Bacon Wrapped Artichoke Stuffed Chicken

Why does comfort food taste so much better when it’s cold or rainy outside?! I always find myself giggling as I create my recipes in the fall and winter months. The dishes always get heavier, cheesier and creamier!

Luckily, here in Arizona, it stays fairly warm all year round so it’s ALWAYS grilling season. We can pop outside in the 110 degree heat to grill up a quick salmon fillet or turkey burger in the summer. In the winter, we can still fire up the Primo, stuff some chicken breasts with some garlicky spinach and artichoke dip, wrap them in bacon and grill them to absolute perfection!

Constructed with the highest quality ceramics, Primo’s unmatched cooking versatility is the perfect outdoor grilling tool in any season! I’m a proud partner and supporter of their American made quality, and today I can honestly say that I’ve made my tastiest recipe with it to date!

Spinach and Artichoke dip is always my favorite appetizer during the holidays. In fact, I’ve eaten way too much and spoiled my dinner at many family gatherings. This recipe has finally given me a way to get the perfect amount of that creamy, chunky artichoke dip in my belly and still give me room for my dinner…because this IS the dinner. There’s also a bonus. It’s wrapped up in chicken and bacon!

I started by butterfly-ing a few large chicken breasts with a super sharp knife. I filled each one with about three tablespoons of that creamy dip, closed them up and wrapped them in several slices of thick, applewood smoked bacon. I used a few toothpicks to secure them and keep that creamy dip from leaking out and I placed them on a super hot Primo. After about 10 minutes, I opened the heavy Primo top, and I gasped at the beautiful sight of my bacon strips, cooking PERFECTLY on my Primo. I flipped them over and let them grill for just about 7 minutes more, then I carefully removed them and took out the toothpicks.

These were SO HOT, and I was SO HUNGRY, that I could barely wait for them to cool enough to slice them open to see what the filling looked like! It OOZED out like a creamy, cheesy dream, and I burned the whole inside of my mouth as I shoveled the first bite into my mouth!

I can’t wait to make these again. They were worth every bite, every burn, and every calorie. These are not vegan, not vegetarian, not low calorie, and definitely not to be missed!

Bacon Wrapped, Artichoke Dip Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Prep Time: 20 minutes / Cook Time 15-20 minutes / Servings: 4 chicken breasts

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts, butterflied

• 1 lb. thick cut, applewood smoked bacon

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

• 4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1/2 cup chopped, marinated artichoke hearts

• 1/2 cup chopped, frozen spinach, thawed

• 2 green onions, chopped

• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

• 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp. Onion powder

• Salt/pepper

Steps:

1. Preheat your Primo ceramic grill to 400 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl combined the cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, green onions, bell pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix until all ingredients are combined.

3. Place about 3 tbsp. Of the mixture into the center of the butterflied chicken breasts. Fold the chicken breasts up, and wrap each one in 2-3 strips of bacon. Use a few toothpicks to secure the bacon strips in order to keep the filling from leaking out while grilling.

4. Place the chicken breasts on the pre-heated Primo and allow them to grill for about 7 minutes on each side, or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees in temperature. Remove the chicken breasts from the grill and allow them to cool before removing the toothpicks and serving.