Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken Breast

Easy air fryer stuffed chicken breast wrapped with bacon and a cream cheese center are amazing for dinner! Make this spicy or mild Ninja Foodi chicken breast or any other brand tonight and enjoy! 

Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken Recipe

This one has a lot of variations to it. If you want to make it as directed with a stuffed roasted jalapenos and cream cheese it is out of this world delicious. I wouldn’t say it is way too hot if you remove all the seeds but there are also milder varieties you could choose.

in Ninja Foodi

Ok so I am obsessed with making all the Ninja Foodi recipes at the moment. I do have 2 other electric air fryers though, and any brand will do. 😉 Honestly I rotate according to whichever is clean or happens to be on my countertop at the time. With this brand you will use the lid that is not attached, and the air crisp button with directions below.

You really could use thighs if they were rather large boneless if you wanted to. The thinner your pieces whether white or dark meat the faster it will cook thru. I suggest regular slices of pork and not thick as those don’t crisp as well and are hard to wrap and stay in place.

Ingredients

1. Boneless skinless chicken breasts flattened
2. Cream cheese or dairy free alternative
3. Bacon – I prefer that they’re NOT thick slices
4. Cheese shredded, we like cheddar
5. Jalapenos for a spicy kick
6. Seasonings of your choice

Equipment

You will want a meat tenderizer, plastic wrap and toothpicks may be needed to secure bacon in place.

Cooked in the air fryer basket of your machine the cooking time is short at just 20 minutes! Of course always use a meat thermometer and remove toothpicks before putting dinner on the table. I’m telling you, golden brown air fried chicken is the bomb!

How do you tenderize chicken breast without a mallet?

• The quick and easy way is to use a sharp knife to butterfly the chicken breasts in half lengthwise
• Put it flat in between plastic wrap
• If you don’t have a meat mallet you can;
  • Roll over with a rolling pin
  • Hit it with the back of a saucepan or cast iron skillet
  • Roll on top with a can of tomatoes
  • Smash inside a cookbook or tortilla press
  • hit with the back of a cast iron pan to hit it so it’s flatter
• This helps make the meat more tender, you’ll get juicy chicken every time

How to cook Stuffed Chicken in Air Fryer

Then you’re going to season your meat with salt and pepper. Now mix your room temperature cream cheese, cheese and cumin in a bowl until smooth. Jalapenos need to be prepared at this time.

You should be careful of how much you add. If you want just a hint then dice really fine and use just a bit. If you have dried jalapeno they are already prepared, you just soak in water to rehydrate before adding inside if you would like some heat.

Once you’ve removed all the inners you want you’re going to spoon your cream cheese mixture inside of both halves, then put them back together.  Now slide them into the middle of your flattened chicken breast and roll it up so it is like a little package.

When making this or our Bacon Wrapped Air Fryer Steak I prefer Hickory smoked regular slices as opposed to thick slices. Thicker ones are tough to wrap around well, and sometimes don’t get as crispy. Then get set to cook breast in the air fryer.

Cooking Tips

• Preheat machine for at least five minutes so it cooks hot from start to finish
• When done ensure the inside of the chicken is at 165 degrees for safety.
  • an instant read thermometer is convenient to have for this
• If you want an EXTRA crispy outside spray some olive oil on the top and raise temp. to 370 degrees – 400 degrees
• Allow them to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing to maintain juiciness.

Next try our air fryer chicken parm or cook frozen chicken wings in air fryer for a quick meal. Printable instructions to make bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts is below.