Air Fryer Asian Chicken Bites with an amazing sweet and savory marinade and dipping sauce! This quick and simple recipe for chicken bites turns out with amazingly flavorful tender chicken, perfect for serving as an appetizer or a main entrée. It also happens to be one of my personal favorite air fryer recipes.
Looking for a wildly delicious crowd-pleasing appetizer recipe or a quick and simple yet amazing main entrée?
These Air Fryer Asian Chicken Bites are here to make the crowd go wild!
Perfectly tender on the inside, crispy on the outside and coated with the most amazing marinade slash glaze, these air fryer chicken bites are truly a modern marvel.
Similar to my Air Fryer Steak Bites, my original intention for this easy chicken bite recipe was for it to serve as a quick and delicious appetizer.
However, after falling in love with this air fryer chicken bites recipe, I can definitely see it as a main entrée as well.
Simply serve it up with your choice of side dishes to turn it into a complete healthy meal!
The way I see it, these sweet and savory chicken bites are ideal for game day, any special occasion, holiday gathering, or event that necessitates food.
They are allergy-friendly (for most individuals), and high in protein, making them the ideal healthy finger food for just about anyone.
Let’s get right into the simple ingredients list for these delicious chicken bites:
Ingredients for Air Fryer Chicken Bites:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: Use boneless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs to make chicken bites.
You can scale this recipe up or down depending on how many people you’re feeding. If you double the chicken, just be sure to double the marinade and sauce ingredients as well.
Avocado Oil and Sesame Oil: Both avocado oil and toasted sesame oil are used in the marinade to ensure the chicken stays nice and moist during the air frying process and also has plenty of flavor.
Olive oil works as a replacement for avocado oil but avoid swapping out the sesame oil because it contributes greatly to the Asian-inspired flavors.
Fish Sauce: While the concept of fish sauce may sound strange to those who aren’t accustomed to using it, it adds a great deal of richness and umami flavor to these chicken bites. Don’t skip it unless you absolutely have to!
Fresh Garlic Cloves: Plenty of fresh garlic brings an abundance of flavor to this healthy appetizer. Replace it with 2 teaspoons of garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic on hand.
Pure Maple Syrup: For the sweet portion of these sweet and sour chicken bites, we use a touch of pure maple syrup. You can also use brown sugar, coconut sugar, or cane sugar.
Rice Vinegar: Bringing lovely tang and rounding out the flavor profile, rice wine vinegar adds a great deal to the marinade and sauce. Apple cider vinegar works too!
Coconut Aminos (or Soy Sauce or Liquid Aminos): Coconut aminos bring sweet umami flavor to this chicken appetizer. You can use soy sauce or liquid aminos if you prefer them over coconut aminos.
Sriracha (optional): The tiniest kick brings the flavor full circle in these chicken bites. You can omit it if you prefer your food very mild but I promise the recipe as written is not spicy. For even more heat, add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Between the fish sauce and the coconut aminos (or liquid aminos), there is a decent amount of sodium in this recipe. I don’t recommend adding salt until after the chicken bites are cooked and even then you probably won’t need to add any. Add black pepper or lemon pepper to taste.
Now that we’re familiar with the simple ingredients, let’s make chicken bites in the air fryer!
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Bites:
Stir together the ingredients for the marinade (everything but the chicken) in a small bowl. There should be around 1 cup of marinade. Use about ⅔ cup of it to marinate the chicken and reserve ⅓ cup to use as dipping sauce for serving the chicken bites.
Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and transfer it to a zip lock bag or sealable container. Pour in ⅔ cup of the marinade. Seal the bag tightly and move everything around until the pieces of chicken are well coated in marinade.
Marinate for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator, ideally several hours (up to 24 hours).
When you’re ready to make the chicken bites, preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees F for 3 to 5 minutes, until the hot air is flowing easily.
Transfer half of the chicken (or all of it if your air fryer is big enough), to the air fryer basket, creating a single layer. Air fry at 375 for 8 to 12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. I own a smaller air fryer so for me this takes two batches.
The exact cooking time you choose is based on how crispy you like your chicken bites. I have found 10 minutes to be the perfect time, where the chicken is still tender and moist but has a nice little crisp on the outside.
Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You can use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken if you’d like.
Serve these Asian chicken bites with the reserved dipping sauce and enjoy! You can also serve them with your favorite dipping sauce such as bbq sauce, ranch dressing, hot sauce, marinara sauce, etc. Feel free to serve the crispy chicken bites with lemon juice or lemon wedges as well.
Store any leftover homemade chicken nuggets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
If you don’t own an air fryer, you can also make these easy chicken bites on the stove top, similar to my Lemon Garlic Chicken Bites recipe.
And that’s it! An easy, pleasing perfect appetizer recipe that the whole family and all your friends will love!
Make these delicious chicken chunks for a quick lunch or quick dinner with side dishes for a healthier alternative to fried chicken or takeout.
If you’re looking for more small bites, here are some of my personal favorite appetizers from the archive.
More Appetizer Recipes:
- Cream Cheese Stuffed Baby Bell Peppers
- Hummus Flatbread with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pesto
- Sweet Potato Rounds with Herbed Ricotta and Walnuts
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Gluten-Free Crispy Cheesy Flatbread
- Animal Style Fries
Enjoy these delicious Asian Air Fryer Chicken Bites for your next gathering or to feed the family any night of the week!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup*
- 5 Tbsp coconut aminos**
- 1 Tbsp sriracha, optional
- 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Stir together the ingredients for the marinade (everything but the chicken) in a small bowl. There should be around 1 cup of marinade. You'll use part of this mixture to marinate the chicken and part of it as dipping sauce for when the chicken bites are cooked
- Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and transfer it to a zip lock bag or sealable container. Pour in ⅔ cup of the marinade. Seal the bag tightly and move everything around until the pieces of chicken are well coated in marinade. Marinate for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator, ideally several hours (up to 24 hours).
- When you’re ready to make the chicken bites, preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees F for 3 to 5 minutes, until the hot air is flowing easily. Transfer half of the chicken (or all of it if your air fryer is big enough), to the air fryer basket, creating a single layer. Air fry at 375 for 8 to 12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. I own a smaller air fryer so for me this takes two batches.
- The exact cooking time you choose is based on how crispy you like your chicken bites. I have found 10 minutes to be the perfect time, where the chicken is still tender and moist but has a nice little crisp on the outside. Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You can use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken if you'd like.
- Serve these Asian chicken bites with the reserved dipping sauce and enjoy!
- You can also serve them with your favorite dipping sauce such as bbq sauce, ranch dressing, hot sauce, marinara sauce, etc. Feel free to serve the crispy chicken bites with lemon juice or lemon wedges as well.
Notes
Nutrition
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