This Jalapeno Popper Hasselback Chicken recipe is an easy weeknight dinner. Create a show-stopping chicken dish that the entire family will enjoy with just a handful of ingredients and in under an hour. Enjoy this keto, low carb, gluten-free, and grain free dish for all occasions.
Tender chicken with slices of jalapenos, thick cut bacon, cheddar cheese, and a cream cheese sauce in every bite will keep you coming back for more healthy chicken recipes.
This happens to be one of my favorite meals because it looks gorgeous, tastes awesome, and it's classy enough you could serve it to friends for dinner. Plus, it's super filling, so while you may want to keep eating it because it tastes super good, you really don't need a lot to be filled up and satisfied.
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Enjoy all the flavors of jalapeno poppers minus being fried coated in flour and fried! The process is easier!
Ingredients
What makes this keto chicken recipe stand out is the fact that it has slits to store all the ingredients. This is absolutely the easiest way to stuff a chicken breast! Let's look at what you will be needing for jalapeno hasselback chicken:
Bacon - We love to use thick cut bacon because it adds the most flavor, and the texture is just better.
Chicken - For best results, you will want to use chicken breasts. It results in juicy chicken, and it is easier to add the slices into the meat.
Jalapenos - Fresh jalapenos are a valuable source of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and potassium.
Cheddar - Of course, cheddar cheese tastes great, but it's also a great source of protein, calcium, and vitamin A.
And then this simple cream cheese mixture is the easiest and most delicious sauce to accompany the jalapeno stuffed chicken.
Cream Cheese - Start with cream cheese softened to room temperature to make the sauce. It will blend much better when softened.
Butter - The buttery flavor in the sauce is utterly delicious.
Cream - You don't need a lot of cream to give the sauce a rich and flavorful result.
Salt - A little bit of salt ties together the other flavors to make it extraordinary.
How To Make Jalapeno Popper Hasselback Chicken
I realize that this chicken dish looks hard to make, but really if you know how to work an oven and can use a sharp knife, you can make it! It's even perfect for beginning cooks!
Step One: Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add the slices of bacon to a casserole dish or rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until it's slightly crispy. Take the bacon out of the dish and cut it into 1-inch pieces.
Step Two: Take a sharp knife and cut slits in each of the chicken breasts. Then prepare stacks of jalapeno slices, cheddar, and bacon. Place one stack into each of the slits.
Step Three: Place the pieces of chicken in the baking dish and put them in the oven. Bake the hasselback stuffed chicken breast for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked to 160 degrees F.
Step Four: While the low carb jalapeno popper hasselback chicken is baking, prepare the sauce. Mix together the softened cream cheese, butter, cream, and salt with a whisk. Serve the cooked chicken with the cream cheese sauce and enjoy!
Tips & Variations For Jalapeño Popper Hasselback Chicken
- When adding slits to the chicken, be sure to keep them around the same size. The chicken is going to cook much more even.
- Invest in a meat thermometer. This will prevent you from overbaking the chicken and ending up with a dry piece of meat. Pull it out of the oven when it reaches 160 degrees and let it rest for 5 minutes so that it can come up to temperature naturally.
- Love fresh herbs? Go ahead and sprinkle with parsley or oregano right before serving. It makes it pleasing to the eye and tastes great too.
- If you want to add extra flavor with cheese, go for it! Pepper Jack would add some extra spice, or you can go with something milder like mozzarella. You can also use shredded cheddar if that is what you have in the house.
- Kid-friendly. If you have children in the house that jalapenos are too spicy for just leave them out of a few. My little ones loved this chicken with just the bacon and cheddar! Or add some zucchini instead like in my original Hasselback chicken recipe.
- Air fryer jalapeno popper chicken breasts. If you want to cook these in your air fryer go for it. They need to cook at 375 for 15-20 minutes.
Common Questions
Can I Use Chicken Thighs?
While you can technically use chicken thighs, the results aren't entirely the same. Thighs are fattier, and they don't hold up to being sliced and filled with other ingredients. That is why I prefer boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
If you do reach for thighs, you may need to slice and stuff them the more traditional butterfly method, so they don't fall apart. Alternatively, you can use chicken thighs in my Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole.
Is Jalapeno Popper Hasselback Chicken Okay To Meal Prep?
Yep! It's a delicious dish to add to your keto meal plan that is wonderful for meal prepping or to add to your monthly meal plans. Place it in single-serving dishes with a tight-fitting lid. Then when you need it, you can grab it and warm it up. I like using glass food containers because you can heat them upright in the container, but plastic also works too.
What other flavors can I make this Hasselback Chicken recipe?
Chicken Cordon Bleu - Stuff the chicken with ham and Swiss cheese and then top with the sauce used in my cordon bleu casserole after baking.
Bacon Ranch Hasselback Chicken - Stuff the chicken with bacon and cheddar and top with the sauce used in my chicken bacon ranch casserole before baking.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 6 chicken breasts (about 2 - 2.5 pounds)
- 2 jalapenos very thinly sliced
- 4 oz cheddar sliced
Sauce:
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 tablespoon cream
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400. Place bacon in a casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes or until just slightly crisp. Remove and cut into one-inch strips.
- Cut slits in the chicken most of the way through, as shown in my photos. Make stacks with one piece each of jalapeno, cheddar, and bacon. Insert one stack into each slit.
- Place the chicken back into the dish you cooked the bacon in. Return to the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken is 160 on a meat thermometer.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Serve the chicken with the cream sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published May 24, 2021. Revised and Republished April 14, 2023.
Sharon L Holden says
I’m a chef and have made a similar dish so I know our family is going to love this recipe. It’s easy peasy