Dump-and-Bake Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

There’s no need to boil the pasta! Just dump-and-bake for this easy 10-minute Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole!

The creamy Swiss cheese pasta is loaded with chicken and ham, and finished with a buttery breadcrumb topping. It’s a one-dish meal that your family will adore!

How to Make Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole | 1-Minute Video

When I was testing recipes for this year’s Easter ham, I found myself with a lot of leftover meat in the freezer!

Ham sandwiches are delicious, but I needed to get a bit more creative if I was going to work my way through our entire stash. Like magic, my mind dreamed up this concoction…and it’s a keeper!

I took the classic Chicken Cordon Bleu from my childhood, and I gave it a dump-and-bake makeover.

What is Chicken Cordon Bleu?

The original dish includes chicken wrapped around cheese, which is then breaded and pan-fried or deep-fried. Some versions also include a slice of ham in the filling with the cheese.

The French term “cordon bleu” translates to blue ribbon, and has been used to describe food that has been prepared to a very high standard.

In this case, I’ve eliminated the need to pound chicken breasts flat, to roll them with toothpicks around ham and Swiss cheese, or to coat them with breadcrumbs. Nope, I’m not doing any of that!

Instead, I’m dumping the ingredients into one dish, popping it in the oven, and going on about my business. Because I’ve got LOTS of other business to attend to (namely, three little boys who all demand my attention at the exact same time).????

Shall I walk you through this?

How to make Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole:

You’ll start by whisking together the liquid:

• chicken stock or broth;
• a family-size jar of your favorite store-bought (or homemade) Alfredo sauce;
• and a little bit of wine (only if you like it). I’ve made this dish without the wine and it’s absolutely perfect, so no harm in leaving that ingredient out! You can just use additional broth instead of the booze.

Once your sauce is stirred together, you’ll add:

• an entire box of uncooked rotini pasta;
• a cup of leftover ham;
• a cup of diced chicken;
• and some grated Swiss cheese.

I used equal amounts of ham and chicken here, but you can certainly go with just one or the other (depending on what you have on hand). For instance, if you have a plethora of leftover ham, you can use 2 cups of the ham and omit the chicken entirely. Again, it’s up to you!

When all of your ingredients are combined in the dish, it will look like this (i.e., a lot of liquid)!

But don’t worry! Once you cover the dish tightly and bake it in the oven at 425 degrees F for about 45 minutes, the pasta will absorb most of the liquid.

The sauce will be thick and creamy, and you’ll finish off your Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole during the final few minutes with a sprinkling of buttered breadcrumbs.

See? I managed to include all of the classic Chicken Cordon Bleu flavors into one easy dump-and-bake dish.

You’ve got the chicken, the ham, the Swiss, and the breading…but none of the labor! It’s the updated, busy-mom’s version of a classic, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!

What to serve with Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole:

There are a variety of easy vegetable sides that go well with this dish. Here are a few to get you started:

• a simple green salad dressed in Italian Balsamic Vinaigrette;
• Oven Roasted Asparagus;
• Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots;
• 2-Ingredient Italian Sugar Snap Peas;
• Garlic Roasted Broccoli.

Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:

• I used equal amounts of ham and chicken here, but you can certainly go with just one or the other (depending on what you have on hand). For instance, if you have a plethora of leftover ham, you can use 2 cups of the ham and omit the chicken entirely.
• Use a large jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce, or use 2 1/2 cups of homemade Alfredo sauce.
• Skip the wine and use additional chicken broth, if you prefer.
• This is a great way to use up leftover chicken, but you can also just purchase a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store or use pre-cooked chicken such as Perdue ShortCuts.
• To add vegetables to the dish, try stirring some frozen peas into the pasta during the final 5-10 minutes of baking.
• For a Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole with Rice, try this recipe.
• Instead of breadcrumbs, try making a Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole with Ritz crackers on top! Simply crush the crackers until you have 1/4 cup of crumbs. Toss the crumbs with 1 tablespoon of melted butter and use in the recipe, just like you would use the buttered breadcrumbs.
• Cooking for a Smaller Family? Cut the ingredients in half and bake the casserole in an 8-inch square pan. The cooking instructions and the baking time remain the same.

Other easy leftover ham recipes that you might enjoy:

• Leftover Ham and Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes
• Ham and Cheese Egg Casserole
• Ham, Brie and Apple Panini Sandwich
• 5-Ingredient Ham and Noodle Casserole