Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Chicken Recipe
One of my favorite combinations is jalapeño and cheese. (Holla!) Jalapeño poppers are fun little nuggets of awesome, but not particularly a dinner kind-of item. That is, until I decided to wrap it with turkey bacon, stuff it into chicken, and bread it with Panko to make this sumptuous bacon-wrapped jalapeño popper chicken recipe. OH MY STARS, friends. Oh.My.Stars. You are going to LOVE this!
Ohhhhh yeah, baby. Will you just LOOK at that gorgeous color and ooey gooey cheese? OMG!
This was one of those meals to savor. The “lick your plate clean” kind. Oh yeah!
Pair it with some turkey bacon sprinkled cheesy potatoes and your favorite veg, and you’ve got somethin’ real special. Promise.
Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Popper Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts butterflied and cut in half
- 12 jalapeño peppers whole hulled and sliced in half lengthwise
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 package turkey bacon approximately 24 slices
- 3 eggs whisked
- Panko bread crumbs
- fresh ground salt & pepper
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Pound down your butterflied chicken breasts thin, but not too thin, and sprinkle with fresh-ground salt and pepper on each side.
- Mix together the two cheese with a dash of fresh-ground salt and pepper in a bowl until well blended.
- Once you've hulled your fresh jalapeño peppers, cut them in half length-wise, and spoon in carefully the cheese mixture, sandwiching it shut; set aside on a plate until every pepper is filled.
- Flatten each chicken piece onto a cutting board, laying 1-2 pieces of bacon onto the seasoned chicken, then the cheese-stuffed jalapeño pepper, width-wise, and wrap until shut.
- Once each piece of chicken is stuffed, cover each stuffed chicken breast in the whisked egg, then bread it in the Panko bread crumbs, and set aside on a plate.
- Pour your oil into your large skillet, set it to medium-high and wait until a water droplet sizzles when sprinkled to know it's ready for frying.
- Place 4-6 chicken breasts at a time in your large skillet, adjusting heat if necessary (for oil popping wildly).
- Turn after about 7-10 minutes, when the chicken breast is browned nicely on one side.
- Continue frying until the chicken breast is browned evenly on all sides, turning back and forth, if necessary.
- Lift to a towel- or napkin-lined plate to drip and cool off.
- Serve warm.