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If you think that grilled chicken kabobs are delicious, then you must add Cola BBQ sauce and BACON! In this Low Carb Bacon Wrapped Cola BBQ Chicken Kabobs recipe, I’m wrapping chicken chunks in bacon before stacking them with vegetables and grilling them on skewers. Since you can’t have BBQ without sauce, I’m sharing a 10-minute recipe for homemade, Keto-friendly BBQ sauce that uses Sweetleaf Sweet Drops in the Cola flavor. If you’re wondering how to make a low carb Cola BBQ sauce or want to take your keto-friendly BBQ chicken kabobs to another level – then you need to try this easy summer grilling recipe.
What’s Cola BBQ sauce?
BBQ is probably one of my favorite types of food because of the sauce! Even though it can be a bit messy, there’s nothing like having it dripping down a juicy burger or other protein.
One of the secret ingredients that competitive grillers put in their BBQ sauce is actually cola soda. If you’re following keto or cutting sugar, then you might be wondering how I managed to make a Cola BBQ sauce without added sugar.
Well, I added a sugar-free cola flavoring from SweetLeaf to my BBQ sauce recipe to recreate the flavors of Cola BBQ without the sugar that comes with most cola drinks.
What’s SweetLeaf and how do you use it to make Cola BBQ sauce keto-friendly?
In this recipe, I’m using SweetLeaf Sweet Drops in the Cola flavor. The drops have 0 calories and 0g net carbs. Plus, they have just three ingredients: purified water, organic stevia, and natural flavors.
I’m using the drops as a keto-friendly replacement for the Cola soda that is usually in Cola BBQ sauce. This product is also great if you just want to create Cola Soda at home (just add a few drops to unflavored sparkling water).
Besides Sweetleaf, this easy sauce also includes:
- Sugar-free Ketchup
- Keto Brown Sugar Replacement
- Hot Sauce
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Salt & Pepper
You make the sauce by adding all of the ingredients to a saucepan and heating it for 5-10 minutes.
What’s included in these Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken Kabobs?
For the chicken, I used almost the same process and ingredients as I did in my Indoor Grilled Chicken Kabobs. So, these include bell peppers, red onions, and marinated chicken breast chunks.
You could swap the chicken breast for chicken thighs if you wish. Overall, chicken thighs are much more forgiving if you accidentally overcook them.
One key difference in this recipe is that I added a homemade low carb BBQ sauce and bacon.
Should I use thick or thin cut bacon?
I recommend using thin cut bacon so that it cooks at a similar rate as the chicken.
If you use thick cut, then you should give it a little pre-sear. This means, pre-cook the bacon for about 5 minutes in a frying pan. When I made Quiche in a Bacon Cup, pre-cooking the meat was essential for it to turn out crisp.
I used thin cut bacon so there wasn’t a need for me to pre-sear. The fat from the bacon also served as a baste of sorts while the chicken cooked.
How do you make Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken Kabobs?
- Cut your bacon strips into thirds
- Wrap the bacon around each chicken chunk
- Assemble the chicken kabobs on the skewers with the vegetables
- Grill (indoor or outdoor) for 4-5 minutes per side (16-20 minutes total)
I add my sauce on during the final minute of cooking so that it doesn’t burn. You could also just add the sauce on top before serving. I use the extra sauce for dipping.
Timing Saving Tip:
Most markets sell assembled chicken kabobs in the meat section. To make these, you’d just need to wrap the bacon around the chicken before putting them on your indoor or outdoor grill.
Want more keto-friendly recipes that use bacon:
Assuming that you love bacon just as much as I do, you might be on the hunt for more Keto Recipes using bacon. I love adding crunchy bacon to Loaded Cauliflower – a recipe that’s a keto-friendly version of loaded potatoes.
Another option is to create Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers. It has all of the flavor of cream cheese poppers without the carbs that you’d get from the breading in traditional recipes.
Love Keto BBQ or grilled foods?
If you love keto BBQ, then you’ll love any of these keto grilling recipes. You might also be interested in checking out some of these:
- Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
- Keto BBQ Pulled Pork
- Indoor Grilled Chicken Kabobs
- Keto Instant Pot Country Style Ribs
If you’d like more recipes using chicken, then you can check out my keto chicken dinners recipe round up that features recipes from the blog and some of my favorite bloggers.
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 1 lb Chicken Breast cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp Salt-Free Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Cola BBQ Sauce
- 18 drops SweetLeaf Sweet Drops Cola
- 1/2 cup No Sugar Added Ketchup
- 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
- 1/4 cup Keto Brown Sugar Replacement
- 1.5 tbsp Sriracha or Hot Sauce
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
For Cooking & Skewers
- 7 slices No Sugar Added Bacon
- 2 Bell Peppers cut into "squares"
- 1/2 red onion cut into "squares"
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Key Tools I Used
Instructions
To Marinate the Chicken
- Add the chicken chunks to a gallon-sized Ziploc bag
- Mix all of the spices in a small bowl (so that they get incorporated evenly) and sprinkle them on the chicken breast
- Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the bag with the chicken. Massage until the spices are evenly incorporated. Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To Make the Sauce
- Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan and whisk them together.
- Heat on medium low for 5-10 minutes (it gets thicker as it cooks)
To Cook the Chicken Kababs
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking.
- Wrap the chicken chunks in the bacon and set aside
- Turn on your stove exhaust fan and open the kitchen window slightly (things will get smokey).
- Preheat the grill pan on medium heat with about 1 tbsp of Olive Oil.
- While the grill pan is heating stack the bacon wrapped chicken chunks and vegetables on the skewers.
- Cook the skewers for 4-5 minutes per side (16-20 minutes total), or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees. You can use another tbsp of Olive oil if you wish to prevent the meat from sticking.
- Use a sauce brush to top the chicken kabobs with the Cola BBQ sauce. Serve.
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