Parmesan Chicken Cordon Bleu
By now it should be no surprise that I’m a big fan of traditional Italian cooking. Neapolitan pizza, pasta carbonara, good wine, and amazing gelato.
So today, I will be showing that love and passion…by making one of the least-traditional Italian dishes that I could possibly make!
One of the first dishes I ever learned how to make was Chicken Cordon Bleu, a classic French dish that involves a thin chicken breast wrapped around ham and cheese before being breaded and deep fried.
So, with that in mind, I decided to take the concept of Cordon Bleu and put a spin on it with the flavors and techniques of one of the most popular Italian-American dishes, chicken parmesan, but also air frying it for a much lighter experience.
I made a Tiktok video about this, so now I’d like to share it in further detail!
Let’s do it!
As is traditional for Chicken Cordon Bleu, I will begin by butterflying my chicken breast in half, being careful not to cut all the way through, then covering the chicken with plastic wrap and using a meat mallet to pound it to an even thickness.
I then season both sides of my chicken with salt and pepper.
It’s believed that this process of pounding meat like this will help to tenderize it, and while that does hold some truth to it, chicken breasts are actually very tender as they are, so all I’m doing is flattening the chicken to give it a uniform thickness and to help it roll up easier.
From this point, we would normally lay slices of ham and Swiss cheese onto the chicken, but I wanted to give it an Italian flare, so I will instead use thin slices of prosciutto and grated fontina cheese.
Fontina is a semisoft cow’s milk cheese that has a gooey melting quality like mozzarella but also a mild sharp tang like cheddar. If you can’t find fontina, then mozzarella (not fresh) is a good substitute.
I’ll also be putting a few sage leaves on there as I like the flavor of sage, but any soft herb like parsley or basil will work as well.
I just put a layer of grated cheese, prosciutto, and sage onto the part of the chicken that’s closest to me while leaving about an inch of space at the top to help the chicken seal properly.
From there, I rolled up my chicken nice and tight, making sure all of the cheese and ham were tightly wrapped around the chicken and making sure that there was a nice pinwheel shape on the inside.
From there, it’s time for the stage that gets messy but exciting, the breading stage.
Before I get to breading, I pre-heat my air fryer to 350 degrees. If you don’t have an air fryer, then this also works in a 375-degree oven.
I start by rolling my chicken around in lightly seasoned flour, you don’t need a lot of flour, then dust off the excess. I then proceed to roll my chicken in an egg wash, made by beating some eggs with a bit of water, until fully coated.
From there, I roll the chicken in a mix of panko breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, some dried herbs, and garlic powder. I am using pre-seasoned breadcrumbs because that’s what I happened to have, but if all you have is plain, then adding a bit of salt is a good idea as well.
When doing a breading process like this, it is a good idea to keep a dry hand and a wet hand. Otherwise, you’ll have clumps of breadcrumbs all over your fingers.
Once the air fryer was hot, I then sprayed the chicken generously with cooking spray before air frying for 20-25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs were golden and crispy.
Normally with chicken parmesan, you would top the crispy chicken with tomato sauce and cheese before broiling, but if you think about it this is not a good idea as the wet tomato sauce can ruin the beautiful crispy breadcrumbs that I worked so hard to achieve.
Instead, I will put a layer of cheese on top to get that golden, cheesy outside and serve some sauce on the side, that way the breadcrumbs will stay crispy and I will be happy.
I simply cover my chicken with a layer of grated fontina and air fried that for another 3 minutes, or until that cheese got golden and bubbly. I like it a bit crusty on the outside, but you can do it as long as you’d like.
Once all was done, I let my chicken rest for a few minutes so the juices can redistribute before slicing into it and serving it with some warm tomato sauce right next to it.
This is a sauce that I made myself and had leftovers of, but I don’t have an issue with using a ready-made marinara sauce.
And there you have it, delicious air-fried parmesan chicken cordon bleu!
It has that crispy exterior with the gooey cheese on the inside, plus a bit of saltiness from the prosciutto and parmesan, a bit of pop from the sage leaves, and that marinara next to it takes it to a different dimension!
It might not be something that someone from Italy would ever dare to make, however it is certainly delicious!
Air Fried Parmesan Chicken Cordon Bleu
Servings: 4
4 large chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
12 ounces of grated fontina cheese, divided (Mozzarella works too)
8 thin slices of prosciutto
12 large sage leaves
1/4 cup of flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs
1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning (or a mix of any dried herb)
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)
Cooking spray
2 cups of marinara sauce (See link), warmed.
https://the-s-word.net/recipes/vvj0jngryzt6z0lyviclxzuxxvesv4
Butterfly the chicken breasts in half, cover them with plastic wrap, then use a meat mallet to pound them to an even thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
With the skin side down (or smooth side), Place 1 ounce of the grated fontina onto each chicken breast, leaving an inch of space at the top, and top with 2 slices of prosciutto, 3 sage leaves, and another ounce of cheese.
Roll each chicken up tightly and press to seal. (if the chicken isn’t sealing tightly, then secure it with toothpicks. Just don’t forget to remove the toothpicks before serving.)
Lay out 3 shallow bowls or plates, then put the flour in one bowl, season with salt and pepper, beat the eggs with 2 tablespoons of water in the second bowl, and combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder in the third, season that with salt and pepper.
Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Working with one chicken at a time, roll the chicken in the seasoned flour, making sure to dust off the excess, followed by the eggs and the breadcrumb mixture, making sure to coat completely.
Once the air fryer is hot, spray each chicken generously with cooking spray, then air fry for 20-25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the chicken is fully cooked or almost fully cooked.
Top the chicken with the remaining 4 ounces of grated fontina, then air fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes once it’s done cooking.
Slice the chicken into pinwheels, or serve them whole, and serve with the warm marinara sauce on the side.
Enjoy!
