Meals · Skillet & sheet-pan mains
Bacon-wrapped chicken breast
Chicken breasts flattened to an even thickness and wrapped in a spiral of thin bacon, then baked on a rack so the bacon crisps while it bastes the meat. Nothing sweet on it and no sauce, just salt, smoke and juicy chicken.
- Time
- 55 min (25 prep + 30 cook)
- Servings
- 4
- Per serving
- 344 kcal
- Protein
- 54 g
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless breasts, about 7 oz each chicken breast
- 2/3 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika (optional)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
- 8 slices bacon, thin-cut; the weight is the crisp bacon you eat
Steps
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Set a wire rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Put each breast between two sheets of parchment and pound the thick end with a heavy pan or rolling pin until the whole breast is about 3/4 inch thick, so it cooks evenly. Pat dry.
- Season the chicken on both sides with the salt and pepper, and the paprika and onion powder, if using. Leave it for 15 minutes while the oven heats, so the salt has time to work into the meat.
- Wrap each breast in 2 slices of bacon in a spiral, stretching the bacon a little as you go and tucking the ends underneath. Set the breasts on the rack with the ends down.
- Bake 18–24 minutes, checking from 18, until the thickest part reads 165°F. If the bacon wants more color, turn on the broiler for the last 2–3 minutes and watch it closely.
- Rest 5 minutes, then slice across the grain. Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge; reheat at 350°F until hot.
Good to know
Can I use thick-cut bacon?
It needs longer than the chicken does. Bake the slices on their own for 8 minutes first, until they start to render and are still bendable, then wrap.
Not eating strictly carnivore?
A thin brush of Dijon mustard on the chicken before the bacon goes on is a popular addition.
Per
- Calories
- 205
- Protein
- (65%)
- 32 g
- Fat
- (34%)
- 7 g
- Carbohydrates
- (1%)
- 1 g
- of which sugar
- <1 g
- Fiber
- <1 g
- Sodium
- 514 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1377 kcal goes into the pot and 889 g of ingredients comes out as about 672 g of food: 205 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.