These cheesy bacon-wrapped chicken breasts are stuffed with wholegrain mustard and tasty cheese and are sure to become a family favourite. With only 4 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time, these delicious bacon-wrapped chicken parcels make the perfect mid-week family supper!
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Chicken wrapped in bacon
I think everyone enjoys a juicy chicken breast fillet wrapped in crispy bacon, but add some gooey cheese and wholegrain mustard, and you elevate it to a whole new level.
Just imagine cutting through the crispy bacon, to reveal the tender chicken, oozing with melted cheese speckled with tangy mustard seeds. And for even more flavour, it's sprinkled with grated cheese that browns to perfection on top of the bacon. This chicken has to be tasted to be believed!
This recipe for cheesy bacon-wrapped chicken parcels is the easiest of easy dishes to prepare. It's my go-to recipe for when I want a delicious meal, but I'm short of time.
And all you will need to serve with it would be your favourite potato dish and a side of steamed vegetables.
Why I think you'll love it
I think you're going to love these bacon-wrapped chicken breasts!
- You will only need 4 ingredients to make these gourmet chicken breasts.
- The chicken breasts can be stuffed, wrapped in bacon and ready for the oven in less than 10 minutes.
- Even though it's a quick and easy mid-week meal, it looks (and tastes) impressive enough to serve to dinner guests.
- It's an economical meal. Chicken is relatively cheap and combined with cheese and bacon you'll find you only need one small to medium-sized breast per person.
- You can save even more time by preparing this the night before and just popping it into the oven when you get home.
- Wrapping the chicken in bacon seals in all the moisture, guaranteeing the most tender, juicy chicken every time.
I like to cover the chicken with a cheesy mushroom sauce, or this delicious homemade honey mustard sauce made with ricotta cheese.
So let's see how to make it.
What you will need
Equipment
All you will need by way of equipment is a sharp knife and a chopping board to butterfly the chicken. For baking the chicken you will need a baking sheet. I like to line my baking sheet with tinfoil to save on washing up.
Ingredients
The recipe as written serves 2 people, but it is easy to scale up to feed more.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these cheesy bacon-wrapped chicken parcels on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
- Chicken breast fillets - get skinless if possible, or remove and discard the skin before using. You will need one breast per person. For them to cook evenly, try and get all your chicken breasts approximately the same size. I've found that small to medium-sized chicken breasts are ideal - that's about 4 to 5 ounces or 110 to 140 grams each. I would allow one breast per person, or for larger appetites allow 2.
- Streaky bacon - this is for wrapping the chicken and you should allow sufficient rashers to wrap around each chicken breast. For small to medium chicken breasts, you will need three to four rashers each. You can stretch the bacon rashers with the back of a knife before wrapping around the chicken if you like, to make it go further.
- Wholegrain mustard - this mustard is very mild-flavoured, compared to Dijon or English mustard. The reason for this is that the heat in mustard comes from allyl isothiocyanate. This is a colourless oil that gets released when the mustard seeds are ground. Because wholegrain mustard seeds are not finely ground, the oil is not released, resulting in milder but still tasty mustard. If you prefer a stronger flavour, by all means, substitute wholegrain mustard with Dijon or English mustard.
- Grated cheese - this is used both for filling the chicken, and also for sprinkling on top of the chicken once it has been wrapped in bacon. I used a mixture of Red Leicester and grated Mozzarella cheese, but any cheese that melts well (such as cheddar) would be suitable.
- Salt - not pictured and optional - you may like to sprinkle the cut side of each chicken breast with a little salt. This is a matter of choice, it depends on how salty your bacon is.
What to do
There are 4 easy steps:
Butterfly the chicken breasts by cutting a slit in the side and opening the chicken up. Don't cut all the way through the meat. Open the chicken out, optionally sprinkle with salt and spread wholegrain mustard on one half.
Cover the mustard with a layer of grated cheese.
Fold the uncovered side of the chicken over the cheese and mustard and then wrap the chicken breasts tightly with the bacon rashers. I find the bacon holds the chicken together nicely, but if it seems a little loose you can secure it with toothpicks. Just remember to remove the toothpicks before serving.
Sprinkle the parcels with grated cheese and place them on a baking tray, You won't need any oil, the bacon will release its fat as it cooks. You could line your baking sheet with baking parchment or tinfoil to help save on washing up.
Bake uncovered at 180 degrees Celsius or 360 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes, or until a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reaches a temperature of 75 degrees Celsius or 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serve hot with your choice of fried or mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. I like to pour over some of my homemade honey mustard sauce, but this is entirely optional.
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Serving suggestions
You could serve the chicken breast either whole or cut into slices.
For the potato side, why not try some of these ideas:
- mash or baby boiled potatoes
- french fries
- butter roast potatoes
- sauteed potatoes and onions
- potatoes Romanoff
- German fried potatoes
And here are some vegetable sides you may like to serve:
- baked cauliflower cheese
- glazed carrots
- South African style creamed cabbage
- mashed green beans
- baby marrows with tomato and onion
FAQ
Yes, you can freeze the unbaked chicken parcels. Just get them to the point where they have been wrapped in bacon, place them on a baking tray and put them in the freezer to open-freeze. Once they are solid transfer them to a large Ziploc bag (or similar) and freeze for up to three months.
To use, let the chicken parcels defrost in the refrigerator and then sprinkle with grated cheese and bake as per the recipe instructions.
You can bake them from frozen, but you will need to add 8 to 10 minutes to the cooking time.
Yes, you can assemble the bacon-wrapped chicken parcels the day before, cover them with plastic wrap and leave them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
You may find that even though the chicken has been cooked for the stated time, and reached the recommended temperature, that it has a pink tinge. This is a result of the nitrate that may have been used in curing the bacon and is nothing to worry about.
I find that the bacon normally contains sufficient salt and as it is wrapped around the chicken, the salt from the bacon provides enough seasoning.
By all means, sprinkle salt on the chicken before filling it with cheese and mustard if you prefer.
Save for later
If you would like to try this recipe for cheesy bacon-wrapped chicken parcels, why not pin it to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily later? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
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Visit my chicken and poultry recipes page for more delicious recipes. Here are few you may enjoy.
📋The recipe
Cheesy bacon-wrapped chicken parcels with mustard
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
- Chopping Board
- Baking tray
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts 4 to 5 ounces or 110 to 140 grams each
- 6 rashers streaky bacon
- 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
- 1½ ounces / 40 grams grated cheddar cheese for filling
- 2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese for topping
Instructions
- Butterfly the chicken breasts by cutting a slit in the side and opening the chicken up - don't cut all the way through the meat.2 chicken breasts
- Spread half of each chicken breast with one tablespoon of wholegrain mustard.2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
- Cover the mustard with grated cheese.1½ ounces / 40 grams grated cheddar cheese
- Fold the uncovered side of the chicken over the cheese and mustard and then wrap the chicken breasts tightly with the bacon rashers.6 rashers streaky bacon
- Sprinkle the parcels with grated cheese and place them on a baking tray, You won't need any oil, the bacon will release its fat as it cooks.2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
- Bake uncovered at 180 degrees Celsius or 360 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes, or until a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reaches a temperature of 75 degrees Celsius or 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Serve hot with your choice of fried or mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables.
Notes
By all means, sprinkle salt on the chicken before filling it with cheese and mustard if you prefer. To freeze - you can freeze the unbaked chicken parcels. Just get them to the point where they have been wrapped in bacon and place them on a baking tray and put them in the freezer to open-freeze. Once they are solid transfer them to a large Ziploc bag (or similar) and freeze for up to three months.
To use, let the chicken parcels defrost in the refrigerator and then sprinkle with grated cheese and bake as per the recipe instructions.
You can also bake them from frozen, but you will need to add 8 to 10 minutes to the cooking time. To make in advance - assemble the bacon-wrapped chicken parcels the day before, cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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