Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Chicken Tenders

It’s a mouth full, that’s for sure. But these babies are finger lickin’ good, and in a serious way. Have wet wipes on hand for this or just plan on eating with a fork and knife. Who am I kidding… don’t eat them with a  fork and a knife, you want to get messy and lick your fingers because otherwise you’re missing out on part of the fun. Maybe it’s not lady like. Maybe it’s not proper or pretty, but licking something tasty from your fingers is how it should be. It’s right. You don’t eat cheese puffs or Doritos and wipe your fingers clean… or eat messy ribs and wipe your hands, right? What about chocolate? I couldn’t possibly be the only one. If it’s a kid thing, then so be it. Call me a kid.

I honestly wanted to make a salad (so stay tuned for that in the future) but don’t own a grill pan and didn’t want to grill outside. It’s not handy when you have three children running a mock. If I had a grill pan I may have attempted it. Instead… to the oven I went. Chicken meet barbecue sauce, meet bacon. All wrapped up and baked away. It had to be good. Oh and it was. My girls proclaimed it was “mmm mmm de-licious!” The same kid that swears chicken breast has skin and doesn’t want to eat it, insisting it needs to be cut off unless sliced super thin. The same kid that has until now refused bacon… loved this! She asked for it again the next day.

There is no going wrong with bacon. Add sweet barbecue sauce and chicken to the mix and it’s at a whole other level. These are awesome for a quick meal or even an appetizer, but fair warning… you won’t want to serve these at a fancy party. Limit them to your messy back yard barbecues with friends and family or just an average night at home. You might want to make extra, these have a way of disappearing fast.

Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Chicken Tenders

Easy homemade barbecue chicken tenders wrapped in crisp bacon. A fun appetizer or game day snack.
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chicken
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken breast
  • 1/2 C barbecue sauce
  • 5-6 slices bacon cut in half

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil, set aside.
  • Slice chicken breast into thin strips (roughly 3"x1" and 1/4-1/2" thick). If they're too thick, they will take longer to cook and your bacon could burn.
  • Add barbecue sauce to a small bowl, coat chicken strips in sauce one at a time. After coating in sauce, wrap with a 1/2 piece of bacon as tight as you can. Use a toothpick to secure, if desired. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining chicken strips and bacon slices.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping half way through. *Barbecue sauce may begin to burn to your foil, that's okay... just be prepared for it to happen.
  • Remove from the oven and enjoy hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce or other dipping sauces if desired.

Notes

An original recipe from Baked by Rachel
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35 Responses to “Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Chicken Tenders”

  1. #
    1
    Melissa@IWasBornToCook — May 11, 2012 at 6:53 am

    Love these, and can see how they could be very addicting!

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    2
    Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen — May 11, 2012 at 6:54 am

    This is so right. So so right.

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    3
    Brenda (Kookt!) — May 11, 2012 at 6:59 am

    Delicious! Great idea to combine the sauce with bacon en chicken (also for the BBQ this summer..)

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    4
    Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch — May 11, 2012 at 7:52 am

    I’m craving these and it is not even 8 am yet!

    Have a great Mother’s Day!

    • #
      4.1
      Rachel — May 11, 2012 at 7:55 am

      Thanks Robyn! Same to you! :)

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    5
    Rachel Cooks — May 11, 2012 at 9:40 am

    Yum!!!

    Have a happy Mother’s Day! :)

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    6
    Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking — May 11, 2012 at 9:41 am

    Apart from adding a dipping sauce, I never thought there was a way to really jazz up chicken tenders. This is a FABULOUS recipe, Rachel! Looks so delicious!

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    7
    Gina @ Running to the Kitchen — May 11, 2012 at 10:01 am

    It will disturb you to know that my husband eats EVERYTHING (seriously, everything) with a fork and knife. Pizza, fries, chicken nuggets, anything you can imagine as absolute “finger food”. It’s both an OCD germ thing + the fact that he knows it bothers me so he continues to do it.
    These look phenomenal regardless of how they’re eaten though :)

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      7.1
      Rachel — May 11, 2012 at 10:45 am

      HA! I bet he gets a kick out of annoying you like that. Some foods are just meant to be finger foods though.

  8. #
    8
    Carrie @ Bakeaholic mama — May 11, 2012 at 10:57 am

    Can’t go wrong with bacon wrapped anything!

  9. #
    9
    Erin — May 11, 2012 at 11:06 am

    BBQ and bacon all in one bite? Yes please.

  10. #
    10
    Kathryn — May 11, 2012 at 11:39 am

    Um, amazing!!

  11. #
    11
    Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts — May 11, 2012 at 11:58 am

    I can never make sense of what kids will actually eat! This looks incredible though, I am pretty sure my whole family would be all over this!

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    12
    amanda @ fake ginger — May 11, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    So simple but so delicious!

  13. #
    13
    Julie @ Table for Two — May 11, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    what a bad a$$ way to make and eat chicken tenders. the bacon flavor infuses the chicken while cooking. this is so brilliant!

  14. #
    14
    claire @ the realistic nutritionist — May 11, 2012 at 1:59 pm

    easy, delicious, PERFECT!

  15. #
    15
    Erin @ Texanerin Baking — May 11, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    What?! This is a fantastic idea. I love wrapping stuff in bacon. It just makes everything better! Have a great Mother’s Day. :)

  16. #
    16
    Cassie — May 11, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    These are so awesome. My husband will flip over these. He loves BBQ sauce and like you said: you can’t go wrong with bacon!

  17. #
    17
    Shawn @ I Wash...You Dry — May 11, 2012 at 4:23 pm

    Seriously, anything in bacon is wonderful, but these look out-of-this-world wonderful! YUM!

  18. #
    18
    Liz — May 11, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    Wow…these look irresistible!

  19. #
    19
    kat — May 12, 2012 at 2:35 pm

    So easy! Love this!!!!

  20. #
    20
    Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious — May 13, 2012 at 3:34 am

    Oh man these look dangerous! I could seriously eat 100 of these and they wouldn’t be enough.

  21. #
    21
    Jesica @ Pencil Kitchen — May 13, 2012 at 6:56 am

    I wonder where i went wrong! I can never make those delicious bacons crispy!

  22. #
    22
    Paula — May 13, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    What a great and *new to me* appetizer. I love bacon and I love chicken so as far as these little goodies go, *what’s not to love?*

  23. #
    23
    sara — May 13, 2012 at 8:55 pm

    These look amazing – so tasty! What a great dish.

  24. #
    24
    Deborah — May 14, 2012 at 9:13 am

    Chicken, bbq and bacon – what’s not to love?? :)

  25. #
    25
    Tracey — May 14, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Oh man, my husband is going to love you so much if I make these for him. Actually, who am I kidding, I’m going to love these just as much as him! YUM!

  26. #
    26
    Winnie Mom — May 24, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    These look awesome. If you use Release tinfoil you won’t have to worry that they stick to the foil–they won’t. Must try these soon.

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    27
    Erin — July 10, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    I made these tonight. They were tasty. I used turkey bacon, and there was a lot more liquid released than I thought there would be. Next time, I think I will use a wire rack to keep them elevated, and probably not put on the barbecue sauce until after they are cooked. Thanks for the great idea, kids loved them.

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    28
    kristine — July 30, 2012 at 11:34 pm

    Is the bacon suppost to get crispy? In your pic it looks lioke it is but mine stays soggy.

    • #
      28.1
      Rachel — July 31, 2012 at 8:01 am

      They did not crisp up as if they were pan fried but were fully cooked and slightly flexible. You don’t want them to be too crispy since they would likely become brittle. If you’d like them firmer, cook for 5-10 minutes longer or until desired crispness is reached. Just be sure to watch the chicken so that doesn’t overcook.

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    29
    Nicole — October 14, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    I made these tonight and they were such a HUGE hit! These will for sure become common with my family now.

    • #
      29.1
      Rachel — October 14, 2012 at 7:06 pm

      Glad to hear you enjoyed them! :)

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    30
    amber — June 1, 2014 at 7:56 am

    How would you fix this on the grill?

    • #
      30.1
      Rachel — June 1, 2014 at 2:41 pm

      I have not personally prepared this on the grill. I would recommend cooking as you would other chicken dishes you are familiar with.

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