Chicken Wrapped in Bacon With Cheese and Bbq Sauce Recipe

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Chicken stuffed with cheese uses only four ingredients to make the most amazing sticky, sweet, and savory chicken recipe. Oven baked chicken breasts are stuffed with oozing melted cheddar cheese, wrapped in crispy bacon, smothered in BBQ sauce.

Why this recipe works!

When it comes to recipes that only use a few ingredients, I can be a skeptic. How can something that simple taste good??

However, chicken wrapped in bacon and stuffed with creamy melted cheese relies on the perfect flavor combination to make a perfectly divine (and easy!) recipe.

A lot of bacon wrapped chicken recipes fall short because baking bacon and chicken breasts properly requires two different oven temperatures and cooking times.

Therefore, wrapping bacon around chicken, throwing it in the oven, and hoping for the best is bound to yield some disappointing results. Either the chicken will be dry and overcooked or bacon will be limp and unappealing.

This recipe fixes that issue by partially cooking the bacon first, before wrapping it around the chicken. When it's time to finishing baking, the chicken comes out of the oven perfectly moist with crispy bacon wrapped around it.

Ingredient notes

Chicken – I use chicken breasts because they are easy to slice and stuff with cheese. For best results, use uniformly-sized breasts so they bake evenly.

Bacon – Unless you like your bacon on the chewy side, avoid using thick-cut bacon.

BBQ Sauce – My favorite BBQ sauce to use is Sweet Baby Ray's, but any store-bought or homemade sauce will do!

Cheese – Sharp cheddar pairs perfectly with the salty bacon and sweet sauce, but mozzarella, pepper jack, havarit, or colby jack would also work well!

How To Make Bacon Wrapped Chicken with cheese

(Note: This is a step-by-step tutorial with pictures. For more specific instructions, along with ingredient amounts, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

1. Butterfly and season chicken breasts. To butterfly chicken breasts make a deep slit in the middle of the breast, lengthwise. Cut all the way across until you almost reach other side, so it will open like a book.
2. Partially bake slices of bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400ºF. Remove bacon from oven and lower temperature to 375ºF.
3. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese in the pocket to make stuffed chicken breast. Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around the chicken and brush on BBQ sauce.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, basting chicken with more BBQ sauce halfway through.

frequently asked questions

Is this recipe low carb / keto?

Yes, with a super simple adaptation! Simply leave off the BBQ sauce or use a low carb / low sugar keto BBQ sauce in its place.

How can I make the bacon extra crispy?

If you prefer extra crispy bacon, increase the pre-baking time to 11-12 minutes. Just make sure bacon is still flexible enough to wrap around chicken.

Also the chicken can be broiled for a couple minutes at the end, but watch very carefully. BBQ sauce can burn quickly because of the sugar.

Can I use a different type of cheese?

Yes! Use any type of cheese you have on hand, such as mozzarella, pepper jack, colby jack, havariti, garlic chive cream cheese mixture, swiss, or a combination.

Expert Tips

• If you prefer extra crispy bacon, increase the pre-baking time to 8-9 minutes. Just make sure bacon is still flexible enough to wrap around chicken.
• The chicken can also be broiled at the very end to make bacon crispier. However, watch very carefully because BBQ sauce can burn quick!
• To lighten this recipe, omit the cheese. It will still taste fantastic!
• Add some spice by adding diced jalapenos with the cheese.
• Baste chicken with more BBQ sauce halfway through baking to layer on more flavor.
• For meal prep, partially cook the bacon and then assemble the chicken stuffed with cheese. When ready to eat, simply pop the prepared breasts in the oven to finish baking.

More Easy Chicken Recipes

• Spinach Artichoke Chicken
• Mexican Chicken Casserole
• Cilantro Lime Chicken
• BBQ Pulled Chicken
• Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken
• Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings

SAVE THIS BACON WRAPPED CHICKEN with cheese TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!

Let's be friends on Pinterest! I'm always sharing great recipes!

• ▢ 8 slices bacon, not thick cut
• ▢ 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied (see recipe instructions)
• ▢ 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ▢ ¾ cup BBQ sauce
• ▢ salt and pepper

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay 8 slices of bacon on the prepared pan. Bake the bacon 10-12 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon at the end. Remove the partially cooked bacon from oven and set aside.

• Turn down oven to 375ºF. Butterfly the chicken breasts by starting at the thicker end and cutting through the middle, being careful to not cut all the way through. The chicken will be able to open like a book, or butterfly, with 2 thinner sides. Place ½ cup cheese on one side of the chicken and then fold the top over it. Season the top of closed chicken with salt and pepper.

• Move the bacon to one side of the baking sheet. Transfer the stuffed chicken breasts to baking sheet. Lay the pieces of bacon over the top of each chicken breast, wrapping bacon around and tucking ends underneath. Brush on half the BBQ sauce all over top and sides.

• Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and baste with more BBQ sauce. Bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF. To make bacon crispier broil 1-2 minutes. the because BBQ sauce can burn quick!

• DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?? DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE FEEDBACK AND/OR CLICK A STAR RATING ON THE RECIPE CARD!

Cheese Grater

frequently asked questions

Is this recipe low carb / keto?

Yes, with a super simple adaptation! Simply leave off the BBQ sauce or use a low carb / low sugar keto BBQ sauce in its place.

How can I make the bacon extra crispy?

If you prefer extra crispy bacon, increase the pre-baking time to 11-12 minutes. Just make sure bacon is still flexible enough to wrap around chicken.

Also the chicken can be broiled for a couple minutes at the end, but watch very carefully. BBQ sauce can burn quickly because of the sugar.

Can I use a different type of cheese?

Yes! Use any type of cheese you have on hand, such as mozzarella, pepper jack, colby jack, havariti, garlic chive cream cheese mixture, swiss, or a combination.

Can I use this recipe for meal prep?

Yes. Partially cook the bacon and then assemble the chicken stuffed with cheese. When ready to eat, simply pop the prepared breasts in the oven to finish baking.

Calories: 632 kcal | Carbohydrates: 23 g | Protein: 44 g | Fat: 39 g | Saturated Fat: 18 g | Cholesterol: 160 mg | Sodium: 1323 mg | Potassium: 685 mg | Sugar: 18 g | Vitamin A: 735 IU | Vitamin C: 1.7 mg | Calcium: 431 mg | Iron: 1.3 mg

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This post first appeared over at Real Housemoms where I'm a contributor.

Chicken Wrapped in Bacon With Cheese and Bbq Sauce Recipe

Source: https://www.mamagourmand.com/bbq-bacon-wrapped-chicken/

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