German Chicken Cordon Bleu – Oma's Hähnchenrouladen

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust—rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

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Oma's Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe ~ Hähnchenrouladen

Does a chicken cordon bleu recipe, aka hähnchenrouladen, sound difficult? Try my easy German version and impress your guests! Hey, don't just wait for company. Your family will love this too! 

If you're looking for great dinner ideas for company and want German chicken recipes, you may not think about Cordon Bleu.

To me it always sounded very extravagant and very expensive and very French and very difficult. And, it really didn't sound like any German food I knew.

However, it's really nothing more than the very German rouladen made with chicken breast. And, doing it this easy way, you don't even have to pound the chicken breast to make it thin.

Just cut a pocket inside and stuff. However, if you want, you can pound it and then roll it up with the ham and cheese. That's how I did it in the photo above.

There is, however, an easy way to make this. One that even kids can make. And that's the one I'm showing below. It's the one that Lydia, my granddaughter, made when she was 12 years old. 

Yes, chicken cordon bleu is easy for kids to make!

How to make Chicken Cordon Bleu

Lydia shows how she's cutting a pocket into the chicken breasts, making sure that she doesn't cut all the way through. 

She's also made herself an assembly line ready. The flour, egg and milk mixture, and the breadcrumbs are waiting in bowls, ready to be used.

Lydia Cutting Chicken for Cordon Bleu

Not only are the bowls ready for dredging the finished stuffed chicken breasts, but Lydia has already rolled the ham and cheese into tight rolls. 

PS: You can see that she's already got the cake that's going to be dessert, baking in the oven. I always have so much fun cooking and baking with her. 

Making Ham and Cheese Rolls for Chicken Cordon Bleu

Once the chicken breasts are cut, Lydia put one ham and cheese roll inside each pocket. Holding the pocket closed, she dredged each breast, first into the flour, then the egg and milk mixture, and finally into the breadcrumbs. 

She placed the breaded stuffed chicken into a casserole dish.

Lydia Breading Chicken Cordon Bleu

When all the chicken breasts were breaded and in the dish, she covered with cling wrap and placed it into the fridge to chill. This helps the breading stick to the meat.

This time she left it for about an hour, but it's possible to make this up to one day ahead of when it's needed.

Chilling Chicken Cordon Bleu Before Baking

I forgot to take photos of Lydia putting the breaded stuffed chicken onto a lightly greased, rimmed cookie sheet. Into the oven it went, ...

.... and it came out like this. Earlier, Lydia helped me make the scalloped potatoes that are shown behind the chicken. That's also a really easy German recipe, and SO good! (Those scalloped potatoes use whipping cream, of course!)

Lydia's Finished Chicken Cordon Bleu

That was a yummy meal that Lydia prepared so many years ago. 

In fact, Lydia loves these so much that now that she's older, she has done a bit of experimenting. I gave her my Vortex Plus Instant Air Fryer Oven, and she converted her recipe to one that works in it.

Here's what her new version looks like ...

Go to Air Fryer Cordon Blue recipe >

 ... and here is her Air Fried Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe. YUM!

Chicken Cordon Bleu origins

I was surprised to find out that this original recipe appears to come from Switzerland and not France. The term 'Cordon Bleu' is French and translates as 'Blue Ribbon' and is the name of a cooking school.

As a recipe, it is simply a meat, wrapped around cheese, breaded, and then either pan-fried or deep-fried.

There are many versions of this with schnitzel cordon bleu one of the more popular German ones. It uses veal instead of chicken.

But, always willing to tackle something new, I experimented. I soon realized it's neither expensive nor very French nor very difficult.

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Oma says,

Always willing to tackle something new, I experimented with this recipe. I soon realized it's neither expensive nor very French nor very difficult.

Frying this chicken roulade is an alternative, but using the oven is so much easier. I find this is such an easy chicken recipe that I'm not only going to save it for company.

It's such a great dish for just my hubby and me!

What to serve With Chicken Cordon Bleu?

There are so many yummy possibilities to serve with these Hähnchenrouladen. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Asparagus salad
2. Roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar
3. Creamy green beans
4. Foolproof scalloped potatoes

Ready for some Chicken Cordon Bleu?

Make her smile with a little German love

Print Recipe

German Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe – Oma's Hähnchenrouladen

Does your chicken cordon bleu recipe, aka Hähnchenrouladen, sound difficult? Try this easy version and impress your guests! 

It's really nothing more than the very German rouladen made with chicken breast. And, doing it this easy way, you don't even have to pound the chicken breast to make it thin.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Bake Time 30 minutes

Total Time 70 minutes

Servings:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, deboned and skinless
• 4 slices Black Forest ham
• 4 slices cheese (Emmental, Gruyere, etc.)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup flour, all-purpose
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 - 2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs

Instructions:

1. Prepare chicken by cutting into the thickest part of the chicken breast to create a pocket.
2. Roll a slice of cheese inside a slice of ham and stuff inside the pocket.
3. Repeat for remaining chicken breasts.
4. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
5. Put flour into a shallow bowl. Into a second shallow bowl, beat the eggs and milk. Put the breadcrumbs into a third shallow bowl.
6. Dredge a stuffed chicken breast in the flour. Dip into the egg mixture. Then, roll in the breadcrumbs. Place onto a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
7. Cover dish and place in fridge for about 20 minutes to help breading stick to chicken. (Can be kept for one day in fridge before baking.)
8. Preheat oven to 400°F.
9. Place chicken breasts onto lightly greased, rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until done to an internal temperature of 160°F.

Notes/Hints:

• Use a mixture of your favorite cheeses.
• Use a toothpick to hold the pocket closed if necessary. Make sure you remove it before serving.
• Instead of cutting a pocket, butterfly the chicken breast. Place between plastic wrap and gently pound until about ¼ inch thick. Season with salt and pepper. Place ham and cheese along the long end. Roll up and continue with the dredging process.
• This is scrumptious served with my foolproof German scalloped potatoes!

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Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

08.31.2021 revision update

See more of Oma's Poultry recipes

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Oma's Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe ~ Hähnchenrouladen

By Oma Gerhild Fulson

Does a chicken cordon bleu recipe, Hähnchenrouladen, sound difficult? Try Oma’s easy German version and impress your guests! Hey, don't just wait for company. Your family will love this too!

Ingredients: chicken breasts, ham, cheese, seasonings, all-purpose flour, eggs, milk, breadcrumbs,

For the full recipe, scroll up ...

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.