
I pinned this recipe on Pinterest a couple of months ago, I have made it twice, I pkg it up into individual meals and freeze it, it reheats beautifully. As for your thickness of sauce, you may not have cooked it long enough, mine was plenty thick, it is the ultimate comfort food dish, since I do high protein and low carb, I cut back on the topping and it works perfectly for me!! This is one of my regulars with my turkey chili, it is always in the fridge or I am about to make more.
Aninas Recipes on 7.12.2012
Ok, I really don’t mind all those calories. This seem like the perfect comfort food dish I would present on a cold mid week day. I love the combination of mustard and paprika in the bechamel sauce, will definitely HAVE to try this! Gorgeous!
Mary @ mary mary quite contrary on 7.11.2012
Oh my !!! What is it about Chicken Cordon Bleu that makes me weak at the knees ??? And such a creative and tummy satisfying recipe that doesn’t involve pounding chicken, stuffing, rolling and hoping it will all stay together ! Thank you…..I know what I’m making for the family this week-end !
Megan @laughlovefood on 7.11.2012
I laughed at the Minnesota comment. I immediately thought the same thing! This looks amazing!
Teresa on 7.11.2012
Wow, can’t wait to add this to the dinner menu!
stephanie s. on 7.11.2012
my little 4 yr old toddler having a hernia surgery this friday morning. this has all of his favorite things…chicken, ham, cheese, white sauce…mommy is definitely making this comfort dish for him, he will love it! thank you ladies for sharing!
Charlotte Julienne on 7.11.2012
Looks like a real winter dish yum yum
Strawberry Pie on 7.11.2012
Hotdish here I come!
Thank you
Laurie O - WI on 7.11.2012
That looks sooooo good. Another awesome recipe from Tasty Kitchen.
Karmen on 7.11.2012
Yay! Just found Friday’s Dinner
Katie B. of HousewifeHowTos.com on 7.11.2012
Wow, this looks delicious! There are few things I like better than Chicken Cordon Bleu, unless it’s Chicken Cordon Bleu made easy!
LOL at the one-word “hotdish”. My husband’s from MN and has spent 15 years trying to teach me to stop calling it a casserole.
Arwen on 7.11.2012
This is going on my list to try. I wonder how it freezes…
Erica Lea on 7.11.2012
Terri: You are so welcome – thank you for sharing the recipe with us! It was scrumptious.
Terri @ that's some good cookin' on 7.11.2012
Erica Lea, thanks so much for trying this casserole (hot dish) and spotlighting it here. It looks so incredible! I want yours instead of mine. Beautiful pics.
@Kathryn: Brilliant idea for adding crab and lobster. I’m calling the undertaker and planning my happy funeral right now!
mnheather on 7.11.2012
HOTDISH!!! You must be a felow Minnesotan!
Erica Lea on 7.11.2012
Yep. Minnesota born and raised.
Diane on 7.11.2012
A variation (whose name I cannot remember) – start off the same with the chicken in the pan, then top with a bag (or two, if you want) of frozen broccoli. Make the white sauce, but melt the swiss into the sauce. Pour over all, put on the topping and bake as directed.
I like the fact it lowers the protein and fat, and includes veggies. But either way is WONDERFUL – a couple of my favorite dishes.
Kendra @ My Full-Thyme Life on 7.11.2012
OMG! This looks amazing! I absolutely LOVE chicken cordon bleu so this is right up my ally.
Heather (Heather's Dish) on 7.11.2012
this is just insane…i love chicken cordon bleu but never want to take the time to do all the rolling and such. this is so much easier!
Thelma on 7.11.2012
I’m definitely going to try this. It sounds wonderful!
Kathryn on 7.11.2012
I think I would up the flour as well. Probably to five or six, because you have both mustard and lemon juice as well as the milk. It is also fun, and deadly wonderful, to add shredded crab, or finely chopped lobster to the sauce just before pouring the sauce into the casserole. Delish!
Allyn on 7.11.2012
This looks so good! Pure comfort food for sure. We don’t do dairy, but I wish we did. My husband’s favorite comfort food is a spin on PW’s Mulligatawny (http://lollingabout.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/foodie-friday-mulligatawny/).
shannon on 7.11.2012
I make a similar recipe, but use Stove Top (chicken flavor) for the topping and then pour 1/2 stick of melted butter over it before baking. *I also pour a can of cream of chicken soup diluted with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk over the Swiss cheese.
Erica Lea on 7.11.2012
Stove Top?! Oh my. Kill me now. That sounds amazing and totally unhealthy.
The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh on 7.11.2012
This looks heavenly! I think I might splurge and use a good thick cut ham though. That’s what I use for my usual chicken cordon bleu. Now I’m hungry!