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This quick and delicious keto chicken cordon bleu recipe gets a healthier for you upgrade with a gluten free crust and a creamy dairy free cashew cheese sauce. It is comfort food made lighter, ready in under 30 minutes, and perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!
A Childhood Favorite, Made Better!
As a nutritionist, lightened up comfort food are my absolute favorite kinds of meals to make. Chicken Cordon Bleu was my birthday dinner request every single year as a kid. And truth be told, I wanted the frozen ones you just popped in the oven. Haha, my childhood palate was very sophisticated!!
While talking about favorite meals with my family on vacation last week, this one came up. I immediately thought, can I make it keto and gluten free, while still keeping it creamy and delicious? As a nutritionist, lightened-up comfort food is my favorite challenge. And let me tell you… this version is even better than I remember!!!
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
- Ready in 30 minutes for a quick weeknight dinner
- All the flavor of classic chicken cordon bleu without gluten or dairy
- A creamy cashew “cheese” sauce that feels indulgent but is still light
- Perfect for family meals and makes delicious leftovers
How to Make Keto Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Pound chicken breasts thin, place prosciutto on top, and fold closed.
- Dip in egg, then coat with a mix of almond flour, arrowroot, seasonings, and pecans.
- Sear in a hot skillet until golden, then finish in a 400 degree oven.
- Blend soaked cashews into a creamy sauce and spoon over the chicken before serving.
Tips for Success
- Pound chicken evenly so it cooks through without drying out.
- Heat the skillet well before searing for a golden crust.
- Soak cashews for at least 20 minutes to get the creamiest sauce.
What to Serve with It
This dish is delicious on its own, but I love rounding it out with a few simple sides. Crispy and flavorful Skillet Green Beans with Bacon are always a hit, while Air Fryer Roasted Asparagus makes an easy veggie pairing. For something heartier, you can never go wrong with classic Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes alongside.
I cannot wait for you to try this keto chicken cordon bleu!! It is comforting, satisfying, and so much easier than you think.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast or chicken cutlets
- 6 slices prosciutto or thinly sliced ham
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch or tapioca starch (flour)
- 3 tbsp finely diced pecans
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 egg, whisked
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
For the Cashew Cheese Sauce:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews*
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large oven proof skillet to medium high heat.
- Pound your chicken breast thin to 1/4-1/2 inch, or use chicken cutlets. Place a slice of prosciutto on top of each chicken breast, and fold over. Set aside.
- In a shallow bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot starch, pecans, thyme, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg.
- Place each chicken breast in the egg first, then the flour mixture ensuring that you coat all sides.
- Once skillet is hot, coat the bottom with oil. Place each chicken breast in the pan and sear for a few minutes (2-3) on each side, or until there was a golden crust. Transfer the pan to the oven.
- Cook for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Meanwhile, make the cashew sauce. Combine drained cashews, chicken broth, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, and salt into a food processor or high powered blender. Pulse or blend until smooth, pausing as many times as needed to scrape the sides. This could take 4-5 minutes.
- Once chicken is ready, remove from oven. Pour the cashew sauce into the pan so it can heat up. Alternatively, spoon some cashew sauce over each chicken breast. Serve hot!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Amy. This recipe looks delicious but I cannot eat cashews. Is there anything I can substitute to make the cheese sauce?
Thanks,
Mary
Hi Mary! Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to create a dairy-free “cheesy” sauce without cashews. You could try a few subsitutions. The first would be to use a real cheese sauce if you can tolerate dairy. If not, you could try Kite Hill cream cheese (almond base) with some nutritional yeast, or try coconut cream with a bit of dijon mustard and nutritional yeast. I hope that helps!
My husband loved this recipe! And even my super picky daughter. We already have it planned to eat again next week. You always have great recipes.
Thank you, Alisha!! I love hearing that. This recipe is such a good one to put on repeat!
A new favorite! We’re making for the second time in less than two weeks. Thank you ????
Sooooo good, right?!?! I agree, one of my favorites!
Hi–Love your recipies. Question… I’m allergic to tree nuts but able to have cheese. Do you have any suggestions on how I could adapt this recipe for me (what amounts?). Thanks!
Great tasting recipe! Well worth the time to make.
I agree, Bob!! I love this Chicken Cordon Bleu, and glad you enjoyed it too.
What do you mean by fold over : the prosciutto and chicken please?
Hi Jenn, it’s the chicken you want to fold over so that the prosciutto is in the middle. Hope that makes sense. You can also look at the picture above!
I made this on our August Whole30 night one, and it made my boyfriend and I actually look forward to the rest of the month. SO DELICIOUS! We didn’t have arrowroot (had a delay in our delivery) so just used more almond flour and tasted great!
So glad you loved it!