Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac and Cheese
Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac and Cheese is the ultimate pairing of two comfort food dishes - the fancy chicken cordon bleu (chicken breasts stuffed with ham and cheese) and macaroni and cheese!
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 501kcal
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow macaroni
- 2 cups chicken cooked and shredded
- 1 cup ham chopped
- 5 tablespoon butter divided
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup Swiss cheese chopped
- 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
- ½ cup breadcrumbs seasoned
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In the same pot you cooked the pasta, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Whisk in the all purpose flour until you can no longer see clumps of flour. Slowly pour in a little chicken stock and whisk until there are no lumps of flour. Continue pouring in chicken stock while whisking. Whisk in the milk.
- Whisk frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Stir in the onion powder, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the Gruyere and Swiss until melted.
- Stir in the pasta, followed by the chicken and the ham. Mix until combined.
- Transfer mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- In the same pot you cooked everything in, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add in the seasoned breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture gets just a little bit of color and the butter is absorbed into it.
- Spread the bread crumbs over the chicken cordon bleu macaroni and cheese.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Substitutions: use a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead of cooking and shredding your own. Replace deli ham with a chopped (cooked) ham steak. Replace elbow noodles with penne or your favorite pasta noodle.
- Make Ahead: the dish can be prepared (leave off the bread crumbs until ready to bake) and refrigerated for 3 days before cooking. Let warm up on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking as directed above.
- Freezing: let dish cool completely then transfer to a container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Serve with: green salad, buttered peas, roasted broccoli, Italian green beans, etc.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 851mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 401IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 425mg | Iron: 2mg
