Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts with Sweet Chili Sauce are an easy appetizer recipe that is perfect for game-day eats holiday parties. The sweet chili glaze goes on the appetizer near the end of baking time and placed back in the oven to finish cooking. This leaves a spicy sweet glaze that is irresistibly delicious!
Whenever I make these, someone always calls me later for the recipe. I always keep this one on file for special occasions!
Quick Overview:
- Ready in about an hour, start to finish.
- One bowl for the sauce, one baking sheet - no deep frying, no stovetop mess.
- A quick bake after the sauce dip gives the bacon a crispy, sweet glaze.
- Makes 12 servings at 249 calories each.
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Why You'll Love Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts Appetizer
Bold flavor: salty bacon, crisp water chestnut, and sweet-spicy sauce in every bite.
Party ready: these travel well and reheat easily, making them an easy pick for game day or a holiday spread.
Easy to make: mix the sauce, wrap the bacon, and bake - no special skills or equipment needed.
Key Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts with Chili Sauce
Center Cut Bacon: thin enough to crisp up in the oven without overcooking the water chestnut inside.
Whole Water Chestnuts: bring the signature crunch that holds up even through two rounds of baking.
Sweet Chili Sauce, the sweet heat that makes this appetizer stand out from a plain glazed version.
Mayonnaise: thickens the chili sauce so it coats the bacon instead of running off.
Sriracha and fresh cilantro: optiona, for extra heat and herby finish.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
These bacon wrapped appetizers are really easy to make, the hardest part is waiting for them to cook! See below for simple instructions on how to make these tasty treats.
- Stir together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha in a small bowl and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Cut each bacon slice into 3 pieces. You only need enough bacon to wrap around the water chestnut one time with just a little overlap.
- Secure the bacon with a toothpick. Place on a rack over a baking sheet that has been lined with foil.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Your bacon should look like it is completely cooked.
- Remove the bacon wrapped water chestnuts from the oven. Dip them in the sweet chili sauce then place back on the rack and back into the oven.
- Bake another 10-15 minutes or until the glaze look like it has baked onto the bacon. Garnish with cilantro.
Substitutions
Low fat version: swap in turkey bacon and use a low fat mayo for the sauce.
Vegetarian version: substitute MorningStar Farm's Stripples (affiliate link) in place of the bacon.
Note: cook time for both substitutions above will be less than cook time for regular bacon. Cook only until bacon has become browned, then dip into chili sauce and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Variations
Brown sugar glazed: skip the sweet chili aioli and sprinkle bacon wrapped water chestnuts with light or dark brown sugar before baking.
Sweet black pepper glazed: mix freshly ground black pepper into granulated or brown sugar, then sprinkle over the wrapped water chestnuts before baking (eliminate the sweet chili sauce dip)
Top Tips
A few things that make this recipe simple to pull off:
- Portion out your toothpicks ahead of time so you're not digging though the box after your hands have been handling raw bacon.
- Pierce through a fatty or meaty part of the bacon so the toothpick holds securely.
- Give the pieces a little space on the baking sheet so they crisp on all sides instead of steaming.
Storage & Make Ahead
Unbaked: wrap and secure the bacon around the water chestnuts, then place in an air-tight container and refrigerate up to 2 days before baking.
Sauce: can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in a separate container in the fridge.
Freezer: assemble (wrapped, unbaked) and freeze up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the cook time.
Reheat: warm in a 300 degree F oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until heated through.
You May Be Wondering
No - canned water chestnuts are already fully cooked. Just drain them well before wrapping. The oven time here is really about crisping the bacon, not cooking the chestnut.
Bake on the rack instead of directly on the sheet that lets the fat drip away instead of the bacon sitting in it, which is what keeps it from crisping up.
Whole works best here since each one gets wrapped individually - sliced pices are harder to secure with a toothpick and won't thold their shap through baking.
Watch it closely during the short second bake - the sugar in the sauce can scorcoh first if your oven runs hot. If it's browning too quickly, tent the pan loosely with foil for the last few minutes.
More Bacon Wrapped Appetizers
Can't get enough of bacon-wrapped anything? Here are a few more to add to your appetizer rotation:
- Bacon Wrapped Venison Bites
- Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Maple Bourbon Glaze
- Bacon Wrapped Potato Wedges
- Bacon Wrapped Butternut Squash Bites
When you make this Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts recipe, please comment below and leave a leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating to let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
📖 Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts with Sweet Chili Sauce
Equipment
- Baking sheet with rack
- Aluminum foil , or parchment paper
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Ingredients
- 1 pound center cut bacon
- 16 ounces whole water chestnuts
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Sweet Chili Sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce , (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro , chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha sauce (if using). Set aside.
- Cut the bacon slices in half and wrap ½ slice around each water chestnut. Secure with a toothpick.
- Place bacon wrapped water chestnuts on a wire rack on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from oven and dip bacon wrapped water chestnut in sweet chili mayonnaise sauce. Place back on rack and return to oven to bake another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, place on serving platter, and garnish with chopped cilantro (if using).
Jeff @ Cheese-burger.net says
Happy New Year Shelby. Thanks a year of delicious and hearty recipes!