chicken cordon bleu casserole for one

Chicken

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole for One

This chicken Cordon Bleu casserole is everything you want from a chicken Cordon Bleu, but with way less effort. All the flavor is there in a version you can whip up on a weeknight, and easily scale to serve more people. How great is it when the easiest way to make a classic turns out to also be the best way?

Ingredients

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 8 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 rounded teaspoon dijon mustard
1 ounce diced smoked ham
1 ounce gruyere cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
For topping, place panko in a small bowl; add in butter, Parmesan, and season with pepper. Stir together until evenly combined and mixture resembles coarse sand; set aside.
Cut chicken into 1/2-inch cubes and transfer into a bowl. Season with salt, black pepper, cayenne, thyme, and salt. Add cream, Dijon, ham, and 2/3 of the grated Gruyere. Stir to combine, and transfer into a small baking dish. Top evenly with remaining 1/3 of the cheese,
Spoon crumb mixture evenly over the top. Poke crumbs down lightly into the chicken mixture with the tip of the spoon before evening out the top.
Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is cooked through, the casserole is bubbling around the edges, and the top is nicely browned, about 25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.