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Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Bites

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These air fryer buffalo chicken bites are a healthier and easier alternative to your favorite buffalo chicken wings. Serve them with a blue cheese sauce and celery sticks. A perfect appetizer for a crowd!



 

Buffalo Chicken Bites

We all know and love the spicy, vinegary zing of great buffalo wings. But sometimes you don’t want to deep-fry your wings. Maybe you’re cutting calories, or you don’t feel like something as dense as deep-fried food. What are you to do?

Well, you can take a look at this awesome recipe for buffalo chicken bites! It’s actually healthier than typical buffalo wings, and it’s easier to make as well. We even think it tastes better, but we’ll let you be the judge of your own cooking.

What is Buffalo Chicken?

Something that has long confused visitors to the United States is the phrase “buffalo wings”. Buffalo, after all, are huge mammals. They don’t have wings, right? So what gives?

The term “Buffalo”, as we’re using it here, actually refers to Buffalo, New York, not the American bison. Buffalo wings, chicken wings either cooked, dipped, or marinated in buffalo sauce, supposedly trace their origins, like the sauce, to this part of New York state.

Typically, Buffalo wings are deep-fried without batter, tossed in a sauce, and served with a cheese dressing and celery sticks. The sauce is usually some type of hot sauce mixed with butter, and the classic cheese dressing is blue cheese. Chicken wings became a popular bar food because it’s easy to make large quantities to share with your friends and family.

Here, we’re riffing on this classic, and making some tangy, zesty buffalo bites. You can make your own chicken treats at home, miss the mess, and keep it pretty healthy, too.

Why We Love Boneless Wings

These buffalo bites aren’t deep fried. That means that some buffalo wing purists will claim that they aren’t authentic enough, but we say these are delicious enough to make up for it. These contain all the classic buffalo wings flavors with less mess, easier cooking, and even easier eating. How?

Boneless “wings”.

Just as the majestic American buffalo has no wings, we’re using bite-sized chunks of boneless chicken breast rather than a bone-in chicken wing to make this recipe. Why is that?

  • First of all, there’s no skin. Traditional chicken wings taste best with the skin on, but the skin tastes best because it’s chock full of saturated fats. Here, we’re reducing the calories and lowering the saturated fat content by going skinless.
  • Secondly, we’re not deep-frying chicken breast here. We’ll be quickly sauteeing our breast bites in olive oil to keep things from getting too messy, make it a little bit healthier, and still give you satisfyingly crispy chicken bites.
  • Finally, with no bones, there’s less to worry about cleaning up. The chicken breast pieces are all meat, so there’s no annoying chicken bones left over to throw in the bin, and your guests can simply put the whole chicken bite in their mouth.

You'll Need

You will need a few simple ingredients to make this fantastic chicken dish.

How To Make Buffalo Chicken Bites

So these low-carb chicken bites are awesome for those on a diet, and they taste good enough that those who aren’t won’t suspect a thing! They’re also just as easy to make as they are to eat, and the simple, quick preparation minimizes mess as well. You won’t be deep-frying anything or using a batter, so that removed the pesky deep-cleaning that often follows a deep-frying session. As we mentioned before, with no bones, there’s nothing to clean up except the bowl you serve these little bites in!

  • Combine chicken and olive oil in a large bowl.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the mixture to the chicken and toss until evenly coated.
  • Arrange the chicken in the air fryer basket and  air fry at 390°F |200°C for 9-10 minutes. After 6 minutes, open the air fryer and flip the chicken. 
  • Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from heat, and make up your buffalo sauce. We’ll be using a mixture of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and butter. Stir your chicken bites in this mixture until they’re generously coated in the sauce, which should be an attractive shade of red and quite aromatic.
  • Last of all, you serve them up! As sides, serve up with blue cheese dressing and some celery sticks for the palate-cleansing crunch we all love.

Tools You’ll Need

You’ll need an air fryer. We love our Instant Vortex Air Fryer.

Tongs are very helpful for turning and tossing your buffalo chicken while it cooks.

Use a wooden spoon to coat your chicken bites in the buffalo sauce.

Expert Tips

  • While we often recommend the use of a meat thermometer to check the doneness of your chicken, in this instance because there’s a large quantity of small chicken pieces, that’s not very helpful. Instead, you can simply cut through one of your chicken pieces - preferably a larger one - to see if it’s cooked through.
  • Try to make sure your pieces of chicken are uniform in size and shape so they all cook evenly.
  • If you have a medium-sized air fryer, we highly recommend cooking your chicken in batches so as not to overcrowd the basket. You want enough space between each bit of chicken so they aren’t touching one another. This can make the bites stick to each other and prevent them from cooking evenly, so we recommend that you prioritize quality over time if need be. These little bites don’t need long to cook, so your first batch won’t cool down too much while waiting for the second, and they all go back into the pan on low heat with the sauce anyway, so your chicken will all be served at a similar temperature.

More Air Fryer Recipes

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Air Fryer Salmon

Roasted Garlic in Air Fryer

Air Fryer Fish

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If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! I will be happy to hear from you!

Print Recipe

Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Bites

These air fryer buffalo chicken bites are a healthier and easier alternative to your favorite buffalo chicken wings. Serve them with a blue cheese sauce and celery sticks.
Author: Tatiana
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 235kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds 1 kilogram boneless chicken breast, diced into 2" pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup cornstarch or cornflour
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup Frank's RedHot
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee

Serving

  • Celery sticks
  • Blue cheese dressing
  •  

Equipment

  • Instant Vortex Air Fryer
  • Tongs

Instructions

  • Mix the chicken and olive oil in a large bowl. Keep aside. It will help the coating to stick.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  • Add the mixture to the chicken and toss until evenly coated.
  • Preheat your air fryer. Spray the air basket with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the chicken in a single layer and  air fry at 390°F |200°C for 9-10 minutes. After 6 minutes, open the air fryer and flip the chicken. Cook further for 3-4 minutes, depending on the size of  the chicken pieces.  Transfer to a plate. You might need to air fry the chicken in batches. 
  • Add the butter and Franks Red Hot sauce to the skillet and cook until the butter is melted. 
  • Add the cooked chicken  to the buffalo sauce and toss to coat. Cook further for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce slightly thickens. 
  • Serve immediately with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
  • Enjoy!
  •  

Nutrition

Calories: 235kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 1183mg
Course: Chicken recipes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: buffalo chicken bites, chicken, chicken breast

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About Tatiana

Hi, I’m Tatiana! I’m all about making easy, delicious family meals that bring everyone to the table. From quick weeknight dinners to comforting classics, my recipes are simple, flavorful, and made with love. Read more

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    April 21, 2022 at 10:28 am

    5 stars
    Made it today and it was WOW! So easy and very delicious. A keeper!

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      April 21, 2022 at 10:29 am

      I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, Lisa! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!

      Reply
  2. Ashkey says

    October 27, 2022 at 2:58 am

    5 stars
    Just made this omg it's so good and easy to make! I love the tip about putting the chicken into the skillet with the buffalo sauce for few minutes cause the sauce thickens and sticks to the chicken perfectly 🙂 thank you

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      October 28, 2022 at 4:59 pm

      Hey, Ashkey! I am glad you liked this air fryer chicken recipe and thanks for sharing your experience!!!

      Reply
  3. Teri says

    November 29, 2022 at 11:27 pm

    Hi! I really want to make this recipe, but I've read it at least five times and can't see at what point or how I use the 2 T of olive oil. Am I missing it? Thank you!

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      November 30, 2022 at 6:25 am

      Hey, Teri! Sorry for the confusing you. You need to place chicken in a large bowl. Add olive oil and toss to coat. It will help the coating stick.

      Reply
      • Teri says

        November 30, 2022 at 8:15 pm

        5 stars
        OMG, maybe I lay off the margaritas! I see it now. Lol Aaaanyhoo, I did make these last night without olive oil and they were so delicious and easy and tasty, I'm making them again today! Thank you so much!

        Reply
        • chefjar says

          December 01, 2022 at 7:57 am

          That is amazing to hear, Teri! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. And thank you for sharing your experience!

          Reply
  4. Stacy says

    January 12, 2023 at 9:48 pm

    5 stars
    It came out perfect and my kids loved it! Can't wait to make it again!

    Reply
  5. Ova says

    January 14, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    5 stars
    This was a big hit with my family. We’ll definitely be using this one often.

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      January 17, 2023 at 5:52 am

      Hey, Ova! I am glad you and your family liked this air fryer recipe. And thanks for sharing your experience!

      Reply
  6. Aashna says

    January 16, 2023 at 6:24 pm

    5 stars
    Super easy and full of flavor! This recipe is definitely a keeper.

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      January 17, 2023 at 6:08 am

      Thank you, Aashna! -Tatiana 🙂

      Reply
  7. Skylar says

    January 19, 2023 at 4:48 pm

    5 stars
    Easy to put together and came out perfect.Thank you for this delicious recipe!

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      January 21, 2023 at 6:43 am

      Thank you, Skylar!

      Reply
  8. Marianna says

    January 20, 2023 at 7:39 pm

    5 stars
    I had all the ingredients and it was super easy. All of my family loved it!

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      January 21, 2023 at 6:42 am

      Hey Marianna! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! Tatiana 🙂

      Reply
  9. Liliana says

    January 26, 2023 at 8:05 pm

    5 stars
    My family and I really enjoyed this recipe. It’s now added to the weekly dinner list. Thank you so much!!

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      January 27, 2023 at 6:07 am

      Thank you, Liliana!

      Reply
  10. Sasha says

    February 07, 2023 at 6:38 pm

    5 stars
    The flavor combination is perfect! I am keeping this recipe for sure!

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      February 12, 2023 at 10:50 am

      That's great to hear! I'm glad you liked the flavor combination. Thank you for your feedback!

      Reply
  11. Loujaina says

    February 11, 2023 at 9:27 pm

    5 stars
    I made this and it was really easy and delicious! Most of all I loved how easy this was. Will surely have this again!

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      February 12, 2023 at 10:34 am

      I'm thrilled to hear that the recipe was both easy and delicious! The ease of preparation is a big factor in making a recipe a go-to, and it sounds like this one fits the bill. Thanks for sharing your positive experience, and I hope you enjoy having this again in the future.

      Reply
  12. Ethan says

    February 22, 2023 at 6:46 pm

    5 stars
    Fantastic recipe! Everyone raved about it. Can’t wait to make it again.

    Reply
    • chefjar says

      January 30, 2024 at 3:33 am

      Hi Ethan! That's fantastic to hear! Thanks for the wonderful feedback!

      Reply
  13. Kim says

    February 04, 2025 at 6:16 pm

    Could these be made in a convection oven instead?

    Reply
    • Tatiana says

      February 05, 2025 at 3:23 am

      Hi Kim! In a convection oven at 400°F, bake for about 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Keep an eye on them to prevent overcooking, as convection ovens can cook faster. Always check that the internal temperature reaches 165°F to ensure they’re fully cooked.

      Reply
  14. Nikki says

    March 15, 2025 at 10:51 pm

    Can I use frozen chicken?

    Reply
    • Tatiana says

      March 16, 2025 at 7:11 am

      Hi Nikki! Yes, you can use frozen chicken, but I recommend thawing it first for even cooking and better texture. If cooking from frozen, add a few extra minutes to the air fryer time and check that the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let me know if you give it a try!

      Reply

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