Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken

How to Cut Chicken Breast for Stuffing?

You need to start with large boneless skinless chicken breasts, they need to be full enough to work with. Place the chicken breast flat on a clean cutting board and firmly hold the chicken down.

Using a large sharp knife, cut horizontally through the middle, making sure to stop before fully splitting the chicken breast open in order to create a pocket to hold the filling.  

Don’t be concerned about your filling coming out of the pocket while cooking as the bacon helps to seal the pocket shut.

What to Serve with Jalapeño Popper Chicken

This dish goes great with mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and/or a green salad. If you are eating low carb then mashed cauliflower is excellent with this chicken dish. I love this dish with steamed broccoli or asparagus too.

How to Store Leftover Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Chicken

Wrap any leftover chicken in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. When ready to reheat just pop the chicken wrapped in foil into a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15-20 minutes, or until just warmed through.

Do not reheat in the microwave as the chicken and bacon will get dry and rubbery.

About the Ingredients for Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken

Chicken – You need full boneless skinless chicken breasts, not tenders.

Cream cheese – Full fat cream cheese will give the best flavour, but you can use light cream cheese if you prefer.

Cheese – Old cheddar cheese is best here but you can definitely play around with different cheeses. Use freshly grated cheese, avoid packaged shredded cheese, they don’t melt properly and won’t taste as good.

Jalapeño peppers – I would recommend wearing gloves to cut the jalapenos.

Seasoning – Garlic powder and onion powder season this dish. You can salt the chicken if you are using sodium-reduced bacon.

Bacon – Try to avoid using thick-cut bacon for this recipe as it won’t cook as quickly and crisp up as nicely as regular bacon will. If that’s all you have available, add an additional 10 minutes to the cooking time.

Looking for More Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes?

This slow cooker chicken teriyaki is an easy weeknight meal to throw together in the morning, for a tasty dinner ready at the end of the day.

Looking for a delicious and easy low carb meal? This skillet bruschetta chicken recipe is perfect for a quick and tasty weeknight meal.

This creamy, delicious chicken with mushroom sauce is made from scratch. Learn how to make this classic comfort food with no canned soup.

How to Make Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken

Yields: 4 Servings | Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons jalapeño peppers, seeds removed and minced
• ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
• ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
• 8 slices original bacon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, add the softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, minced jalapeño, garlic powder and onion powder.

Stir until fully incorporated.

Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board. Insert a sharp knife into the thickest side of the chicken. Cut a pocket, being careful not to cut all the way through the chicken.

Place ¼ cup of the cream cheese mixture into each chicken pocket.

Wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Cook chicken in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until fully cooked. Change the oven setting to broil and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes to allow the bacon to crisp up.

Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.