You are going to love this Bacon wrapped chicken! It's our family's quick and easy go-to meal. Moist and tender chicken surrounded by bacon, you can't go wrong! We love that you can cook it in the oven, on the grill, or even in the air fryer.
You can make this fun keto friendly recipe as a main dish, or use smaller pieces of chicken like tenders, or drumsticks, to make the perfect appetizer for your next dinner party. It's a family staple during the summer grill months.
Pair this bacon and chicken dish with chickpea salad, Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese, air fryer asparagus or air fryer brussels sprouts, air fryer sweet potato fries, Jennifer Aniston salad or Corn Ribs (Corn riblets) for a complete show-stopping meal.
Serve with honey mustard, wingstop ranch dressing recipe, or bbq sauce. I love topping it with our tasty Mango Habanero Salsa.
For another fun summer meal try these Beef Kabobs in the Oven or Oven Baked Pork Chops. A great way to mix things up for a hot summer day. Or try these tasty 321 Ribs.
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Ingredients
This flavor-blasted meal is simple to put together. You just need a few simple seasonings and your favorite cut of bacon.
- Chicken Breast- Skinless, Boneless
- Bacon- while thick cut bacon is delicious, wrapping the chicken is best with thin sliced bacon.
- Homemade seasoning- This is a basic and family-favorite homemade seasoning. It's made with garlic powder, paprika, table salt, dried parsley, and black pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Chicken
With a few simple steps, you will have a mouth-watering meal. Follow these step-by-step instructions for the best results.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine paprika, garlic powder, salt, and parsley. Mix together.
2. Pat the raw chicken breast with a paper towel to git rid of any excess water. Place the chicken breasts in a baking pan side by side.
3. Season the chicken breasts with the prepared seasoning. Season both sides for full favor.
4. Wrap the raw chicken breast with bacon. Overlap the bacon slightly to cover the chicken completely. Each breast may need 2-3 pieces of bacon depending on the size. Try to tuck bacon ends under the chicken to prevent the bacon from unrolling.
5. Cook chicken in the oven at 375*F for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165* F. You can check the thickest part of the chicken with a standard meat thermometer. The bacon will be crispy on the outside while the chicken will be moist and tender.
Hint: Want the bacon extra crispy? Cook for 30 minutes at 375*F and then bump the temperature up to 400*F for an additional 5 minutes to crisp the bacon. Make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through before consuming.
Cooking Methods
My favorite way to make these is using the oven or air fryer. With these two methods, I can make this meal all year round. I love using the grill method during the summer.
- Oven- see instructions above. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 375*F.
- Air Fryer - Air fry the prepared chicken breast at 360* F for 9 minutes, flip and cook for another 9 minutes. Cook time will vary depending on size of chicken. It's done when the thickest internal part is 165*F.
- Grill - Heat grill to medium heat and grill prepared skinless boneless chicken breast (8-12 oz) for about 15 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165* F. The grill time will vary depending on the size of the chicken and the cut (thigh, drumstick, or breast).
- Smoker- use a green egg, or Traeger smoker to have the perfect smoked bacon taste. Follow instructions for smoking chicken based on the type of smoker you have.
- Skewers- For easy handling when grilling or using another method, slide a skewer through the center of the chicken breast and out the other side.
Variations
- Cheese- Add shredded cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese to the top of the uncooked chicken breast before wrapping with bacon.
- Brown sugar- Add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar with the other spices for a sweet taste to the chicken and bacon.
- Bbq- Make this barbecue style by topping the cooked meal with barbecue sauce.
- Jalapeño- Make it spicy by adding jalapeño to the dish. Thinly slice jalapeño and place on top of the uncooked chicken breast. Wrap the chicken and the jalapeño with the bacon for a spicy kick.
- Cream cheese- Before wrapping the chicken with bacon, spread ½ tablespoon of cream cheese to the top of the uncooked chicken. Add the jalapeño on top of the cream cheese for an ultimate chicken experience.
Storing Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Just like our Chicken Shawarma and Copycat Chipotle Chicken, store cooked chicken breast in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. This meal does not stand well to freezing.
Reheat leftovers in the microwave, oven, or the air fryer. The air fryer is a fast way to reheat the chicken and keep the bacon crispy.
Top tip
Make sure to buy thin to medium sliced bacon. Thick bacon is harder to work with. It tears easily when stretched and doesn't cover as much of the chicken. Thinner sliced bacon will form around the chicken more easily covering more ground with one piece. It won't tear as easily when manipulated around the chicken.
Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Equipment
- Baking Pan
Ingredients
- 4 medium sized chicken breast skinless boneless
- 8-12 bacon thin or medium cut*
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Table Salt
- 2 teaspoons Dried Parsley
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375*F.
- In a small bowl mix together the garlic powder, paprika, salt, dried parsley, and black pepper.
- Spray a baking ban with cooking spray. Pat the chicken breasts dry and lay them in the baking pan.
- Season both sides of the chicken with the bowl of mixed spices.
- Starting at one end of the chicken breast, wrap the chicken with bacon. Overlap the bacon slightly to completely cover the chicken. Stretch the bacon slightly and wrap the chicken tightly, without squeezing the chicken breast. When the strip of bacon ends, tuck the next piece under the already wrapped bacon and continue wrapping the chicken until it is totally covered. One chicken breast will need around 2-3 pieces of bacon. Tuck the end of the bacon in to have a clean finish. See photos above for a great visual on this.
- Cook for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165*F. Depending on the size of the chicken breast, you may need to cook the chicken longer. Serve immediately with delicious sides!
Notes
- Thick cut bacon is hard to maneuver around the chicken and doesn't stay in place. It also doesn't stretch as much and will require you to use more bacon than necessary.
- If using drumsticks, thighs, tenders, or varying sizes of chicken breast, adjust the cook time and cook until the internal temperature at the thickest part is 165*F
- Smoked bacon - Use smoked bacon for an additional flavor burst. Also look at using maple bacon for a flavor boost.
- Turkey bacon- Instead of using bacon, use turkey bacon to wrap around the chicken. Note that turkey bacon is different in nature and will not crisp up in the same way that regular bacon does.
- Cheese- Both shredded cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese are a great addition. Add them to the seasoned chicken breast before wrapping them with bacon.
- Jalapeño- Add a half-sliced Jalapeno to the chicken breast and then wrap with bacon.
- Cream cheese- Before wrapping the chicken with bacon, spread ½ tablespoon of cream cheese to the seasoned chicken breast and then wrap with bacon.
- Bbq- Smoother the chicken breast with bbq sauce and then wrap it in bacon.
- Brown sugar- We love adding a sweetened flavor by adding 1 teaspoon of brown sugar with the other spice. Leave out the garlic powder.
Casey says
This was SO much easier than I thought it would be to make! We just LOVED IT! I'll be making it again for sure! This was better than buying it at Costco!
Dana says
The rub on this chicken is delicious! And then, well, there's the bacon. It keeps the chicken SO tender and juicy. This was a hit!
Annie says
New family favorite. I made this with chicken thighs and it turned out perfectly. The bacon was so crispy and the chicken was flavored so well!