Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu

Stuffed with cheese and thinly sliced ham, then baked until crispy and served in a super quick and simple creamy dijon and white wine pan sauce, these Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu bring all the classic flavors of chicken cordon bleu, in an updated twist. Plus it all cooks up in just one pan for an easy weeknight meal!

Chicken cordon blue is a retro-classic recipe that involves pounding out chicken breasts until thin, rolling them with ham and swiss cheese, coating them in breadcrumbs, and then frying in lots of oil until crispy. While the flavors are definitely delicious with the salty ham, melty cheese, and tender chicken, I’m not about to take on all of that work on a weeknight. So these Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu take all of the classic flavors of a traditional Chicken cordon blue, and update them into a quick and easy weeknight meal. The best part – the chicken is seared and cooked in the same pan that is used to cook up the sauce, so this is truly a one-pan dinner.

When it comes to cooking chicken thighs, I have to have that extra crispy skin – the crunchier the better. One of the best (and easiest) ways I have found to get that crispy skin is through a combination searing and baking the chicken. You can read more about how I get extra crispy chicken skin in my Oven Baked Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Lemon recipe. But basically, we take a similar technique for these Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu.

The crispy chicken skin gives you that crunch you would expect from the breading in a traditional chicken cordon bleu recipe, but without needing to bread and fry the chicken. While this may not be one of my prettiest recipes I have made, it is definitely a keeper for an easy and tasty weeknight dinner recipe. And the Cordon Bleu inspired sauce is to die for!

How Do You Make Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu?

These Stuffed Chicken Thighs in a creamy Cordon Bleu sauce are rather simple to make. You just gently add the ham and cheese under the chicken skin, sear to render out the fat, bake, and then finish it off with a quick pan sauce.

There are a couple of reasons why this recipe works so well:

• Stuffing the Chicken Thighs Saves Time: Instead of having to pound out the chicken breasts out super thin or cut a pocket in your chicken to stuff, using skin on chicken thighs means you can easily slide your finger under the skin, creating a pocket to stuff. Just layer in the ham and cheese, and you are ready to go. I like to make sure the cheese is layered next to the chicken, with the ham on the skin side. This way the ham acts as an extra barrier keeping the cheese inside, plus some of the edges of the ham cook up and get a little extra crunchy and crispy as well.
• One Pan Cooking for Easy Clean Up: Nobody likes to be left with a bunch of dishes after dinner, especially on a busy weeknight. But with this recipe, you sear the chicken and bake it in the oven in just one oven proof skillet. Then after the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken from the pan to rest, and cook the pan sauce together in the same pan. Does it get any simpler than that?
• The Creamy Chicken Cordon Blue Sauce: The creamy dijon and white wine sauce is what takes this recipe to over the top delicious. The sauce is creamy, slightly tangy from the dijon and white wine, and extra rich from the addition of just a little extra cheese. I found myself rolling every bite in the sauce, and I could honestly, just eat this by the spoonful.

What Should I Serve with These Stuffed Chicken Thighs in Cordon Bleu Sauce?

These Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu would be great served with anything that you can use to soak up the extra sauce such as pasta, creamy mashed potatoes, or even just some pan roasted potatoes. If you want to keep things on the lighter side, you can serve it with a fresh salad for a complete meal.

Here are some of my favorite sides:

• Easy Roasted Broccoli – Cook this on a pan in the oven alongside the chicken for a super simple dinner with just a few dishes.
• Easy Blistered Green Beans – These are a favorite in our house, and on my blog!
• Grilled Rosemary Potato Wedges – I can just imagine smothering a little extra of the cordon bleu sauce on these crispy potatoes – pure heaven! Bake them in the oven instead of the grill, for an easy dinner side.
• Crispy Parmesan Brussels Sprouts – Because I’m pretty sure brussels sprouts pair with everything, especially when they are coated in cheese.
• Kale and Shredded Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad – A super healthy salad to make you feel good about yourself as you lick the last of the creamy cordon bleu sauce off your plate.

Any way you serve it, make sure you serve up each chicken thigh in a big spoonful of extra sauce for dunking! What’s your favorite classic retro dish that you would love to see updated?

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5 from 2 votes

Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu

Stuffed with cheese and thinly sliced ham, then baked until crispy and served in a super quick and simple creamy dijon and white wine pan sauce, these Stuffed Chicken Thighs Cordon Bleu bring all the classic flavors of chicken cordon bleu, in an updated twist. Plus it all cooks up in just one pan for an easy weeknight meal!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course, One-Pan

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheesy, chicken, one-pan

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 lbs chicken thighs (6 thighs)
• 4 oz swiss or gruyere cheese (about 6 pre-sliced slices or if cutting off a block, cut about 12 thin slices)
• 12 slices thin sliced ham
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• dried thyme

Creamy Cordon Bleu Sauce

• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 clove garlic (grated)
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ½ cup coconut milk or heavy cream
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• ¼ cup finely grated swiss or gruyere cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°
• Pat chicken skin dry with a paper towel. Slide your finger under the skin of each chicken thigh, loosening skin from meat to create a pocket (leaving the skin attached on the edges and bottom). Gently layer 2 slices of ham directly under the skin of each, then add sliced cheese in an even layer between ham and chicken meat. The ham should be on the skin side and the cheese touching the chicken. This will help seal the cheese in.
• Season the skin side of each chicken thigh with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme.
• In a large, room temperature cast iron skillet, add the oil, and spread around pan. Add chicken skin side down. Turn on medium heat, and cook about 10 minutes. Don’t disturb the chicken while searing, the fat will render out of the skin, and the skin should release easily when crisp.
• Flip chicken to skin side up, and transfer skillet to preheated oven. Bake 20 – 25 minutes , until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°.
• Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
• In same skillet (you can drain the fat if you want or leave it in for extra flavor), over medium-high heat on the burner, add butter to melt, then stir in flour. Cook 2 -3 minutes, then add grated garlic, thyme, and white wine. Stir and cook another couple of minutes until wine starts to reduce. Add chicken broth, coconut milk or cream, dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 5 – 10 minutes until sauce thickens. Add remaining cheese, then stir to melt.
• Return chicken to the skillet and serve. To serve, I like to place big spoonful of sauce on the plate first, then place a chicken thigh on top to keep the skin crispy.

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Notes

A large cast iron or cast enameled pan works best for this recipe, as it is naturally nonstick and can be transferred to the oven for baking. If you don't have a cast iron pan, an oven proof stainless pan should work, but you may want to add a little extra oil to help prevent the chicken from sticking when searing.