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This easy Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken is a quick and easy dinner recipe idea using plain ol’ chicken breasts, bbq sauce, bacon and cheese! It’s a 30 minute meal too!

This cheesy BBQ chicken with bacon is not a healthy dinner. There’s sugar in the sauce, fat in the cheese and bacon and a good dose of sodium, BUT it is a quick and easy dinner that every now and again won’t break your belt loops. And I’ve never met a kid that doesn’t love it!

A close up picture of four chicken breasts in a skillet. There are bits of bacon, parsley and melted cheese on top.

Ingredients Needed for Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken

This ingredients list is short. Don’t blink, you might miss it!

  • Homemade BBQ Sauce (or your favorite store bought sauce)
  • Colby Jack Cheese
  • Bacon (see our post for how to cook bacon perfectly)
  • Chicken Breasts
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Smoked Paprika
  • Cilantro

The amount needed of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below.

Containers of ingredients for cheesy bbq chicken with bacon. The bowls contain cheese, bbq sauce, bacon and spices.
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How to Make Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken

We start by grilling up a few chicken breasts which we have butterflied, or in other words, cut in half to make two breasts instead of one.

We use our grill outside or a grill pan to cook them up and I don’t think it really matters. However, you will want to only cook them halfway done so they can finish in the oven. If you don’t want to grill, no worries, I have a fool proof method for knowing when chicken is done (see section below).

A plate full of uncooked chicken breasts. The chicken has been sprinkled with sqices.

Here are the steps for making this recipe on the stove top:

  • Preheat the oven.
  • Heat a grill pan on the stove top.
  • Sprinkle salt, pepper, and smoked paprika on both sides of the butterflied chicken breasts.
  • Reduce the heat.
Three Chicken breasts in a skillet. The chicken has bbq sauce on top of it.
  • Briefly cook the chicken on one side then flip it.
  • Put partially cooked chicken in prepared casserole dish.
  • Cover each breast with BBQ sauce.
  • Top with cheese.
  • Bake.
  • Sprinkle with bacon and cook a little longer.
  • Top with some chopped fresh cilantro and allow to rest.
  • Serve.

This easy Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken is a quick and easy dinner recipe idea using plain ol’ chicken breasts, bbq sauce, bacon and cheese! It’s a 30 minute meal too!

A skillet with four chicken breast

How Do You Know When Chicken is Done?

Have you read our post on how to cook chicken in a pan and how to know when chicken is done? This method is SO easy and so worth the read. Cutting into the chicken breast to see if the middle is done is not a pretty site, not to mention it loses all of its juices that way. Hurry and open a new tab to read about how to cook chicken in a pan.

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Four chicken breasts in a skillet. You can see the bits of bacon and the melted cheese on top.

How Long Will BBQ Chicken Last?

BBQ chicken only lasts about 24 hours in the fridge. Unfortunately all of that cheese and bacon isn’t very good reheated on the third day, but if you must try it, try rewarming it in the oven with foil over it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

What to Eat with Cheesy BBQ Bacon Chicken?

I always love a chicken dinner with some sort of potato side dish. Here are a few of my favorites followed by a few veggie ideas too:

A close up picture of cheesy bbq chicken with bacon. There are bacon bits, parsley leaves and melted cheese on top of the chicken.

You can’t go wrong with a chicken dinner that involves cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce! Easy cheesy bacon BBQ chicken is going to be a winner for your family! And you can’t beat a 30 minute meal!

More Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes:

Watch How to Make Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken

4.15 from 14 votes

Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken

By Sweet Basil
Prep5 minutes
Cook30 minutes
Total35 minutes
Servings4 breasts
This easy Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken is a quick and easy dinner recipe idea using plain ol' chicken breasts, bbq sauce, bacon and cheese! It's a 30 minute meal too!

Ingredients 

  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 Chicken Breasts, butterflied creating 4 thin breasts
  • [Homemade BBQ Sauce]
  • 1 1/2 Cup Colby Jack Cheese, grated
  • 3 Slices Bacon, chopped and cooked
  • 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
  • Cilantro, chopped
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Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray nonstick cooking spray in a casserole dish.
  • Heat a grill pan over high heat.
  • Sprinkle salt, pepper and smoked paprika on each side of the chicken and place into the pan, turning the heat down to medium low.
    Salt and Pepper, 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 2 Chicken Breasts
  • Allow to cook for three minutes, flip the chicken and cook for an additional three minutes.
  • Place the chicken in the casserole dish.
  • Spread a little bbq sauce on each breast, top with cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes.
    [Homemade BBQ Sauce], 1 1/2 Cup Colby Jack Cheese
  • Sprinkle with bacon and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until cooked through.
    3 Slices Bacon
  • Sprinkle some chopped fresh cilantro on top and allow to rest 5 minutes and serve.
    Cilantro

Recipe Notes

left overs will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 394kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 38g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 130mg, Sodium: 540mg, Potassium: 525mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 778IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 347mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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A close up picture of four chicken breasts in a skillet. There are bits of bacon, parsley and melted cheese on top.

About The Author

Carrian Cheney

Carrian Cheney is the creative force behind ‘Oh, Sweet Basil,’ a food blog she co-authors with her husband, Cade. She creates fresh, family-friendly recipes that encourage togetherness in the kitchen.

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4.15 from 14 votes (13 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




26 Comments

  1. Kim G. says:

    5 stars
    I’ve made this several times. So quick and easy!

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Yay! I’m so glad you enjoy it! Thank you for the feedback Kim!

  2. LaRae says:

    This looks so delicious! But, why are the carbs so high per serving??? Is that a typo?

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Sometimes the calculator pulls crazy high numbers, I’m not sure why, but it should fix the error soon.

  3. Carletha says:

    Wwhat if you don’t have a grill can you just cook it in the oven…by the way this looks really good

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Thank you so much, you can cook it in the oven, grill or stove top. 🙂

  4. Diane says:

    I prepared the Jack Chicken last night for dinner. It was a huge hit! Served it with steamed broccoli. Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Thanks Diane! Our kids love steamed broccoli (thank goodness!) so that’s often what we do as well.