Skip the extra step of breading while still keeping all the flavor, with this Gluten Free Chicken Cordon Bleu with Creamy Honey Mustard Sauce. There’s no need for a fancy restaurant if you serve this on a dinner date!
My girls ask me about 5 times a day if it’s Valentine’s Day. I’m not sure if they are excited for the parties, the candy, or the not so romantic family camping trip we have planned for the holiday. Hmmm…maybe it’s all three.
Regardless, I’ve quickly realized that 3 year old’s have absolutely no comprehension of time lapse. Emry will ask me when she first wakes up if today is Valentine’s. I inform her that no, it is not Valentine’s yet, but that it will be here in a few days. About 2 hours go by before she asks the same question again.
Do hours really feel like days to a kid??? Probably, especially when you’re waiting for some Hershey’s Kisses that your mama promised you!
Braelyn, on the other hand, she just repeatedly asks me if today is Valentine’s Day simply because whatever thought that goes through her head then immediately comes out her mouth, with no hesitation whatsoever to decide whether or not she already knows the answer. Basically what I am saying is that she knows exactly when Valentine’s is, but she continues to ask anyway. It’s not annoying at all…
Now if we weren’t going camping this weekend, I would probably come up with some super fancy menu for Sunday night, seeing as how we don’t go out to eat on Sundays. Most people would feel sorry for me that I have to cook on a holiday that is meant to wine and dine the wife (or girlfriend), but I actually love cooking our meals. So, holidays like Valentine’s that are supposed to include an array of fancy foods are a lot of fun for me.
Remember how I cooked myself my own birthday dinner due to a case of pink eye??? Yeah, that was legitimately fun!
So again, if we weren’t going to be already exhausted from camping by the time Sunday night rolls around, I would have definitely opted to add this Gluten Free Chicken Cordon Bleu with Creamy Honey Mustard Sauce to our evening menu plans.
First of all, I love this chicken cordon bleu because it skips the hassle of breading. I do my fair share of breading when I have leftover, dried out gluten free bread on hand. But lately we haven’t bought a lot of gluten free bread. I’ve just resorted to other lunch options besides dried out sandwiches for Braelyn’s school lunches.
So when I was really craving chicken cordon bleu this past weekend, without any breadcrumbs in my freezer, I thought, “What the hey! If I look good naked, I bet this chicken cordon bleu would, too!” Okay, no, that is definitely NOT what I thought…but I wish!
But really, getting a good crispy sear on these chicken breasts means that you can skip the breading all together and not even miss out on flavor one tiny bit. Seriously, I served these to some dinner guests, one of whom’s favorite food was chicken cordon bleu, and he said it was the best he’s ever had even without the breading.
The key to getting that flavorful sear is to, first of all, generously season the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Now don’t cake it with salt, but give it a few good shakes. And I prefer the fine sea salt. I like that it’s a bit coarser than your regular old iodized salt.
Once you’ve got your chicken seasoned, you want to make sure that the butter in the pan is completely melted and that the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles. After placing the chicken in the pan, don’t move it. Leave it cooking in the pan for at least 2 minutes before lifting it with tongs to check and see if it’s reached that golden brown color. Golden brown = DELICIOUS!
And the last tip is to do the searing in a cast iron skillet. It cooks so evenly and really gives a nice crust when cooking meat. If you don’t have a cast iron pan, just use a regular pan and then transfer the chicken breasts to a 9X13 baking dish. Remember to still reserve the drippings and pour them back in the same pan you did the searing with to make the gravy. It adds so much more flavor.
Anyway, if you follow those steps, your chicken is sure to shine in flavor and texture and just plain old looks. Go ahead and give that sexy chicken a whistle. Woot woot!
And if the chicken isn’t already mouthwatering enough on it’s own, you are going to flip over this creamy honey mustard sauce. Oh man is it good! Forget the traditional hollandaise sauce over chicken cordon bleu. This sauce will have you dipping, and dunking, and licking, and maybe even drinking. Ben couldn’t get enough of it.
This recipe will make plenty of sauce for not only topping your chicken, but also enough for topping some mashed or baked potatoes. We even topped some of our asparagus with it.
The sauce has a silky smooth texture with a smokey sweet flavor from the tangy mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and a splash of liquid smoke. Lip smacking good all right!
So if you don’t already have some extra special dinner plans for this day of love, consider wowing your partner with some not so difficult, but impressive, culinary skills by whipping up this fancy dinner. I guarantee they’ll love you forever and ever and EVER!
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?
- For the Chicken:
- 6 chicken breasts
- salt
- pepper
- dried parsley
- ground mustard
- ¼ pound Swiss cheese, cut into 6 long chunks
- ¼ pound thinly sliced ham
- toothpicks (about 12)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- For the Sauce:
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Assemble chicken by first preparing chicken ingredients. Cut Swiss cheese into 6 thick strips and set aside. Divide shaved ham into 6 portions and set on top of each piece of cheese.
- Prepare chicken breasts by pounding chicken flat to about ¼" thick, making sure that the smooth side of the breast is facing down.
- Once chicken is pounded out, generously salt and pepper pounded side. Season with a few shakes of parsley and ground mustard. Place cheese and ham at the wider end of the chicken breast. Fold sides of chicken into the middle to secure cheese from melting out, then starting from the wider top end of the chicken (the end with the cheese and ham), roll the chicken tightly, tucking in the sides, until you get to the thinner end. Secure with toothpicks. Generously season all sides of chicken roll with salt and pepper.*
- In a large cast iron skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over slightly greater than medium heat (6 out of 10). Once pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles, place chicken breasts in pan. Allow chicken to sear for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn to the other side and sear until golden brown. Sear both edges.
- Transfer cast iron pan into oven and bake chicken at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- While chicken is cooking, whisk together ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
- Once chicken is done cooking, remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Strain drippings of pan into a gravy strainer, discarding oil. Pour juices back into the pan.
- Heat juices in the skillet over medium heat until juices begin to simmer. Stir drippings until they darken in color (dark amber). Whisk ingredients of sauce again. Slowly pour sauce into pan with drippings, whisking vigorously as you are pouring. Bring sauce to a boil while slowly stirring. Once sauce boils, reduce heat to a low boil and cook for 3-5 minutes or until sauce thickens to your preference, stirring continuously. Season sauce to taste.
- Remove sauce from heat and spoon over chicken. Serve chicken and sauce warm.
Yum!!! These look sooooo good!
I couldn’t find an email for you, but I am starting a new Project I’m calling the Gluten Free Collective, and I wanted to see if you had any interest!? {http://www.discovercreatelive.com/the-gluten-free-collective/} Feel free to check it out 🙂
This looks delicious!
Thank you Lucy! I’m loving my new cast iron for recipes like this. Yum!