Indian Spiced Chicken Bites - a quick and easy air fryer chicken recipe that is perfect to snack on, or use as filling for tacos, quesadillas, and even pizza toppings.
These Indian Spiced Chicken Bites are
- crunchy as well as juicy
- quick and easy to make
- good snack bites to munch on
- perfect filling for tacos / quesadillas
- and topping for pizzas!
Air Fryer Recipe
These air fryer chicken bites are fairly simple to make. All you need to do is clean, cut, and marinate the chicken in a basic Indian spice mix, and air fry the chicken cubes for 20 minutes.
I am listing out the ingredients and method below to make these air fryer chicken bites using 3 pounds of chicken thigh meat. You can always adjust the quantity of ingredients, depending on the number of servings you want to make.
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.
Ingredients
I have used chicken thigh meat, and highly recommend using it over breast meat, especially for air fryer recipes, because breast meat cooks faster, and has a tendency to overcook and get rubbery more easily, as compared to thigh meat. Using thigh meat will ensure the chicken stays juicy while getting crispy.
Boneless chicken thigh meat - 3 pounds
Ginger garlic paste - 4 tablespoon
Salt - 2 - 2.25 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder - 2-2.25 teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder - 2.5 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 2.5 teaspoon
Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
Cooking oil - 1 tablespoon
Method
- Clean and cut boneless chicken thighs into bite sized pieces.
- Marinate them with Indian spice mix made out of ginger garlic paste, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder.
- The ideal marination time is 2-4 hours in a refrigerator. But when you are in a hurry, an hour of marination time will suffice.
- Just ensure to thaw out the refrigerated chicken for at-least 30 minutes at room temperature before air frying them, so that they are not exposed to extreme high temperatures within a matter of minutes.
- And remember to add a tablespoon of oil in the marinated chicken, right before air frying it. Because a little bit of oil will significantly add to the taste and the texture of air fried chicken pieces.
- Place the chicken pieces in the air fryer, a little at a time, no more than two layers, preferably just one layer, especially if you want the chicken to be super crispy.
- Air Fry @ 390 F for 20 minutes, ensuring to flip once at the 10 minute mark, and checking on it in the last few minutes.
Notes
- The air frying time might vary depending on the quantity of chicken put per lot and the crispiness required.
- The smaller the batch size, the faster the chicken cooks, and crispier it gets.
- This is true for anything you put in the air fryer, but it’s best to monitor the chicken every few minutes, especially towards the end, so as to not over cook it.
Stove Top / Oven Variation
- You can always pan fry or deep fry the marinated chicken cubes on the stove-top instead of air frying them.
- If you are pan frying the chicken, it’s best to cut the chicken into palm sized pieces and pan fry. And then cut them into cubes later, once the chicken is cooked. That way, you wouldn’t have to deal with flipping all those small cubes on the pan. Pan fry for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the chicken pieces.
- If you are deep frying the chicken, it's best to use chicken cubes, as they will fry faster. Deep fry the cubes in small batches for 3-5 mins per batch, depending on the size of the cubes and your batch.
- You can also bake the chicken in the oven at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, ensuring to flip once at the 10 minute mark. Though this method will not make the chicken super crispy.
Serving Suggestion
Serve with green chutney or schezwan chutney as a snack. Or use as a filling for chicken tacos / quesadillas, or as a topping for chicken pizza.
Popular Chicken Recipes:
Chicken 65 [Stove Top + Air Fryer + Oven Recipe]
Instant Pot Chicken Biryani - One Pot Biryani
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. ❤️
Indian Spiced Chicken Bites - Air Fryer Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless chicken thighs
- 4 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 2-2.25 teaspoon salt
- 2-2.25 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 2.5 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 2.5 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Clean and cut boneless chicken thighs into bite sized cubes / chunks.
- In a bowl, mix together ginger garlic paste, salt, chilli powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder to make the marinade.
- Apply this marinade to the boneless chicken cubes, and let the chicken marinate in the spice mix for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator.
- Before air frying the chicken cubes, ensure to thaw out the refrigerated chicken at room temperature for at-least 30 minutes.
- Then right before you are ready to air fry the chicken cubes, add a little oil to the marinade and mix it in. Not too much, just 1 tablespoon oil for 3 pounds of chicken.
- Place the chicken pieces in the air fryer basket - a little at a time - no more than 2 layers in one batch, and air fry @ 390 F for 20-25 minutes, ensuring to flip once at the 10 min mark.
- Indian Spiced Air Fryer Chicken Bites are ready. Eat them as is, or use them to fill tacos, quesadillas, or even as pizza toppings.
Notes
- The air frying time might vary depending on the quantity of chicken put per lot and the crispiness required.
- The smaller the batch size, the faster the chicken cooks, and crispier it gets.
- This is true for anything you put in the air fryer, but it’s best to monitor the chicken every few minutes, especially towards the end, so as to not over cook it.
- Use thigh meat instead of breast meat, as it's easier to overcook breast meat in the air fryer, and the chicken will turn rubbery. Using thigh meat will ensure the chicken stays juicy while getting crispy.
- Adding a little oil before air frying is optional, but highly recommended, because just one spoon of oil makes a significant difference to the taste and texture.
- You can always pan fry or deep fry the marinated chicken cubes on the stove-top instead of air frying them
- If you are pan frying the chicken, it’s best to cut the chicken into palm sized pieces and pan fry. And then cut them into cubes later, once the chicken is cooked. That way, you wouldn’t have to deal with flipping all those small cubes on the pan. Pan fry for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the chicken pieces.
- If you are deep frying the chicken, it's best to use chicken cubes, as they will fry faster. Deep fry the cubes in small batches for 3-5 mins per batch, depending on the size of the cubes and your batch.
- You can also bake the chicken in the oven at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, ensuring to flip once at the 10 minute mark. Though this method will not make the chicken super crispy.
Please note: The nutrition values are best estimates provided as a courtesy. The exact values can vary depending on the exact ingredients or brands used. If you rely on them for your specific diet and/or health issues, please consult a registered dietician or nutritionist.
Nutrition
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Nerissa Taverner
Thank you! My partner loved this, made a very nice change to our usual herbs and spices air fryer chicken 😊 I'm veggie so I didn't have it but my partner loved the flavours and said it tasted 👌👌
The Love of Spice
Thank you so much! Glad they liked it!
Martin Saville
I agree that chicken thighs work out better and come out more moist. I used breast meat the first time and it wasn't as good. I add my chicken bites to a shop bought Byriani and it tastes great.
The Love of Spice
That's great! And yeah thighs are always so much better in staying moist and juicy!
Damyanti
That looks really yummy!
Shantala's Kitchen
Thank you so much!!
Rajlakshmi
Omg you are such an awesome cook. I could never make them crispy. I wonder how they will turn out in air fryer.
Shantala's Kitchen
You are too kind. 🙂
Air fryer does help make them crispy too. But I usually only try to make them really crispy if I am eating them as a snack. Not if I am using as a filling or topping.