Pressure Cooker Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu with Lemon Dijon Cream Sauce and Onion Panko Crumble

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Incredibly delicious, fancy, memorable, creamy, salty, crunchy . . . what more could you ever ask for!  I dare say this will be the most amazing version of Chicken Cordon Bleu you have ever had!

Do I ever have a romantic, fancy, impressive Valentine's Dinner for 2 for you!  This is 5 star, upscale restaurant status for sure.

Behold – Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu stuffed with avocado, prosciutto, and Gruyère cheese and topped with a silky Lemon Dijon Cream Sauce and a crunchy, buttery sprinkle of Onion Panko Crumble.  PLUS an amazing side dish of Warm Burst Tomatoes.  That's like the chef's special at an expensive restaurant I can't even afford to go to!  Let's do this!

First, don't panic!  The recipe only sounds complicated because I tend to get really wordy when I'm excited.

Second, in case some of those ingredients I mentioned above sounded unfamiliar and scary, they are all easy to find at most grocery stores, but if you'd like, the prosciutto can be swapped for deli ham, Gruyère for Swiss cheese, and the crumble is made of canned French Fried Onions and require less than 5 minutes to throw together.  But if you're going for upscale and fancy, prosciutto and Gruyère is where it's at and is easy to find at most grocery stores.

Lastly, most of this can be prepped in advance and thrown into the pressure cooker last minute.  The chicken can be assembled with all it's stuffings and stored in the refrigerator (minus the avocado – add that last minute so it doesn't brown), the Onion Panko Crumble can easily be made several days in advance, and the tomatoes take 30 seconds to prep.  The Lemon Dijon Cream Sauce however is best made fresh, but even that you could make ahead and thin with some broth to warm it up if needed.

Seriously, this Pressure Cooker Hasselback Cordon Bleu is so simple to throw together and will be one heck of a knock-out dinner.  Whether it's a quiet dinner for 2 or you double or triple it and make it for your whole family, your peeps will LOVE this!

Let me show how the pressure cooking side of this meal is going to come together.

Step 1

Slice your chicken, gather the goodies, i.e. avocado, Gruyère, prosciutto, and stuff away!  No need to be too thoughtful about it, just fill every slit to the max.

Quick Tip:  The butchers at my favorite meat spot happily sliced my chicken for me – extra time saver tip!  I sure love those guys.

Step 2

Drizzle your tomatoes with kosher salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning.  Place your chicken on a trivet inside the pot.  Top with a second trivet and your tomatoes.

Step 3

Start that pressure cooker up!  Make the Lemon Dijon Sauce and Onion Panko Crumble while it cooks and everything will be ready right at the same time.  I love when that happens.

This Onion Panko Crumble by the way . . . oh my, it is buttery, salty, crunchy perfection and I would happily eat it with a spoon.  Oh yeah, I did do that.

Your chicken will come out of the pressure cooker looking already amazing,

But just like all of us, once we add all the extras . . . WATCH OUT!

My goodness, good luck paying any attention to your loved ones with this in your face.

Enjoy!  I have no doubt you will.

Tools and other Items Used to Make Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu

Instant Pot 

Tall Trivet/Rack

Steam Rack Basket (the pan with holes pictured above)

Whole Wheat Panko (I love this stuff!)

*This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!

Another great Valentine Meal idea is my favorite pasta dish of all time – Fettuccine Cauliflower Alfredo.  I plan on topping it with Mel's Roasted Balsamic Veggies.  And for dessert, this Red Velvet Creme Brûlée.

Pressure Cooker Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 review

This Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu looks complicated and fancy, but couldn't be easier.  Topped with a Lemon Dijon Cream Sauce and a buttery mixture of panko and onions, this dish will impress for sure!

• Author: Marci
• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Entree
• Method: Pressure Cooker
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Chicken

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 avocado, sliced thin
• 4 slices of prosciutto, cut in half (can substitute with deli ham)
• 8–12 slices of Gruyere or Asiago cheese (may substitute with Swiss cheese, each slice needs to be about the size and shape of a domino)
• salt and pepper

For the Lemon Dijon Cream Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour (I used white whole wheat)
• 2 cups milk (preferably 2% but skim milk works okay)
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Juice of 1 lemon
• small pinch of red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Onion Panko Crumble

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups French fried onions
• 1 cup panko (I used whole wheat panko)
• pinch of kosher salt

For the Burst Tomatoes

• 2 cups grape tomatoes
• salt
• pepper
• Italian seasoning

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Instructions

1. Cut slits into the chicken breasts, about 1/2 inch apart, being very careful not to cut all the way through the chicken.  You want the bottom of the chicken breast to stay intact so the top can fan open without it falling apart.  Season with salt and pepper.
2. Working with 1 chicken breast at a time, fill the slits with 1/2 of an avocado.  Wrap each slice of prosciutto (or ham) around a slice or 2 of cheese; this will keep the cheese from melting out of the chicken.  Fill slits in the chicken with the prosciutto wrapped cheese. Repeat with second chicken breast.
3. Place stuffed chicken on a sturdy trivet or a pan with holes in the bottom.  If you don't have either, simply use what trivet you have, place a piece of tinfoil on top of it to make it more stable, and poke holes into it with a knife or fork so that the extra juices of the chicken can drain while cooking.
4. For the Burst Tomatoes: place tomatoes in a pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
5. Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker pot and place the trivet with chicken inside.  Top with a second trivet and place tomatoes on top.
6. Note: you don't want the pan of tomatoes sitting directly on top of the chicken so use a trivet with longer legs. If you don't own a taller trivet for this step, just roast the tomatoes under the oven broiler for a few minutes while the chicken cooks.
7. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
8. While the Chicken cooks, prepare the Lemon Dijon Cream Sauce.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk for 1 minute to cook out the flour taste.  Gradually add milk, whisking constantly to prevent and remove any lumps.  When smooth and thick, add parmesan cheese, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste and stir until cheese melts and everything is well incorporated.  Keep sauce warm over low heat.
9. Prepare the Onion Panko Crumble by melting butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add French Fried Onions, panko, and a pinch of salt and stir occasionally until it starts to brown, 2-3 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  This can be prepared up to 5 days in advance.
10. When pressure cooking is complete, use a natural release (this will take about 10 minutes).
11. Optional but AMAZING: Place chicken under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to crisp the prosciutto and brown the cheese.
12. To serve, place chicken breast on a plate with scoop of tomatoes, a big drizzle of Lemon Dijon Cream Sauce, and a sprinkle of Onion Panko Crumble.

Make Ahead Instructions

1. Stuff the chicken breast with prosciutto and cheese (fill with avocado just before cooking).  Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days in advance.
2. Onion Panko Crumble can be made up to 5 days in advance.

Notes

• You can double or even triple this recipe depending on the size of your chicken breasts and pressure cooker pot.  Omit the tomatoes (roast them in the oven instead) and instead stack more chicken breasts onto an upper trivet.  Do not stack them on top of each other, there needs to be space between the chicken for all of them to cook evenly without drying out.
• If you want to skip the step of wrapping the cheese with the prosciutto, shred the cheese instead and once the chicken is cooked, sprinkle it with cheese and place it under the broiler to melt.

Keywords: instant pot, cordon bleu, hasselback chicken

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