Barbecue Rubbed Chicken Bites
These Barbecue Rubbed Chicken Bites are the perfect blend of savory, sweet and smoky flavor, perfect for meal prep or a quick and easy weeknight dinner! I cook chicken bites in different flavor combinations pretty much every week to eat on their own or use in salads. I have Blackened, Greek, Nashville Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Everything seasoned varieties on my blog already, but occasionally I’ll make them using a store-bought seasoning mix. I’ve tried a few different pre-made BBQ seasonings, but since I tried making my own I always use this one! When my husband tried them he said “oh wow, your barbeque seasoning is really good!” I hope you’ll say the same! Not only are these Barbecue Rubbed Chicken Bites quick and easy to make, a satisfying (3.25 ounce) serving is just 178 calories, 3 grams of carbs, or 1 WW Point. To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Barbecue Seasoning Mix
Don’t be intimidated to make your own seasoning blend! It’s easy and only takes a few minutes. If you cook fairly often, you most likely have most of these seasonings on hand already. The only ones you may need to buy are:
- dry mustard – a fine powder, like Colman’s in the yellow can, also great to add flavor to homemade mac and cheese
- celery salt – I use this to make homemade chex mix at the holidays, so I always have it!
I’m guessing most well-stocked kitchens will have the other spices you need: salt, black pepper, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and allspice. All you’ll have to do to make this seasoning mix is measure out the spices and stir them together! If you think you’ll be making these Barbecue Rubbed Chicken Bites often, you could even make a larger batch of the seasoning mix to keep in the cupboard and then measure out 2 tablespoons + ½ teaspoon at a time to use this recipe.
How to Serve
These Barbecue Rubbed Chicken Bites are great on their own and pair well with all types of side dishes. My family’s personal favorite is to serve them with roasted vegetables and seasoned rice (my daughter loves rice-a-roni). You could also add a dipping sauce if you like! I make chicken bites pretty much every week to use for lunch on salads. I have a salad for lunch often, and it’s great to have chicken bites meal prepped and ready to throw on top! You could also use toss these chicken bites on top of a flatbread pizza, in a wrap or pita, or in a rice or grain bowl with veggies. This dish is so versatile!
Cutting up the chicken
I often buy a big pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts at the store and then use kitchen shears to trim them down to make 5-6 oz cutlets to use in recipes. Everything I cut off to make the cutlets gets cut into chunks to make chicken bites! It’s easy to weigh out 1 lb or 1.5 lb of chicken chunks and freeze them for later in a quart size freezer bag. That way, I always have some on hand! Buying the bulk packs of chicken breasts is cost-effective, and cutting them into cutlets and bites ensured I have what I need on hand when I go to make a recipe. I find that kitchen shears make this task go quicker and easier than using a knife, so I highly recommend using shears like these (affiliate link).
Looking for more tasty, lightened up, chicken recipes? Check out my Blackened Chicken Bites, Nashville Hot Chicken Bites, Lemon Pepper Chicken Bites, Greek Chicken Bites, Creamy Tuscan Chicken, Mexican Street Corn Chicken, Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken, Slow Cooker Chicken and Stuffing, Strawberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken, Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Bake, Lemon Garlic Chicken and Beans Skillet, Cream Cheese and Herb Stuffed Chicken, Tuscan Olive Chicken, Crispy Cheddar Chicken with Cream Sauce, Baked Chicken Tenders, Pimento Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Cream Cheese Stuffed Everything Chicken, and so many more in the Chicken category of my recipe index!
Barbecue Rubbed Chicken Bites
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small bite-sized pieces
Instructions
- In a small dish, stir together all the seasonings: paprika, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, dry mustard, celery salt, black pepper, and allspice.
- Place the cut up chicken pieces into a gallon zip-seal plastic bag or a mixing bowl. Add the spice mix to the chicken pieces. Seal the bag and shake/massage the contents OR stir the contents of the bowl until the chicken pieces are coated with the spices.
- Add the oil to a large sauté pan/walled skillet and bring over med-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces (you don’t want to overcrowd the pan, so depending on the size of your skillet you may want to work in two batches instead of one) and stir to break them up and coat them in the oil. Cook the chicken for 5-8 minutes, stirring every couple minutes (you don’t want to stir super frequently because the chicken needs time to brown on each side). Once the chicken is cooked through and browned on the outside, remove from heat and serve.
Notes
4 per (3.25 ounce) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)
Emily, made this today, and it is a winner! Easy to put together, tasty, and chicken was tender. We had ours with alfredo noodles, but I can see these on top of a plate salad, in a tortilla….so many uses. Thanks!
It looks wonderful. Have you tried it in your air fryer? Temperature? Time? Thanks.
Hi Lisa,
Planning to work on air fryer directions for my chicken bites since people keep asking for them. I have to do some testing, but I will post when I have it!
Your chicken bites are a staple in my house as my picky kids love them! This new version was a big winner too. Thanks for the quick, easy and tasty recipes that help feed my family a healthy meal.
Can these be baked?
Can I make a big batch of the seasoning ahead of time? I only ask because of the brown sugar.
Love all the spices in your recipe! I didn’t have dry mustard or celery salt. I made the chicken with chopped onions, brown rice and baby bok choy – all together in a wok pan and the olive oil. I added a little more olive oil than what the recipe said. It was good. I will make the recipe again by itself. I eat a clean diet for my health.