Bacon-wrapped chicken bites make an easy and delicious low carb game-day appetizer. Or a kid-friendly meal! This post is sponsored by Tabasco.
Given the restrictions of this little Tabasco cooking challenge, bacon is featuring heavily in my recipes right now. Understandably, since I do love my bacon. Plus I feel even more limited, since I don’t use grains and legumes for the most part. So yeah…bacon, chicken and Tabasco. Not a bad combination, especially for an appetizer. And remarkably easy to throw together.
Truth be told, this was the last of the Tabasco recipes I created and I was running out of ideas. But these make a perfect game-day appetizer so I thought I would post them ahead of Sunday, in case you were searching for easy inspiration. They also make a great kids’ meal.
I considered a more complicated concoction wherein I stuffed the chicken breasts with cheese and bacon and brushed them with a Tabasco dressing of sorts. And that would have been wonderful, but I decided to scale it back and make something a little more kid-friendly. Food on sticks…kids love food on sticks. So little appetizer-y bacon-wrapped chicken bites it was. They were a huge hit. If you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner for your kids this weekend, or you need a quick appetizer to bring to a party, you’re all set.
- 1 & 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Tabasco sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb bacon
- Additional Tabasco if desired
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Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes.
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In medium bowl, toss chicken with oil and Tabasco sauce. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate.
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Preheat oven to 400F and grease the rack of a broiling pan. Line pan with foil for easier clean-up.
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Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
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Cut each slice of bacon into thirds. Wrap each cube of chicken with a short slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
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Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is crisp.
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Sprinkle each bite with a drop or two more of Tabasco, if desired.
Serves 12 to 15 as an appetizer. Carbs are negligible.
270 Calories; 20g Fat (69.0% calories from fat); 20g Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 54mg Cholesterol; 632mg Sodium.
Arthur in the Garden! says
Yummy!
[email protected] says
Ahhh…. bacon….. you are my husband’s new best friend 🙂
Carolyn says
Haha, bacon is everyone’s best friend.
Robin Morelock says
I have a quick question unrelated to the chicken bites (which I think I’ll make tomorrow for game day). Do know approximately how much a “drop” of stevia extract would be? The extract I have doesn’t “drop”, it squirts. Any idea how many drops in, say an eighth of teaspoon? Thanks so much!
Carolyn says
Hi Robin…I do know this because I’ve had to translate it before for our cookbooks. 12 drops or so is 1/8 teaspoon.
Susan Hayes says
Thanks! I have been wondering about that very thing and in some cases a few drops more or less makes a big difference.
Robin Morelock says
Thanks for the info! By the way I made some raspberry hand pies using your pastry recipe this morning. They were FANTASTIC! My husband has a major sweet tooth so I’m always looking for healthier alternatives for him. Pie is one of his favorites and he loved these.
Thank you again!
Susan Hayes says
Spicy cheddar crisps and bacon wrapped chicken bites? I feel a party coming on!
I just recently discovered you and may I just say thank you, thank you, thank you?! I was flirting with type 2 diabetes and making big dietary changes to prevent escalation into a full blown affair. Said changes are doing the job but there was a lot of grumbling and general unhappiness amongst the masses due to the loss of breads and desserts. You have saved me from being cast out onto an ice floe – or at least having unhealthy snacks in the house to keep the angry villagers subdued.
Love your blog and have loved every recipe we’ve tried so far. I cannot express how much I appreciate your work!
Carolyn says
Thanks so much, Susan. I do what I do to avoid being cast out onto an ice floe. Most of the time, I am successful!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Great recipe for football! Love anything wrapped in bacon 😉
Isis says
I don’t like traditional Tabasco sauce, so I made these last night with 1.5 tablespoons green Tabasco instead (put in extra since it’s a lot milder than the red variety). As suggested, I served them with a couple drops of sauce on each bite, too. They were super tasty!!! Will make again!
Anna says
Carolyn, how crispy does the bacon get? This recipe looks really tasty, but I’m one of those people who can’t handle bacon if it has any floppiness to it. I’ve had some food texture issues since childhood and while they’ve MOSTLY subsided, the extreme aversion to fat/cartilage/whatever on meat is still going strong! If I could make this and have the bacon actually end up crisp, think it would be fantastic!
Carolyn says
Admittedly, not super crisp. You might have better luck to partially pan fry the bacon first and then wrap the chicken, so you can get crispy bacon without overcooking the chicken
Jinny says
You could always pan-fry the bacon-wrapped pieces instead of baking them in the oven. That way, you can get the bacon cooked to your liking.
Andrea Haney says
I’m going to try this with boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts and I think this will make the bacon crispier since you can cook dark meat chicken a little longer without overcooking. Sounds delicious!
Carolyn says
Good idea. I love chicken thighs!