I have always been a little fascinated with Chicken Cordon Bleu. I remember as a kid wondering “How did they get the cheese and the ham INSIDE the chicken?!” but now that I know at least a little bit more about cooking, I know it’s actually pretty simple — rolling. (Duh.) That simple technique translates equally well to a larger form… like say, in a meatloaf. Which means that serving Chicken Cordon Bleu (or at least something Chicken Cordon Bleu adjacent) to a group of your nearest and dearest is actually really easy. You only need to stuff and roll one time and everyone gets to enjoy it! (And don’t miss that creamy Dijon sauce to top it all off.)

Basically, you’re going to make a meatloaf mixture but you’re going to use ground chicken. You want two pounds. And then, like you would with any other meatloaf, you’ll use a binder to hold it all together — in this case panko breadcrumbs and egg. The flavoring is simple enough — some Dijon mustard, some parsley, onion, garlic, Parmesan, and some salt and pepper.

You’ll want to mix that all together (with meatloaf, your hands are generally your best tool) and then instead of pressing it into a loaf pan, you’re going to press it into a thin rectangle on some parchment paper or foil.

Then you’ll line it with slices of ham and Swiss cheese and roll it right up.

Rolling is pretty sticky work, but using the parchment to help you along makes it a bit easier. Once it’s rolled, transfer it to a loaf pan and reshape the edges a bit.

Before it heads into the oven, it gets a topping of breadcrumbs tossed in butter, because if you’re asking me, Chicken Cordon Bleu is nothing without the breading. We need that nice crispy-crunchety coating.

You’ll definitely want to use an oven thermometer here and you can pull the meatloaf out when it reaches 165°F. Start checking the temp at about an hour, though it will likely take a little longer. If your crumbs are starting to get too toasty, just tent the loaf pan with foil towards the end of the cooking time.

You’ll want to let the meatloaf rest for a bit before you slice, but that’s the perfect time to make the Dijon sauce to serve with it. That’s just a matter of whisking flour into butter, whisking in a bit of milk, and then adding in some Dijon, parm, and plenty of black pepper once it’s thickened. Enjoy!