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 made these bacon wrapped water chestnuts, someone always calls me later for the recipe!
There are two bacon wrapped appetizer recipes I love and keep on file for special occasions. That is this recipe, and bacon wrapped scallops!
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Why You'll Love Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
Great flavors: the spicy chili sauce glazing the salty bacon and crispy water chestnut is a melody of flavors and textures that make your tastebuds happy!
Party perfect: these bacon wrapped treats are perfect appetizers for your next party, be it summer picnics or game day celebrations.
Easy to make: super simple to make with little effort!
Ingredients
This recipe is super easy. It uses only 5 ingredients. The glaze consists of mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce and sriracha. The other two ingredients are water chestnuts and regular cut bacon.
- Center cut bacon
- Whole water chestnuts
- Mayonnaise
- Sweet chili sauce
- Sriracha sauce
- Fresh cilantro
See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
Making 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.
- Step 1: Stir together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha in a small bowl and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Step 2: 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.
- Step 3: Secure the bacon with a toothpick. Place on a rack over a baking sheet that has been lined with foil.
- Step 4: Bake in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Your bacon should look like it is completely cooked.
- Step 5: 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.
- Step 6: Bake another 10-15 minutes or until the glaze look like it has baked onto the bacon. Garnish with cilantro.
Substitutions
Low fat version: substitute turkey bacon in place of the regular bacon and use a low fat mayo for the sauce.
Vegetarian version: substitute MorningStar Farm's Stripples (affiliate link) in place of the bacon.
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 bacon wrapped water chestnuts before baking (eliminate the sweet chili aioli dip)
Top Tips
There are some simple steps you can take that will make this appetizer recipe easy peasy to assemble.
- Cut the bacon into thirds. I found that is the perfect size piece of bacon to wrap around the water chestnut.
- Portion out the exact number of toothpicks you plan to use. That way you don't have to worry about contaminating toothpicks in the box.
- Stretch the piece of bacon around the water chestnut enough so it wraps around it entirely and a little bit over top of the starting point.
- Be sure to pierce through a fatty or meaty part of the bacon to secure it.
Equipment
Below are the few essentials you need to make this recipe:
- Baking pan
- Sharp knife
- Toothpicks
- Baking rack
- Mixing bowl
Related Recipes
Love that sweet heat sweet chili flavor? Give this Sweet Chili Lime Chicken with Cilantro Couscous a try! This is a stir fry that is ready in just 30 minutes!
When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 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!