The 20-Minute Bacon Chicken I Make on Repeat

Dinner will be ready in just 20 minutes. Plus, bacon!

I think about food more than most normal humans do. If you could look inside my brain, there’s a good chance you’d catch me thinking, “How do I make that taste good?” It’s partly because of my career as a registered dietitian, where I spent years convincing people that nutritious food is delicious. I think it’s also because I like food that tastes good.

One of the foods that always presents a challenge is chicken breasts. I’ve had to find ways to make poultry more interesting without much work or hassle. Enter bacon. Simply adding some spices and wrapping a boneless skinless chicken breast in bacon is all it takes to transform bland and boring into amazing and delicious.

Tips for Making My Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts

While at the store, look at the chicken breasts in the package before tossing it into your cart. Chicken breasts come in varying sizes, from small to colossal. This recipe works best if you use chicken breasts that are about 7 or 8 ounces each.

Other sizes will work but may require a shorter cooking time (breasts that are 6 ounces or less) or need to be pounded and cooked a bit longer (more than 8 ounces) to increase surface area for more even cooking. Keep things simple by looking for a package of two that’s about one pound or a little over and includes relatively equally-sized chicken breasts.

Bacon Tip

For easier wrapping, I suggest stretching the strips of bacon before applying them to the chicken. Place the bacon strip on your cutting board and hold one end, then run the back of the tip of your knife over it as you gently pull. This should stretch, not tear, the bacon, making it easier to wrap around the chicken. Stretching also allows the fat to render more quickly when cooking, which means you’ll get crispy bacon and juicy chicken.

How To Make My Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts

For roughly four servings, you’ll need:

• 2 (8 to 10-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (adjust as needed, depending on how salty your seasoning is)

• 8 slices (about 4 ounces) bacon, room temperature

Place rack in the middle of the oven and add a 12-inch cast iron skillet to preheat. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally to create 4 cutlets. Sprinkle the cutlets on both sides with salt and black pepper (as needed—depending on if your seasoning contains salt), followed by Cajun seasoning. Wrap 2 strips of bacon around each cutlet, covering completely; it’s okay if the bacon overlaps some. Place on a cutting board or plate until ready to cook.

Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and add the chicken, seam-side down; bake until crisp on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip the chicken and cook until the bacon is crispy and the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes.  If you chicken breasts were large, you may need to cook for longer, up to 5 to 10 more minutes.

Tip

For extra crispy bacon, finish with an additional few minutes under the broiler.

An Easy Variation

The bacon adds great flavor, but for a little extra, I always add a spice blend to the chicken before wrapping it. My favorite is something spicy, which is why I use Cajun or jerk seasoning, but other blends would also be delicious.

You could try harissa or za’atar or whatever blend you love. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons to cover the chicken, and if your blend doesn’t have salt, you’ll want to season the chicken with that before tossing with spices.