What Dish Can I Make With Bacon, Chicken Thighs

My Easy Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe is addictive, in bites, strips or stuffed chicken thighs on your grill, air fryer or oven. Are you ready for bacon wrapped boneless chicken thighs? Read on!

a dinner plate with three pieces of bacon wrapped chicken thighs with two sides, salad and rice

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs

Garlic chicken wrapped in bacon is absolutely delicious. You have to try making this bacon wrapped chicken thigh recipe.

I'm pretty sure you will not regret it, especially if you love chicken thighs and bacon as much as we do!

Simple chicken and bacon recipes can be hard to find, which is why I wanted you to know about this easy stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon delight!

My goodness, you can even add cheese, if you're in the mood. Imagine: bacon wrapped garlic chicken thighs stuffed with cheddar, mozzarella or Monterey or Colby Jack cheese.

Honestly, any cheese will do and will taste great!

For some, adding cheese is an even tastier option and the choice is definitely yours to make.

Regardless of whether or not you add cheese, these stuffed chicken thighs wrapped in bacon turn out super juicy and tender.

Also worth noting, these bacon wrapped garlic chicken thighs disappear lightning fast.

No kidding. Make this bacon wrapped boneless chicken thighs recipe and see for yourself.

It's almost like bacon is a magnet and people are simply drawn to it. My husband says it's like a moth to a flame. This is an apt description as I've seen this happen to him!

It looks sort of odd, like he's on autopilot. He will just move towards anything with bacon like he's helpless to resist.

And it's not just him. No one seems to be able to resist stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Recipe

With this easy bacon wrapped chicken recipe I find the preparation time to be minimal. After you wrap up one chicken thigh, the rest are pretty easy to do.

Really!

I always start wrapping the bacon at the long end and across the widest part of the chicken thigh.

Then, underneath the chicken thigh, I switch directions with the second bacon strip and continue wrapping across the narrow side.

The idea is to cover the entire chicken thigh with bacon and tuck the bacon ends underneath each thigh so every bite is filled with chicken and bacon!

An added bonus, by tucking the bacon underneath the chicken thigh, you can potentially avoid the use of toothpicks when placing your chicken thighs on top of your rack to cook.

This bacon wrapped chicken recipe works beautifully, every time.

Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon

I remember sitting at my mother's dining room table beside her friend Lucienne. She was one of the most incredible cooks I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

That day, I was able to pin her down and get my favorite pasta sauce recipe and a few other recipes I cannot live without.

What I was having difficulty with was understanding that you can literally stuff anything you want inside chicken breasts or chicken thighs. I remember I kept asking her to give me suggestions.

Years later, now I get it.

You really can stuff anything inside a piece of chicken. Especially if you're going to wrap it in bacon afterwards!

I say "especially" because the bacon does an AMAZING job at holding everything right inside your chicken thigh! Stuffing chicken is possible without bacon, but wrapping bacon around stuffed chicken makes it easier to hold everything inside!

Your favorite cooked meats, cheeses and even sauteed vegetables will work, and work well.

She taught me to always put something inside if possible.

I recommend butter (and especially garlic butter), just like with these bacon wrapped chicken thighs.

If I'm feeling more adventurous I will just open my fridge. Check for something like sandwich meat or leftovers and start from there.

Stuffed Chicken Thighs Wrapped in Bacon Tips

Lucienne said to always sprinkle your chicken with salt and pepper.

Use a butter or flavored butter, whenever possible.

Either pound your chicken with a kitchen hammer or mallet to evenly thin the chicken thigh, or chicken breast for that matter, or cut a pocket from the top of your piece of chicken angled downward so nothing runs out on to your pan.

You can use toothpicks or tightly tied kitchen string to assist you if needed. Both will help to hold everything inside your stuffed chicken. But you'll only need these if you plan on stuffing without the assistance of bacon.

Next, add some sort of cooked meat, if desired. If you are using something like sliced ham, lay it down on top of your flat piece of chicken first.

This will also help to hold your cheese inside your chicken.

Then, add some cheese. Your favorite variety and any vegetables you wish to use. Sauteed first or not.

Once that is done all you have to do is wrap 'em up!

You'll see, this bacon wrapped stuffed chicken recipe is a definite keeper!

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

The key to stuffing chicken is to seal the stuffing inside the chicken. It drives me crazy when the stuffing leaks out all over your pan.

Especially when it's cheese.

The best way to avoid this is to:

wrap your chicken up tightly with bacon or prosciutto (Italian bacon)
make sure that you start at one end of your chicken piece and then, pulling tightly, wrap chicken until chicken surface is totally covered
use kitchen string or toothpicks to secure bacon and/or chicken
keep track of where the open seam is and make sure it faces the top of your oven while baking
use a rack so air circulates around your chicken thigh or chicken breast so you won't need to flip them over unless desired
beat chicken to flatten using a kitchen mallet and then roll or cut a pocket at the thickest part of the chicken, making sure not to break or cut through the piece of chicken

Otherwise, have a look in your fridge and see what you think will work inside this stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon recipe and give it a try.

You will see that basically everything will work and work well to make an incredible piece of stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon.

I'd love to hear about some of the ingredients that you enjoy most stuffed inside your chicken!

overhead image of four bacon wrapped boneless chicken thighs with rice and green salad as sides

Easy Chicken Wrapped in Bacon Recipe

I have to agree that bacon does make almost everything taste better and these Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken Thighs are no exception!

This is such an easy chicken wrapped in bacon recipe.

The garlic butter and bacon make these chicken thighs so full of flavor, and so moist, I can guarantee they will be enjoyed by all!

This stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon recipe is one that I have been making for years and will continue until my dying day!

These stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon can be literally served with anything your heart desires. I love main courses like that. Makes meal planning so much easier.

a plate with dinner consisting of bacon wrapped stuffed chicken, rice and salad

Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken Thighs

chicken thighs
bacon
butter
garlic
salt
pepper
cooking spray

How Do You Make Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs?

In a small bowl, combine the butter and minced garlic until well blended. I frequently purchase sticks of garlic butter so I can skip this step. Set aside.

Option 1

On your work surface, place the chicken, garlic butter, bacon, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on each thigh.

Divide the garlic butter evenly on top of each thigh. Ken likes to use half a tablespoon of garlic butter per thigh, I like to use one tablespoon per thigh.

Wrap each thigh tightly with bacon. Make sure each slice is touching and the next slice starts where the last one ended.

Option 2

On your work surface, place the chicken, garlic butter, bacon, salt and pepper.

Open each thigh and place between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using a mallet pound each thigh until flat, level or even.

Spread your garlic butter all over the one side of the chicken thigh.

Ken likes to use half a tablespoon of garlic butter per thigh, I like to use one tablespoon per thigh.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of each thigh. Roll the chicken thigh up as tightly as possible.

Wrap each chicken thigh tightly with bacon. Make sure each slice is touching, or slightly overlapping, and the next slice starts where the last one ended.

Bake.

bacon wrapped chicken recipe with rice and salad

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

I have to take a moment to discuss making this easy bacon wrapped garlic chicken thighs recipe into strips or bites. Both are super simple to do.

I think you will love making these bite sized pieces of bacon wrapped chicken. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts too.

Recipes like this don't get tastier or easier for that matter.

They are perfect as a snack, appetizer or even dinner. My husband thinks the more bacon covering the chicken the better and he can't get enough of these crispy little bites!

These bacon wrapped chicken thighs are full of addictive flavor, I mean chicken and bacon do go beautifully together. These bite-sized bacon wrapped chicken bites, or strips, are so hard to stop eating.

One right after the other. With or without a dip. That's the link to my list of all time favorite dips.

This bacon wrapped chicken thigh recipe is OMG kind of good.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders

If you use a little brown sugar on the inside of each bacon wrapped chicken bite, and place each bite seam side down on your rack, you won't need to use toothpicks either.

Unless you want to, or feel you need to.

More often than not, this technique works out beautifully. However, if you prefer, secure your bacon with toothpicks to guarantee the bacon will hold in place.

Remember to cut your slices of bacon and slightly overlap each as you tightly wrap up your chicken. This will mean a crispy bacon outside on each bacon wrapped chicken bite!

They are a bit more difficult to wrap because they can be small to work with, but after a couple you will definitely get the hang of it.

You may not need to broil at the end to darken your bacon wrapped chicken bites unless you want to.

Usually, with this bacon wrapped chicken bites recipe, once the bacon is well cooked your chicken will be cooked too!

My close friend Julie, cranks up the oven temperature to broil, brushes on a little barbecue sauce once the bacon is cooked, and allows the barbecue sauce to get all bubbly and caramelized.

Oh so good.

The worst part is staring at the bacon wrapped chicken bites right after she removes them from the oven. Knowing that you really want to eat one and also knowing how badly you'll burn your mouth if you eat them before they've had time to cool.

We always try our best to wait as long as possible. I don't think we have ever waited long enough yet!

Bonus Tips

these bacon wrapped chicken bites will last for up to three days inside your fridge in an airtight container or resealable bag. To reheat, simply bake in your oven at 350 degrees for between 17 and 20 minutes, or until heated through
you can also freeze these uncooked or cooked for up to two months in a resealable freezer bag with as much air removed as possible or an airtight container. To reheat, if frozen raw, bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, and if already cooked for about 30 minutes

Your baking time will be a lot less and will depend on the size of your chicken pieces. Usually, I go by the outside of the bacon and once it is crisp the chicken is cooked inside.

This method has never been a problem, no matter the size of my bacon wrapped chicken tenders or strips.

I have to urge you to get out your thermometer and check to make sure your bacon wrapped chicken bites are cooked, just to be safe.

I have had food poisoning before and I just don't want to ever go down that road again.

EVER. If I can help it.

If you have had food poisoning before you know exactly what I mean!

How to Cook Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs

Barbecue or Grilling

My husband is the one who does most of our barbecuing and this is how he cooks it!

Leave bacon wrapped thighs on the upper rack of the barbecue, over low heat, with a tray underneath to catch all of the bacon drippings because there are a lot of them.

Just a suggestion, this is not a requirement.

Once bacon is heavily dripping, after about 15 minutes, place thighs on lower grill and turn your barbecue or grill up to medium high for about five minutes per side.

To ensure thorough cooking he places the chicken back on the upper rack for another 10 minutes or so.

Watching that the bacon doesn't start to burn. As the bacon starts to be the way you enjoy it your chicken should be cooked but I recommend using a thermometer to confirm.

Better safe than sorry.

Air Fryer

Chicken Thighs

My friend has been using his air fryer to cook so many things and this recipe is no exception and the results are wonderful. Such a similar result to the grilling.

Your bacon will end up crispy and your chicken thighs cooked.

Set temperature to 340 degrees and your timer for 30 minutes, flip and set timer for another 10 minutes. Up to 10 more minutes if your chicken thighs are on the bigger side.

Flipping the bacon wrapped chicken while the cooking ensures beautifully cooked bacon and chicken too. You will definitely be glad you did it!

I have repeatedly tried to air fry these bacon wrapped chicken thighs at a higher temperature.

We all preferred the end result of these bacon wrapped chicken thighs when they cooked for a little longer at a lower temperature. The bacon didn't end up with burnt edges and then was noticeably undercooked in other locations.

The bottom line is, in our opinion, these bacon wrapped whole chicken thighs are best cooked at 340 degrees as previously stated. If you're in a hurry, you try making yours at the higher temperature.

Maybe you'll have better luck than we did.

Regardless, the first time you make these bacon wrapped chicken thighs I urge you to use a kitchen thermometer to guarantee your chicken thighs are totally cooked.

Chicken Breasts

If you would like to try this amazing recipe with chicken breasts you can, cook them in the air fryer at 340 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken, flipping once midway during cooking.

Again, we preferred the way the bacon turned out when the chicken breasts were cooked at a lower temperature.

Baking in your Oven

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 55 minutes.

Exact timing depends on the size of your chicken thighs and the thickness of your bacon. Basically, once your bacon is cooked your chicken is done!

For what it's worth, the same applies to chicken breasts.

If you decide to make this recipe using chicken breasts, instead of chicken thighs, once your bacon is cooked your chicken is usually cooked too.

Just to be safe, always check the internal temperature with a thermometer but this little trick hasn't not worked yet.

Same rule applies for bite sized or strips wrapped in bacon.

No matter the size, once the bacon is cooked your chicken will be too.

overhead photo of this bacon wrapped chicken recipe complimented with rice and salad

Bacon Wrapped Everything…

Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Chicken Breasts

Sweet Sriracha or Sweet Chili Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Bacon Wrapped Cheese Biscuits

The Best Bacon Wrapped Pork Meatloaf

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Crispy Prosciutto Wrapped Garlic Chicken

Other Easy Chicken Thigh Recipes to Try

Balsamic Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs

Dark and Delicious Chicken Thighs

Molasses Glazed Chicken Thighs

Incredible Chicken Thighs

The Crispiest Baked Chicken Thighs

Barbecue Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs

Easy Honey Roasted Chicken Thighs

Balsamic Glazed Garlic Chicken Thighs

Garlic Chicken Thighs

Pan and Oven Baked Chicken Thighs

Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken Thighs Video

Take a moment to check out our video below! You can see just how easy these Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken Thighs are to make!

Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken Thighs

My Easy Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe is addictive, in bites, strips or stuffed chicken thighs on your grill, air fryer or oven.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

rimmed baking sheet
rack

6 chicken thighs,boneless, skinless
12 slices bacon, 2 per thigh
3 - 6 tblsp butter, softened
1-2 tsp garlic, minced
sprinkles salt
sprinkles pepper
cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with tinfoil and a rack coated in cooking spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the butter and minced garlic until well blended. I frequently purchase sticks of garlic butter so I can skip this step. Set aside.