Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Preheat and Prep: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch glass baking dish.
2. Lay the Chicken Foundation: Pat your chicken breasts completely dry with paper towels. Season them lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper, then arrange them in a flat, even layer across the bottom of your prepared baking dish.
3. Layer the Ham and Swiss: Fold your thin slices of deli ham and layer them generously over the top of the raw chicken. Next, blanket the ham completely with your slices of Swiss cheese, exactly like the neat layering sequence depicted in .
4. Whisk the Savory Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup, milk, sour cream, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper until completely smooth.
5. The Perfect Pour: Slowly pour this velvety cream sauce directly over the Swiss cheese layer, using a spatula to spread it evenly into all the corners, precisely mirroring the top-right pane of .
6. Add the Crunch: In a small bowl, toss the Panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese with the melted butter until the mixture resembles wet sand. Scatter this mixture evenly over the top of the cream sauce.
7. Bake Until Golden: Place the casserole into your preheated oven. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the sauce is bubbling up intensely at the edges and the breadcrumb crust has transformed into a gorgeous, deep golden-brown blanket, just like the pan baking inside the oven in the bottom-left pane of . (Ensure the internal temp of the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F).
8. Rest, Slice, and Serve! Let the casserole cool for 5-10 minutes out of the oven to let the cheese and sauce firm up. Slice it into squares and lift it out to reveal those distinct, gorgeous layers of white chicken, pink ham, and gooey melted cheese showcased on the serving plate in the bottom-right corner of . Pair it with a fresh green side salad and enjoy!