Vegan Cordon Bleu

With its crunchy coating, meaty texture, and cheesy filling, cordon bleu is such an irresistible dish. So, we thought, why not make a healthier, plant-based, and dairy-free option? After much experimenting, here is our mouthwatering vegan cordon bleu, sure to surprise you and become your next dinner favourite.

Classic Swiss cordon bleu consists of pound meat like veal, chicken, or pork, wrapped around cheese and ham, then breaded and pan-fried. In our recipe, we made a meat-free base using jackfruit and white beans. Then, we swapped ham and cheese with carrot ribbons and vegan cheddar slices. Finally, we oven-baked the roll instead of frying it to keep the fats low.

After the success of our jackfruit nuggets and burger, we decided to use this versatile tropical fruit once again as a meat substitute. It has a fleshy texture and a neutral flavour, exactly what we need in a plant-based alternative to beef and chicken. We paired jackfruit with white beans to balance the cordon bleu with a source of proteins and add creaminess.

We blended jackfruit and beans with nutritional yeast, wholemeal flour, onion, garlic powder, and olive oil. These ingredients help to give structure, flavour, and richness to the vegan cordon bleu. As for the filling, we found that carrot ribbons make a colourful substitute for ham. Just shave carrots with a potato peeler, and you're done - so easy! You can also use zucchini or mushrooms as a tasty alternative.

Finally, we coated the cordon bleu roll with crunchy breadcrumbs and oven-baked it until golden. The result is a delicious meat-free cordon bleu, full of flavour and texture. It's so meaty and oozing with cheese you won't believe it's 100% vegan.

Enjoy this vegan cordon bleu while it's still warm, cut into slices, and serve it with a side salad. Compared to the classic recipe, ours has half the fats and double the fibres, all in just 265 calories. Awesome!

Step 1

Peel the carrots and trim off the ends.

Then, use a potato peel to shave the carrots into thin, flat ribbons and set them aside.

Step 2

Rinse and drain the canned jackfruit and cannellini beans.

Then, add them to a food processor, followed by wholemeal flour, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, and oil (1).

Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper, and blitz all into a compact dough (2).

Don't worry if the mixture looks chunky at first; just keep blending, scraping down the edges between pulses, and it will turn smooth and uniform.

Then, let the dough set in the fridge for 10 minutes.

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Step 3

Spread half of the breadcrumbs onto a large sheet of baking paper.

Then flatten out the dough into a rectangle, 2 cm (1 inch) thick (1).

Now, arrange the carrot ribbons flat onto the dough, slightly overlapping them and covering the whole surface.

Then, top them with the vegan cheese slices (2).

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Step 4

With the short end facing toward you, roll the dough over the filling into a tight log (1).

Then, tuck in the edges and place it seam-side down onto the baking paper.

Now, spread the remaining breadcrumbs over the parchment paper and brush the cordon bleu with oil. Then, roll it over the breadcrumbs until it's well coated (2).

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Step 5

Finally, bake the cordon bleu for 35 minutes at 200°C (390°F) in static mode or at 180°C (355°F) in fan mode.

Serve it sliced with a side green salad and enjoy.

Tips

• For a gluten-free option, you can swap wholemeal flour with oat flour and breadcrumbs with ground nuts and seeds.

• Instead of carrots, you could also use sweet potatoes or courgettes.