These easy honey chicken bites are perfect for a simple dinner or appetizer! You can enjoy them over salads, with veggies, or skewered on toothpicks for easy finger food.
These honey chicken bites are the perfect trifecta of deliciousness: sweet honey, tender chicken, and a bright burst of fresh orange. They’re so easy to make, even the kids can help! Make them for a party or a quick weeknight dinner.
Serve these chicken bites next to cilantro lime rice, alongside roasted broccoli, tucked into warm corn tortillas, or on top of one of our favorite salad recipes.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: I usually make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but it works just as well with chicken thighs. Whichever you use, cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces to make them bite-size.
- Butter: I love the flavor of butter in this recipe, but olive oil works just fine if that is all that you have. If you plan to marinate your chicken longer than my suggested 15 minutes, you may find that the butter hardens again. Don’t worry about this, as it will melt again and help the chicken brown as it bakes in the oven.
- Honey: Honey baked chicken is super delicious (especially with the butter), but maple syrup is an excellent substitute!
- Orange: I love fresh orange zest in this recipe and use my fine grater (often called a Microplane) to grate it. Lime or lemon are also great options.
- Hot Sauce (optional): When making this for my son, I leave the hot sauce out, but if it’s just for me or Adam, I go all in with four or five dashes of hot sauce.
Honey Chicken Bites
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These little chicken bites make the perfect easy dinner or simple chicken appetizer! I love them on top of a salad or with a side of veggies. To serve as an appetizer, skewer each chicken bite with a toothpick to turn them into finger food!
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast or thighs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Hot sauce, optional
Directions
1Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks.
2Combine the melted butter, honey, orange peel, salt, pepper, and 2 or more dashes of hot sauce (optional) in a medium bowl.
3Add the chicken and toss well. Set aside for 15 minutes to marinate.
4Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
5Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet. Drizzle any marinade left in the bowl over the chicken. Bake until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F, 15 to 20 minutes.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Butter: I love the flavor of butter in this dish. If you plan to marinate your chicken in the fridge, the butter will harden again. This is fine and it will melt as you bake the chicken in the oven later. If you’d prefer a substitute, use olive oil.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
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Wow, just made this for my partner and son and it tasted delicious. We had it with BBQ rice and sweetcorn. So good, thankyou for the recipe.
Turned out great, I used it for a chicken salad.
I made this tonight for dinner & it was so good. Mine didn’t look as pretty as your picture but it tasted great, so I’m not complaining. I put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to thicken up the sauce. I will definitely be making often. Thanks for such an easy, healthy & delicious recipe.
I dusted the chicken with a bit of flour after marinating it. That worked very well! If you can’t use regular flour, corn starch will work!
I used this recipe but it seemed as if all the sauce had melted off of the chicken and onto the foil just leaving a plain baked chicken taste with a little bit of orange flavor with it. What did I do wrong? Should I let it marinate for a few hours before putting it in the oven?
Hi Cody, Marinating longer is always a good idea. Another idea is to spoon a little of the marinade over the chicken (raw) once it is on the baking sheet. Hope that helps!
Maybe your honey isn’t real honey
Thank you for wonderful recipes
I found the chicken pieces on the bland side. Was expecting a Wow! , instead I got a wimp. Little flavor compared to a sweet Asian chicken dish.
The sauce was terrific, just didn’t go into or remain on the chicken.
If I make it again I will make a double batch of sauce and at last optional step broil the chicken in a clean pan coated with the second batch of sauce. (The original pan contained considerable chicken juice which probably contributed to the lessened flavor.)
Hi,
About 20 or 30 years ago I had a Weight Watchers cook book that had a recipe for Honey Chicken.
I had a son that was a very fussy eater and even he just loved this recipe.
It quickly became a family favorite.
Over the years I seem to have lost the book and can’t remember that name of it.
I was wondering if anyone out there could give me the recipe or even the name of the Weight Watchers cook book that it is in.
It may even have been called Lemon Pepper Chicken.
I remember that some of the ingredients were Honey, Lemon Pepper, Lemon Juice.???
Thank you for your time.
Lynette
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! I have a question. I’m not from America, and one direction from the recipe caught my attention: I’m just wondering, how do you people measure internal temperature of chicken? I never even knew it was possible! Thanks!
We use a thermometer. Here’s a link to one
Hi Joanne,
I just discovered your site last week when I was looking for a good gin and tonic recipe as Someone had given us a bottle of Bombay gin. Your recipe was excellent by the way. I also made these for a party and they were great. I bumped up the flavor a bit by marinating the chicken cubes in the juice from the orange for an hour. Great, friendly, and useful site, though my wife rolled her eyes and said, “not MORE recipes!” (I have to get them organized, but she can’t complain too much as I do all the cooking.)
Ed
recipes!”
Thanks so much! So glad you found us 🙂
Yummy! And tastes fantastic over a salad with peanuts sprinkled on top.
Are you kidding me? I’ll take 2323534.
I’m such a kid. I love things on sticks. I tell myself it’s because my fingers stay unsticky but I think I just love things on sticks.
I’d stick this chicken too. It looks delicious! Love the photos too.