Vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu

Truth be told, I never really ate Chicken Cordon Blue before I was vegan.

I don’t know why? I mean it was certainly something my parents never made, so maybe that’s why.

My husband on the other hand adored it, and ordered it often if we ever went somewhere and it was an option. I don’t know why I didn’t jump on the band wagon back then, but I didn’t.

So recently I decided I would give it a go since I had just baked up a vegan deli glazed ham and we still have a little left over. This ham is so super easy and if you haven’t tried making it yet, I highly recommend it. It is one of my favorite seitan recipes on our site! You can also use something like Lifelight smart bacon. But if you make the ham then USE IT!! It is so good!

I also make a really easy and very convincing vegan chicken breast. I normally make a batch or 2 each week for meal prep, because it is so quick and easy, and it keeps for a week in the fridge or months in freezer. For this recipe you do need to make a fresh batch of the chicken because you actually have to stuff the chicken seitan when it is still in its dough form.

For the cheese I used our all purpose cheese sauce, and I literally use it for almost any recipes that requires a gooey cheese. I make a ton of sliceable, shreddable vegan cheeses BUT this sauce is still my go to because it is so good, so easy, and most people have the ingredients in their pantry already! For this recipe you have to let the sauce cook until its good and thick and gooey! This just makes it easier to get it into the vegan chicken breast without it all oozing out! I say to make a half batch for the recipe, but if you make a full batch you can use it to make all kinds of things later in the week. Pizza, quesadillas, grilled cheese, nachos, lasagna, all kinds of things!

It might seem like this vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe has a lot of steps, or too many ingredients, and you are not wrong, but also you are. If you have recently bake a vegan ham, or use pre-made vegan ham or bacon it is really easy! I really think once you make the cheese sauce it will become a staple in you fridge once you discover all the different ways you can use it! Because I already had the ham, this recipe did not take me any longer to make than regular vegan fried chicken! For us the cheese and ham are already staples in our house, making this recipe relatively quick and unfussy. So I guess it just depends on what you keep on hand.

But I will also say that if you do not already have a vegan ham laying around or a batch of cheese sauce made up, it is worth the effort to make both just to make this reicpe!! You will have lots of leftover ham that you eat on sandwiches, or freeze for later, and again the cheese sauce is so versatile and can be used in a ton of recipes!

I know not all Chicken Cordon Bleu comes with a sauce on it, but I am a fan of sauce. So I decided to use some reserved cheese to make a creamy sauce with a zesty kick from the dijon mustard. Again, you can skip this step but y’all, its soooo good. I might be my favorite part of the whole reicpe! So again I say just try it!!

So there you go, my versions of Vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu from a former non fan. Easier than you might think and now I have to wonder why I never ate it more when we were not vegan, because it is delicious! I hate to tell my husband he was right, but…….

INGREDIENTS:

• I cup thinly sliced vegan deli ham. or 8 sliced Lightlife Smart Bacon

• 1/2 batch all purpose vegan cheese sauce (1/4 cup for chicken, 1/2 cup for sauce)

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

• 1/3 cup vegan sour cream or plain unsweetened yogurt

• 1/3 cup unsweetened plant milk

• 3/4 cups all purpose flour

• 3/4 cups vegan panko bread crumbs

• 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon of any all purpose sesoinng you like

• Oil for frying

CHICKEN BREAST:

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neural flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

• 1 teaspoons salt

CREAMY DIJON MUSTARD SAUCE:

• 1/2 cup of prepared all purpose cheese sauce

• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk

• 1-2 teaspoon dijon mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare cheese sauce according to instructions. You want the sauce pretty thick so allow it too cook until it is thick and kind of stretchy. Allow it to cool while you prepare the chicken.

2. You can use our 86eats deli ham recipe or you can use a premade vegan ham or bacon. If you want to use our ham recipe it will have to be made ahead of time and allowed to rest.

3. For The Chicken: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

4. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

5. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 8 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a chicken breast shape.

6. Flatten out the chicken breast shapes to about a half inch thick. You are going to stuff and fold the pieces in half so make sure you have formed them big enough and flat enough to accomplish this.

7. Take about a tablespoon of the cooled cheese sauce and spread it in the middle of the chicken breast but leave and edge of seitan dough untouched by the cheese ( the dough won’t stick together if it gets wet with the cheese.) Lay a few thin pieces of vegan ham on the cheese and fold the breast in half. Pinch the edges to make sure the vegan chicken breast is perfectly sealed. You don’t want any cheese oozing out while baking.

8. Place the stuffed chicken breast on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spray the tops with some cooking oil and tightly cover the entire pan with foil. If you don’t want the foil touching your food, lay another piece of parchment paper on top of the breast before covering in foil.

9. Let the chicken breast bake covered for 30 minutes.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Pop the chicken in the fridge and let it rest for at least 4 hours. This rest time is important for the texture to develop.

1. To Coat The Chicken: In a medim bowl mix 1/3 cup plant milk, 1/3 cup sour cream or yogurt, and 1 teaspoon dijon mustard. In another bowl mix the flour, starch, bread crumbs, salt, onion powder, and all purpose seasoning.

2. Dip the chicken breast first in the wet mixture then the dry. Make sure the pieces are coated well and entirely.

3. Place a wire cooling rack on top of paper towel lined cookie sheet and place it next to the stove.

4. Heat a deep skillet with several inches of any neutral oil you prefer for frying. I like peanut or grapeseed oil. Get the oil good and hot (350 degrees if you have a kitchen thermometer, if you don’t you can put a chop stick in the pan touching the bottom. If little bubbles form around the tip of the chop stick then the oil is ready.) Fry a few pieces at a time, just for a few minutes per side or until the chicken breast begin to brown and are crispy. Place on cooling rack for a few minutes after they are done to allow excess oil to drip off. You can alternatively use an air fryer. Just fry at 375, giving them a mist with oil. You will need to flip the mid fry and probably fry them for about 10 minutes depending on how many you have in there. Just check on them and when they are brown and crispy they are done.

5. Prepare the sauce by whisking 1/2 cup of cheese in a sauce pan with the 1 cup of plant milk, dijon and spices. Heat on medium heat whisking continuously until the cheese sauce thins back out and the sauce is smooth. It will be lumpy and kind of weird at first, but just keep whisking and it will come together. You can add less or more dijon mustard depending on preference.

6. Serve the vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu with the creamy dijon sauce on the side or drizzled on top.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Chicken and Waffles

Vegan Chicken Nuggets

Vegan Chicken Parm Sandwihc

Vegan Ham and Cheddar Scones

Scone, or biscuit? I guess it depends on where you live!

But here in the United States this is a scone. Denser than a biscuit (not to be confused with a biscuit that we call a cookie) but still buttery and delicious.

I typically bake sweet scones but recently came across a non vegan recipe for some savory ham and cheese scones, and could not wait to create a vegan version.

My vegan ham recipe is one of my families favorite seitan recipes I make, so I knew the next time I baked up a super easy vegan ham, I needed to save some of it for these scones! This ham is SO easy. Seriously! Even if you have never made seitan once in your life, this recipes is so super easy. I works well for deli slices, or sliced thick for ham steaks, or cubed up for salads, or diced finely for recipes like these vegan ham and cheese scones!

You can use store bought cheddar shreds or make homemade. Homemade vegan cheese is actually easier to make than you may think and I have around 40 cheese recipes on the site to choose from. You could make a spicy cheddar, a smoky cheddar or even a spredable pimento cheddar for this recipe. All would be delicious. Or you can just buy whatever brand of premade vegan cheddar you like. My favorite brand is Follow Your Heart. It seems to melt the best out of any I have tried.

So combine that delicious vegan ham and vegan cheddar into a savory, buttery, scone, slathered in spicy and sweet pepper jelly, and oh my gosh y’all!! I will be making these things ALL THE TIME!!

They mix up quickly and bake in about half and hour making them perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch or even for weekday meal prep as an easy grab and go morning bite!

And really no matter what call these, scones, biscuits, some other name I have yet to hear, just make them. Who cares what you call them. I bet we can all agree on calling them flipping delicious!

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 cups of all purpose flour

• 8 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

• 1 cup vegan sour cream

• 1 starch egg (1 tablespoon corn or tapioca starch with 3 tablespoons water)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 and 3/4 cups finely diced vegan ham

• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan cheddar shreds

TOPPING:

• 1 tablespoon softened vegan butter

• 2 teaspoons maple syrup

• 1/4 cup vegan cheddar shreds

• dried parsly

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast flour, baking soda, baking powder, garlic, and salt. Mix well.

2. Add the butter, and using your hands, work in the butter until the mixture seem coarse and sort of crumbly. Add the diced vegan ham and vegan cheddar shreds.

3. Mix the starch and 3 tablespoons of water together and let sit for a minute.

4. In a small bowl whisk the sour cream, liquid smoke, and starch egg.

5. Add sour cream mixture to the dry mixture, and stir until combined. Knead until the dough comes together. I used Tofuti brand sour cream which is super thick. I you use a brand that is thinner it may change the consistency of the dough. If you dough seems to be on the wetter side then add a few more tablespoons of flour.

6. Once it has come together, form a disk with the dough about 7-8 inches wide, and 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut the disc into 8 equal triangles. Place scones onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Mix the softened butter and maple syrup together, and brush the tops of the scones with the mixture. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup fo cheddar shreds and some dried parsley for color.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the scones are cooked through. Bake times will vary depending on your oven.

8. Allow scones to cool a bit before serving.. Serve as is or with some pepper jelly or apricot jam.

9. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Vegan Sausage Balls

Vegan Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs

Vegan Pineapple Coconut Scones

Vegan Hawaiian Rolls

Before we went vegetarian, never mind vegan, I could put down some Hawaiian rolls.

Every single Thanksgiving my family would buy a Honey Baked Ham and I would look most forward to the leftover ham sandwiches with mayo on a Hawaiian roll. It was my favorite sandwich that I only got to eat once a year.

For years and years my husband and I have talked about missing that sandwich. So I decided enough was enough and it was high time I make a convincing vegan ham.

Well, I did. But I still needed a vegan Hawaiian roll, so set my 14 year old to task with coming up a with a vegan version of the best roll on the planet (just my opinion but seriously, it is the best)

I have talked more than once about how amazing our 14 year old is (all of our kids are really rad, actually) but P can bake ANYTHING and make it vegan.

It took her just one attempt at veganizing a Hawaiian roll recipe to develop the most perfect Hawaiian roll I maybe ever have had.

Sweet, soft, and just waiting for a big pile of vegan ham and some mayo.

And just like that. all the stars aligned and there was finally nostalgic food joy in our house year around. Glory glory!!

These vegan Hawaiian rolls are gonna take you some time. They are after all a yeast roll and those just take time to rise. It is what it is. So make sure if want these for dinner to start them in them several hours before you are wanting to eat.

And let me just mention before you ask or comment, these rolls are suppose to be sweet. Sweet and a little savoy. In case you have never had one. The pineapple juice is key ingredient so no, you can not swap it out. If you do, it will not be a Hawaiian roll. It will be some other kind of roll and thats ok, but it won’t be a traditional Hawaiian roll.

They are best warm, right out of the oven, but they keep well for a few days and are still delicious at room temp.

And if you are also a fan of ham on Hawaiian, try our vegan ham recipe. It is so easy to make, and really affordable. I am talking $4 for about a pound and a half of vegan deli meat. Y’all, you will never have to pay too much for vegan lunch meat ever again!! And if you don’t like ham, I have turkey, brisket, and pastrami recipes as well!!

If you are not in it for the sandwiches, then these rolls make a perfect bread side for just about any meal. They are great for BBQs, pot lucks, or just Sunday night dinner.

Thanks again to our brilliant P for all of her veganizing genius and these rolls.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 2 starch eggs ( 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch+ 6 tablespoons water, mixed)

• 1/4 cup melted vegan butter

• 1/2 cup warm oat milk (100-110 degrees, if it’s too hot it will kill the yeast, it should be about the temp of hot water from the tap as a gauge if you don’t have a kitchen thermometer)

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice, room temp

GLAZE:

• 3 tablespoons oat milk

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or large bowl if mixing by hand, add the pineapple juice, warm milk, melted butter, starch eggs, sugar, salt, and yeast.

2. Add 2 cups of flour and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to incorporate the wet ingredients with the dry. The dough will be shaggy, loose, and sticky.

3. If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook. On medium/low speed begin adding remaining flour until the dough comes together. If the dough seems a little too dry, add a tablespoon of water. If it seems too wet, you can add a few extra tablespoons of four. Let the dough knead in the mixer for 5 minutes unit a smooth, soft dough forms.

4. If mixing by hand, add a little flour at a time mixing by hand unit the dough forms. Turn dough out onto a clean floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes. (it will be a good workout, to work off all those carbs you are about to cram in your face)

5. Lightly coat a large mixing bowl with some oil. Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen bowl. Place the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise until doubled in size. This should take about an hour but will depend on how warm it is in your house. It could take a bit longer. I let my dough rise in my oven with it turned off.

6. Lightly coat or spray a 9x13 pan with oil.

7. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and divide it into 15 equal pieces. You can eyeball it, or if you are the kind of person that needs them to be EXACTLY the same size, use a kitchen scale. Roll each piece of dough into a ball place them in the 9x13 pan.

8. In a small bowl mix 3 tablespoons oat milk and 3 tablespoons maple syrup. Brush the tops of the rolls and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen bowl. Let rise again for 30 minutes. You can use any plant milk you have but oat milk browns better than the rest.

9. While the rolls are rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

10. Uncover and bake rolls on the middle oven rack for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

11. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temp.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deviled Eggs

Vegan Deli Glazed Ham

Easy Vegan Macaroni Salad

Vegan Glazed Deli Ham

I make a lot of seitan based vegan meats. So bare with me while I talk turkey for a minute. The ham talk will follow.

I have recipes for a holiday roast, holiday turkey style breast with crispy skin, chicken breast, pastrami, brisket, and even pepperoni. But until our turkey recipe, I had never added tofu to the mix.

If there was ever a sandwich I missed since going vegan it is a regular old turkey sandwich. I used to love a good deli carved turkey sandwich more than almost anything. So I decided I would try to add tofu to my regular turkey style breast recipe to see if I could get it to a more deli sliced texture.

Y’all, the answer is YES! I have seen other people adding tofu to seitan recipes, and obviously Tofurkey lunch slices are a mix of tofu and vital wheat gluten so I decided to give it a go. It only took one experiment and it came out pretty perfect the first time. I was elated.

So once I realized how easy the turkey was, I went on to make a vegan roast beef using the same method!

Ham was my next stop on the vegan lunch meat deli tour, and I knew if I made it the same way as the turkey but changed a few wet ingredients and spices, I would get the same successful results I got with the turkey and roast beef.

Oh and a glaze. Whats a ham without a glaze?!?!

Growing up I LOVED when my parents bought a Honey Baked Ham for the holidays. I was never a fan of packaged deli ham but I lived for leftover Honey Baked Ham sandwiches on a Hawaiian roll with mayo. So that was the kind of ham I was looking to recreate.

You can slice this ham extra thin if that is your preferred texture, or leave it a little on the thick side to mimic more of a holiday ham. And because I loved a glazed ham the most, I gave this one a nice sweet brown sugar glaze with a hint of soy for the salt and to add a little color to the top.

My kids love our easy vegan deli turkey recipe so when I offered them this ham (2 of my kids have only ever had ham once at a friends how when they were really young, the other two, never) they announced “I don’t think I liked ham that one time I ate it.” But since we were out of turkey and they wanted and sandwich, they gave in and made a vegan ham sandwich for lunch.

We were out and about and my 14 year old daughter was super reluctant to eat said sandwich, but y’all, if I could have videoed her face when she took that first bite…priceless. Lets just say she is now a big fan of vegan ham non white bread with mayo and vegan American cheese.

So if you have made any of other vegan deli meat recipe and looking to switch it up, try the ham. Its just as good as the turkey, roast beef, or brisket, just more, well, ham like!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu, 14-16 oz

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup ketchup or tomato sauce

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil ( you can replace with water if you are oil free)

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon salt is you think it needs more (the bouillon and soy add a bit of salt as is)

• 1 tablespoon Garlic or Vegetable Better Than Bouillon (I used garlic)

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons water if need (add last)

Glaze Coating:

• 2 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons dry mustard

• 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! This dough came out stickier than the turkey because of the consistency of the ketchup and I did not have to add ANY water to mine. If your dough seems too sticky, then add 2 more tablespoons of starch.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough. Using a very sharp knife, score crisscross marks across the top of the loaf about an eighth of an inch deep.

4. Take a piece of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Sprinkle the brown sugar, mustard, and salt in the middle of the foil and give a little mix. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

5. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

6. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully open up the foil and brush the top with a teaspoon or two of soy sauce, and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

7. Remove finished “ham” and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the “ham” in the fridge over night to rest. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm.

8. Once the “ham” has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Vegan Deli Sliced Roast Beef