Boneless, skinless or bone-in chicken breasts, simply seasoned, wrapped in bacon and rubbed with brown sugar.
Spicy Sweet Bacon Chicken Breasts
This chicken recipe starts with fairly simple seasonings, then the chicken breasts are wrapped with strips of bacon and get this... like you do with candied bacon, you coat the bacon and the chicken with brown sugar!
What you end up with is this wonderful, sweet, slightly caramelized coating.
Y'all know that I'm not the biggest fan of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but as I've mentioned many times, they are on sale all the time so of course I buy them like anybody else.
The chicken breasts I used here were the bagged individually quick frozen (IQF) boneless, skinless breasts that were on a bogo sale at Winn Dixie. I find these IQF bags are generally more of what I would call "normal" sized chicken breasts, than the huge, blown up breasts commonly found in the meat department at the markets these days. I suggest that you split those larger breasts in half lengthwise.
Also remember, as always with boneless, skinless breasts, though the cooking time here is a good guideline, everybody's oven cooks differently and actual time will depend on the size of the breast you are using, so take care not to overcook them. Surely there is nothing worse than rubbery chicken, dry, tasteless breasts for dinner! The breasts pictured were ready at about 25 minutes. Your oven may require more, or even less, time.
I have also used bone-in breasts, which work well and only need a tad bit more time. Generally a light pierce of the chicken with the tip of a knife that shows juices running clear, will let you know that it's done, but you can also check with an instant read thermometer for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F to be sure.
Here's how to make my Spicy Sweet Bacon Chicken Breasts.
As always, full recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, are a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step-by-step pictures below.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil for easier cleanup, if desired.
Combine salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and Creole/Cajun seasoning. Use a meat tenderizer if desired and flatten breasts to an even thickness.
Sprinkle seasoning on both sides of chicken and wrap each piece with slices of bacon.
Roll each piece in the brown sugar.
Place into the pan, with the seam of the bacon down, securing with toothpicks, if preferred. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bacon is browned, chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and juices run clear when pierced. Plate and spoon pan drippings over each serving.
Spoon a little bit of the pan sauce over the chicken when you plate it. Just heaven. Serve this with a mixed garden salad and green veggie.
See more of my recipes using chicken breast on Pinterest!
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More Chicken Recipes
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