These Buffalo Chicken Bites are all chicken – no bones or skin – with a light, crispy coating and THE BEST homemade Buffalo sauce ever (with a secret ingredient)! They make a great appetizer or game day snack, and they’re the perfect match for pizza!
If you love Buffalo wings but are like me and hate wrangling with the skin and bones, then these Buffalo bites (or boneless Buffalo wings, as some people might call them) are for you.
They taste just as good as wings, you get more bang for your buck, and you can eat them with a fork and keep your fingers clean!
I was introduced to Buffalo wings as a kid, and I have been loving Buffalo anything ever since!
Friday night was pizza night at our house, and we always got a bucket of wings to go along with it. If it was someone’s birthday, we always celebrated with pizza, wings, and birthday cake.
The wings were so delicious – I loved the spicy sauce – but I have to admit that I didn’t really enjoy all the work it took to get to the meat.
I’m not a picky eater, but I am also not one of those people that can stick a whole chicken wing in their mouth and pull out a clean bone. There are just some bits and pieces of stuff in those wings that I don’t like to eat.
That is why I love these Buffalo bites so much. They are everything I want and nothing I don’t want…and they’re quick and easy to make (Bonus: they’re shallow-fried rather than deep-fried, so you don’t have to deal with that whole mess)!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SAUCE!
Classic Buffalo sauce is usually just a combination of butter and hot pepper sauce, maybe with some extra spices or vinegar added to it. Definitely delicious, but sometimes it doesn’t really coat the wings very well, and it often separates.
Me? I like a more substantial sauce.
The secret ingredient to THE BEST Buffalo sauce ever? Tomato sauce! It adds just the right amount of thickness to the sauce and somehow keeps it from separating.
The sauce coats the chicken beautifully, and the flavor is out-of-this-world delicious!
I love this sauce so much, I want to put it on everything. In addition to using it for these Buffalo chicken bites or wings, I use it to make Buffalo chicken pizza, wraps, and buffalo chicken stuffed spaghetti squash. I have also been known to put it on mac and cheese and scrambled eggs. YUM!
Wait til you try it! You’re going to love it!
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED:
- Butter
- Tomato sauce
- Hot pepper sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Flour (all-purpose)
- Cornstarch
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil (use olive oil meant for frying) or vegetable oil
HERE’S A QUICK LOOK AT HOW TO MAKE BUFFALO CHICKEN BITES:
TIPS & TIDBITS:
- I love using chicken thighs for these bites because the dark meat is more like a chicken wing. Plus, thighs are a little more forgiving. Even if you overcook them a bit, they still stay kind of moist whereas breasts can get dry and stringy. But you can absolutely use breasts or tenders if you prefer.
- For best results when frying, allow the chicken to get nicely browned and crispy on one side and then turn them over and cook until they are browned and crisp on the other side. Avoid stirring them.
- The amount of hot pepper sauce that I use in the recipe gives you a pretty standard mild sauce that has just enough heat to make it spicy, but not so much heat that your mouth feels like it is on fire. Add more or less hot pepper sauce to adjust the sauce to the heat level you like.
- The sauce can also be used on regular wings. Just fry or bake the wings until cooked through and crisp, then toss with the sauce.
- Depending on how saucy you like your bites, you may or may not use all of the sauce. I usually hold some back when when I toss the bites so they stay crispier longer, and I put some in a small bowl for dipping.
- If you have sauce leftover, store it in the refrigerator and use it within a week, or you can freeze it for 2 to 3 months.
- These Buffalo bites are best served immediately for maximum crispness. You can reheat them, but they will be softer (but still really delicious!).
My favorite way to enjoy these Buffalo bites is still with some pizza – especially my homemade Pan Pizza. They are a match made in food heaven! Oh, and always some celery and/or carrots and blue cheese, ranch dressing, or my Easy Veggie Dip on the side, too!
I hope you try this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Bites and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
Buffalo Chicken Bites
Ingredients
BUFFALO SAUCE
- ½ cup butter
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ⅓ cup hot pepper sauce, I use Frank's Red Hot, add more or less to taste
CHICKEN BITES
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup olive oil (use olive oil meant for frying) or vegetable oil
Instructions
MAKE THE BUFFALO SAUCE
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
- Add the tomato sauce and the hot pepper sauce and stir to combine; heat through, stirring occasionally.
MAKE THE CHICKEN BITES
- Cut the chicken into large bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch pieces).
- Combine the flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour and cornstarch mixture until lightly coated; shake off any excess.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and fry until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F) and is lightly crispy and golden brown on the outside. For best results, let the chicken cook on one side first until nicely browned and crisp, and then turn them over and cook on the other side until browned and crisp. Avoid stirring them. Also, keep an eye on the heat and lower it if necessary. You don't want your chicken to get too dark before it is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add as much of the Buffalo sauce as you would like; toss until the chicken is evenly coated. Serve immediately.
Notes
- These Buffalo bites are best served immediately for maximum crispness. You can reheat them, but they will be softer (but still really delicious!).
- Serving suggestion: Serve with celery sticks and/or carrot sticks and blue cheese or ranch dressing.
- You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders instead of thighs.
- Extra sauce can be used for dipping.
- Store any leftover sauce in the refrigerator and use within one week (or you can freeze it for 2 to 3 months).
- The sauce can also be used on regular wings. Just fry or bake the wings until cooked through and crisp, then toss with the sauce.
- Estimated calories assume that all of the sauce is used, but you may choose not to use it all. Estimated calories per tablespoon of sauce is 31.
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