Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

At a glance

What stands out: Bacon wrapped water chestnuts are a simple but elegant appetizer. They’re a reliable fit for every occasion, from cocktail parties to game night.

How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 45 minutes to bake
Equipment you’ll need: large baking dish, wooden toothpicks
Servings: 32 appetizers

Crisp whole water chestnuts, wrapped in smoky bacon and simmered in a tangy from-scratch barbecue sauce, are a standout appetizer. They hit all the buttons: crunchy, salty, sweet, tangy.

Bacon wrapped water chestnuts are always popular at parties, partly because they’re so tasty, and partly because they’re just such a reliable finger food. Grab one by the nice little toothpick handle and pop the whole thing in your mouth. Crunch! Nothing messy about that!

Serve the water chestnuts on a fancy serving tray, or keep them warm in a crockpot, immersed in the sauce, and let everyone help themselves.

How it comes together

This is such a straightforward appetizer to make. You’ll only need five ingredients and a baking dish.

Wrap. Simply wrap the whole water chestnuts in a half a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

That’s the hardest part and it’s not hard at all.

Bake. Put the bacon wrapped water chestnuts in a preheated oven for ten minutes until the bacon browns and crisps up.

Add the sauce. Take the pan out of the oven and pour a straightforward three ingredient sauce over the water chestnuts.

Bake again. Pop the pan back in the oven for half an hour. This appetizer smells so good, just watch them disappear! Yup, you probably should have made a double batch.

Serve warm. You can keep the bacon wrapped water chestnuts warm in the oven for a while if you’re not quite ready to serve them, or put everything in a slow cooker on warm.

What goes in

• Bacon – Normally, we reach for center cut but we actually prefer regular sliced bacon here. We don’t recommend thick cut because it’s harder to wrap around the chestnuts, and takes longer to cook.
• Water Chestnuts – Read the label carefully so you’re sure to get the whole ones, not sliced!
• Brown Sugar – The sugar gets so caramelized and rich when it bakes! Either light brown or dark brown sugar is fine.
• Ketchup – It’s part of the straightforward BBQ sauce and lends so much flavor to these little bites.
• Worcestershire Sauce – This product is hard to say (and hard to spell!) but the special blend of spices and ingredients is a workhorse when it comes to flavoring sauces.

Sauce Variations

With only five ingredients, it’s hard to change the recipe much without changing the total character of the end product. The sauce is the wild card. Make additions to this straightforward sauce like chili powder, sriracha, soy sauce, or other seasonings you like.

Make Ahead Tips

Wrap the chestnuts with bacon up to a day ahead and put the pan in the fridge, covered tightly. Mix the sauce up and store it separately. When it’s time to entertain, it’s straightforward to bake them up.

Bacon Appetizers

• Candied bacon, aka pig candy: Crisp strips of bacon baked with a sugary spicy crunchy coating.
• Bacon guacamole appetizers: This low carb appetizer is always a hit.
• Bacon wrapped dates: Stuffed with goat cheese and coated with a rich brown sugar spice rub.
• Bacon jam: Serve this savory jam with crackers and cheese.

Crab Rangoon Dip

This recipe was originally contributed via a guest post from Carrian of Sweet Basil when we were expecting our second child. It has since been updated and new photographs have been added.

• Yield: 32 appetizers
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 45 minutes
• Total: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz. bacon
• 2 cans (8 oz. each) whole water chestnuts
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly spray a 9 x 11 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Cut the bacon slices in half and wrap each water chestnut with half a strip of bacon. Secure with tooth pick and arrange in a single layer in the baking dish. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until bacon is done.
3. Meanwhile, combine ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire in a small bowl.
4. Remove baking dish from oven, and pour off excess fat. Pour sauce over water chestnuts and return dish to oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Place water chestnuts on a platter and serve immediately.

Notes

We don’t recommend thick cut bacon for this recipe.

Crockpot Method: Prepare bacon wrapped water chestnuts as directed through step 3. Remove the partially baked chestnuts from the baking dish and transfer them to a crockpot, keeping them in a single layer as much as possible. Top with the sauce, cover, and cook on high for at least 30 minutes, or until sauce is heated through. Keep on warm setting and s erve directly from the crock pot.