Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (Pinterest Copycat)

I'm sure a lot of people have seen this pin on Pinterest. It's been pinned/repinned about a bazillion times. The pictures made me drool so I added the recipe to the top of my must-try list. I finally got around to making it last night. I cut the recipe in half because I knew my boys would reject the meal. They just don't understand good food sometimes.

This meal was very tasty. It was creamy and quite filling. I might play around with the sauce a little next time. While it was good, I think it could be even better with a few tweaks. For example, I think a sauce similar to Alfredo would be great!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

1 lbs chicken, slow-cooked or boiled then shredded
1 can chicken broth

10-12 slices very thin honey ham
5-6 slices thin baby swiss cheese

For sauce:
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 garlic powder
2 tbsp sour cream

For topping:
3 tbsp butter
2/3 cup panko crumbs
1/3 tsp season salt
3/4 tsp dried parsley
(next time I would double this)

Clean and trim chicken. Cut chicken into chunks. Add it to the crockpot along with the broth and cook for 4ish hours. Shred the chicken once it is fully cooked.

Preheat oven to 350. 

Add chicken to baking pan. Cover shredded chicken with some broth. Just enough to wet the chicken.

Add a layer of ham, tear it up a bit first.

Add cheese.

For the sauce:

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir well. Slowly add milk. Stir until flour mixture is well combined. Add lemon juice, mustard, salt, paprika, white pepper and garlic. I split the original recipe in half and then being the absent-minded person I am, I forgot and added the full 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika. Doh!!!! To fix this I added sour cream to the sauce before pouring it over the cheese. I think it really added a creamy texture and will do it again when I make this dish in the future (I'll also use the correct amount of paprika).

Again, if you follow the recipe correctly, your sauce won't be this orange

Pour sauce over cheese.

For topping:

I also split the recipe for the topping in half. I thought it wasn't enough topping though so I would definitely double this recipe next time. Melt butter in microwave for 45 seconds or until melted. Add Panko crumbs and seasonings. Stir together and sprinkle over sauce.

Add the Panko topping


Bake dish for about 45 minutes. Eat, enjoy and get a full tummy.