Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken, the best chicken you’ll ever eat with only 4 ingredients. Sticky, crispy, sweet and garlicky, the PERFECT weeknight meal.
Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken is a recipe we’ve actually been making at home for years but I never thought to post because it is so closely related to this Slow Cooker Bacon Garlic Pork Loin and Brown Sugar Garlic Pork.
If I had to guess, I’d say about 10% of the comments and emails I get from readers are in reference to those two posts above and they’re asking if they can use chicken. YES YES YES. I recently posted Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken and wanted to post this oven baked version as well (with chicken breast meat!).
This Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken is as simple as it sounds. Yes salt and pepper add flavor too (so technically 6 ingredients?) but even without those two, you’ll still have so much flavor it will leave you literally wanting to lick the plate.
Looking for more easy weeknight meals?
- Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
- Easy Mongolian Beef
- Baked Million Dollar Spaghetti
- One Pot Greek Chicken and Rice
Some notes about this Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken:
- Use a baking pan with at LEAST one inch high sides (my pan is almost 2 inch tall sides). You can see in the pan the sauce gets up pretty high while bubbling, you don’t want it to boil over into the oven.
- If concerned about this, place a baking sheet under your baking pan to catch overflow (better on the sheet than in the oven).
- Check the chicken at 25 minutes, you want to catch this when it is browned but not blackened and with sugar that can sometimes turn quickly.
- Yes, you can absolutely make this meal in the slow cooker (this is coming soon too). Using thigh meat place it in the slow cooker with no added liquids.
- Want it a bit spicier? Add in ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper or a squirt of Sriracha.
- If you want an even deeper caramel flavor, try dark brown sugar.
- Serve with rice or potato wedges and roasted vegetables.
Looking for more awesome Brown Sugar Garlic Recipes?
- Brown Sugar Garlic Oven Baked Pork Chops
- Brown Sugar Garlic Pork with Carrots and Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
- Slow Cooker Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Pork Loin
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons garlic minced
- 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 chicken breasts boneless and skinless (4-5 ounces each)
- 12 slices bacon
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper and mix until combined.
- Coat the chicken in the brown sugar mixture.
- Wrap each piece of chicken with two slices of bacon (aim for the end of the bacon pieces to stay under the chicken to prevent unwrapping while cooking).
- Place into your baking pan (with at least 2 inch high sides).
- Top with the remaining brown sugar mixture.
- Cook at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through and browned.
- Careful to not let the brown sugar burn and blacken.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Can you cook it in a crockpot and how long?
Holy man this should not have 5 stars. I’m so sorry blog writer but it is terrible. Took 2 hours to cook (and bacon is still soggy on the bottom) and bacon grease gathers in the bottom of the pan. Am I supposed to drain and keep cooking? What am I supposed to do with all the bacon grease? Tastes good though after all the cooking.
This recipe was excellent. I used a brown sugar alternative but it still turned out excellent. This is a very quick and easy recipe. Perfect for Sunday dinner.
This almost like dessert for the main course. Outstanding!
This looked so amazing in the pics. Mine came out like a nightmare. I don’t know what I did wrong. It was slimy, undercooked bacon on top of overcooked chicken with a baking dish full of fat and clear juice and no brown glaze. l am so upset I messed it up!
Ultimate compliment. My husband said he could eat this again tomorrow!
I use smaller chunks of chicken breasts. This is absolutely one of our favorite recipes. I add a little creole seasoning to the mix. I made this to cater a reception and it was actually loved by all. Thank you!
I make this very often! It’s so easy and so yummy it’s part of my regular meal plan!
Time wasn’t nearly long enough for my 5 average sized chicken breasts
The bacon was soggy despite turning the chicken over halfway through cooking. I even broiled it for a few minutes but I didn’t want the chicken to be overdone. I’m perplexed why this got so many rave reviews. For me it was WAY too sweet and my family didn’t really dig it either. Meh. Won’t make it again, it just wasn’t for us.
Can swerve brown be used? Will it still get sticky and yummy?
I looked down in the comments to find an answer and went pretty far down and didn’t find anything. I saw the Splenda route but I cannot use Splenda.
Thanks!
Oh, I haven’t tried it that way and im not too familiar with going that route. It never hurts to try!
Excellent!!
My bacon is always raw on the bottom it’s nice and crispy on top but raw on bottom I also stuff the chicken with cheese! This is my favorite way to eat chicken breast now but I wish the bacon was done on the bottom help me ?
Maybe try flipping the bacon-wrapped chicken over halfway through the cooking time to get it evenly baked.
I second flipping it, I usually take the chicken out the oven & put it in the skillet for a few minutes just to crisp up the bacon.. so you could try that, it makes a big difference to me
Use a baking rack in your pan to elevate the chicken out of the juices
I had to cook an extra 30 minutes.
Delicious and so easy! I made in my air fryer, 360* for 17 minutes but I had smaller chicken breasts than normal. My usual time would be more 20-22 minutes at 360*
Thank you, Kels!
This was easy and delicious! My husband said “this is a keeper” and I agree. It took about 10-15 mins longer to cook for me. Only difference.
I served it with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.
Yay!! So happy to hear this!
YUMMO!!!
Had chicken thawed that needed to be cooked, but no energy. This recipe was in the back of my mind, and I swear it almost took less time to turn on the computer and printer, pull up the recipe, review it to confirm it was a quick & easy prep, then print it, then it did to get it in the oven!
Used a disposable deep baking pan for easy clean up as well as eliminate the worry of bubbling over.
This was a winner in every way. Again, YUMMO!!!
Hello Lonna! I’m so happy this was quick, easy, and delicious. Thank you so much and we hope to see you back soon!
Can I make this with bone-in chicken thighs? Would I need to cook it longer?
Can boneless skinless chicken thighs be used instead of breasts?
Yes, absolutely.
Can you put this together the night before then bake in the morning
Absolutely, I’ve done it many times.
Made this using Splenda/sf maple syrup sub for brown sugar & broiled when the chicken was done to crisp up the bacon. My diabetic hubby said to keep this one. It was yummy
My family loved it. I was happy how easy it was to make. We can’t have to much salt so I just exchanged the salt for misses dash. For the side I did Brussels sprouts I thank you again for a new idea.
I had 6 chicken breasts and I had to make another batch of the brown sugar mixture! There’s no way this amount was enough for 6! Had no left over for the top either!
Sounds like your chicken breasts might have been a bit larger than the ones I used.
Absolutely delish!!! Making again tonight?
Sounds like a winner to me!
I made this in my air frier and it came out juicy, delicious and the bacon was nice and crispy. Thank you for posting this recipe.
How long did you cook it in the air fryer?
How long on what temp???
Cook at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Next time you can find this information in the recipe instructions.
I made this recipe-followed instructions to a T. It was very good except at 375 degrees, it took triple the 25 minutes in the oven. I’d recommend using smaller pieces or higher oven temperature. Otherwise it smelled and tasted good
could scallops be used instead?
Sure 🙂 though they might be better in a pan vs made in the oven. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how they turn out. Good luck!
It was good, decided to cook 10 min longer to get bacon little more done to liking and didn’t dry out chicken
Would I be able to cook this in my air fryer?
I’ve not tested it so if you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
Followed the recipe exactly as written and the whole family LOVED it! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve followed the recipe to a T every time I’ve made this and it’s delicious but I definitely have to cook longer then the recommended time every time or the chicken isn’t fully cooked.