Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites – Perfectly seasoned chicken pieces, wrapped in glorious bacon, rolled in brown sugar and baked to golden perfection. Need I say more?
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
I have a fabulous and ridiculously good appetizer for you today. Bite size pieces of chicken wrapped in bacon, B-A-C-O-N my friends. They are then rolled in brown sugar and finally baked to perfection. Can you say YUM!
Let’s talk about these puppies because they are too good to be true. The bacon, the brown sugar, the chicken; this recipe has to be the motherlode of all appetizers! They are full of flavor, sweet from the brown sugar, salty from the bacon, plus I generously seasoned them with some fresh cracked pepper.
Ingredients in Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
This recipe only calls for a handful of ingredients! It’s amazing how just a few items from your kitchen can make something so delicious. Keep scrolling for the full recipe and ingredient amounts.
For this recipe you will need:
- Chicken breasts – Since the bacon adds a lot of rich fattiness so this recipe, I used chicken breast for some more leanness. You can definitely use chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Salt & pepper – Use just a hint of salt, but lots of pepper. Fresh cracked pepper is always the best!
- Bacon – Don’t cheap out on some regular run-of-the-mill bacon! Treat yourself to some nice thick cut slices.
- Brown sugar – I used dark brown sugar for some extra molasses-y punch. You can use regular brown sugar as well – whatever type you have kicking in the pantry will work.
- Parsley – As I always say, we eat with our eyes first. I always keep a bunch of parsley in my fridge to add a nice pop of green to my dishes. This is a garnish so, of course, it’s optional.
I once told you that if I were ever stranded on an island, the two foods I’d take with me would be bacon and nutella. What more does a girl need, really? Come to think of it, these super fabulous bites would have been awesome with some drizzled nutella over them. Eh? You with me? If you’re not with me, you’re against me. Work with me here!
How To Make Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
- Prep the oven and baking sheet: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line your baking sheet well with foil. This will help you out so much when clean-up time comes around!
- Prep the chicken: Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Season the pieces with salt and pepper, then roll them in bacon. I cut the slices either in halves or thirds. Make sure they’re long enough to wrap around the chicken.
- Finish and bake the bites: Roll each bite through brown sugar and then line them on your baking sheet. Season with a little more salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the bacon is nice and crispy. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
How Do I Make Sure the Bacon Stays Wrapped on the Chicken?
No need for toothpicks in this recipe! The bacon will stick nicely to the chicken. If you place the bites on the baking sheet with the bacon seam down, you will ensure that it won’t curl up and come off during the cooking process.
Tips For Making the Best Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
- Let the piece of bacon overlap when you wrap each piece of chicken a little bit. This will make sure as the bites cook, the bacon will stay secure and not unravel as the bites are eaten.
- Cut the slices of bacon! We want that slice of bacon to get nice and crispy. If you wrap a large slice so that it overlaps in a few layers, the inner layers of bacon will be soft and chewy.
- Broil the bites for the last few minutes of cooking if you want them a little more browned.
How to Store Leftover Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
These bites will last in the fridge for 3-4 days stored in an airtight container or freezer bag. Reheat in the oven at 375F for about 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
This is also a great appetizer to store in the freezer! You can freeze them uncooked or cooked for 1-3 months. Bake them at 375F for 45 minutes-1 hour if they are raw, or 20-30 minutes if they’re pre-cooked.
Looking for More Party Appetizers? Try These:
- Maple BBQ Glazed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
- Baked Honey Garlic Chicken
- Chipotle Popcorn Chicken
- Bacon and Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites
- Toasted Ravioli
- Cheesy Chicken Fritters
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Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 12 slices bacon thin cut, cut into halves or thirds
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, this will save you from having to scrub your baking sheet. Place a cookie rack on top the baking sheet. I used a cookie rack here. Place the sugar in a shallow plate.
- Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- Depending on your bacon how thin or thick it is, cut each slice in either half or 3 pieces. I cut mine into 3. Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon. There is no need for toothpicks, the bacon will stick to the chicken. Roll the wrapped chicken into the brown sugar and make sure each piece is nicely coated in the brown sugar.
- Place chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet and season again with more salt and pepper.
- Bake for about 45 minutes or until bacon is nice and crisp.
- Garnish with parsley, so that it looks pretty.
Recipe Notes
- These bites will last in the fridge for 3-4 days stored in an airtight container or freezer bag. Reheat in the oven at 375F for about 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
- This is also a great appetizer to store in the freezer! You can freeze them uncooked or cooked for 1-3 months. Bake them at 375F for 45 minutes-1 hour if they are raw, or 20-30 minutes if they’re pre-cooked.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
These are truly delicious, I’ve been making a version of these for years, they are expected to be on the menu for my Christmas Eve appetizer dinner every year I always add smoked paprika to the brown sugar, give its whirl and see if you like it that way, too. Thanks for all the fabulicious recipes, Jo!
Thanks, Shellie! 🙂
I made these Sweet Chicken Bacon Bites as an entree for New Year’s Eve dinner and they were quite good. My husband loved them. This is a simple, foolproof recipe with minimal preparation time, but it looks and tastes special. DO follow the instructions to put a cookie rack on top of the baking sheet as the bacon fat and a lot of the brown sugar will melt and make a gooey mess at the bottom. For this reason, make sure the aluminum foil goes up the sides of the baking sheet. Once the baking sheet cools, the melted material will solidify and you can lift it out with the aluminum foil.
How well do these freeze?
They should freeze pretty well, I’d actually reheat them in the oven to get the bacon crispy again.
These are absolutely delicious! I am wondering if these could be skewered and grilled as well?
Do you serve them as a main dish or an appetizer? They look so yummy
I usually serve them as an appetizer but they could work as a main as well along with some salad.
Thanks! I can’t wait to try them
I would love to take this to a pot luck, how long can they sit out. Or do they have to be eaten immediatly
You can leave them out, but I wouldn’t leave them out for more than 4 hours.
Thnk-you gonna try it.
Hello Jo,
Thanks for the recipe.
We enjoyed it with a nice salade, it was delicious.
Greetings from The Netherlands
Annet
That’s awesome, hello Netherlands!!
Thank you for this – When I make these, everyone in the house goes crazy! I’ve had people cancel plans to stay home and eat them hot, and one friend actually cried when she tasted them!
My pleasure, that’s actually quite funny, don’t think I’ve had anyone cry before over the food. 🙂
Would it be good with cheese?
OMG fondue dip type cheese. YES please!!
looks like pure yummyness! Can’t wait to try
We love bacon,these delicious and easy , thanks for awesome recipe!!!;))
Do you think these would be tasty eaten at room temp? I’m thinking of sending them in my kids’ lunch box?
They’d be ok if you don’t mind cold bacon.
These look just amazing!
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com
Hi Jo, do you do anything extra to the bacon before you wrap it around the chicken. Edges look browned and and a little crisp in the photos well before the they’re cooked. Is that another little trick for extra crispy edges?
No I didn’t do anything extra, but what you can do is before taking the chicken out, if the bacon is not as crispy as you’d like just turn the broiler on high for about 1 minute to brown it and crisp it up a bit more. Just make sure you watch it, you don’t want it to burn. Hope this helps.
I am preparing to start my own blog and I absolutely adore your recipes, pictures, and how your blog posts look overall! How do you create the box that your recipe is in? do you use some sort of program?
It’s a plugin and it’s called Easy Recipe. Good luck with your blog. 🙂
How many pounds of chicken for this recipe? I would be making 13x the amount of this recipe for a party.
It really depends on the size of the chicken breasts, usually 2 chicken breasts is about 3/4 lb.