These Mexican Spiced Chicken Bites are tender and juicy, low on effort and high on flavor! Perfect for weekly meal prep.
It’s Tuesday following the Sunday of daylight savings time, so I’m thinking all my brain can handle right about now is easy peasy lemony squeezy. So today I’m coming in spicy and SUPER simple with these Mexican Spiced Chicken Bites!
Talk about ridiculously easy. And so delicous for your weekly meal. I usually make these tasty little bites once and week and keep them in my fridge for when I need a healthy snack. My son Sean tells me it’s all about protein at my age.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
I make these chicken bites so often and they are just about the easiest recipe to come out of my kitchen. And the flavor? Extraordinary!
They’re tender and juicy because I brine the chicken before I sauté the bites in my skillet. The brining makes all the difference.
The spice mix is homemade and it’s a zesty combination of chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for kick.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- kosher salt
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- ground cumin
- salt and pepper
- red pepper flakes
- limes
- butter
- olive oil
- garlic
- dried parsley
Step-By-Step Instructions
The first step is to fill a bowl with 6 cups cold water and 3 tablespoons kosher salt. Add chicken pieces. Mix well. Let chicken sit in brine for 30 minutes.
The second step is to make your mexican spice blend by combining in a small bowl your chili powder, garlic and onion powders, cumin, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until well blended. Set aside.
The third step is to drain the brine from the bowl and pat the chicken pieces dry. Add chicken pieces to a large bowl. Sprinkle chicken with the Mexican spice mix. Pour the lime juice over the chicken and with your hands or a rubber spatula, toss the chicken pieces into the spice blend until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
The fourth step is to melt two tablespoons butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in small batches and saute 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink inside, stirring often. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Remove all chicken to a plate.
The last step is to add the garlic and remaining two tablespoons butter to the skillet and cook over medium heat just until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the chicken pieces, tossing in the butter until evenly coated. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serve warm.
These are perfect for your weekly meal prep, to top your salads or in your tacos! You can serve them with a side of flavored rice or some grilled veggies and you’ve got a healthy meal that low on effort and high of flavor that the whole family will love!
Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!
A Few Cook’s Notes for Mexican Spiced Chicken Bites
You can use white or dark chicken meat. If you use dark meat you don’t need to brine it beforehand. If you opt for white meat, I’d definitely brine it to ensure tender and juicy chicken.
I included 1/2 a teaspoon re pepper flakes which is enough heat for me. If you like things spicier, you can add a bit more.
More Delicious Meal Prep Recipes to Enjoy
Mexican Spiced Chicken Bites
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 1/2-2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 4 Tbsp. butter, divided
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tsp. dried parsley, if desired
Instructions
Salt Water Chicken Brine
- Fill a bowl with 6 cups cold water and 3 tablespoons kosher salt. Add chicken pieces. Mix well. Let chicken sit in brine for 30 minutes.
Mexican Spice Mix
- In a small bowl, mix chili powder, garlic and onion powders, cumin, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until well blended. Set aside.
Chicken
- Drain the brine from the bowl and pat the chicken pieces dry. Add chicken pieces to a large bowl. Sprinkle chicken with the Mexican spice mix. Pour the lime juice over the chicken and with your hands or a rubber spatula, toss the chicken pieces into the spice blend until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Melt two tablespoons butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in small batches and saute 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink inside, stirring often. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Remove all chicken to a plate.
- Add the garlic and remaining two tablespoons butter to the skillet and cook over medium heat just until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the chicken pieces, tossing in the butter until evenly coated. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serve warm.
Bet these would be delicious on just about anything, even straight outta the pan! Hope you’re doing well, my friend :)
Delicious right out of the pan Dawn. Take it from me!
These little bites look very good. I am cooking a pot of black beans tonight and they would be perfect with that. I hope you are doing well.
Perfect with some black beans Gerlinde! Stay safe my friend.
I’m with you! No news on the tv plus therapeutic baking all the way! I certainly hope you guys are doing well and staying safe and healthy! These chicken bites look and sound fabulous! You know I love anything spicy, so this chicken is right up my alley! Plus, this is really versatile and I can imagine using these bites in tons of ways – in tacos, or on salads and burrito bowls – the sky is the limit! Pinned!
All good options Chey! These are so easy to make and you’re going to love the spice! Stay safe!
I’m also trying to take a break from watching the news, it was stressing me out more than I thought. I think we all need to just relax a little, stay at home as much as possible and MAKE THESE!! Yum. I love the idea of making a batch to last the week!
Thanks Katherine! Take care of those kiddos! Love the trampoline in the basement!
I’m totally addicted to Hallmark mysteries too! They have just the right of suspense and no blood and gore and the heroine always solves the crime! :) These chicken bites look packed full of flavor and are perfect for a quick meal!
Watching Hallmark Movies and Mysteries keeps things light and fun Kathy! Hope you’re all staying well!
Such a versatile dish and it looks so delicious! Love Mexican flavours and so perfect on their own or in a taco or rice bowl, too. Stay well Mary Ann. I am binging on British mysteries here to pass the days :)
I LOVE mysteries shows and books Jennifer! Always have! Stay well!
I’m with you, Mary Ann. Keeping things really simple here. I made a big batch of refried beans today which would pair perfectly with these juicy chicken bites (I have chicken in the freezer and all the spices on hand, yay!). Thank you for the inspiration! Stay safe and be well and happy, my friend.
Yes. They’d be perfect Marissa. You stay safe too my friend.
No need to ever make another Mexican chicken recipe. Ever. It’s so delicious. I’m very pleased.
YAY! So happy you enjoy the recipe Heather!
I made these last night and shredded the chicken and put them in tacos. They were absolutely delicious! I added some guacamole, a little tortilla chips for a crunch and put some local hot sauce on top . Let me tell you . I was on a trip to flavor town haha. Seriously though. Took one bite and I couldn’t even speak it was so good . Hands down delicious! Must have ate about 5 of them! Thank you so much for the recipe!
So happy you enjoyed these Thomas!! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment too. Thanks so much for following!
My husband and I love this recipe. It is so flavorful and delicious and it is one of our favorites now.
Yay! So happy you enjoy it Erika! Thanks so much for giving it a try!
I enjoy with refried beans and spanish rice as sides to make a meal, great for lunch or dinner, a glass of red wine goes well also. Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe.
Thanks so much for trying the recipe! So happy you enjoy it.
This was really very tasty! I did use thighs and brined them, only seeing I didn’t have to until afterwards. Although I drained the brine and patted the chicken dry, I still ended up with a sauce, which also was quite good. Trying to figure out how to not end up with the sauce the next time.
Hi Sarah. After you’re done cooking the chicken in step two, you’ll remove it to a plate. Use a slotted spoon so you don’t get the grease. The extra butter and garlic in step three is meant to be a little sauce for the chicken.
Chicken breast are so bor-ing unless it’s covered in layers of fat. Not anymore! Your recipe I consider near perfection.
1) Taste – full flavored, tender, you nailed the spice blend
2)Health – omit the butter and eat seconds
3)Versatile – tacos, flautas, wraps, burritos, in a bowl with rice and beans…. endless
4)Easy – if I can do it….
5)Best reason – my family loves it!
At least twice a month, 4#’s each time, for well over a year. Well done. Thank you, mark.
Yay! So happy you and your family enjoy this easy recipe Mark. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and rating! Much appreciated!
Could you marinate the chicken for a few hours? Thank you!
Sure. Enjoy Jill! These are great for weekly meal prep!