These Boneless Tandoori Chicken Bites make for a delicious treat, every single time! I love the texture & ease when I make these boneless tandoori chicken bites in the air fryer. You can choose your own cooking method (read post for alternative ideas & tips).
Pair it with this green chutney or a dip of your choice. Or use it to make tandoori chicken tacos, quesadillas, or even as pizza topping to make tandoori chicken pizza.
It’s no secret that I love tandoori-spiced-anything! The very first recipe on my blog was this Whole Tandoori Chicken. It was a long standing family favorite, so it made sense to start with it.
Since then, I have shared the recipe for my Tandoori Chicken Wings, which is our go-to flavoring whenever we want to make Indian spiced chicken wings.
And there’ll be a lot more tandoori recipes coming up on the blog in the next few months, so look out for them!
But I thought I’ll start with these tandoori chicken bites made from boneless chicken, as they are super easy & relatively quick to make. And always a big hit, no matter the occasion!
Jump to:
What is Tandoori Chicken?
Tandoori Chicken is a chicken dish, typically referring to some kind of bone-in chicken, that is flavored using a tandoori masala marinade, typically consisting of yogurt, ginger garlic paste, and assorted Indian spices, and then roasted in a tandoor (clay oven).
Of-course for this recipe I’m using boneless chicken, but honestly you can adapt the tandoori masala marinade to suit many different cuts of chicken. And of-course I don’t have access to a tandoor in my home, so I usually make tandoori chicken in the oven, or on the grill, or in this case, in my air fryer.
Ingredients for Boneless Tandoori Chicken Bites
Ingredient notes
- Chicken – For almost any boneless chicken recipe, I always prefer and recommend using chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, as it’s easier to overcook breasts making them dry and rubbery, while thighs stay more tender and juicier.
But you can use chicken breasts, if you prefer them. - Tandoori Masala Marinade – As you see, I use more spice powders than just tandoori masala powder to make the tandoori masala marinade.
This blend of spices is what I’ve found to work really well together, in case you are using all store-bought masalas, like I am doing in this case.
I am still working on developing a recipe for homemade tandoori masala powder that I like enough to use just that along with yogurt, salt & oil.
I’ll share it when it is ready, but until then you can use the blend of masalas shared in the recipe to make really good tandoori masala marinade, that you can adapt to suit several different tandoori recipes.
How to Make Boneless Tandoori Chicken Bites
Prep the Chicken
- Take 2 pounds of boneless chicken, and cut it into bite sized pieces, based on your preference. Set aside.
Like I said, I usually prefer to go with boneless chicken thighs. I get the boneless skinless thigh meat, and trim off any excess fat.
And I cut them into slightly bigger bite sized pieces if I am serving them as is, with a dip on the side. And I go with smaller pieces if I am using it to make chicken tacos, quesadillas or pizza toppings.
You can adapt this to your preference.
If you want to make more or less quantity than what I have shared, simply use the slider in the recipe card below to adjust the quantities based on your preference.
Make Tandoori Masala Marinade
- In a bowl, take ¼ cup yogurt, 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste, ½ tablespoon tandoori masala powder, ½ tablespoon garam masala powder, ½ tablespoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder, 1½ tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tablespoon kasoori methi, 1 teaspoon salt, ¾ tablespoon cornflour, ½ tablespoon lemon juice & 1½ tablespoon oil.
- Mix everything together to make a smooth & thick paste-like marinade.
Marinate the Chicken
- Apply the marinade to the chicken, ensuring to coat all the pieces well.
- Let the chicken marinate for at-least 2-4 hours in the fridge.
(When done, let the chicken thaw at room temperature for at-least 20 minutes before cooking it.)
Air Fry Tandoori Chicken Bites
- Pre-heat the air fryer at 400° F (~ 200° C)
- Grease the base of the air fryer.
- Place the boneless chicken pieces in the air fryer basket, laying it all flat, and not stacking on top of each other. My air fryer holds about 1 pound at a time comfortably.
- Air Fry at 400° F for 15 minutes, turning it over once halfway. Depending on your air-fryer and the size of the chicken pieces, you might need a few minutes less or more, so adjust time accordingly.
Tandoori Chicken Bites are ready to serve.
What to Serve with Tandoori Chicken
I love to pair these Tandoori Chicken Bites with this coriander mint green chutney, but you can pair them with any dip of your choice.
You can also use these bites to make tandoori chicken tacos, quesadillas, or as topping for tandoori chicken pizza.
Alternatives & Variations
- If you don’t want to make boneless chicken bites, you can also use a whole breast / thigh, or just cut them into two or flatten it out, based on your preference. Then apply the marinade to the pieces, and you can either pan fry them, bake them in the oven or air fry them.
- For bite sized pieces, I find it most convenient to air fry them.
More Tandoori Recipes to try..
⭐️ Tandoori Chicken Wings
⭐️ Whole Chicken Tandoori
As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️
📖 RECIPE
Boneless Tandoori Chicken in Air Fryer (Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Bites)
Equipment
- Gourmia Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken *preferably thigh meat (see notes)
- ¼ cup yogurt
- 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ tablespoon tandoori masala powder
- ½ tablespoon garam masala powder
- ½ tablespoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder
- 1½ tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ tablespoon cornflour
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoon oil
Instructions
Prep the Chicken
- Take 2 pounds of boneless chicken, and cut it into bite sized pieces, based on your preference. Set aside.
Make Tandoori Masala Marinade
- In a bowl, take ¼ cup yogurt, 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste, ½ tablespoon tandoori masala powder, ½ tablespoon garam masala powder, ½ tablespoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder, 1½ tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tablespoon kasoori methi, 1 teaspoon salt, ¾ tablespoon cornflour, ½ tablespoon lemon juice & 1½ tablespoon oil.
- Mix everything together to make a smooth & thick paste-like marinade.
Marinate the Chicken
- Apply the marinade to the chicken, ensuring to coat all the pieces well.
- Let the chicken marinate for at-least 2-4 hours in the fridge.
- (When done, let the chicken thaw at room temperature for at-least 20 minutes before cooking it.)
Air Fry Tandoori Chicken Bites
- Pre-heat the air fryer at 400° F (~ 200° C)
- Grease the base of the air fryer.
- Place the boneless chicken pieces in the air fryer basket, laying it all flat, and not stacking on top of each other. My air fryer holds about 1 pound at a time comfortably.
- Air Fry at 400° F for 15 minutes, turning it over once halfway. Depending on your air-fryer and the size of the chicken pieces, you might need a few minutes less or more, so adjust time accordingly.
- Tandoori Chicken Bites are ready to serve. Pair it with this green chutney or a dip of your choice.
Notes
- Chicken Thighs vs Chicken Breast – When using boneless chicken, I prefer and recommend to use chicken thighs over chicken breasts, as thighs are tender and juicier, and breasts tend to get dry and rubbery easily. But you can use chicken breast if you prefer. Just cut down the cooking time by a few minutes, as breasts cook faster than thighs.
- Tandoori Masala Marinade – As you see, I use more spice powders than just tandoori masala powder to make the tandoori masala marinade. This blend of spices is what I’ve found to work really well together, in case you are using all store-bought masalas, like I am doing in this case. I am still working on developing a recipe for homemade tandoori masala powder that I like enough to use just that along with yogurt, salt & oil. I’ll share it when it is ready, but until then you can use the blend of masalas shared in the recipe to make really good tandoori masala marinade, that you can adapt to suit several different tandoori recipes.
Nutrition
Video Recipe
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