This Longhorn Spicy Chicken Bites recipe will quickly become a favorite in your house! Spicy chicken bites – made with frozen popcorn chicken – and coated with a homemade spicy chili-ginger sauce that has the same exact taste as Longhorn!
What You Will ❤️ About Spicy Chicken Bites
- Quick & Easy – grab that popcorn chicken and whip up this sauce in 2 minutes!
- Perfect Copycat – I went to Longhorn and grabbed some extra sauce to bring home so I could be sure my recipe was perfection. I promise – the flavor – is ON POINT!
- Crunchy, Sweet & Spicy – The popcorn chicken is nice and crunchy – then tossed in that tasty sweet & spicy sauce – everybody will love it!
Ingredients for Longhorn Steakhouse Spicy Chicken Bites
Longhorn has so many great appetizers but this is one of my favorites! The Dipping Sauce is easy to make with only 4 ingredients – one of them is a bit of a secret ingredient you might not expect!
I knew when I tasted it – the sweet chili sauce, ginger and honey were in it – but just using those didn’t give it the same color and texture as the OG sauce. That’s when I realized – mayonnaise will give it that creamy texture and a more solid orange color! PERFECT!
Here’s what you need:
- 24 oz Popcorn chicken
- 3 tbsp Sweet chili sauce
- 6 tbsp Honey
- 1/4 tsp Ginger paste
- 3 tsp Mayonnaise – this is the secret!!!
- 3 tbsp sliced green onion
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Recipe Variations
- Wanna make it HOTTER? The sweet chili sauce gives it a nice kick but you could add red pepper flakes or a little hot sauce to bump up the heat if you’d like.
- No Breading – want a healthier alternative? Dice your chicken breast and cook (air fry, roast, saute) and toss the “naked” chicken bites in the sauce!
- Vegetables – Have some broccoli or chopped up green peppers? Air Fry/roast/saute them and then toss them in the sauce with the chicken and make it a meal!
How to make Spicy Chicken Bites
Making this Longhorn Spicy Chicken Bites copycat recipe is easy! Cook up your chicken bites and mix up your sauce and serve! Here’s how we do it:
- Cook chicken bites according to package directions – bake or air fry. (I air fried at 400º for 10 minutes. The perfect golden brown color with no frying and no oil!)
- While chicken bites are cooking, mix together sauce. In a mini blender, add chili sauce, honey, ginger paste and mayo. Blend for 30 seconds. Set in refrigerator until chicken is ready.
- You could whisk the sauce together but I found the blender worked better to emulsify the mayo into the other ingredients.
- Remove chicken pieces from air fryer/baking sheet and place in a large bowl. Pour in half of sauce. Toss chicken bites in sauce.
- Serve chicken on a plate with remaining sauce on the side for dipping. Garnish chicken bites with green onion and sesame seeds
This post contains affiliate links which I make a little money on purchases. Thanks in advance! I am an Amazon associate as well as a member of other affiliate programs.
Tips, Tricks & FAQs
How do you store and reheat leftover chicken bites?
Store leftovers in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat in the air fryer for 4-5 minutes at 300º.
Do I need to use a blender for the sauce?
No – you can whisk it together but the blender does help the mayonnaise emulsify with the chili sauce and honey a lot more quickly and easily.
What if I want to make my own chicken bites?
Sure – be sure to use boneless skinless chicken breast and make up a breading out of all purpose flour and spices like salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and a dash of cayenne pepper. Then – fry away!
These Breaded Chicken Tenders are made with Panko bread crumbs and would work great!
Can I use chicken tenders instead of popcorn chicken?
Sure – the tenders or chicken strips would be great – and you could always cut them up into bite size pieces.
Best Air Fryer Accessories
Here’s my ultimate list of best air fryer accessories – whether you have a basket- or oven-style appliance! I’ve also included a price guide as well as my favorite recipes for those accessories.
More Longhorn Steakhouse Recipes
- Crispy Brussels Sprouts
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Grilled Lime Shrimp
- Beef Teriyaki Skewers
What side dishes to serve with Spicy Chicken Bites
- Chick Fil-A Kale Crunch Salad
- Air Fryer Broccoli
- KFC Cole Slaw
- Mexican Macaroni Salad
More Chicken Dipping Sauces
- Raising Cane’s Dipping Sauce
- Chuy’s Creamy Jalapeno Dip
- Freddy’s Fry Sauce
This Longhorn Spicy Chicken Bites recipe will quickly become a favorite in your house! Spicy chicken bites – made with frozen popcorn chicken – and coated with a homemade spicy chili-ginger sauce that has the same exact taste as Longhorn!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Entree, Side Dish
Cuisine American, asian
Servings 4 servings
Calories 486 kcal
Cook chicken bites according to package directions – bake or air fry. (I air fried at 400º for 10 minutes. The perfect golden brown color with no frying and no oil!)
24 oz frozen popcorn chicken
While chicken bites are cooking, mix together sauce. In a mini blender, add chili sauce, honey, ginger paste and mayo. Blend for 30 seconds. Set in refrigerator until chicken is ready.
You could whisk the sauce together but I found the blender worked better to emulsify the mayo into the other ingredients.
3 tbsp sweet chili sauce, 6 tbsp honey, 1/4 tsp Ginger paste, 3 tsp Duke's mayonnaise
Remove chicken pieces from air fryer/baking sheet and place in a large bowl. Pour in half of sauce. Toss chicken bites in sauce.
Serve chicken on a plate with remaining sauce on the side for dipping. Garnish chicken bites with green onion and sesame seeds
3 tbsp green onion, 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
**We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Serving: 6ozCalories: 486kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 28gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 1349mgPotassium: 31mgFiber: 4gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 47IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.2mg
Let us know how it was!