Cheesy Bacon Chicken with Mustard Sauce is chicken breasts marinated in honey mustard sauce and baked topped with bacon and cheese. If this sounds good to you, be sure to also try my Honey Mustard Chicken!
Cheesy Bacon Chicken with Mustard Sauce
This recipe is based on the Alice Springs Chicken on the menu at Outback Steakhouse restaurants but without the mushrooms. Chicken breasts are marinated in a homemade honey mustard sauce and then pan-seared. Finally, each piece of chicken is topped and baked in the oven with crispy bacon and lots of cheese! I highly recommend making this cheesy chicken recipe in a cast-iron skillet (or a skillet that is oven-safe). Cast-iron skillets heat evenly and help cook the chicken to perfection!
Ingredients
Mustard: I used yellow mustard in the marinade. You could also use dijon mustard if preferred. Or, in a pinch, use a storebought honey mustard sauce.
Honey: I recommend using raw honey for the best results. Raw honey has not been heated or pasteurized and contains a range of benefits from anti-oxidants to anti-viral to anti-bacterial properties. It can even be soothing for burns and wounds. Plus, it’s nice to support your local honey producers.
Chicken: This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You could also use chicken thighs, but cooking time may be different.
Bacon: Cook the bacon ahead of time. The easiest way to do this is to line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place the strips of bacon on the foil, and bake for about 15 minutes at 415°F. It doesn’t have to be completely cooked since it will be cooked more in the oven with the chicken.
Marinating the Chicken
One thing to note in this recipe is timing; the chicken does need to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours, up to overnight. To make the honey mustard marinade, simply combine the mustard, honey, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together for about 30 seconds. This will make approximately 1 1/4 cups of dressing.
Next, place the chicken breasts in a baking dish. Pour about a cup of the marinade over the chicken, making sure to coat both sides of the chicken. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours. Chill the remaining honey mustard dressing until ready to bake the chicken.
How to Make Cheesy Bacon Chicken and Mustard
After the chicken has had time to marinate, get out your cast-iron skillet and get this delicious dish made. First, pan-sear the chicken breasts for a few minutes on each side. The chicken will not be completely cooked at this point; it will continue to cook in the oven.
Next, remove the skillet (chicken) from the heat and brush the tops of the chicken breasts with a little bit of the reserved honey mustard marinade. Again, save a little bit of the marinade to serve on the side. Add two strips of cooked bacon and about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top of each piece of chicken. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
Serve the chicken immediately with a side of green beans or Brussels sprouts, along with a basket of breadsticks. Enjoy!
More Chicken Recipes
Cheesy Bacon Chicken and Mustard
Ingredients
Honey Mustard Marinade
- ½ cup yellow mustard
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 slices bacon, cooked
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Marinade
- In a medium bowl, combine mustard, honey, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Using a fork or small whisk, mix for about 30 seconds or until all ingredients are well combined. This will make about 1¼ cups of marinade.
Chicken
- Place chicken breasts in a small baking dish. Pour about a cup of the marinade over the chicken, making sure all the chicken has been coated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Chill the remaining marinade until later.
- When ready, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- To a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, add oil. When the oil is hot, sear the chicken in the pan for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. The chicken will not be completely cooked through at this point; you will be cooking it more in the oven.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Brush the tops of each seared chicken breast with a little of the reserved honey mustard marinade, being sure to save a little extra that you can serve on the side later with the dish.
- Add two pieces of cooked bacon on top of each chicken breast. Then, add ½ cup of shredded cheese to each.
- Bake the chicken for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is thoroughly melted and chicken juices run clear. Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Serve chicken garnished with parsley and with a small bowl of extra honey mustard marinade.
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
I don’t have any lemon juice, will it be ok without?
i would like more recipes please
I made this today, so good, I put jalapenos in the marinade and chicken, then I cooked up some extra jalapenos in the pan I cooked the bacon in (yes I used a stove stop pan for the bacon) and when I put everything in the oven i put the cooked jalapeno on top. The extra marinade sauce I made into a gravy type sauce to go over everything on my plate. Also I used mozzarella and cheddar cheese on my chicken and put it under the broiler till cheese turned brown. So yummy.
I will try adding spinach before the cheese 😊
I’m making this as we speak. My only concern is the given frying and oven time. Doesn’t seem near enough for 3-4 whole chicken breasts. And as far as the sauce I don’t plan on useing of the extra sauce. Dumb me didn’t reread the directions so if I decide I want extra I may make up a small portion.
If I wanted to make this a freezer recipe, could I sear the chicken then freeze, then on the day I’m going to use it, add bacon and cheese and bake?
I am making it for dinner tonight. It makes me so happy to be able to make my favorite Outback meal at home! I am putting the mushrooms on tho. Pretty easy recipe. The honey mustard marinade is yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Monday I am making the chicken potpie casserole!
I wanted to make this, but I don’t have an oven safe skillet. So I made it in the slow cooker. I put boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the slower cooker, mixed up the marinade and poured it over them, and cooked it on high for four hours. Came out tender and with so much flavour. It was a big hit with my family. Thank you!
Instead of putting it in the oven can you put it on foil on the grill for the last step?
buenos dias soy ama de casa y te agradesco por estas recetas tan deliciosas el dios te bendiga
can i velvet the chicken breast before marinating? I’m afraid the chicken is dry. would that change the whole recipe? thanks!
I wish you could pin this recipe to Pintrest
I am so sorry to bother you again. I have tried to save several of your recipes like the cheesy bacon chicken and several others with no luck at pinning them to pinterest. It will either tell me there is no picture to pin or the label to actually pin something will only pin your website and not the recipe. I love your recipes and really want to save them and share them. I think your web page tech still needs to do work on the site. I just hope she/He does not have to go thru each of your recipes. Sorry again!
I didn’t see a Pinterest button – that would be great
Going to try this dinner tonight but going to bbq it instead of baking, hope it comes out as good!