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Hasselback Chicken is an easy and delicious chicken breast stuffed with a creamy cheddar and bacon filling. It’s easy to make but looks and tastes impressive.

white casserole dish with chicken with bacon and cheese

Winner, winner, Hasselback chicken dinner! This stuffed chicken breast is packed with flavor and almost too pretty to eat. With such big flavors, you can keep the sides simple, like Perfect Baked Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus.

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All About Hasselback Chicken

What is the Hasselback technique? Hasselbacking is a cooking technique in which potatoes, chicken, or other items are sliced almost all the way through in order to create layers which can be stuffed or filled with a variety of items, creating more flavor and texture.

What is Hasselback Chicken? Like Hasselback Potatoes, Hasselback chicken is a simple dish with an interesting presentation. Instead of just spreading a sauce on top of the chicken, stuff each section with a creamy cheddar cheese, chive, and bacon filling, incorporating the flavors and textures into the chicken

chicken with bacon and cheese

Hasselback Chicken Ingredients and Swaps

Chicken Breast – boneless and skinless. This is a great recipe for using up thicker pieces of chicken, since you’ll be stuffing with a filling.

Cheese – There are 4 types of cheese used in this recipe: cream cheese (full fat, block style), cheddar cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan. For best quality, always shred cheese right off the block.

Bacon – During recipe testing, I tried stuffing slices of bacon into the chicken, but as it baked they got pushed out. So instead, I cooked and crumbled the bacon and added it to the cream cheese mixture so there’s bacon in every bite.

Seasoning – The chicken breast is seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika, while garlic powder is added to the cream cheese filling.

close up of a piece of hasselback chicken

How to Make Hasselback Chicken

Make the filling. Cook and crumble the bacon, and drain it well. Combine cheeses, bacon, chives, and garlic powder and set it aside.

Prepare the chicken. Using a sharp knife, cut slits into each chicken breast about ¾ of the way through. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika, then stuff the slits with the cream cheese mixture.

Bake. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and arrange the chicken in a large baking dish. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until chicken registers 165 on a digital thermometer.

Expert Tips

  • Be careful when cutting slits into the chicken. Don’t cut all the way through – you want the chicken to stay connected at the base.
  • Use larger, thicker chicken breasts and don’t worry about pounding them thinner. These larger pieces will give you the best results.
  • Feel free to customize the flavors with different seasonings, herbs or cheeses.
  • Storing leftovers: Keep leftover chicken in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat gently in the microwave.

FAQs

What should you stuff chicken with?

The cream cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella pair so well with the bacon, and mixed together they are the perfect stuffing for chicken breasts.

What do you serve with Hasselback Chicken?

This is a creamy savory dish with a lot of bold flavor. Simple side dishes, like roasted broccoli, salad, and bread let the flavors in the main dish shine through.

baked chicken hasselback style with cheese and bacon

More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love

Recipe

Cheesy Bacon Hasselback Chicken

4.88 from 8 votes
Hasselback Chicken is an easy, delicious chicken breast stuffed with 4 cheeses and bacon. It's easy to make but looks and tastes impressive.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 4 chicken breasts about 2 pounds
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Filling:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened softened
  • ½ cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
  • 5 slices bacon cooked and crumbled/diced, (1 slice reserved for garnish)
  • 2 teaspoons minced chives plus more for garnish
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, about ¾ of the crumbled bacon, 2 teaspoons of chives and garlic powder. Set aside.
  • Slice the top of each chicken breast. Make 5-6 slits on top of each chicken breast, above ¾ of the way down, without cutting all the way through.
  • Arrange chicken breasts in the casserole dish. Season both sides with salt, pepper and paprika.
  • Fill the slits with the cheese mixture. Top with reserved bacon and chives.
  • Cook at 375 F for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
  • SLet sit for 5 minutes before serving. Top with chopped chives or parsley as a garnish if desired.

Notes

  • Be careful when cutting slits into the chicken. Don’t cut all the way through – you want the chicken to stay connected at the base.
  • Use larger, thicker chicken breasts and don’t worry about pounding them thinner. These larger pieces will give you the best results.
  • Feel free to customize the flavors with different seasonings, herbs or cheeses.
  • Storing and reheating leftovers: Keep leftover chicken in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat gently in the microwave.

Nutrition

Calories: 555kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 59gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 215mgSodium: 977mgPotassium: 966mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 805IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 194mgIron: 1mg
Keyword hasselback chicken

Kristin Maxwell

Kristin Maxwell is the creator and main recipe developer, writer, and photographer of Yellow Bliss Road. A self-taught cook and self-appointed foodie, she specializes in easy, flavorful and approachable recipes for any home cook.

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Comments

  1. It was a little dry next time I will add more cream cheese. Also why does it say to preheat the oven to 400 then says bake at 375 that’s a little confusing.

    1. Hi Margaret, The temp was a typo. Sorry about that. I’ve tested this recipe a few times and lowered it to 375. Please let me know if you try it again. I’d love to know what you think with that adjustment!

  2. Hi Kristin! This was so delicious PLUS quick and easy! I didn’t have much on hand and used two shredded mozz cheese sticks and some extra sharp cheddar cheese spread. Also didn’t have green onions but regardless, the flavor was still super! Thanks for the great recipe!