Serve with your favorite dipping sauce like Marinara, BBQ Sauce, homemade chick-fil-a sauce, Ranch, or Fry sauce. Any occasion is appropriate for these fun popcorn chicken bites, whether your serving them at a Super bowl, or for a fun kid-friendly dinner. I love prefer my popcorn chicken baked in the oven or cooked in the air fryer, but you could fry them in oil too.
Ingredients Needed:
Chicken: We use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you can also try this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or chicken tenderloins.Eggs.Milk: Whole milk or half & half works best.Flour.Cornflakes cereal, crushed, or use dried breadcrumbs, or crushed potato chips.Spices: All common pantry spices.
HOW TO MAKE POPCORN CHICKEN:
Coat chicken. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, place in a bowl or ziplock bag and add flour. Stir or shake to coat then set aside. Prep bowls. Add eggs, milk, and spices to a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside. Fill another shallow bowl with crushed cornflakes. Dip & roll. Dip the flour-coated chicken pieces into the egg mixture, followed by the crushed cornflakes. Gently press the chicken into the cornflakes for that crispy coating!
To Bake. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Flip chicken and bake for another 7-8 minutes or until cooked through. To Fry: Heat a few inches of vegetable oil in a pot. Once hot, work in batches to lower the chicken into the oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, until cooked through. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.To Air Fry: Spray the bottom of the fry basket with nonstick cooking spray and place half of the chicken pieces into a single layer in the basket. Generously spray the top of each piece of chicken with cooking spray. Air Fry at 360 for 3 minutes. Open air fryer, flip chicken pieces to the other side, and spray tops again with cooking spray. Increase air fryer temperature to 400 degrees and cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until crisp and cooked through.
Serve warm with BBQ sauce, ranch, Chick-fil-A sauce, honey mustard, or another favorite dipping sauce.
SIDES FOR POPCORN CHICKEN:
Enjoy popcorn chicken on it’s own, or make it a meal served with rice and roasted veggies, or mashed potatoes and peas, or toss it into my delicious honey mustard chicken salad.
RECIPE VARIATIONS:
No cornflakes? Try potato chips in any flavor (kettle chips work great!), panko, or panko AND cornmeal for an extra crispy crunch! Dairy-free. Replace cow’s milk for soy, almond, or other non-dairy milk.Dark or white meat — your choice! Replace chicken breast for chicken thighs, or use full chicken tenderloins for “chicken-strip” style. Make it sweet. Sub honey for eggs. Use 1 tablespoon honey for every 1 pound of chicken. For optimal flavor, marinate the honey and spices for about 20 to 30 minutes in a resealable bag.Use full-flavored buttermilk in place of regular milk.
MAKE AHEAD AND FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:
To Make Ahead: All you need to do is coat the chicken pieces in the flour, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. To Reheat: If you’re using an air fryer, spread the chicken into a single layer, spread apart in the basket. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until warmed and crisp. Or, set the oven to 325 degrees F and bake for about 10 minutes on a lightly greased baking rack or baking sheet. We don’t recommend using the microwave since the chicken will lose its crispy exterior, but if you’re in a hurry and don’t mind sacrificing the crunch, just transfer the chicken to a microwave-safe plate and cook until warmed. To Freeze: Allow chicken to cool to room temperature, then space the chicken out on a baking sheet that will fit into the freezer. Keep chicken in freezer for about 1 hour or until mostly frozen, then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, place frozen popcorn chicken on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until heated through. FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes! RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience. I originally shared this recipe January 2017. Updated February 2021. This post contains affiliate links.
