Each year on April 4th, National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day celebrates a blue ribbon dish that combines chicken, ham, and cheese.

The French term Cordon Bleu translates to “Blue Ribbon.” This dish is a take on the popular Veal Cordon Bleu.  It is a flattened chicken breast which is wrapped around ham (or sometimes prosciutto or Canadian bacon) and cheese such as Swiss or Gruyere. Toothpicks hold the chicken together before being dipped in an egg wash and breaded.

The earliest recipe we were able to find was in a March 1964 printing of the Cincinnati Enquirer by the Cincinnati Gourmet Stanley Demos. Despite some misconceptions, it is an American dish. Demos mentions in his column that he got the idea to try chicken instead of veal “to be different.”  It has been a popular dish since.

Explore More Chicken

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• National Chicken Month
• National Keto Day
• National Chicken Curry Day
• National Chicken Wings Day
• National Fried Chicken Day
• National Rotisserie Chicken Day
• National Poultry Day
• National Pork Rinds Day
• National Chicken & Waffles Day
• National Chicken Boy Day
• National Chicken Lady Day
• White Chicken Chili
• Mushroom Swiss Checken
• Easy Orange Chicken
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• Jen’s Keto Chicken
• Chicken Cordon Blue Cassarole
• Jen’s Chicken Noodle Soup

HOW TO OBSERVE #ChickenCordonBleuDay

Try making Chicken Cordon Bleu or a variation on the theme. Several recipes offer lighter varieties, too. Share your favorite recipe for this creative chicken dish. We also found a couple for you to try in your home kitchen. 

Use #ChickenCordonBleuDay to post on social media.