This bacon wrapped stuffed chicken recipe from Backyard Texas Grill is sure to make your mouth water! Featuring tender, juicy chicken breasts stuffed with a blend of smoked gouda cheese, sautéed spinach, fresh garlic and diced ham, all wrapped in crispy, caramelized bacon and seasoned to perfection – this easy recipe is guaranteed to be a favorite entree for your whole family!
What is Stuffed Chicken Breast?
The art of stuffing poultry has been around for centuries, gaining popularity in Europe in the renaissance era. Chefs learned to enhance the flavors of chicken by stuffing it with things like herbs, spices, chopped meats and even dried fruit.
During the 20th century, stuffed chicken breast gained popularity quickly, as cooks began experimenting with even more fillings like cured meats, cheeses, vegetables, bread crumbs and more. Recipes like chicken cordon bleu entered the scene and people loved it so much, they have continued to create other versions of stuffed chicken breast since!
Why Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken?
Our version of stuffed chicken breast is very similar to chicken cordon bleu. The main difference is this chicken is wrapped in crispy bacon rather than coated in bread crumbs and is not served with sauce (trust us – the caramelized bacon provides plenty of flavor). We also use gouda cheese for added smokiness.
The combination of flavors from the smoky cheese, diced ham, garlic & spinach creates the perfect savory stuffing and gives the chicken a juicy and tender texture that is unmatched.
Our family loves this simple recipe and we know you will too! Now let’s get that chicken on the grill.
Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken
You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here’s a quick look at what you will need. These are simple ingredients you might already have on hand in your pantry or refrigerator.
- Boneless chicken breasts
- Bacon
- Spinach
- Diced ham
- Minced garlic
- Shredded smoked gouda cheese
- Seasoning of choice (we used Sweet Texas Heat)
- Extra virgin olive oil
First step: heat grill to 350 degrees.
Finely mince the garlic.
Heat olive oil in skillet on medium heat.
Once the oil is heated (it will have a shimmering look), add the spinach and garlic and sauté until spinach is wilted (2 to 3 minutes total).
Wash and use your hands to wring out the excess liquid from the spinach.
Roughly chop the spinach and transfer to a medium sized bowl.
Add diced ham, smoked gouda, salt & pepper and stir well.
Use a sharp knife to cut a deep slit in the chicken breasts stopping about 1 inch from the opposite side.
Stuff chicken breasts with spinach/cheese/ham mixture.
Close the chicken breasts and season with Sweet Texas Heat.
Wrap chicken breasts with bacon and secure with toothpicks (this is the best way to secure the ends of the bacon).
Place chicken breasts directly on grill grates and insert a meat thermometer horizontally.
Close the lid and cook chicken breasts until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (be sure to flip the chicken once or twice during the cooking process so the bacon gets crispy and caramelized).
Remove chicken from grill, let rest for 3 minutes.
Remove toothpicks, cut and enjoy!
What to Expect from this Recipe
When you take your first bite of this bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breast, you will be blown away by the delicious flavors. The sweet, crispy bacon is the perfect complement to the mouth-watering, tender chicken breast. The ham, gouda and spinach blend adds a savory smokiness and creates the perfect balance of flavors all wrapped into one beautiful entree.
This bacon-wrapped chicken breast is perfect for any dinner party or gathering, yet simple enough for those busy weeknights when you need a quick and delicious meal for your family. You will be shocked at how easy it is to create!
Everyone in our house loves this stuffed chicken, even our picky eaters, and we know you will too! Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Make it Your Own
We absolutely love this delicious dinner recipe, but there are plenty of ways you can change it up to make it your own. Here are a few suggestions for next time:
- Try using goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, pepper jack cheese or cheddar cheese to change the flavor.
- Make a cream cheese mixture with diced green onion and a little bit of garlic powder to stuff the chicken breasts with. You can even add a few chopped pieces of bacon into the mix!
- Try adding a light drizzle of honey or maple syrup over the bacon during the last ten minutes of cook time for an added sweetness!
- If you don’t have a grill, you can cook this stuffed chicken in the oven. Just use olive oil or cooking spray to lightly coat your baking dish or baking sheet and cook in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Cooking time should be just about the same as on the grill.
- Make enough for lunches the next day! Store leftovers in the refrigerator in plastic wrap or an airtight container and eat within 3 days. These are great re-heated in an air fryer (reheat at 375 for 3-5 minutes).
What to Serve with Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast
There are so many sides and desserts that will pair beautifully with this dish. Here are some of our recommendations:
Cheesy Potatoes with Bacon: We think our delicious from-scratch Cheesy Potatoes would be a perfect complement to this delicious chicken dish.
Cheesy Garlic Bread on the Grill: Every good protein calls for bread, and what’s better than cheesy bread?
Sweet and Savory Southwest Beans: This is a go-to side dish for many of our favorite proteins and we think it would pair beautifully with this chicken.
Check out this Jalapeno Bread from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage. It looks amazing.
Cast-Iron Peach Dump Cake: This cake is a delicious way to finish off your meal!
And what about this Simple Tres Leches Cake from Out of the Box Baking. Sounds delicious.
Thanks for Stopping By!
That’s it for this post, friends! We hope you enjoy this tender and flavorful bacon wrapped stuffed chicken recipe from Backyard Texas Grill. We happen to love it!
Why not pin a few pictures while you’re here?
See this recipe at:
About the Man Behind the Grill
Zach Morrow was born and raised in Texas and has always had a passion for great barbecue. He’s at home behind the grill and loves to feed his friends and family home-cooked favorites as often as he can. He especially loves trying new things and is excited to produce recipes like this one for Backyard Texas Grill.
Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken
Tender, juicy chicken breasts stuffed with a blend of smoked gouda cheese, sautéed spinach, fresh garlic and diced ham, all wrapped in crispy, caramelized bacon and seasoned to perfection.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 pound bacon
- 6 ounces chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup diced ham
- 1 cup smoked gouda cheese (finely shredded)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- Seasoning of choice (we used Sweet Texas Heat)
- 1 tsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Heat grill to 350 degrees.
- Mince 1 clove of garlic and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- When oil is heated (it was look shimmery), add spinach and garlic.
- Sauté until spinach is wilted (2 to 3 minutes).
- Use hands to wring out excess liquid from spinach.
- Roughly chop spinach and transfer to medium-sized bowl.
- Stir in 1/2 cup diced ham, 1 cup smoked gouda and salt/pepper.
- Use sharp knife to cut a deep slit in chicken breasts about 3/4 way through.
- Stuff chicken breasts with ham/cheese/spinach mixture.
- Season with Sweet Texas Heat (or other seasoning of choice).
- Wrap chicken breasts with bacon and secure with toothpicks.
- Place chicken on grill and cook until internal temperature reads 165 degrees (approximately 1 hour total - flip chicken halfway through).
- Remove from grill, let rest for 3 minutes, cut and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 869Total Fat: 54gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 256mgSodium: 2508mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 87g