Traeger Stuffed Chicken Legs
on Sep 02, 2025
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Forget boring grilled chicken, these Stuffed Chicken Legs are a flavor-packed upgrade that turns plain chicken legs into your next BBQ hit! Each drumstick is packed with layers of flavor. Tender and juicy chicken is wrapped around a pocket of salty ham and melty, gooey cheese, and encased in a crispy layer of bacon. A honey Dijon glaze gets brushed on, creating a glossy, caramelized layer that sticks to your fingers in the best way possible. Messy, smoky, cheesy, and ridiculously good. What’s not to love!
What makes these special is the flavor bomb of awesomeness in one handheld bite. All it takes is a sharp knife and your favorite drink in hand to keep the grilling vibes going. Save this recipe and fire up the smoker!
😋 You Should Try These Stuffed Chicken Legs
- Ultimate Upgrade: Regular chicken legs can be good. Stuffed chicken legs wrapped in bacon? Legendary.
- Melty Core of Goodness: That cheesy, hammy center turns every bite into a full-on flavor bomb.
- Crowd-Pleaser Status: Guaranteed to be a favorite at the BBQ, you will want to make extra!
- Low Effort, Big Payoff: No need to debone the whole leg—you just butterfly, stuff, roll, and grill!
💡 Pro Tips for Stuffed Chicken Legs
A few tricks will help you nail this recipe every time.
- Get cheesy: Use a cheese with high moisture and fat content. Something like Muenster, Gouda, provolone, or mozzerella works great!
- Don’t overstuff: Too much cheese and it’ll ooze out all over your grill instead of staying inside. Cut the cheese and ham slices in half to fit just right.
- Wrap it nicely: Use two pieces of bacon per chicken leg. Ensure you wrap the bacon tightly around the chicken leg to contain everything. If you wrap it correctly, the bacon will hold everything in, and you can skip twine or toothpicks.
- Use thin bacon: It wraps easier and crisps up better. Thick-cut can leave you with chewy spots.
- Sharp knife magic: A clean cut along the bone makes rolling the chicken around the stuffing easier.
🗒️ The Ingredients Shot
🔄 Substitutions and Variations
Want to riff on this recipe? Go for it. Here are some ways to mix up these stuffed chicken legs and make them your way!
- Cheese swap: Try pepper jack for a spicy twist, cheddar for a classic combo, or swiss for a cordon bleu vibe.
- Ham upgrade: Prosciutto adds a salty, fancy touch. But you can also use chorizo or slices of turkey.
- Spice it up: Stuff in some diced jalapeños, give the chicken a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning, or finish the stuffed chicken legs with a drizzle of hot honey.
- Sauce it down: Instead of honey-Dijon glaze, brush with BBQ sauce or hot honey.
🥡 Storing and Reheating Stuffed Chicken Legs
If you end up with leftovers (doubt it!), stuffed chicken legs hold up surprisingly well. In the fridge, keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. For longer storage, wrap each stuffed leg tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer-safe bag. They’ll keep in the freezer for about 2 months. When you’re ready to eat, thaw them overnight in the fridge so they reheat evenly.
The bacon will soften a little, but you can bring it back to life in the air fryer. Set it to 350°F and cook for about 6–8 minutes, or until the center is hot and the bacon crisps back up. An oven works, too, but the air fryer is way easier!
If you’re in a hurry, the microwave will do the job. Heat in short bursts so the cheese doesn’t completely explode out, and expect the bacon to lose its crunch. It’ll still taste great, just not as crisp as when fresh off the grill.
❓ Stuggle Bus? Here Are Answers!
Use a sharp knife and carefully slice along the bone from the thicker end of the leg down toward the nub. You’re not removing the bone, just butterflying the meat open like a book. Work your knife around the bone so that the meat opens up and lies flat, exposing the bone entirely. This creates a pocket for your filling without losing that bone-in structure that helps it hold together on the smoker.
Nope. Leaving the bone in makes the leg easier to handle and gives you a built-in grip once it’s cooked. Think of it like a meaty, cheesy drumstick.
This recipe can work for other cuts of chicken, too! If it is boneless chicken, butterfly it and hammer it thin, then lay the stuffing and roll it up before wrapping in bacon.
Yes! You can prep, stuff, and wrap the chicken up to a day in advance. Store them in the fridge until you’re ready to grill. Just be sure to let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking so they heat evenly.
Yep! Bake at 375°F on a wire rack over a sheet pan until the chicken hits 165°F and the bacon is crisp.
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Stuffed Chicken Legs
Ingredients
For the Chicken Legs
- 8 chicken legs, bone-in
- 4 slices muenster cheese, or swiss, gruyère, or havarti
- 4 slices deli ham, black forest ham, honey ham, or prosciutto
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, or yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 16 slices bacon, 2 per leg or more if your bacon is small or your chicken is large
For the Honey Dijon Glaze
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- pinch kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger smoker to 375°F.
Prep the Chicken
- Use a sharp knife to carefully slice along the bone of each chicken leg, opening it up like a book. Don’t fully debone the chicken.
- Press the meat flat.
Season and Stuff
- Season the inside with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Brush each butterflied chicken leg with Dijon mustard.
- Cut the cheese slices and ham in half. Lay a piece of ham and cheese over the meat.
Roll and Wrap
- Roll the chicken back up around the bone to form a tight bundle.
- Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each leg, covering the seam and ends to help hold everything together.
Make the Glaze
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine the ingredients for the glaze.
- Let the glaze come to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the glaze to a small bowl and let it cool and thicken.
Smoke Them
- Smoke the stuffed legs at 375°F for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F and the bacon is crispy. Cooking until they reach 180°F-190°F can help to make them even more tender!
- Brush the chicken legs with the honey dijon glaze during the last 5 minutes and let it caramelize.
- Let them rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
