Greek Hasselback Lemon Chicken Bake

You’ve heard us say it before (and you probably will again), that as far as we’re concerned, you just can’t have enough recipes for easy weeknight chicken dinners. This seriously tasty dish combines our love of a quick and easy chicken meal with our love of a comforting casserole in such a clever way that we’re already plotting how to use this method with all sorts of different flavors. That’s not to say that we couldn’t enjoy the Mediterranean flavors of this Greek Hasselback Lemon Chicken Bake over and over again. Because we could. Easily.

This bake brings together zucchini, tomatoes, red onion, and chicken with the bright Greek flavors of lemon and oregano under a cheesy blanket of mozzarella and feta. Because of how it’s assembled, every bite here is full of flavor and the chicken stays moist and tender. See, it’s different from most bakes in that each chicken breast is sliced and stuffed ‘hasselback’ style so you end up with one whole chicken breast per person, veggies included!

You accomplish this by making five or six slits in each chicken breast, but not cutting through all the way to the bottom. In each slice, you stuff a trio of vegetables and fruit – in one, you might put a slice of lemon, tomato, and zucchini, while in the next you might go with red onion, zucchini, and tomato.

You nestle the chicken breasts next to each other in a baking dish, tucking any extra veggies around them, and top them with a generous helping of mozzarella and feta cheese. They bake for just a quick twenty-five minutes until the chicken is cooked through but juicy, the veggies are tender, and the flavors have comingled happily. You can serve it alongside rice if you feel so inclined, but each ‘hasselback’ chicken breast really does feel like a complete meal on its own, already portioned out for you!

Greek Hasselback Lemon Chicken

45 minutes to prepare serves 4

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 large zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 medium tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 lemons, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
  • 1 cup feta, crumbled
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease a small baking dish. Set aside.
  2. Make 5-6 slits in each chicken breast, taking care not to cut through completely. Stop the cut about 1/2" from the bottom. Place chicken breasts in prepared baking dish.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano. Brush over chicken breasts, making sure the mixture gets down into the slits. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  4. Stuff slits in chicken breast with zucchini, tomatoes, red onion, and lemons. (You don't need to put all 4 in each slit, 3 fruits/veggies per slit is fine.) Arrange any leftover fruits and veggies around the chicken breasts in the baking dish.
  5. Sprinkle mozzarella and feta over the top and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Adapted from The Girl on Bloor.