I have brought you Hasselback Potatoes and Hasselback Pesto Bread, but there is a new recipe in town: Cheesy Hasselback Chicken!
You can’t beat a dinner that looks fancy but only uses a few ingredients. This hasselback chicken definitely fits the bill! You can have stuffed chicken ready for the oven in only about 10 minutes, and your family or guests will ooh and ahh when they see this pretty chicken on their plates.

I got the idea of hasselback chicken from hasselback potatoes, and of course this all made me wonder where that name came from. I was sure it was somehow inspired by David Hasselhoff, but I was sadly mistaken. I guess you can’t find time to sell Lean Pockets AND develop potato recipes…
Actually, hasselback potatoes originated in Sweden at a restaurant called Hasselbacken, thus the name. This hasselback chicken, however, originated in my kitchen, and I can’t wait for you to try it!

I made the ham and cheese-stuffed chicken pictured here with colby jack cheese for the kids, and I used pepper jack for the grownups. You can use just about any melty cheese you’d like! I’m such a spice lover that I might slide some pickled jalapenos between the ham and cheese next time to kick up the pepper jack a little. This is so easy to make, so tasty, so pretty, so… Just try it, OK?!
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Cheesy Hasselback Chicken
You won’t believe how easy it is to make this fancy, delicious chicken dish!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 4 thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4–6 oz. deli-sliced ham cut into strips about 1” by 2″
- 4 slices cheese cut into strips about 1″ by 2″ (colby jack, pepper jack, cheddar, provolone, etc.)
- seasoned salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Slice slits about 1″ apart in chicken breasts almost all the way through, leaving the bottom surface connected. Slide strips of ham and cheese into each slit.
- Sprinkle chicken liberally with seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Dinner, Poultry
- Cuisine: American
Looking for more cheesy goodness? Check out these recipes…



Jean-Katniss Kienast Culbreth says
I can not WAIT to try the Hasselback Cheesy Chicken! I am 19 days out of a gastric bypass and I do believe I have just found my first real meal! Looking forward to more ymmy, healthy recipes!
Andi - The Weary Chef says
Oh thank you! I hope your recovery is going well and that the recipe works out for you!
Jeanette Hasselback Schutz says
My maiden name was Hasselback, so finding recipes with that name in them is surprising. Recipes my mother never knew!!
Andi Gleeson says
Oh how nice! You should slice and stuff everything you cook to stay true to your name :) Thanks, Jeanette!
Katie says
Made this tonight with a bacon and cheese! I browned slightly to get a nice crust on it before I baked it. Also made a “gravy” mixture with a can of cream of mushroom soup, little bit of chicken broth, sauteed mushrooms, onions & garlic and poured on top about half way through the cooking time. Was so juicy and tender! Thanks Andi! :)
Andi Gleeson says
Thanks, Katie! You really took this one to the next level! I’m sure your version was delicious.
ingrid pinzon says
Excelente plato. Por favor compartamenlo. Gracias.
★★★★★
Andi says
Muchas gracias, Ingrid!
KalynsKitchen says
Happy Friday! Just letting you know I featured this recipe in my Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes Round-Up for April 2015. Great recipe; I hope a lot of my readers will click over here and try it!
Andi says
Thank you so much, Kalyn! You’re the best! I’ll share it all over the place :)
Gina Hartley says
Can’t wait to make this. Looks and sounds so good. Thank you
Andi says
Thanks, Gina. I hope you love it!
Dalene says
I made these for supper yesterday. I didn’t have ham but did have bacon. Cut the strips into 4ths. They were delicious! We are eating leftovers tonight. Yum!
★★★★★
Andi says
You can never go wrong with bacon. I’ll have to try your version next. Thank you, Dalene!
judy says
to avoid cutting all the way thru the chicken breast when slicing across – lay the breast along side a wooden spoon handle. Cut just to the wooden handle.
Andi says
Great tip, Judy. Thank you!
Eliana says
Hi Andi,
Can I use shredded cheese on this very delicious looking plate?
Andi says
Hi, Eliana. Sure, shredded cheese would work! If you are going to just sprinkle it on top instead of putting it into the slits, you might want to add it halfway through so the cheese doesn’t get overcooked. Hope it turns out well for you!
Mica says
This recipe has been in my pinterest board for months, and tonight I finally made it. It was delicious! I added a drizzle of honey on each chicken breast too. So good. Thank you for this!
★★★★
Andi says
I’m glad it disappoint once you finally got a chance to try it. The honey is such a clever and tasty addition! Thank you, Mica!
Jamie says
I had planned on making this as is but we ended up buying pepperoni instead of ham so what I did was dipped the chicken in olive oil and then Italian breadcrumbs and then put the pepperoni in the slits, after reading the comments about cheese melting I just put shredded mozzarella on top the last 5 minutes. Looks great! Thanks for the inspiration!
★★★★★
Andi says
Ooh I love your pizza chicken version! That sounds so good, Jamie!
Shari says
I’m actually surprised at how good this was considering how simple it is. I didn’t have any ham so I just used cheese and then sprinkled the chicken with a bit of red chili flakes. Would definitely make this again. Thanks for the idea!
★★★★
Andi says
I’m glad you liked it! I’m often amazed at how good recipes can be with only a few ingredients. I hope you find other recipes to try here too. Thanks, Shari!
Erik K says
Hi Andi, once again a hit at the dinner table. All I had was shredded cheddar jack so I sprinkled that on top, hit it with a little Tony’s Cajun. It’s another keeper!
Andi says
That is great to hear, Erik! Thank you! Cajun seasoning makes everything better if you ask me :)
laz says
The variations in cheese are great. I used hormel thin sliced ham cold cuts (sandwich meat).
Gourmet has never been so simple and quick. Especially with the cost of beef these days!!!
Andi says
I’m so glad you liked it, Laz! Thanks for taking the time to let me know :)
Nicole says
Going to make this tonight, was thinking about sprinkling breadcrumbs over the chicken!
Let ya know how it comes out!
Andi says
I hope you enjoyed it, Nicole. The breadcrumbs are a great idea! Thanks for your comment :)
Thailia Johnson says
This was GREAT! My mother-in-law came over and I had no clue what to make, so I made this. Big hit even with my two young kiddos! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Andi says
Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave this nice comment, Thailia! I am so happy to hear that your family loved this chicken recipe. Have a great week!
Emily @ It Bakes Me Happy says
Andi you had me at chicken in 30, love this idea!
Andi says
Thank you, Emily! If a recipe is ready in 30 minutes and involved cheese, I’m a happy cook :)
Anitra says
Looks delicious. I have zero creativity in the kitchen so I’m always impressed with quick and easy meals like this one! Finally stopping by for #SITSBlogging. Happy Saturday!
Andi says
Hi, Anitra! Thanks so much for stopping by. I am waaaay behind on the SITS comment challenge. I never got the original email, and by the time I found out it was happening and got a friend to forward it to me, I was already behind. I figure people will be just as happy to get a comment in the next week or so, and I’ll get through the list eventually! I hope you are having a good weekend :)
Sarah says
Hello, can you make this with turkey as well, using the exact same temperatures and cooking time?
(I don’t eat ham)
Andi says
Hi, Sarah! Yes, turkey would work for sure. Happy New Year!
Elizabeth says
Thanks for the idea – this leads to so many possible variations.
★★★★
Andi says
Hi, Elizabeth! I’m glad you like the recipe. Enjoy stuffing a variety of foods in your chicken breasts ;)
Megan says
It was delicious! But my cheese melted all over the pan. How do you make yours look so pretty?
Andi says
Hi, Megan. I had a little cheese melt over the edge but it mostly stayed in the chicken. What kind of cheese did you use? I hope you still enjoyed it anyway!
Megan says
I used pepperjack cheese that I cut from a block. It didn’t look pretty, but it was still amazing. I will make it again soon.
Andi says
Pepperjack sounds delicious, but maybe it is meltier than the cheddar I used. Glad you still enjoyed it!
Brent says
The whole family loved this and even the finicky eaters. Thanks
Andi says
So glad to hear it, Brent! Thanks!
Brent says
Going to make this tonight because it looks so good.
Andi says
Thanks, Brent. Let me know how you like it.
Josh C. says
I made this tonight and it was an instant hit. Thank you for this one!!!
Andi says
I’m very glad to hear it, Josh! Thanks so much for letting me know. You just made my day! Hope to see you back soon :)
Lori Absher says
Looks great Andi—and so easy too. I think I’ll try it tonight.
Andi says
Thanks, Lori! I think you will really like it.