Who doesn’t love the tangy, spicy goodness of buffalo wings? These boneless buffalo chicken bites deliver all the incredible flavor of traditional wings without the hassle of navigating around bones. Featuring tender chicken pieces coated in a perfectly seasoned, crispy batter and tossed in a classic butter-hot sauce mixture, these bite-sized morsels are perfect for game day gatherings, parties, or any time you’re craving that iconic buffalo wing experience.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The secret to exceptional boneless buffalo chicken bites lies in the double-dredging technique, which creates an incredibly crispy coating. The seasoned flour mixture provides layers of flavor, while the milk and egg wash help the coating adhere perfectly. The simple buffalo sauce made with just butter and hot sauce creates that classic tangy, spicy flavor that makes buffalo wings irresistible.
The Perfect Game Day Appetizer
These boneless bites eliminate the mess and inconvenience of traditional wings while maintaining all the beloved flavors. No more sticky fingers or picked-clean bones – just pure buffalo chicken enjoyment that’s perfect for sharing. The bite-sized pieces make them ideal for parties where guests want to eat while socializing.
Ingredients
For the Seasoned Coating:
- All-purpose flour – Creates the base for the crispy coating that holds all the seasonings
- Seasoned salt – Provides a blend of salt and spices that enhances the overall flavor profile
- Ground cumin – Adds warm, earthy depth that complements the buffalo sauce
- Cornstarch – Creates extra crispiness and helps the coating stay crunchy longer
- Black pepper – Contributes subtle heat and aromatic spice
- Paprika – Adds color and mild, sweet pepper flavor
- Chili powder – Provides additional warmth and complexity to the seasoning blend
- Salt – Enhances all other flavors and helps season the chicken throughout
For the Chicken and Wet Coating:
- Boneless skinless chicken tenders – Provides tender, easy-to-cut protein that cooks quickly and evenly
- Whole milk – Creates richness in the wet coating and helps bind the flour mixture
- Large egg – Acts as a binding agent to help the coating adhere to the chicken
- Water – Thins the wet mixture to the perfect consistency for even coating
For Cooking and Sauce:
- Canola or vegetable oil – Used for deep frying to achieve golden, crispy results
- Hot sauce – Frank’s RedHot recommended for authentic buffalo flavor
- Unsalted butter – Creates the classic creamy buffalo sauce when combined with hot sauce
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Bites
- Combine flour, seasoned salt, cumin, cornstarch, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and salt in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, water, and egg.
- Cut chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces.
- Prepare the hot sauce by melting the butter and the hot sauce together over low heat in a pot. Stir to combine as butter melts.
- Remove hot sauce from heat once the butter has melted and is thoroughly combined.
- Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, dip into milk and egg mixture, then dredge the chicken again in the seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour.
- Deep fry coated chicken bites in hot canola oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
- Place chicken bites in a large bowl. Pour hot sauce over chicken bites and toss to coat.
Serve boneless chicken bites with blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery sticks.
Watch the Boneless Buffalo Chicken Bites recipe video in the recipe card below.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Immediate Serving: Best served hot and fresh for optimal crispiness and flavor
- Refrigerator Storage: Store leftover chicken bites in airtight containers for up to 3 days, keeping sauce separate to prevent sogginess
- Reheating Method: Reheat in a 400°F oven for 8-10 minutes to restore crispiness. Avoid microwaving as it will make the coating soggy. Re-toss with fresh buffalo sauce if needed
Need more ideas for the big game? Try these recipes
- Ikea Swedish Meatballs
- Wingstop Wings – Garlic Parmesan
- Culver’s Cheese Curds
- Chick-fil-A Nugget Recipe
- Rotel Cheese Dip Recipe
- Homemade Poppers
- Pizza Sliders
- Habanero Hot Wings
Buffalo sauce is not just for wings. Check these out!
And there are plenty more recipes for easy homemade appetizers and the best game day food.
Boneless Buffalo Chicken Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenders chicken breast is ok to use
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup water
- canola oil for frying
Buffalo Sauce ingredients
- 1 cup hot sauce
- 2 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, seasoned salt, cumin, cornstarch, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk, water, and 1 egg, whisk together.
- Cut chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces.
- Prepare hot sauce by melting the butter and the hot sauce together over low heat in a pot. Stir to combine as butter melts. Remove from heat once the butter has melted and sauce is thoroughly combined.
- Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, dip into milk and egg mixture and then dredge the chicken again in the seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour.
- Deep fry coated chicken bites in hot canola oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
- Place chicken bites in a large bowl. Pour hot sauce over chicken bites and toss to coat.
- Serve boneless chicken bites with blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery sticks.
Thanks so much Stephanie the Outback Buffalo sauce is my daughter’s favorite, I can now cook it for her at home. I did not try it yet, I’ll let you know how it was.
I love this recipe, and I’m curious about a healthier edition. Would it be possible to fry in coconut oil, or bake, and what would a gluten free version substitute?
Thanks and terrific blog.
Stephanie,
what kind of (brand) of hot sauce you use? I follow your recipe as it is and it is always a big hit in parties. I would love to hear from you asap as I’m planning a dinner at home.
Thanks,
Devi
I use Frank’s Red Hot sauce.
Have you ever tried breading ahead of time and freezing? I was thinking of making a large batch and frying them frozen? Any thoughts?
I am sure that would work. You would want to make sure you individually froze them in small individual pieces, and when those pieces were frozen solid, then combine them in a bag.
Do you have an Asian coating recipe as I would love to make these for an Asian inspired party!!
Yes
Making this again this year for the BIG game! Who am I kidding… I have made this several times… this rocks!!!
Thanks Steph.
I am using Louisiana Wing Sauce this time again, I just wish I knew a way of how much butter to add to lessen the heat, it is trial and error I guess
Just put a drop of natural yoghurt or cream instead of so much butter that will kill the heat
Cool recipe…I just use regular bread crumbs and then fry them golden brown, then soak them in a pot of hot Frank’s hot sauce and butter combo…..then put them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven and bake the sauce on…..it’s really easy and taste awesome
THIS WORKED REALLY WELL!
I’ve been googling around trying to find a straightforward way to make them, glad I actually read this comment, thank you rob.
I use a little dash of apple cider vinegar to the butter and Frank’s Red Hot. It may sound weird, but I’ve seen it being used in other recipes for this and it’s actually really good.. people love it.. can you tell me why it was added to some recipes? Does it help with the composition of the buffalo sauce, or help it soak into the chicken or is it just added for taste?
Also, somebody mentioned before that they have an issue with the butter in the buffalo sauce separating and making it harder to coat the wings. I always have to heat it back up in the microwave and mix it all up again. I’m assuming there’s nothing to help this issue lol
I have added vinegar to some recipes for buffalo sauce I think it works well. I don’t think it gets much better than Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.
yum! If I dont have a deep fryer what can I use instead just a pan with oil?
oh or if i wanted to bake them do you think that would work?
any guesses to a temp and for how long? I was thinking 425 or 450
Stephanie,
Made these again last weekend… actually made this sauce, your lemon pepper, and garlic parm (with real garlic). ALL were great! I cut, and breaded the chicken and left them in the fridge a few hours earlier to save time when it was time to fry. Eventhough the bite came out great, they were real sticky and hard to get off the fingers when putting then in the fryer, when it came time to. Any suggestions or tips for preparing these ahead of time for superbowl? Also, any tips on keeping the sauces warm, as they tend to bind up when the get cool, due to the butter, and hard to coat when the second batch comes out.
Thanks,
You may want to dredge them again, it sounds like they were very wet. Since this is the boneless variety, you may want to pat your chicken dry first. If I was going to make these ahead of time, I would fry them ahead of time, and then heat them up just before serving and put the sauce on just before serving. I hope this helps.
Stephanie
A really great sauce for wings is ….1/2 cup Open Pit “Original” BBQ sauce, 1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce and 2 Tablespoons Butter. Combine in a sauce pan and heat over low heat. This by far has been a hit for years! Enjoy!
That’s a great tip. I live in Houston and we can’t get Open Pit here, I have a friend that buys it from Amazon.com to get it. I’ll have to tell him about this.
Made the boneless bites over the weekend…. Fantastic!!
Two questions….
Any suggestions on how to prepare/store ahead of time, for a party (super bowl)? I was able to fry 2lbs in 5 mins, with my masterbuilt fryer, of course hats off again to you from your turkey fryer video!!!
So much better and fresher, that the boneless wings at Hooters! Very comparable. In which I used Louisiana wing sauce and 2Tbsp of butter (was still spicy though).
Any suggestions on how to prepare/store french fries ahead of time also, for the same purpose. It is so much easier to prepare ahead of time, and then fry on demand.
Thanks!!
I tried this recipe last week the batter was awesome but the franks hot sauce was way to salty . Having said that I did use slightly salted butter and heated it in the microwave and didn’t simmer it , could that be the reason the sauce was too salty or is all hot sauce 80% salt ?
Thank you for your note, I would guess that the salt content in the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce may be too much for you. You could try switching to unsalted butter, it may help.
This is way to annoying to even get to the end!!!
Thanks for letting me know.
Can’t wait to try these.They look like the ones they sell at a place across town which are the best I’ve ever had!!
Well thank you very much. I really hope you enjoy these. These are pretty easy to make.
Would this be good with Sriracha sauce instead of Franks?
I am not sure, I have never cooked with Sriracha sauce. Love it though!
Yes, quite good with Sriracha warmed with a little honey – to me that is the deal keep you batter very simple and have several different flavors of sauce on hand from Franks to whatever 3 or 4 different ones you like – fry the chicken let it cool just a little toss it in a bowl with the sauce cover it and shake it.
This recipe is very good also and as cheap as boneless chicken breasts have become vs. wings it seems rather ignorant to buy real wings
I love your tip of allowing the chicken to cook before tossing with the sauce. I think this is a great idea as it won’t steam if you do it while it is hot. I hate to say I like the flavor of the wings. Someone once told me they were the only piece of chicken that had white and dark meat in it. Is that true? I am not sure.
Actually a lot of chains use a Frank’s Red Hot or a Crystal’s Hot Sauce as the base for their sauce. They just build on it to make it “their own”…
Brian, I think why they use a lot of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce is simply because it is so good.
What we do know that very few use Tobasco Sauce. Hot vinegar adds nothing to any recipe!
I love malted vinegar on fish though 😉
Yes malt vinegar is always in our home. Fried Swai or catfish with Arthur Treacher’s Fish ‘n Chips batter. Is Arthur Treacher’s still in business? Have not seen one in years but have been using that recipe of his for years.
This recipe was horrible. Sauce was bland. Coating would not crisp. Will not be making again.
Its to bad all of these recipes just use franks red hot. I know personally that chains are not buying franks for their wings. So it would be refreshing to see someone who actually can come up with a wing sauce that tastes like all the chains without franks.
Chase, there are a couple of chains using Franks Red Hot Sauce. You bring up a great point.
what’s wrong with Franks ?
My thoughts, exactly.
I put that s#it on everything lol
These would be great for the big game!