Often times when I’m making a recipe I have to buy a product that I don’t use on a normal basis. While this is totally fine, I’m often left with half of the product after I’m finished making the recipe. I have plenty of items in my cupboards that are like this and that makes for a crowded cupboard. However, I’m not one to waste food if I don’t have to so I often look for creative ways to use up the rest of the product.
This happened the other day when I came across the recipe for these Honey BBQ Baked Chicken Bites. The recipe called for corn flakes, which we never have at home, but I happen to have half a box of corn crisp cereal. I know they aren’t the same thing but my feeling was they are both corn based cereal and once they are crunched up they probably taste very similar. I’ve been wanting to use the corn crisp cereal for the past month so this was a win-win for me.
So I got to work making this tasty dish. I coated the chicken with flour, then eggs, then the corn cereal mixture. I simply put it on a rack and baked it in the oven. I was happy with how crispy the chicken bites turned out. The sauce is made separately and is tossed with the chicken right before serving so that the chicken stays crispy.
The sauce is an interesting combination. It is like a sweet and spicy BBQ Sauce. The original recipe calls for a lot of honey but I needed to cut back on it because it was way too sweet the first time I made it.
These chicken bites are delicious. They are slightly sweet, just a touch spicy, and really crunchy. While we had them for dinner they would also make a great appetizer or Game Day snack.
- 1 lb. chicken breasts cut into 1½ inch pieces
- ½ c. flour
- 2 eggs
- ¼ c. milk
- 2 c. crisp corn cereal
- ½ t. sea salt
- ½ t. black pepper
- 1 t. garlic powder
- 1 t. paprika
- ½ c. BBQ sauce
- ¼ c. honey
- ¼ c. ketchup
- 2 T. hot sauce
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a wire rack inside of a baking sheet and set aside.
- Pour the flour into a shallow dish. Combine the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and mix well.
- Place the crisp corn cereal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Pour the mixture into a third shallow dish.
- Dredge the chicken pieces into the flour then dip into the egg mixture. Allow the excess egg to drip off. Roll the chicken in the corn cereal mixture and place on the wire rack.
- Bake for 20 minutes, turning chicken pieces halfway through.
- Meanwhile, heat the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the sauce over top. Toss to coat the chicken.
