Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken

Name: Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 lb chicken breast (cut into 4 pieces); kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper; 8 slices center cut bacon; ¾ cup fat free cheddar cheese; ¼ cup reduced fat cream cheese; 1 jalapeño (small, or 1/2 medium, seeded and diced); ¼ tsp kosher salt; ¼ tsp garlic powder; ¼ tsp paprika; 2 tablespoons sour cream; 2 teaspoons lime juice

June 28, 2021 By Stephanie 29 Comments

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Chicken breast, but make it interesting! This recipe features chicken breast stuffed with a flavorful mixture of cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and diced jalapenos, all wrapped up in bacon and air fried to perfection. Drizzled with a cooling crema made with sour cream and lime juice, bacon-wrapped jalapeno stuffed chicken is a flavor explosion. Who knew eating healthy could taste so great?

All about this recipe

I created this recipe during the height of the pandemic, when no one was really grocery shopping unless it was really necessary. I looked in my fridge one day, and came up with a meal based on what I could find. What did I find? A rogue jalapeno, chicken breast (I always have that on hand), half a package of bacon, some sour cream. Hey, it worked! This recipe was born out of forced creativity, and sometimes I wonder if I ever would have attempted a recipe like this given a different situation.

I am so glad I experimented with these ingredients, because not only do they work, but this recipe is so delicious. It tastes like something you would order out at a restaurant, but it’s lightened-up. When it came time to re-write this recipe and give it the love it deserves, I decided to change the cooking method to the air fryer instead of the oven. It’s the middle of the summer, and people really don’t want to use their ovens as much. Extra appliances like the air fryer and slow cooker really come in handy during these times.

The recipe came out awesome in the air fryer, and dare I say, even better than the oven. But don’t fret… if you don’t have an air fryer, you can totally do this in the oven. If you are looking for an air fryer, this is the one I use.

What exactly makes this recipe “lightened up?”

A few components help lighten up this recipe. Simple swaps lower the calories and fat content here, without compromising flavor.

The filling is made with reduced-fat cream cheese and fat free cheddar cheese.
- I love using reduced-fat cream cheese in recipes, because it is one of those ingredients where I truly can not taste the difference between the lower calorie version and the original.
- Although fat-free cheddar cheese doesn’t melt as well as the full-fat version, it works really well here when combined with the other ingredients to make a thick, paste-like filling inside of the chicken. It gives the recipe that cheddar taste we are looking for. If you can’t find fat free cheddar, you can absolutely use any variation you can find.
The chicken is wrapped with center cut bacon, which is just like regular bacon, but leaner and less fatty.
- I use center cut bacon all the time. I discovered it early into my journey, and it’s one of my favorite ingredients. It is real, pork bacon, except it has a little less fat on it. When it cooks, it does not render as much fat as regular bacon does, but it has the same exact flavor.
- I do not recommend using turkey bacon here (I am not a fan), but since it doesn’t have the same fat content of pork bacon, I don’t think it is a good replacement in this particular recipe.
The chicken is air fried, which gives it that crispy taste and texture without the use of extra oil.

What will I need to make this recipe?

Since I created this recipe based on what I had on hand, there aren’t a ton of required ingredients here.

chicken breast
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
reduced fat cream cheese
fat free cheddar cheese
jalapeno
paprika
garlic powder
center cut bacon
lime juice
sour cream

How to make bacon-wrapped jalapeno stuffed chicken

To make this dish, start out with your chicken. I use full chicken breast here, and then slice them in half myself. You want four pieces of chicken for this recipe.

Since the chicken is being rolled up, it’s a good idea to pound the chicken breasts thin. I do this easily by covering the chicken with plastic wrap, and then using a rolling pin to pound them. Pounding the chicken gives you a nice, flat work surface which makes it ideal for rolling.

Next, season the pounded chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and the diced jalapeno. Stir this mixture together to form a thick paste. Spread the paste on each chicken breast evenly, and then roll each breast up. Secure with toothpicks, making sure the ends are closed to prevent the cheese from oozing out.

Next, wrap two slices of center cut bacon around each chicken roll up, and add extra toothpicks if necessary. Air fry the rolls at 375 for 25 minutes, flipping halfway. Directions for the oven are included below in the recipe card.

Mix the sour cream with the lime juice and drizzle on top of the cooked chicken rollups, or serve on the side for dipping.