Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Chicken with RAGÚ Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Pasta Sauce! This easy 30 minute recipe is a family favorite meal.
Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Yay! I’m back on track, guys!
Who knew that taking a break from cooking during Mother’s Day weekend would completely rearrange my cooking, writing and photographing schedule?!
Now I realize how tight my schedule is, and I get a heck of a lot done during my weekends!
This recipe will make up for my lack of recipes last week. Not only is this meal delicious, but it’s easy to make too!
Incorporated in this dish is a new product line I just learned about, RAGÚ Homestyle Sauces!
Easy 30 Minute Meal
Simple ingredients are in the sauce, which makes this super convenient to have on hand.
Not only is the sauce tasty, but having it ready to go cuts down on the meal prep time!
For this recipe, we add a dollop of pasta sauce right in the middle of each wrapped chicken thigh.
Also serve extra sauce on the side as a dipping sauce!
There is just the right amount of flavor from the herbs, so no tweaking the sauce is necessary!
Freeze The Pasta Sauce
Portion out a tablespoon of pasta sauce for each piece of chicken and freeze them into disks.
This step helps keep the ingredients together when rolling them in bundles.
Using a pre-made pasta sauce is such a time saver, especially when cooking during the week!
Thick & Hearty Traditional pasta sauce is used for this recipe, but there are 6 different other flavors that would be just as tasty!
How To Wrap The Chicken
- Set up an assembly line of the cheese, pasta sauce and chicken.
- Put 8 slices of bacon in the oven to partially cook. This step softens the bacon making it easier to roll around the chicken
- On a flat surface open each chicken thigh and add a piece of cheese and a disk of the frozen sauce.
- Gently roll each chicken together with 1 or two slices of bacon. Secure with toothpicks.
- Place each bundle in a cast iron skillet and cook the bacon to a nice caramel brown.
- Rotate the chicken so the bacon is evenly cooked.
- Put the skillet in the oven to finish cooking the meat.
- Cook for about 25 minutes.
Rotate the chicken so the bacon is evenly cooked, then put the skillet in the oven to finish cooking the meat.
What to Serve with Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Don’t forget to serve extra pasta sauce on the side so you can dip each piece into more flavorful sauce!
The chicken is filling, so pair it with a light vegetable like fresh green beans or one of the following:
- Mock Mashed Potatoes : low carb cauliflower dish that tastes like mashed potatoes!
- Low Carb Potato Salad : If you love the mock cauliflower, then you also enjoy this cauliflower low carb “potato” salad.
- Cabbage Salad Recipe: Sweet and tangy flavors with a homemade balsamic dressing.
- Green Bean Potato Salad: Simple salad with balsamic dijon dressing. Serve this salad at room temperature.
Stuffed chicken is protein packed and filling.
The flavors are so delicious together, so don’t be surprised if you go back for seconds!
Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Chicken thighs stuffed with cheese and cooked with bacon. Enjoy this hearty main meal with a simple side dish.
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken thighs, skinless and butterflied for stuffing
- 1 jar Ragu Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Pasta Sauce
- 4-6 slices, Monterey Jack cheese
- 8-12 bacon slices
Instructions
Line a plate with parchment paper and for each serving place 1 heaping tablespoon of pasta sauce on the prepared parchment lined plate. Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Place bacon slices on a foil lined baking sheet and put in a cold oven. Turn oven to 425 degrees and cook bacon for 10 minutes or until half cooked. Remove from oven and carefully place each piece on paper towels to drain grease.
Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Assemble chicken by placing a piece of cheese and frozen pasta sauce in the middle of the chicken thigh (if pieces are small use two for each serving). Gently roll and secure with toothpicks if necessary. Carefully wrap 2-3 slices of bacon around chicken and secure with toothpicks.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place wrapped chicken in an oven proof skillet (cast iron) over medium-high heat and cook rotating the chicken so the bacon is cooked evenly.
Place skillet in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve immediately and don't forget to remove the toothpicks!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 thighAmount Per Serving: Calories: 427Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 185mgSodium: 968mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 43g
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
This dish comes together quickly!
Step by step view on how to make a quick delicious family favorite meal!
Pin to your chicken and 30 minute meal boards!
Varun sharma
Delicious recipe.
Kim Munoz
You had me at bacon! I cannot wait to try this! Thanks so much for sharing it with us! And I never would have thought to freeze the ragu! Great tip!
will
Delicious recipe. Your pictures are just so awesome. I love the idea of freezing the sauce to place it on the chicken.
Sarah
This meal looks amazing Sandra. I try to cut out my carbs, so this meal is great.
carrie @ frugal foodie mama
Oh, now this looks delicious! You definitely got my attention with the bacon wrapped part. 😉 And how clever to freeze the sauce into little disks to make it easier and less messy to stuff the chicken breasts.
Sandra Shaffer
Freezing the sauce is the key when assembling these bundles! Stress free 🙂
mary
These pictures are making my mouth water!! It looks delicious!
Sandra Shaffer
Lol thanks, Mary! It’s as good as it looks 🙂
Christie
I really like Ragu. It isn’t loaded with sugar like a lot of other bottled pasta sauces. This sounds like a fun way to use it.
Sandra Shaffer
I agree! When you start with great ingredients you don’t need the extra sugar!
Coco in the Kitchen
So quick and easy! I’m putting this on the table with my leftover Ragu!
Sandra Shaffer
Enjoy! Hope you love this as much as we do!
Matt
This looks so inssnely good, seriously drooling here!
Sandra Shaffer
Hey Matt! Thanks a bunch! Love it when my recipes require extra napkins 🙂
Erin @ The Speckled Palate
YUM! I love how you froze the RAGU to place on the chicken. What a delicious and simple dish to make for a weeknight. I could definitely go for one of those chicken breasts right now!
SunnyDaysNora
Mmmmmm looks so delicious!