How to make easy honey baked chicken bites that are perfect for parties and the kids. Jump to the Honey Baked Chicken Bites Recipe or read on to see our tips for making them.
These little honey baked chicken bites combine three of our favorite things – honey, chicken and fresh orange. The trio goes so well together. Not only that, but I bet you have at least two of those things in your kitchen right now.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: This recipe for how to make Sweet Chili Baked Chicken Wings. The sauce is made from sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and chili sauce. Delicious!
How to Make Sweet Honey Chicken Bites in Under 35 Minutes
This is so easy and perfect for kids, parties or a quick dinner. Maybe you could serve these with some Cheddar Roasted Broccoli or with our light, but so tasty Lemon and Herb Couscous Salad. Both would be excellent, but you could always just munch on the chicken by itself.
You can start with chicken breast or chicken thighs for these easy bites. In our photos below, we have used chicken breast, but the thighs would be excellent. In fact, chicken thighs will makes these more tender and juicy.
The marinade is simple: butter, honey, orange, hot sauce, and some salt and pepper.
We throw a ton of orange zest into the marinade. Lime zest would also be really tasty.
If you are serving to kids, you might want to skip the hot sauce. Adam likes things to have a bit of heat, so we like to add a few dashes.
Toss the chicken in the marinade and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then bake until golden brown. Easy!
Recipe updated, originally posted July 2012. Since posting this in 2012, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Sweet Honey Baked Chicken Bites Recipe
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Serve this alone as an appetizer or alongside mashed potatoes or veggies for dinner. If serving as an appetizer, try skewering each chicken piece with a toothpick just before serving to turn them into finger food!
You Will Need
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast or thighs
2 tablespoons butter, melted or extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pure honey
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 to 6 dashes hot sauce, optional
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks.
2Combine the melted butter, honey, orange peel, hot sauce, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Then add the chicken pieces and toss. Set aside for about 10 minutes to marinate.
3Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
4Arrange 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 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes.
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.