These bacon-wrapped chicken bites are a perfect appetizer. The juicy chicken, crispy bacon, and a spicy brown sugar coating will make them the first finger food to disappear at any party. Assemble them with toothpicks ahead of time, then coat and bake them for the party—so easy, so good.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts
Bacon
Pantry ingredients—Brown sugar, chili powder, and cumin
Optional cayenne pepper
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Featured Comment by Jamie:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"These are so yummy and so easy to make!"
These sweet and spicy bacon and chicken wraps require a skill level of 3/10 (easy). The chili powder and cumin add spiciness but not much heat. Add the optional cayenne pepper for more heat. It is easy to double or triple if needed.
Check out these other popular appetizer recipes, such as Crispy Baked Chicken Wings, Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bites, Candied Almonds, and Candied Bacon.
👨🍳How to Make Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Bites—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Clean and trim chicken into 1-inch cubes.
2. Thin and trim the bacon strips with the back edge of a chef's knife to your desired thickness. Then, cut the bacon slices in half.
3. Roll the bacon around the chicken cubes and secure it with a toothpick.
4. Mix the coating of brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, and optional cayenne pepper.
5. Prep a sheet pan with aluminum foil and a rack–spray with PAM.
6. Roll the pieces in the brown sugar mixture. Be sure to pack some in the ends. Place on the rack.
7. Bake until golden brown and at a 165° internal temperature for about 35 minutes.
8. Cover with foil on a heavy dish to keep warm until served. See the above discussion about options to stay warm safely.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🤔Options and variations
The chicken does need to be raw chicken breast or thighs. If you use thighs, they are safe cooked to 165° like all other chicken but are more tender if cooked to 180°
The cumin is optional but it adds a warm spiciness but no significant heat.
I like to add a touch cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon, for some heat.
I like to start with thicker bacon so I can trim some fat and still have enough bacon width to cover the chicken when I thin it.
Use either light or dark brown sugar.
A rack is highly recommended but not required. It will keep the chicken warps out of the draining bacon fat.
📅Making them ahead of time
Assemble them, but do not coat them with spices or bake. Cover airtight and refrigerate for a day.
♨️How to keep chicken bites warm for serving
Keeping them warm for serving could be a challenge. Electric griddles usually have a warm setting and will work well.
A large crock pot will work with crumpled-up aluminum foil in the bottom so the bottom layer does not set in drained liquid. Use a low setting.
For food safety, keep the temperature above 140° if they are out for more than 2 hours (they will not last that long at most parties).
📋Appetizer and Party Recipes
Don't forget to check out other party recipes, like Crispy Baked Chicken Wings, Lemon Squares, and Cheesecake Bars.
Check out these other recipes for BBQ picnics and parties, like baked chicken legs, grilled chicken drumsticks, grilled bone-in or boneless chicken thighs, or burgers on the grill.
❄️Storing leftovers and reheating
Store airtight in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freeze for 2 months. Freeze on a tray to freeze individually for several hours, then transfer to an airtight container.
To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then in a 350° oven for about 15 minutes.
❓FAQs
If you use thinner bacon, it is not needed. Very thick bacon may take enough extra cooking time to overcook the chicken.
I like to use standard "thick-cut" bacon, which can then be thinned to widen it. This allows me to better cover the chicken and trim some fat.
⚕️Chicken food safety tips
Raw chicken and other poultry should be considered contaminated and handled with care. Wash your hands carefully before and after touching raw chicken.
We do not wash raw chicken routinely due to water splatter. For more information, see Chicken: To Rinse or Not to Rinse?
You must cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° for safety—see the USDA recommendations for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.
These chicken wraps are frequently used for parties. Be sure they stay above 140°. If they falls below 140° for more than 2 hours, they should be discarded.
Most recipes (including this one) include estimated cooking times. These are provided for planning purposes. However, you can not cook safely using time—you must use a thermometer.
👨🍳Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
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Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts - cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 pound bacon - buy good quality
- ⅖ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ⅔ cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons chili powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, and ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional).
- Clean and trim about 1 ¼ pounds of skinless boneless chicken breast. Cut into approx 1-inch cubes.
- If using thick-cut bacon, you may thin the strips of bacon with the back edge of a chef's knife and trim some fat. Cut the strips in half.
- Roll the bacon around the chicken cubes and secure it with a toothpick. At this point, cover and refrigerate for better timing. You can keep it tightly covered and refrigerated for up to a day.
- Prep a sheet pan with aluminum foil and a rack–spray with PAM.
- Roll the pieces in the brown sugar mixture. Be sure to pack some in the ends. Place on the rack.
- Bake until golden brown and at a 165° internal temperature for about 35 minutes.
- Cover with foil on a heavy dish to keep warm until served.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- If you are using thicker bacon, you may want to flatten it a bit with the flat edge of a knife. This will widen it, allowing you to wrap the chicken better and trim some fat. Alternatively, you can use thinner bacon.
- Chicken thighs work fine or can be substituted for small sausages or other things.
- The cayenne pepper is optional. It adds some heat.
- It can be made up a day ahead after covering the chicken in bacon and securing it with a toothpick before coating it with sugar and spice mix.
- Serve warm. A griddle or crock pot will work nicely. See the post for a discussion about food safety and keeping them warm.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Adapted from Food Network Paula Deen recipe.
Editor note: Originally published June 15, 2012. This recipe has been one of my most pinned recipes on Pinterest and is one of our go-to recipes for gatherings. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Mary smith says
I made these at a party they were wonderful!! Now I tried a version that is for a main course I spread cream cheese ( spreadable) on a chicken fillet and rolled it and wrapped it in bacon then the brown sugar mixture....wow!!!
Diane Roark says
Please let me know if it is not o.k. to use your delicious looking bacon appetizer in my bacon roundup posts.
Blessings,
Diane Roark
Timotayo says
This is like food porn. I am feeling diet-guilt for wanting this badly!
How do you reckon it'd do on a BBQ??? This would be a great camping food to make! Maybe skewer these bad boys on sticks over a fire?? Holy moley....
Hutch says
I smoked these using apple wood. 1 1/2 hours @ 220, they were great! We had a lot of dipping sauces available when we served them...we liked ranch dressing and BW3 spicy garlic sauce the best.
DrDan says
That is really stepping it up a notch.... Sounds wonderful
Thanks for the ideas
DrDan
Karen Yoder says
I am doing a wedding reception appetitzers. Is there any way to make them in bulk and keep warm after baking until serving?
would an electric roaster work?
DrDan says
Hummm no idea really. That is more of a catering question. I guess I would try some sort of warming oven but you might dry them...
I know you can assemble them ahead and even do the coating a few hours ahead but I have always served them shortly after cooking. We did take a large tray about 20 minutes away and used an electric serving tray for the 60's to keep them hot there.
Anybody out there with a suggestion.
DrDan
garden girl says
hi karen, what about a warming tray versus a electric roaster?? or electric serving tray...do you have time to experiment ?? i am not an expert by any means .....my thoughts are you dont want to continue to cook them just keep them warm....
Michele says
Made these yesterday for my husband's b-day party. They were amazing and a huge hit. Everyone loved them, even my picky step-son. I wrapped and coated them in them morning and popped them in the fridge until ready to bake. Thanks for the great recipe!
DrDan says
They have somewhat become our "take to the party" dish.
Thanks for the comment
DrDan
Joyce says
May I recommend using a mixture of honey mustard, & BQ sauce for dipping ? Makes a excellent sauce on everything!!
DrDan says
Thanks for the recommendations. I'm not a dipper usually but it sounds great.
Thanks for the note
DrDan
laura says
Do you think you could do these in a crockpot?
DrDan says
No. No chance. The bacon would not cook.
DrDan
Carrie says
There's actually a recipie for these in the crockpot on Pinterest as well.
CiciG says
This was a HUGE hit at our Superbowl Party! It was a little time consuming, but looked impressive. If you have the time, it's worth it!
DrDan says
Thanks for the note. I generally do everything but the coating ahead and let them set in the refrigerator covered so my time during a party is not much.
DrDan
Joan says
Made these yesterday for the superbowl and they were pretty good but most the brown sugar mixture seemed to drip off while cooking so they didn't have much of the sweet and spicy flavor. We ended up dipping them in BBQ sauce. Any suggestions on how to keep the mixture from dripping off while cooking?
DrDan says
Hi Joan
I haven't had that problem. I would suspect it has to do with the bacon. I use a very lean bacon so it may stick better. I use Hormel Black Label.
DrDan
OrganicOso says
Try putting the spice and brown suger in a plastic bag and tossing the cubed chicken in it before wrapping with bacon. The fat from the bacon will coat and help marinate the rub into the chicken while it bakes.
Julie says
I cook mine directly on sheet pan, no rack. Let's the bacon & ckn/weinies soak up all the sugar & spice
Joy says
Very easy to make. Tasty little treats.
Teri says
Totally making these next weekend!
Beedermpath says
Made these for a party! Awesome!
Beedermpath says
Made these for a party! I tripled the recipe, they were a big hit. Thanks!
Chris says
Hard to beat that for party food! I did a savory version of this years ago and it was not as good, it needs the sweet.
Greg says
some friends of mine do almost the exact same recipe with the little cocktail hotdogs instead of the chicken. they go fast at parties. I think I like the idea of the chicken myself.