Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken Bites are the perfect salty, sticky, sweet and crispy appetizer for the holidays and game day with just five ingredients!
Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken Bites
This blog is nothing if not infatuated with all things bacon and brown sugar. The salty, sweet, sticky and crispy combination is a family favorite. Plus you can make this combination with just about anything like Bacon Brown Sugar Smokies and Spicy Sweet Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Bites.
I joke sometimes I’d even eat an old boot if it were wrapped and baked in bacon and brown sugar.
Okay, I wouldn’t really, but just look at these delicious bites!
We actually have a trick for this recipe which makes the prep even easier. Anytime I know I want to make the dish we buy chicken breasts for dinner (a large pack) and a package of bacon. Then I trim the chicken breasts to the right size by removing the tenders.
Chicken breasts are absolutely gigantic these days, so I trim them to size for individual portions.
We enjoy a family breakfast and with the second half of the package I prepare the little chunks of “leftover” raw chicken.
We do this anytime we’ve used our previous stash of these delicious Bacon Chicken Bites and have chicken breast recipes on the menu. Then once wrapped I freeze them on a sheet tray. When I am ready to serve them I bake them in a hot oven and just sprinkle on a little extra brown sugar. The extra water content from freezing the bacon and chicken can cause them to be a little less coated, so a nice sprinkle half-way through baking solves that problem!
Looking for more brown sugar bacon recipes? I’ve got tons of them for you!
- Slow Cooker Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
- Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken Tenders
- Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
- Slow Cooker Bacon Garlic Pork Loin
Looking for more appetizer recipes:
- Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls
- Chicken Fire Poppers – PS These are the PERFECT recipe to make with these bites.
- Korean Ground Beef Egg Rolls
- Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pinwheels
Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken Bites
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 strips bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut each chicken breast into 4 long, thin chicken strips.
- Cut each strip into 2 inch chunks.
- In a bowl add the brown sugar, salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken pieces and toss in the brown sugar.
- Wrap the chicken in a 1/3 of a strip of bacon and put into your baking dish.
- Sprinkle over the remaining brown sugar.
Cook for 18-20 minutes or until bacon is cooked through and crisp (as pictured).
I made this last Christmas and it was requested again today for Christmas Eve. So glad I found the recipe again. Biggest hit last year out of all the appetizers we made.
Yay!! I’m happy to know it was such a hit.
Can I prep these a day ahead and bake the day of the party?
Sure 🙂
could I make these ahead of time and keep warm in a slow cooker for an hour or will they dry out?
If it’s only for an hour, you should be ok. The bacon helps to keep it moist too.
I am wondering if it matters that they’re served warm or not? I am wanting to make these for my church picnic but they would have to keep through service.
They will keep at room temp for 2 hours but after that you will want to refrigerate them to prevent bacteria growth.
Made this for my family 4.11.2019. They LOVED it. Had no leftovers and they asked me to make it again. I added onion, garlic and chili powders to the sugar. Will definitely be making this again.
I’m so glad you all loved it! It’s such a family favorite here too.
I tried these and they were awesome! Wondering if you could use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts?
If you want to use thighs, I would recommend this recipe:
https://dev.dinnerthendessert.com/slow-cooker-bacon-brown-sugar-garlic-chicken/
Anyone ever make without bacon? I’m having a party and a guest has a pork allergy and I’m not buying turkey bacon.
You can definitely make without bacon. 🙂
Can I freeze these after cooking and reheat when needed? If so, do I need to thaw first and what temperature and for how long in the oven? Look yummy!
I flash freeze them on a tray and then move them into a ziplock container. It helps to keep them intact. No need to thaw them prior, just bake them at 375 for around 15 minutes in the oven . I like to sprinkle a little bit more brown sugar on top halfway through baking. Enjoy!
This looks so good. Can’t wait to make for super bowl party and see reactions
I had a couple of chicken breast leftovers, can I use chicken that is already cooked
No, this won’t work with cooked chicken. Sorry
Ok…these look great. Maybe this is dumb question…but is the chicken precooked before this or does cook along with the bacon for that 18-20 minutes?
It cooks along with the bacon 🙂
Can you cook these in a pan on top of a cooling rack. I don’t like them sitting in the grease. Will they turn out as well. They look delicious.
Yes 🙂
These could be really dangerous! YUM!
Oh,yes! It’s hard for me to be trusted around these!!
These will quickly disappear at parties! Look SO good!
Thanks Jennifer! Make sure you get a few before they’re gone!!
These would make a great appetizer or dinner option at my house!
Enjoy!!
Can’t go wrong with bacon and brown sugar!! These would be great for an appetizer-dinner 🙂
I know, right?!? Definitely a winning flavor combination!
I love brown sugar and chicken! Sounds incredible.
Thanks, Jocelyn!
Oh my goodness, these Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken Bites look heavenly! I’m afraid I will certainly overindulge, but will happily do so!!! Thanks for another great recipe, Sabrina!
Thank you so much! It’s the holidays so enjoy yourself!