This bacon-wrapped chicken has wonderful flavors of smoky sweet and spice. Chicken breast lightly seasoned with brown sugar spice mix, wrapped in fatty bacon, dusted with more brown sugar mix, and baked until caramelized on the outer, moist inside.

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What you’ll love about this recipe?
- With very little effort you have a ridiculously delicious meal!
- Bacon makes everything better. Similar to our favorite bacon wrapped shrimp which is always a hit with family and friends.
- It has a wonderful balance of flavors – salty, sweet, spicy.
- Easy to customize and great for meal preps.
- Ready in 30 minutes making it perfect for busy days.
- You’ll need basic pantry ingredients.
Ingredients
- Chicken Breast – Chicken breast is what I have used. It works with any chicken cut, chicken tenders even chicken thighs.
- Bacon – to make wrapping neat and easy, use thick cut (⅛ inch thick strips) streaky/fatty bacon. Depending on the size of the chicken breast, number of bacon used will vary. Use 2 to 4 bacons for each breast. If you can’t find thick bacon use regular bacon.
- Brown Sugar – Feel free to adjust the amount as per your taste. You can substitute brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.
- Garlic – I used garlic granules. You can use Cajun seasoning or seasoning salt.
- Seasoning – don’t forget to season the chicken with salt and freshly ground pepper as per your taste.
- Parsley – for garnish. You can use other herbs like cilantro, chives, or green onions.
- Spices – (optional) – Feel free to leave out spices or include your favorite spice. I used:
- Smoked Paprika
- Cayenne Pepper
- Onion powder
Variations
- You can substitute bacon with turkey bacon.
- Substitute cayenne pepper with chili pepper flakes.
- Replace chicken breast with chicken thighs, chicken tender cuts, or even with bone-in chicken pieces like chicken wings (drummettes and flats). Note that bone-in chicken will need a longer time to bake and is trickier to eat.
How to make
- In a small bowl mix all ingredients for the rub – brown sugar, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder (or granules), onion powder, freshly ground pepper and salt.
- Use half the brown sugar spice mix and sprinkle on both sides of chicken breasts. Rub to spread it evenly all over on both sides.
- Wrap bacon around chicken breast. Depending on the size of chicken breast and length of the bacon you’ll need 2 to 4 bacon to wrap chicken fully. Wrap bacon gently but as tight as you can without tearing bacon. For neat even look try to start and finish seam side down to secure bacon.
- Arrange bacon wrapped chicken breast in baking dish.
- Sprinkle remaining brown sugar spice mix all over the chicken evenly.
- Bake bacon wrapped chicken breast in pre-heated oven at 375 degree Fahrenheit (or 185 degree Centigrade) for 25 to 30 minutes, spooning over the pan drippings over chicken every 10 minutes for juicy chicken with extra flavor.
- You’ll know if chicken is done or not with the use of thermometer. Stick the thermometer right in the middle of the chicken breast and if temperature readings are 165 F, chicken is cooked through. If you don’t have thermometer, check for done-ness but cutting breast in the center. If it’s all the way through white, chicken is cooked.
- Optional Step – to make crispy bacon, once chicken is cooked through, broil it in broiler mode for 2 minutes.
- Remove chicken from oven.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve it hot. Don’t forget to spoon over generously the pan drippings over chicken before serving. You can serve this wrapped chicken over a bed of mashed potatoes or with roasted potatoes on the side with veggies on your choice.
Serving suggestions
You can serve bacon-wrapped chicken over a bed of mashed potatoes with your favorite veggies on the side.
With roasted potatoes and sautéed green beans.
It pairs well with melting potatoes and baby spinach.
With seasoned rice and sautéed mushrooms.
Useful tips
- You can use chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken tenders, or bone-in chicken wings.
- Use long thick cut (⅛ inch thick strips) streaky/fatty bacon.
- Depending on the size of the chicken breast, the number of bacon strips needed may vary.
- Substitute brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.
- Baste bacon-wrapped chicken regularly with pan drippings for even cooking.
- If bacon begins to smoke at 375 F, reduce the temperature. Every oven behaves differently.
- Optional step – after baking, broil for 1-2 minutes under the broiler to make the bacon golden and crispy.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. Use chicken thighs, chicken tender cuts, or even bone-in chicken pieces like chicken wings.
Stick the thermometer right in the middle of the chicken breast and if temperature readings are 165 F, the chicken is cooked through. If you don’t have a thermometer, check for done-ness but cutting the breast in the center. If it’s through white, chicken is cooked.
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📋Super Easy Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder I used garlic granules, can use fresh minced garlic too
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or use chili flakes or substitute with more smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper freshly ground
Chicken
- 4 chicken breast or use thin chicken tender cuts or large chicken thighs
- 8 strips bacon thick ⅛ inch strips are best, regular ones can be used too
- ¼ cup brown sugar feel free to adjust quantity as per YOUR taste preference
Garnish
- Fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix all ingredients for the rub – brown sugar, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder (or granules), onion powder, freshly ground pepper and salt.
- Use half the brown sugar spice mix and sprinkle on both sides of chicken breasts. Rub to spread it evenly all over on both sides.
- Wrap bacon around chicken breast. Depending on the size of chicken breast and length of the bacon you’ll need 2 to 4 bacon to wrap chicken fully. Wrap bacon gently but as tight as you can without tearing bacon. For neat even look try to start and finish seam side down to secure bacon.
- Arrange bacon wrapped chicken breast in baking dish.
- Sprinkle remaining brown sugar spice mix all over the chicken evenly.
- Bake bacon wrapped chicken breast in pre-heated oven at 375 degree Fahrenheit (or 185 degree Centigrade) for 25 to 30 minutes, spooning over the pan drippings over chicken every 10 minutes for juicy chicken with extra flavor.
- You’ll know if chicken is done or not with the use of thermometer. Stick the thermometer right in the middle of the chicken breast and if temperature readings are 165 F, chicken is cooked through. If you don’t have thermometer, check for done-ness but cutting breast in the center. If it’s all the way through white, chicken is cooked.
- Optional Step – to make crispy bacon, once chicken is cooked through, broil it in broiler mode for 2 minutes.
- Remove chicken from oven.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve it hot. Don’t forget to spoon over generously the pan drippings over chicken before serving. You can serve this wrapped chicken over a bed of mashed potatoes or with roasted potatoes on the side with veggies on your choice.
Video
Notes
- You can use chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken tenders, or bone-in chicken wings.
- Use long thick cut (⅛ inch thick strips) streaky/fatty bacon.
- Depending on the size of the chicken breast, the number of bacon strips needed may vary.
- Substitute brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.
- Baste bacon-wrapped chicken regularly with pan drippings for even cooking.
- If bacon begins to smoke at 375 F, reduce the temperature. Every oven behaves differently.
- Optional step – after baking, broil for 1-2 minutes under the broiler to make the bacon golden and crispy.
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and I’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Comments & Reviews
DonnaB says
I used thick sliced bacon. The bottom of the bacon didn’t cook. I’d use thin bacon next time.
This is good for a quick dinner. My husband liked it after I put just the bacon back into the oven to crisp it up.