These delicious chicken bites are so juicy and tender you’ll eat them hot right off the pan!
Lemon Zucchini Noodles with Garlic Butter Chicken Bites – Are you set for a new winner of chicken breast dinner? These really simple chicken pieces with zucchini noodles and garlic butter sauce are here. They’re so tasty, juicy, and tender that you can eat them hot off the griddle! This whole30, paleo, and keto-friendly chicken breast meal is sure to impress a lot of people. It just takes 20 minutes to prepare, and you can ask the staff member working the counter at your grocery store to chop your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Have fun!
INGREDIENTS LIST FOR THE GARLIC BUTTER CHICKEN BITES WITH ZUCCHINI NOODLES
- Three to four skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 4–5 medium zucchini, spiralized after washing (or a box of premade zucchini noodles)
- Four tablespoons of butter, separated
- two tsp finely chopped garlic
- One tablespoon hot sauce (Sriracha was used by us)
- 60 milliliters, or 1/4 cup sodium-free chicken broth
- half a lemon’s juice
- One tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
- One teaspoon of newly plucked thyme
- Optional: crushed red chili pepper flakes
- Lemon slices as a garnish
For the Marinade:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon hot sauce (we used Sriracha) or 1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
DIRECTIONS
- Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces and toss them in a mixture of olive oil, hot sauce or chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir until the chicken is well seasoned. Let it marinate for half an hour or more in the fridge.
- Meanwhile, wash and cut the zucchini’s ends. Make the zucchini noodles using a spiralizer and set them aside.
- Let the marinated chicken bites come to room temperature. In a big skillet over medium-low heat, melt two tablespoons of butter. The chicken pieces should be gently stir-fried until golden brown on all sides. After taking the chicken bites out of the skillet, place them on a plate. To prevent overcrowding the pan and having steaming chicken instead of browned, you might need to work in batches.
- Add two tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, spicy sauce, and chicken broth to the same skillet over medium-high heat. After bringing to a simmer, decrease for one to two minutes while stirring often.
- Add the chopped garlic and fresh parsley, fold in the zucchini noodles, and simmer for two to three minutes. If the zucchini noodles release too much water, let the cooking fluids diminish for one minute. Reintroduce the chicken bites to the skillet and swirl to reheat for an additional minute. Serve right away after adding extra parsley, fresh thyme, crushed chili pepper, and lemon slices as garnish. Have fun!
Use dry white wine to add flavor to the dish instead of broth.
Use 2 tablespoons of butter instead of 4 because this recipe is meant to be lightened up for those following a ketogenic diet.
Because zucchini releases a lot of water when cooked, you can sprinkle it with salt after spiralizing and let it sit for a few minutes to remove any remaining water. Before cooking, give them a thorough rinse to remove any salt, drain them well in a colander, and pat them dry with a dish towel.
