Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Bites

Crispy on the outside yet soft and flavorful on the inside, these air fryer buffalo chicken bites are the perfect game day snack or appetizer. They’re quick, tasty, and so easy to make!

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These crispy yet succulent chicken balls are a satisfying appetizer to serve at your next gathering. The flavors of the simple ingredients mixed together makes for such a delicious taste treat and the instructions couldn’t be any easier.

The history of this recipe

Every once in a while, we go to a famous New Hampshire restaurant with my sister. Not only does The Tuckaway have unbelievable food, especially their famous steak, but their appetizers are out of this world, and the cocktails are fabulous.

I’ve recreated some of their dishes/drinks, like their sweet potato biscuits and this buffalo chicken balls recipe. In my version, I air fry them where they cook them in a deep fryer. I’ve also changed the name, as they call them “Rooster Balls.”

And if I do say so myself, I’ve nailed it.

I also have plans to blog about my favorite cocktail on their menu – mai old fashioned ways.

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Helpful tips

• Although I use cooked chicken breasts for this recipe, you can also use thigh meat if you prefer.
• I use a small amount of hot buffalo sauce because I don’t want to overpower the taste of the rest of the ingredients, so this recipe is only mildly spicy. Dip them in your favorite hot sauce if you want them to be spicier.
• I recommend using a food processor to chop the chicken into little pieces but you can chop it yourself. Just know it will take longer.
• Usually you need some type of oil to help things crisp up in air fryers, but I don’t add any because the panko bread crumbs make these bites crispy. If you do need oil, use either olive oil spray or vegetable cooking spray and use it sparingly.
• Although I use an air fryer that has trays, you can also cook these chicken bites in an air fryer that has a basket. But you may have to cook them in batches.
• I like different types of sauces to dip these bites in – buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing, and ranch dressing are my favorite sauces.
• You can dribble some buffalo sauce over the chicken bites if you know you’re going to eat them in one sitting, otherwise they will get soggy. I don’t usually drizzle on sauce before serving, as I like everyone to choose how much sauce they want to eat.
• If just hubby and I are eating this delicious appetizer, we usually have chicken bites leftover. We store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• We enjoy placing leftover buffalo chicken bites in a medium flour tortilla. We flatten them with the back of a spoon, drizzle on buffalo sauce, wrap them up, and devour them. So good.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Chicken breast – cooked. I use rotisserie, but you can cook your own chicken.
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Cream cheese – 1/2 a block. I use full fat, but you can use lower fat if you prefer.
• Shredded cheese – cheddar cheese but you can use Mexican cheese if you prefer.
• Buffalo sauce – I use Frank’s sauce. It’s deliciously spicy.
• Flour – white, all purpose flour.
• Egg – large.
• Panko breadcrumbs – I love how chunky they are, but if you want to use plain Italian breadcrumbs, go for it.

How to make air fryer buffalo chicken bites

Pre-step

Get your food processor, air fryer, large bowl, baking sheet, three shallow bowls or plates, and rubber spatula.

Step one

Gather the ingredients – cooked chicken, salt, pepper, shredded cheese, cream cheese, buffalo sauce, flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs.

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Step two

In a food processor, add the chicken and pulse until the meat is in little chunks. Measure out 3 cups.

Step three

Add the chicken, salt, and pepper to the mixing bowl. (A)

Step four

Add cream cheese, shredded cheddar, and buffalo sauce to the chicken. (B)

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Step five

Take a rubber spatula and mix the ingredients together. (C)

Step six

For the coating, add flour in one of the bowls, egg in another – whisk until smooth, and panko crumbs in the last bowl.

Step seven

Take a little chicken mixture in your hands and roll it together into a ball. I like the chicken balls to be between 1 and 1 1/2 inch rounds.

Step eight

Add a few chicken bites in the bowl with the flour and roll them around until coated. (D) Continue until all the chicken mixture is done.

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Step nine

Next, dip each flour coated ball in the bowl with the egg and promptly roll it in the bowl of panko.

Step ten

Place each ball on the air fryer trays, make sure they don’t touch each other. Or if you have the basket type of fryer, add them to a jelly roll pan as you will preheat the basket in the air fryer.

So, once the basket air fryer has come to temperature, add the chicken balls to the basket leaving room between each one. Remember, you will probably have to do them in batches.

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Step eleven

Pre-heat the air fryer to 370 degrees F and set the timer to 10 minutes. If you have the tray air fryer, you won’t have to turn the chicken balls, but if you have the basket type, use tongs to turn each ball after 5 minutes.

When the chicken bites are almost done cooking, get whatever sauces you want to serve with them. You may even want to add some celery stalks to the mix.

Once the appetizer is done, transfer the chicken bites to a serving plate and serve immediately.

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Check out how crispy they look.

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I want to pop one in my mouth but I must wait.

Let’s plate some.

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Okay, now a bite.

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YUM.

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I hope you enjoyed this air fryer chicken bites recipe. It’s so yummy.

Other air fryer chicken recipes

• Wings
• Drumsticks
• Thighs

And as always, may all your dishes be delish.

If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!