Air Fryer Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breast is a fun way to elevate your typical chicken breasts. We’re taking boneless skinless chicken breasts and rolling them up with cream cheese and bacon for a delicious, healthy dinner straight out of the air fryer.
Table of contents
Chicken and bacon are my jam so I really love these chicken bacon bombs.
The seasoned cream cheese adds a great flavor to the chicken that you cannot get with chicken alone.
This would make a great lunch option during the week as well!
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🔑 Key to Success #1 – Pound the Chicken Thin
One of the reasons why this recipe is successful is because we’re making the chicken thin so that it’ll cook quicker.
If you use thick chicken breasts, you won’t be able to roll them up easily and it will take so long to cook that the bacon may burn.
Use a meat mallet to pound the chicken breasts until they are about 1/4 inch thick.
If you don’t have a meat mallet, you can use a heavy frying pan or rolling pin to pound the chicken.
Tip! Place a sheet of waxed paper over the chicken breasts when pounding it out to avoid a mess.
Another option is to slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to form chicken cutlets.
Start by placing one hand flat on top of a chicken breast.
Hold the knife parallel to the cutting board and slice the chicken horizontally from the thick end to the thin end.
It’s okay if the slices do not run all the way to the tip of the breast.
🔑 Key to Success #2 – Pre-cook the Bacon
Before we roll up the chicken breasts in the bacon, we will need to pre-cook the bacon.
Pre-cooking the bacon will allow it to get nice and crispy in the same amount of time that it takes for the chicken to fully cook.
Pre-cook the bacon in the air fryer at 300 degrees F for about 5 minutes.
Be sure to lay the bacon in the air fryer in a single layer.
You can cook the bacon in batches if all the pieces will not fit in a single layer.
You do not need to turn the bacon over while it is pre-cooking.
🔑 Key to Success #3 – Chicken Strips Shorter Than Bacon
One of my best tips for this recipe is to slice the chicken strips so that they are shorter than the strips of bacon.
A standard piece of bacon is about 9 inches long when uncooked so you will want to cut your chicken breasts about 7 inches in length.
The two extra inches will allow the bacon to wrap completely around the chicken strips so that it will be easier to secure.
I highly recommend using toothpicks to secure the ends of the bacon around the chicken.
You don’t want to risk your bacon falling off while it is cooking in the air fryer.
Cook the chicken bacon bombs in the air fryer at 450 degrees F for about 13 minutes.
Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken.
It should read 165 degrees F if the chicken is fully cooked.
You can cook the chicken in batches if your air fryer is crowded.
📌 Get the Printable Recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Bacon Bombs
Save this Air Fryer Chicken recipe to your favorite Air Fryer Dinners board or your Easy Chicken Dinners board.
Air Fryer Chicken Bacon Bombs
Ingredients
- 12 slices bacon
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 tbsp chives chopped
- 2 lbs chicken breast boneless and skinless
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using a meat mallet, flatten the chicken to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the chicken into strips about 1 inch wide and about 6-7 inches long. Season chicken strips with salt and pepper.
- Place the bacon slices into a single layer in the air fryer and partially cook at 300 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the chopped chives and the softened cream cheese.
- Place a chicken strip on top of each slice of bacon. Spread the cream cheese mixture onto each chicken strip then roll up the chicken strip along with the bacon. Secure with a toothpick (optional).
- Place the chicken bombs in the air fryer and cook at 450 degrees F for 13 minutes until chicken is cooked through and bacon is crispy.
Equipment
Nutrition
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Carol
Friday 13th of May 2022
Can the bundles be frozen for cooking? If so want with the cooking temperatures be for the air fryer?
Jennifer
Friday 13th of May 2022
I’ve never tried to freeze them so I’m not sure. If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Shannon N Harford
Tuesday 4th of January 2022
My airfryer only goes to 400 degrees how long will I cook it or will it not work at all?
Jennifer
Tuesday 4th of January 2022
I would try cooking it for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees F. If you have a meat thermometer, use it to check the internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken. It should be 165 degrees F.