Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites

I came across these Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites quite awhile ago and they've been on my "I should really try those sometime" list for quite awhile.

Cute mini foods that are also low carb?  Count me in, amiright?

Anyway, I've had the recipe saved but I just hadn't gotten around to making them until now.  Definitely glad I did!

So just to level with you, I totally intended to serve these guys for the Super Bowl this year.

I even prepared them on Super Bowl Sunday- and then I realized we had so. much. food. on hand that day and I tossed them in the freezer.

Thankfully, Nascar asked the Allrecipes Allstars to host Daytona Day parties this year and having these babies in the freezer meant that I had one less thing to prepare that day!

So these bites have all of the basic ingredients of chicken cordon bleu- chicken, ham, and swiss cheese- but all wrapped up neatly in one very snackable little bite.

I have to be honest, I kind of had my doubts when I found myself mixing diced ham into ground chicken and wrapping it around cubes of cheese.

My fears were unfounded.

They ended up being absolutely delicious! 

 Originally I considered breading them with panko- and honestly that could be really good if you want to try it- but definitely not low-carb.  Also, I was really impressed by how well these browned up on the outside without any kind of breading at all.

The flavor is great and the center is gooey- seriously, what more can you ask of a game/race day appetizer?

The only thing I would recommend is that they're really just begging for a dipping sauce.  My husband used BBQ sauce, but I think a dijon sauce (like this one maybe?) would be perfect and more in line with the chicken cordon bleu flavors.  Just a thought.  :-)

Oh gosh.  I just thought of something.  You might even be able to put the cooked bites in a crock pot with a dijon sauce to keep warm for your get together.  lol oh the possibilities!

Did I mention how well these lent themselves to freezing?  I ended up freezing the shaped balls on a tray and then transferring to a freezer bag until I was ready to use them.  I fried them from frozen and they still worked perfectly.  I think if I were to freeze them again I'd do it after the frying stage and then just pop them in the oven when I was ready to serve them.

Anyway, these are super yummy- and they were perfect for our race day festivities!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites

Modified slightly from Allrecipes.com

9 ounces ground chicken

1/4 cup cooked, diced ham

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup crushed pork rinds (or bread crumbs if you're not low-carbing)

8 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Combine the chicken, ham, egg, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper in a large bowl until well blended. Gradually add pork rinds (or bread crumbs) until the mixture loses its stickiness and can be easily formed into balls.

3. Form the chicken mixture around the cheese cubes, forming 2 inch balls. Place on a plate.

4. Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry the balls until the outsides are golden brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels, and place in baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven until cooked through and cheese is soft, about 20 minutes. Cool briefly before serving.  Serve with dijon sauce for dipping!

 Disclaimer

I am an AllrecipesAllstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com. Products received from advertiser are only used for experienced-based reviews my personal blog.  The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are all my own.