Air fryer cheesy chicken with bacon
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 1
You can’t go wrong with chicken breast, cream cheese and bacon. This comforting recipe for one goes perfectly with quick-roasted potatoes.
This recipe is part of an air fryer meal plan for one.
Each serving provides 596 kcal, 61.4g protein, 21.4g carbohydrate (of which 2.7g sugars), 28.8g fat (of which 8.3g saturates), 2.8g fibre and 2.29g salt.
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast, boneless, skin removed (around 150g/5½oz)
- 20g/½oz garlic and herb cream cheese
- 2 rashers rindless streaky bacon, preferably dry-cured
- 150g/5½oz small new potatoes, quartered
- 2 tsp sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
- pinch dried thyme or rosemary
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- colourful mixed salad, to serve
Method
Put the chicken breast on a board. Using a small sharp knife, carefully cut 5cm/2in into the thickest part of one side to make a pocket, taking care not to cut all the way through.
Push the cheese into the hole and press the opening to close again. Wrap the bacon around the chicken, especially where the opening of the pocket is to prevent the cheese from oozing out. Place on a small sheet of oiled kitchen foil and bring up the sides a little to make a shallow bowl to catch the cooking juices.
If necessary, preheat your air fryer at 200C for 3 minutes, or until it reaches temperature.
Toss the potatoes in a bowl with the sunflower oil, herbs, a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper.
Put the potatoes in a single layer on one side of the crisper plate, taking care not to overcrowd. Place the chicken breast in its foil on the other side and cook for 7 minutes at 190C.
Turn the chicken and potatoes and cook for a further 6–7 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, crisp and golden. Leave the drawer open a little to allow the steam to escape. Rest the chicken for 5 minutes.
Serve the chicken with the roast new potatoes and a mixed salad, drizzled with any resting juices.
Recipe tips
Chicken breasts can vary hugely in size. Look for ones that are around 150–175g/5½–6oz for best results. Buy in smaller packs and you are more likely to find that size. If you do use a larger chicken breast, you will need to add extra cooking time.
Garlic and herb cream cheese works well for this recipe, but you could use cheddar or brie instead. Swap the dried herbs for fresh herbs if you like – use around ½ tsp freshly chopped leaves.
Test the chicken is ready using a digital thermometer (it will need to be 75C) or pierce the thickest part of the breast with the tip of a knife. Any juices should run clear and there should be no pinkness remaining.
Choosing small new potatoes and cutting them into quarters means that they will cook at the same rate as the chicken. If they aren’t tender once the chicken is ready, remove the chicken and rest on a warm plate covered with kitchen foil, then return the potatoes to the air fryer and cook for a few minutes longer.
This recipe was tested using a 4–litre capacity air fryer. If yours has a much larger or smaller capacity, you will need to adjust the cooking times.
