Garlic Butter Chicken Bites
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These rich, savory Garlic Butter Chicken Bites are perfect for an easy appetizer or a main course. With juicy, tender chicken breast and a delicious garlic butter sauce, everyone will be asking for seconds!
If you love garlic, you’ll LOVE these buttery, savory chicken bites. I started making them on busy weeknights when I wanted something quick but still full of flavor, and now they’re one of my family’s most-requested meals. They’re juicy, delicious, and come together quickly in the skillet with just a handful of ingredients.
We love serving them as a casual appetizer when friends come over, but they’re also great as a simple main dish with rice or roasted veggies. However you serve them, they never last long!
If you have toddlers, bite-sized finger foods like this are a bonus. My little ones love air fryer salmon bites too!
Instant download of our tips to cook the best chicken!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- The sauce is unbeatable. Each chicken bite has this delicious, crave-worthy sauce I can’t get enough of. With rich melted butter and savory garlic, the sauce makes these chicken bites just melt in your mouth!
- This recipe uses just one pan. No need to spend all night washing dishes with the use of a single skillet.
- They’re so versatile. I’ve used these chicken bites as an appetizer for a dinner party, a mid-day snack, or a winning main dish.
Tips for Success
This easy chicken recipe is simple to make, but a few tricks can take it from good to great. To make sure it turns out perfectly, here are a few of my best tips:
- Cut the chicken into evenly sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches to get a nice golden sear.
- Add the garlic after lowering the heat to keep it from burning.
Ingredients
Substitutions and Variations
Chicken: You’ll need 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. If you prefer dark meat, use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead. Just be sure to cook them thoroughly, as they may take a minute or two longer.
Italian seasoning: Add a sprinkle of Italian seasoning to the garlic butter sauce for an herbaceous twist.
Want some spicy heat? A pinch of red pepper flakes adds just the right amount of spice without overpowering the garlic butter flavor.
Craving the garlic butter flavor on some beef? Check out this garlic butter New York strip steak recipe!
How to Make Garlic Butter Chicken Bites
This is a summary of the steps. For the full instructions, see the recipe card! ⬇️
Jump to Recipe
- Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. It’s okay if they aren’t perfect cubes — the goal is to make the pieces as even in size as possible.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, cook the chicken pieces until golden brown and cooked through. Then, take them out of the skillet and set them aside on a plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the butter to the pan and let it melt.
- Add minced garlic to the melted butter and sauté for about 30 seconds. Garlic can burn quickly, so just stir it until it’s fragrant.
- Next, stir in the fresh parsley.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and toss them in the garlic butter sauce.
- Let the garlic butter chicken cook for a couple of minutes so the flavors can blend.
Garlic Butter Chicken Recipe FAQs
Let the pieces of chicken cool completely, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To keep the pieces of chicken juicy, reheat them in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of water or extra butter until warmed through. You can also microwave them for 30–60 seconds.
Yes! Cook the seasoned pieces of chicken in the air fryer at 400°F for 8–10 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. Once cooked, toss them in the garlic butter sauce on the stovetop.
Serving Ideas
I like to serve the chicken bites as an appetizer, but they’re perfect for a kid-friendly dinner, too. Here are some sides that taste great with them.
Air fryer roasted green beans come together quickly for an easy vegetable side.
We make this tasty air fryer asparagus a few times a month.
This microwave broccoli is a staple at our house. You can make it with fresh or frozen broccoli!
After you make it, please leave a comment and star rating below to let me know how it went!
Garlic Butter Chicken Bites
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup butter
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, cook chicken pieces until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, add ¼ cup butter to the pan and melt.
- Add minced garlic to melted butter and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add parsley and stir together to soften parsley. Return chicken to the pan and toss to coat chicken pieces evenly with the garlic butter sauce.
- Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to blend flavors. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
2025 Update: This recipe is still a favorite of ours! It’s been updated to simplify the cooking instructions and include extra cooking tips. We hope you love it as much as we do!
Other Chicken Recipes
Tangy ranch chicken is one of our favorite chicken dinners, as is apricot chicken.
Grilled chicken drumsticks are amazing in the summertime! Orange chicken is a sweet and savory weeknight meal.
And don’t forget to try this savory baked pesto chicken.
And if you ever have ground chicken in the fridge, these chicken patties with a lemon yogurt dip are just as quick and just as satisfying.
I make these chicken bites on regular rotation! This is such a quick, flavorful and affordable meal we all love. This goes with so many sides, and is great in wraps for lunches!
Love hearing that! 🙌 Such a great go-to meal – Jennifer, Cook at Home Mom Team
Garlic and butter… two of my all time faves! And when you add it to chicken it’s *chefs kiss!*
Right?! That combo never fails 😍 – Jennifer, Cook at Home Mom Team
So this recipe is very simple first off so yes to that! But also it just tastes good! My family is all about garlic and butter so this recipe was a no brainer to at least try. I did not use fresh parsley as it’s not an herb I typically have fresh but dried worked fine though it is on my to do list to try this with fresh! I served with mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli that I drizzled a little of the pan sauce from the chicken over and yum! This one is great for busy weeknights and to make it quicker I recommend chicken breast tenders if you need to save time as they are usually a little more even in thickness so a bit quicker to cut up into pieces.
Love that garlic butter combo! Perfect for busy nights 😍 – Jennifer, Cook at Home Mom Team
So flavorful and tender! Great recipe.