by Alyssa Rivers
Tender and Juicy Chicken that is wrapped in bacon and coated in a blend of spices. It bakes in brown sugar which caramelizes when it cooks. You are going to love the sweet and spicy flavor!
Oh my goodness you guys. The meals that have been going up on this blog lately have been blowing our family away! I posted this Crispy Parmesan Chicken a few days ago which is incredible and then we had this Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken! Our family has been in heaven with all of these amazing meals lately!
I love sweet and spicy together because it adds a little kick to your dish while the sweet helps to cool it down. This meal is not too spicy either and my family was able to eat it. Of course I had to hold the red pepper flakes for the kids. 🙂
It looks perfect when you pull it out of the oven. You can see the amazing spice blend that coats the chicken. And then the chicken is wrapped in bacon. The house fills with the smell of bacon as it cooks and you can’t wait to eat!
My favorite part about this recipe is the magic of brown sugar and bacon as this cooks. The bacon caramelizes on top and it creates a sweet sauce for the chicken to bake in.
This meal is simple yet fantastic! You cut into the chicken and it is so tender and juicy. It literally bakes to perfection. It must be the bacon that is wrapped around it. 😉
This meal will become an instant favorite at your house and you will want to make it again and again!
Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Tender and Juicy Chicken that is wrapped in bacon and coated in a blend of spices. It bakes in brown sugar which caramelizes when it cooks. You are going to love the sweet and spicy flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs*
- 6-8 slices of bacon
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- optional garnish: chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder in a bowl. Roll each chicken piece into the spices and wrap in bacon. Place in a 10 inch skillet or a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until chicken reads 165 degrees and is no longer pink. I like to broil the tops of my chicken for 1-2 minutes to crisp the bacon at the end.
Recipe Notes
*You can also use tenders, I just like being able to wrap the bacon completely around the chicken.
This indeed looks like a recipe that will bring me straight to food heaven! My goodness! I mean bacon, what could go wrong…. Right?!
We LOVED this recipe! And everything is better with bacon! 😉
Can I ask….you said could use chicken tenders. Could we cut a breast in half or quarters instead? I want the bacon to wrap fully.
Yes. I just like being able to wrap the bacon almost completely around. 🙂
oh yummy for my tummy!
Hi Alyssa, this would be a great contribution to Food on Friday: Birthday Food over at Carole’s Chatter. Please do bring it over to join in the Birthday fun. Cheers
I looks like there is red pepper flakes in the photo but I don’t see it listed in the recipe. Does the recipe have red pepper flakes in it?
I paired this with cinnamon vanilla waffles and it was HEAVEN. Chicken and waffles is a bit of an odd dish but with using this recipe for the chicken, the bacon perfectly bridges the gap between stereotypical “breakfast food” and “lunch/dinner food”
OK, so I am a pretty good cook but every now and then my memory needs a little boost. So this morning I got on the internet to find a fried rice recipe, well here I am 2 hours later still reading your recipes. Normally I don’t like food blogs because they get too technical, the main reason I don’t like trying new recipes, the food doesn’t look that great and frankly they are boring. What I am trying to say is that I LOVE your blog, you make everything so simple, short and sweet, and I can tell just by the pics and the recipe that everything tastes great. Keep up the good work, can’t wait to try some new stuff.
One of the things I really enjoy about reading your posts is that reading a post does not involve scrolling and scrolling through endless pictures to get to the recipe. I enjoy a few pictures that show the food and a step or 2, and then the recipe. Thank you for that simplicity!
Is 1/2 cup brown sugar correct? It just looks like a lot. I love your recipes by the way. Discovered your blog a few months ago and now many of your recipes are staples and family favorites! Thanks so much!
Made this just as written. Absolutely wonderful! Cooked for 2 people for dinner and there were no leftovers! Full of flavor and simple to make with basic ingredients. Will make again!
That is great to hear!! I am so happy you loved it as much as I did!! Thanks for sharing! Xo
What did you serve this with? I’m going to try this recipe tonight. So excited!
Oh, rice, pasta maybe, a side salad and/or mashed potatoes are always good! Hope that helps! XOXO
I’m pretty sure my husband re-fell in love with me when I gave him this !
I made this tonight… using chicken breast… very nice… I did adjust it some spice wise because for me spicy is to much heat… while others want more… so I left out the “chili” then seasoned one breast…. after that I add a few addition spices because other preferred more heat to their spicy and then proceeded with wrapping the bacon around each breast AND added the brown sugar… over all it came out wonderful… very nice flavor and moist… served with small dinner salad and every one seemed really enjoy the meal.
That sounds great! I am so glad that you made it your own! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
Good stuff
Just made this and it was DELICIOUS! Savory, a little sweet and with a little heat too- not sure I’ll be able to share it with my family ? definitely a must make again recipe!
Made the sweet and spicy bacon wrapped chicken and then use it in a burrito OMG! It was do yummy!!
That is so great to hear! I am so happy it turned out yummy for you and you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing and following along with me! XOXO
I want to cook this for supper this evening, however, i realize i do not have any brown sugar! No way to go to store either. What else can i use. Help help i dont want to disappoint my family.
Hi Alyssa, this spicy sweet combo looks amazing!! But I’m not a fan of dark meat so if I use tenders, do I also need to adjust the cook time to keep them from drying out?
Thanks for sharing!!
Yes, you will want to make sure the temperature of the chicken gets cooked long enough for you to serve it. Let me know how it turns out! XOXO
The sweet and spicy chicken thigs in bacon recipe …… the ingredient chilli powder – do you mean ground chilli?
There is a chili powder that you can find in the seasoning isle. It is a reddish color. Hope that helps! XOXO
This is one of our family favorites! Making it tonight!
Made this tonight, well, this morning. I used half of the chili powder because of my mom. It could have used more, lol.
It was so yummy. And, everything’s better with bacon.
Thank you for this wonderful resource. I prepared this meal last night; and, it was a hit! I often feel overwhelmed trying to come up with dinner ideas. Your site and blog have become my go-to resource because the recipes are simple, doable, affordable, and practical. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Can this be cooked on the grill?