Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu

This Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu with creamy cheese sauce will blow your mind! Perfectly golden-brown on the outside, + juicy, cheesy incredible on the inside. It’s a fancy-feeling anytime dinner that’s ready in under an hour!

Note: I’ve rated this recipe as Moderate difficulty because there are a couple different cooking techniques required – raw meat handling, tenderizing, and making a cream sauce from scratch. Each step by itself isn’t tricky, but when you put them all back-to-back, it equals a Moderate difficulty recipe.

What are the ingredients in this Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu?

What I absolutely love about this recipe is that with a couple simple techniques, you can turn all these basic ingredients into a quite fancy-feeling dinner. Here’s a list of everything you’ll need for this recipe, plus info on swaps or substitutions when it works:

• chicken breasts – Look for two boneless skinless chicken breasts of equal size. This way when you cut them into four slices and prep the cordon bleu, they should all cook evenly. The tenderloin piece can be hard to cut in half and roll up, so I prefer to look for chicken packaged without it.
• deli ham – A thin sliced smoked deli ham works really well here, but if your ham is a little thicker, just use one slice each.
• gruyère cheese – Traditionally, cordon bleu is made with Swiss cheese, but honestly, I don’t like it much. So I opted for Gruyère, which I think is even better. It’s slightly sweet, which contrasts well with the salty smoked ham.
• flour – All-purpose flour is used to coat the chicken as well as make the base roux for the creamy cheese sauce.
• garlic powder – Adding a little garlic powder to both the flour seasoning step and the sauce gives a nice subtle flavor without spending any time mincing!
• egg – Another step in breading involves covering the prepared chicken in whisked egg and a little milk, before the final step of adding breadcrumbs.
• milk – I add a little bit of milk to the egg as well as using milk for the base of the cheese sauce. I actually used unsweetened almond milk, but cow’s milk would also work just fine.
• panko breadcrumbs – The last step of breading! Press a nice layer of panko breadcrumbs on the chicken before placing it into the air fryer basket. Panko is a thicker crumb that will work really well for this quick breading method.
• butter – A small amount of unsalted butter is used for the base of the cream sauce. Butter gives the best flavor!
• dijon mustard – This adds a bit of flavor to the cream sauce and gives a nice contrast to the chicken and ham.
• fine sea salt & fresh ground black pepper – Of course, everything is seasoned well with salt and pepper. I definitely recommend sprinkling salt on the chicken after tenderizing, as well as adding salt and pepper to the flour and the cream sauce to enhance flavor.

Equipment you’ll need to make this Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu:

You do need a couple different tools to make this recipe come out amazing. While you could always bake chicken cordon bleu, this recipe was written for the air fryer. Here are my recommendations:

• air fryer – The air fryer I’m currently in love with and pictured in this post is the Cosori Turboblaze 6 Quart Air Fryer (affiliate link!). I just started using this model in 2024, and I’m loving how easy it is to clean. Plus it’s way quieter than my older model!
• sharp chef’s knife – To safely and successfully slice chicken breasts in half horizontally, you definitely need a sharp knife. I recommend a Misen Chef’s Knife (affiliate link!).
• meat tenderizer – Honestly any heavy object can work to tenderize meat, but I love this style: slightly heavy, round and flat (affiliate link!).

How do you make this Chicken Cordon Bleu?

While it may look super restaurant style fancy, I promise this Chicken Cordon Bleu is something you can easily nail in your own kitchen! Top tip: Don’t be afraid of the raw chicken, and use gloves if you want to!

Start by preparing the chicken breasts for rolling. Use a sharp knife to cut both chicken breasts horizontally and create 4 evenly sized cutlets. Here’s a video on how to cut chicken horizontally and then tenderize it, if you are a visual learner!

Next, to tenderize, place 2 cutlets into a gallon sized zip-top bag, lay them flat on the counter, and use a flat tenderizer, mallet, or cast iron pan to flatten them to about 1/2 inch thick. This can also be seen in the video above. Be gentle enough not to shred the chicken. Repeat with remaining 2 chicken slices. Sprinkle both sides of all tenderized chicken pieces with salt, then get ready to stuff and roll!

Before proceeding with stuffing the chicken full of ham and cheese, set aside 2/3 cup shredded cheese for the sauce. Of course you can use Swiss cheese if you prefer, but I am loving using Gruyère instead! The sweet nuttiness contrasts perfects with the salty ham.

Lay 1 piece of tenderized chicken flat on a cutting board or plate. Place the ham slices flat towards one end of the chicken. Next, take a large pinch (or small handful) of shredded cheese and squeeze it together in your palm so it sticks together, then place it on top of the ham.

Start rolling from the ham covered end, rolling the chicken up while tucking the ham and cheese inside, then secure it closed with a toothpick. It does not have to be perfect! If it doesn’t stay secured, use another toothpick. Set the chicken aside or on a small plate. Repeat with all 3 remaining pieces of chicken.

Next, use 3 low edge bowls or plates to set up a breading station as follows:

• In bowl 1, add the flour, garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper and stir together.
• In bowl 2, whisk 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk.
• In bowl 3, add the panko breadcrumbs.

Bread each rolled up chicken breast in the following order: flour, egg, panko breadcrumbs. Set each one into the air fryer basket as they are coated. Air fry all four of the the chicken cordon bleu servings at 350F for 21-23 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, make the creamy cheese sauce!

To make the sauce, start by melting the butter in a large skillet over low heat. Once it’s melted, add the flour and whisk until combined. Let it bubble and begin to foam for about 2 minutes, whisking occasionally.

Next, add the milk in small additions, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking thoroughly to combine between each addition. Add the dijon mustard and garlic powder, followed by the gruyère cheese.

Whisk continuously until the cheese is melted and a smooth sauce has formed. Add sea salt and black pepper if you wish. Keep the sauce on low, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is done. This should be around the same time!

The chicken cordon bleu is done when the outside coating is golden brown and the temperature reads 165F, though this can be hard to measure with stuffed chicken. Do a visual check by slicing the largest piece in the middle – there should be no pink in the chicken.

Let the chicken rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes – this helps it retain all the moisture – then slice each one into 4-5 slices. Serve the chicken with a generous amount of sauce on top!

Best tips for making Chicken Cordon Bleu in an air fryer:

Here are my best tips for making this chicken cordon bleu recipe successfully in your own kitchen:

• Don’t skip tenderizing! Combined with air frying the chicken, this makes the juiciest, most tender chicken you’ve ever had. Be sure to use a zip-top bag to contain the mess when tenderizing, plus have an easy cleanup.
• When breading the chicken, try to keep one hand dry (flour and breadcrumbs) and one hand wet (egg). This will help keep you from basically breading your own fingers.

Why cook chicken cordon bleu in the air fryer vs. the oven?

Both the oven and air fryer can cook up delicious chicken cordon bleu, and stuffed chicken. But there might be cases where you need to use the air fryer – your oven is broken; your oven is full of something else; or maybe you don’t have an oven!

Baking stuffed chicken breast in the oven can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breasts. Air fryer chicken breast takes around 20-23 minutes to cook.

What to serve with this Chicken Cordon Bleu?

When I photographed this recipe, I also made some oven-roasted asparagus and simple garlic rice pilaf from a box. All of these meal components together were unbelievably delicious! But the possibilities for what to serve with this chicken cordon bleu are endless and totally up to you. Here are some other ideas to try:

• serve with any roasted vegetables
• mashed potatoes! Or any kind of potato
• serve over your favorite rice or pasta
• serve with a side salad and fresh cut veggies

Make-ahead ideas for this recipe:

There are a couple ways to save time by preparing all or part of this recipe ahead of time. Here are some options:

• Complete prep: Prepare the recipe from start to finish. Then, store your cooked chicken cordon bleu in an airtight container to reheat and eat during the week. You can even reheat it in the air fryer and it will still be crisp on the outside!
• Assemble chicken only: Prepare the recipe through Step 2, then cover and let sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Proceed with the recipe when you’re ready!

How to store Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Store leftovers separately in sealed containers in the fridge and enjoy within 4 days.

How to reheat Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Reheat chicken in the air fryer for best results, though the microwave would work as well. Reheat at 350F for 6-7 minutes. Reheat the sauce on the stovetop, whisking and adding additional milk to thin it out if necessary.