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Healthy Buffalo Chicken Bites

These buffalo chicken bites are the perfect high protein, low carb recipe for your next meal prep or healthy game day snack. You can have them on the table in about 20 minutes, and the recipe includes the option of cooking crispy gold potatoes all in the same pan. And if for some reason you’re not a fan of buffalo seasoning, you’ll find 10+ alternative seasoning blends for your chicken bites in the post below!

Buffalo Chicken Bites Recipe Walkthrough

This is a simple 20-minute recipe so I doubt you’ll need much help in the walkthrough in case you wanted to hit the jump to recipe button above. But if you want some extra seasoning or side dish ideas and tips for perfectly cooked chicken breast bites, check out the walkthrough below.

Seasoning Your Chicken Bites

ingredients for buffalo seasoning on a plate

These buffalo chicken bites are seasoned with the same blend of spices I used for my buffalo chicken thighs. If you’re a fan of buffalo chicken, you might want to make this seasoning blend on bulk to save some time for future batches.

chicken breast pieces in olive oil

I’ll also mention, you can use this recipe to make chicken bites in a ton of different flavors. Here are some of my favorites:

If you use another seasoning blend, pay attention to the amount of chicken used in the original recipe. If an original calls for one pound of chicken breast, you’ll want to multiply all the ingredients by 1.5x for these chicken bites or adjust the amount of chicken used.

buffalo seasoned chicken breast pieces

The recipe calls for cooking your chicken bites right away, which is plenty flavorful thanks to the bite size pieces. But if you wanted to season a batch of chicken breast pieces ahead of time, I’m sure that’s even better. Even a quick 10-20 minute chill session while you prep your sides would give the seasoning some extra time to get to know the chicken. We’ll talk more about sides in a minute.

Cooking Your Buffalo Chicken Bites

cooking the chicken bites in a cast iron skillet

I used a 12″ cast iron skillet, but you can use any type of skillet as long as it’s on the larger side. If you only have smaller skillets, you may want to cook in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.

As far as cook method goes, there’s not much to these buffalo chicken bites. Like most proteins, I recommend adding the chicken to the pan and leaving it untouched for long enough to develop some color and browning. Then stir all your chicken around to finish cooking. With the smaller pieces, it won’t take long to fully cook your chicken bites.

cooked buffalo chicken bites in a cast iron skillet

And don’t forget about carryover cooking, especially if you’re using a cast iron skillet which is awesome at retaining heat. If you’re not planning on cooking anything else like potatoes in the skillet after your buffalo chicken bites, I’d get them out of the skillet as soon as they’re cooked. That way they don’t continue cooking in the hot skillet and turn to rubber. Chicken breast requires some finesse.

That’s all you need to know about cooking your chicken bites. You could stop here and plate your chicken with some blue cheese or ranch, but I’d recommend reading on about side ideas. Oh, and if you need a healthy dip alternatives, check out the Greek yogurt ranch in my buttermilk baked chicken tenderloins or this healthy blue cheese dressing.

Sides for Your Buffalo Chicken Bites

halved baby gold potatoes in a cast iron skillet

You can never go wrong with potatoes. And since you already have the skillet ready to go from your buffalo chicken bites, you might as well throw some taters down. You’ll want to use halved or quartered baby gold potatoes so they’re small enough to cook quickly. If you find your potatoes are browning too much before they’ve cooked through, reduce the heat and cover the skillet.

There will be some seasoning left behind so you probably won’t need more than a little salt and pepper at the end. If you want some more flavor options, check out the ranch potatoes from my spicy baked chicken thighs and potatoes or my cajun fries. You could also prep those recipes in the oven or air fryer while you cook your chicken.

buffalo chicken bites and crispy gold potatoes in a cast iron skillet

If you need a lower carb side option, you could always sauté other veggies in the skillet instead of potatoes. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, and carrots all come to mind as potential sides.

Check out my buffalo chicken and cauliflower bowls for a way to pair this chicken with fresh veggies and Greek yogurt ranch.

And if you dig the idea of prepping sides in an air fryer while you cook your buffalo chicken bites, check out my air fryer carrot fries, air fryer brussels sprouts (5 flavor options), or garlic parmesan red potatoes.

I think that’s all I have for you. Have a recipe or ingredient question I forgot to cover? Drop a comment at the bottom of the post. Otherwise, enjoy your healthy buffalo chicken bites! 

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Bites

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Bites

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Tender and juicy pan fried chicken breast pieces in a homemade buffalo seasoning.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp (24g) Olive Oil, divided

For the Buffalo Seasoning*

  • 1/2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tsp Dry Mustard
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and fully coat in 1 Tbsp (16g) of olive oil.
  2. Mix the spices together and add to the chicken. Stir to evenly coat the chicken.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with the remaining 1/2 Tbsp (8g) of olive oil. Once hot, add the chicken and evenly spread it around the skillet. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate to rest a few minutes before serving.
  4. Optional: Pan fry quartered baby potatoes or other veggies in the skillet with an extra 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil before adding the chicken bites back to the skillet and tossing together.

Notes

*You can swap the buffalo seasoning for any of the 7 seasoning blends in my air fryer chicken nuggets recipe. You'll want to 1.5x the seasoning blends to account for the 1 1/2 pound of chicken breast used in this recipe.

Each serving of chicken bites has 1 WW SmartPoint (blue).

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Servings Serving Size: about 3 oz
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 150Total Fat: 5gCarbohydrates: 0gProtein: 26g

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Lexie Pello

Monday 12th of April 2021

This is one of my absolute favorite ways to get some quick, yummy, and EASY protein.

Dena M

Monday 12th of April 2021

I made this recipe to use in a Buffalo chicken wrap. I use a Mission carb balance tortilla, THIS chicken, blue cheese crumbles, homemade ranch (made with greek yogurt), shredded lettuce and cabbage, thinly sliced celery and julienned carrots! It came out to 5sp for 🔵! I also made your ranch potato wedges with it! Both are delicious. Thank you for posting these incredible recipes!

Amber Guinther

Monday 12th of April 2021

This is one of my favorite things to make for lunch meal prep. Goes great with masons ranch potatoes (from the spicy chicken thigh recipe). Both reheat great in the air fryer as well!

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