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This 4-ingredient Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast is a delicious dinner that’s simple enough for weeknight meals, but also fancy enough for entertaining. Each chicken breast is stuffed with chive and onion cream cheese, wrapped with slices of bacon, and baked in the oven until crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Serve the perfect little bundles with rice, crusty bread, green beans or salad!
Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Busy moms can always use new and flavorful chicken breast recipes, and this stuffed bacon wrapped chicken breast does not disappoint! It’s an easy dinner that checks all of the boxes, since it:
- Can be prepped in advance, if necessary;
- Only requires 4 simple ingredients (plus salt and pepper);
- Is largely hands-off, since the oven does the work;
- Can be scaled up or down to serve just 2 people or to feed a larger crowd;
- Looks and tastes fancy, but is actually incredibly easy!
Ingredients
This is a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for the bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breast. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken breast: pounded flat to about ½-inch thickness.
- Kosher salt and pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
- Chive and onion cream cheese: for stuffing the chicken.
- Butter: just a touch of butter keeps the inside of the stuffed chicken moist and flavorful.
- Bacon: make sure that you use regular bacon (not thick-cut bacon). The thick-cut variety doesn’t get nearly as crispy by the time the chicken is done baking.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast
This quick dinner only requires about 15 minutes of actual hands-on prep work. It’s simple, flavorful, and looks like you spent hours in the kitchen!
- Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Spread cream cheese on top of each piece of chicken, then dot with butter.
- Roll up the chicken and wrap with bacon.
- Arrange the stuffed chicken breast seam-side down on top of a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake in a 400° F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.
- Switch the oven to BROIL. Cook until the bacon is crisp, about 3 more minutes.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives, if desired.
What to Serve with Chicken Wrapped in Bacon
This bacon wrapped cream cheese chicken is incredibly versatile, so it pairs nicely with just about any of your favorite sides. Here are some delicious options:
- Charleston Red Rice, Rice Pilaf, Parmesan Risotto, or No-Stir Easy Mushroom Risotto
- Buttered Homemade Egg Noodles or Pesto Pasta
- Buttermilk Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits or Drop Biscuits
- French Baguette, Soft Dinner Rolls, or a crusty loaf of No-Knead Bread
- Homemade Coleslaw
- Easy Pasta Salad with Mayo, Lemon and Basil or Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives or Garlic and Parmesan Cauliflower Mash
- Potato Pancakes or Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Zucchini Gratin with Corn, Zucchini Fritters or Sauteed Zucchini
- Roasted Cabbage or Braised Red Cabbage
- Amish Green Beans with Brown Butter, Roasted Green Beans or Southern-Style Green Beans
- Garlic Roasted Broccoli
- Wedge Salad, House Salad with Candied Pecans or Caesar Salad
- Creamed Peas
- Sauteed Spinach or Creamed Spinach
- Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots
- Roasted Asparagus or Sauteed Asparagus
Make Ahead
This is a great prep-ahead dinner, especially when you’re entertaining guests or rushing around on busy weeknights. Just assemble the stuffed bacon wrapped chicken as instructed, cover, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. When ready to bake, allow the chicken to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before it goes in the oven. Otherwise, if the meat is cold when you bake it, you may need to extend the total cooking time.
Storage
Leftover bacon wrapped chicken breast will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To reheat the chicken, microwave on high for 90 seconds. Alternatively, to get the bacon nice and crispy again, reheat the chicken in a skillet over medium heat.
Recipe Variations
- Add fresh herbs for more flavor. Try sprinkling the cream cheese and butter with chopped fresh parsley, chives, thyme, rosemary or basil before rolling.
- Double the recipe to serve a larger crowd, or cut the ingredients in half for a smaller family.
- Adjust the amount of cream cheese to suit your taste. If you like a thin layer of cream cheese inside, then 1 tablespoon per chicken breast should be adequate. If you prefer a thicker layer of cream cheese, use 2 tablespoons (or more) for each breast.
Tips for the Best Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
- Pounding the chicken flat makes it easier to stuff and roll, and helps the meat cook evenly. For this recipe, you don’t need to make it quite as flat as you normally would for chicken cutlets. You want the chicken breast a little bit thicker (about ½-inch thick) so that the meat doesn’t dry out in the oven while the bacon finishes crisping.
- Line the baking sheet with foil (for easy cleanup), then set a wire rack on top. Baking the stuffed chicken on top of the rack allows the bacon grease to drip down so that the bacon gets crispy on all sides.
- Since the bacon might not be completely crispy by the time the chicken is done, broil the stuffed chicken breast for a few extra minutes. Just keep a close eye on the bacon, because it can burn quickly under the broiler!
- You can tell the chicken is done by slicing into the meat. If it looks white all of the way through (no pink), then it’s ready. The juices should run clear. If you don’t want to slice into your chicken, a meat thermometer comes in very handy. The chicken is cooked through when it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
More Chicken Breast Recipes to Try
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each), pounded to ½-inch thickness
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons chive and onion cream cheese (or more, as desired)
- 1 tablespoon butter, chilled and diced into very small pieces
- 8 slices bacon (not thick-cut)
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or chives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil; set a metal cooling rack on top.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of cream cheese on a chicken breast and dot with about ÂĽ of the butter. Roll up and wrap with 2 slices of bacon; secure with toothpicks if necessary. Place seam-side down on the rack on top of the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.
- Adjust the oven to BROIL on high. Place the chicken about 6 inches from the heat and broil until the bacon is crisp, about 3 more minutes. Keep a close eye on the chicken, since the bacon can burn quickly.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives, if desired.
Notes
- Pounding the chicken flat makes it easier to stuff and roll, and helps the meat cook evenly. For this recipe, you don’t need to make it quite as flat as you normally would for chicken cutlets. You want the chicken breast a little bit thicker (about ½-inch thick) so that the meat doesn’t dry out in the oven while the bacon finishes crisping.
- Line the baking sheet with foil (for easy cleanup), then set a wire rack on top. Baking the stuffed chicken on top of the rack allows the bacon grease to drip down so that the bacon gets crispy on all sides.
- Since the bacon might not be completely crispy by the time the chicken is done, broil the stuffed chicken breast for a few extra minutes. Just keep a close eye on the bacon, because it can burn quickly under the broiler!
- You can tell the chicken is done by slicing into the meat. If it looks white all of the way through (no pink), then it’s ready. The juices should run clear. If you don’t want to slice into your chicken, a meat thermometer comes in very handy. The chicken is cooked through when it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
