BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwiches

Sometimes, simple is all you need. These 30 minute BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwiches get so much flavor from just a few ingredients, making them the perfect choice for a quick weeknight dinner.

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This week’s BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwiches recipe was inspired by a special buy pack of everything bagel brioche buns from ALDI, which I impulse bought this week. I’ve also been trying to use up some of the clearance and sale meat from my freezer, so pulled out both bacon and chicken last night to set off the lovely soft brioche.

That all paid off, making for a most juicy and flavorful sandwich indeed. (I also used honey BBQ sauce here for the kids’ benefit, but might go with something a little richer and smokier for a more adult palate.) Just seven ingredients + 30 minutes ’til dinner, and this all cooks up in one pan on the stove top so that you don’t have to run the oven on a hot summer’s night.

BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

6 pieces of bacon
1.25-1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into four pieces
Garlic salt, to taste
Smoked paprika, to taste
4 slices cheddar cheese
Barbecue sauce, to taste
4 brioche buns

Directions

Cook up the bacon over medium-high heat in a large skillet to desired crispness (about eight minutes), then remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve the bacon grease in the pan.

Meanwhile, trim and cut the chicken into four equal pieces. Season generously to taste with garlic salt and smoked paprika.

After removing the cooked bacon from the pan, reduce heat under the skillet to medium. Add the four chicken pieces and cook them in the bacon grease until no pink remains. (This will take about 7-9 minutes per side, depending on thickness.)

While the chicken is cooking, break each slice of cooked bacon in half to make 12 smaller pieces, and spread BBQ sauce onto each brioche bun.

When the chicken has cooked through, top each piece of chicken with three of the half pieces of bacon, then a slice of cheddar cheese. Leave them in the hot pan for about a minute, just until the cheddar starts to melt.

Assemble your BBQ bacon cheddar chicken sandwiches, and enjoy!

Note: Chicken sandwiches are also great with sauteed onions and/or mushrooms, if you’d like to jazz them up even further. If you like, you could also pound the chicken pieces flatter so that they cook through faster — but I wanted a nice thick chicken sandwich, so just cut mine into pieces. Next time, I might lightly toast the buns.

That’s a satisfying sandwich

Juicy chicken sandwiches with barbecue sauce, bacon, and cheddar, all nestled into a soft brioche bun… how could you go wrong, really? I just paired ours with fruit last night, which made for a simple yet filling summer dinner. Be sure to go generously in on the seasonings, in order to add flavor to the thick piece of chicken, and to remove the chicken from the pan when just cooked through in order to keep it juicy.

More chicken sandwich ideas?

If this one doesn’t grab you, there are so many different ways to take a chicken sandwich. Try, for instance:

• Slow cooker honey chipotle BBQ chicken sandwiches
• Chicken & mushroom sandwiches with avocado spread
• Slow cooker Italian pulled chicken sandwiches
• Five ingredient slow cooker Italian chicken with giardiniera

Variety is the spice of chicken!

BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwiches, printable recipe

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BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwiches

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Sometimes, simple is all you need. These 30 minute BBQ Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwiches get so much flavor from just a few ingredients, making them the perfect choice for a quick weeknight dinner.

Course dinner

Cuisine sandwiches

Keyword 30 minute meals, boneless skinless chicken breast, chicken, chicken sandwiches, sandwiches, weeknight dinner

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

1 large skillet

Ingredients

• 6 pieces of bacon
• 1.25-1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cut into four pieces
• Garlic salt to taste
• Smoked paprika to taste
• 4 slices cheddar cheese
• Barbecue sauce to taste
• 4 brioche buns

Instructions

• Cook up the bacon over medium-high heat in a large skillet to desired crispness (about eight minutes), then remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve the bacon grease in the pan.
• Meanwhile, trim and cut the chicken into four equal pieces. Season generously to taste with garlic salt and smoked paprika.
• After removing the cooked bacon from the pan, reduce heat under the skillet to medium. Add the four chicken pieces and cook them in the bacon grease until no pink remains. (This will take about 7-9 minutes per side, depending on thickness.)
• While the chicken is cooking, break each slice of cooked bacon in half to make 12 smaller pieces, and spread BBQ sauce onto each brioche bun.
• When the chicken has cooked through, top each piece of chicken with three of the half pieces of bacon, then a slice of cheddar cheese. Leave them in the hot pan for about a minute, just until the cheddar starts to melt.
• Assemble your BBQ bacon cheddar chicken sandwiches, and enjoy!

Notes

Note: Chicken sandwiches are also great with sauteed onions and/or mushrooms, if you’d like to jazz them up even further. If you like, you could also pound the chicken pieces flatter so that they cook through faster — but I wanted a nice thick chicken sandwich, so just cut mine into pieces. Next time, I might lightly toast the buns.

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