These buffalo chicken bites are an appetizer favorite! All the flavors of buffalo chicken dip rolled into balls and baked with a crispy cornflakes coating.
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Buffalo Chicken Bites are a mixture of shredded chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese rolled into bite-sized balls, then coated with flour, eggs and cornflakes cereal. My recipe for buffalo chicken cheese bites are baked in the oven, so they are lighter and healthier than your typical cheese balls.
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These buffalo chicken bites have become a staple in our home for game day recipes. We also like eating them as a meal!
One of the best things about this appetizer, is you can prepare these in the morning and keep them in the fridge until ready to bake. Or, make them days ahead and freeze them! If you freeze them, just bake them for about 5 minutes longer. (Yes, I even tested it!)
I originally saw this recipe from Stephanie at Macaroni and Cheesecake, who was brilliant for baking them instead of frying in oil. This is the method I went with since they still end up crispy. (UPDATE: I now love air frying these! Click here for the recipe.) Additionally, I decided to dip them in crushed cornflakes cereal rather than bread crumbs, since it works so well for my favorite Chicken Strips. I’m glad I made this change because the cornflakes add a crunchy texture and a sweet flavor.
If you love the taste of buffalo sauce, I recommend adding more of the hot sauce to the recipe. The original calls for only 1/4 cup, but I found myself adding at least 1/2 cup and could still possibly use a little more. My changes are reflected in my adaptation of the recipe below.
Dip these puppies in ranch or blue cheese dressing for a finishing touch. If you make these, I’ll guarantee the football game will be much more enjoyable and you’ll have everyone inviting themselves over for the next game!
Buffalo Chicken Bites
Ingredients
- 4 oz. cream cheese , softened
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken , about 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs , lightly beaten
- 4 cups Corn Flakes cereal , crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and hot sauce until combined. Stir in the chicken, cheddar cheese and green onions.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, spoon out the chicken mixture and roll into about 2 inch balls. Place on a plate or separate baking sheet (not lined) until ready to dip.
- In three separate dishes, set out the flour, eggs and crushed cornflakes. Dip each chicken ball first into the flour, then the egg and ending with the cornflakes. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
Notes
- If freezing for later, place the coated chicken bites onto the parchment lined baking sheet and flash freeze for 20 minutes. Transfer to a freezer bag and store in the freezer until ready. To bake, place the frozen chicken balls back on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.
- Nutrition information is an estimate and based on 2 to 3 bites per serving.
Nutrition
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Wow, these would taste amazing with the ingredients you listed, a must try!
Can we come over for Monday night football???
I am so happy to see this baked version. Thank you for sharing!
Buffalo chicken anything is my husbands favorite food. I have to make these for him and I am glad I don’t have to break out the deep fryer and oil!
These are perfect game day snacks! I’m gonna make them with Frank’s Buffalo Sauce for sure!
Hi Cookie! I used Frank’s Original Hot Sauce, but you can definitely use his buffalo sauce. It’ll be great!
-Nikki
OMG, I love anything with Frank’s hot sauce – that looks delicious!!!
I love buffalo chicken, these look super.
Buffalo chicken is one of my favorite things to eat. These sound awesome and they look great too. 🙂
Ohhh yummy! I love the crispy cornflake coating!
These look delicious! I will definitely be making these this football season!
I tried these over the weekend and they were fantastic!!! Thanks for sharing!
These bites sound really tasty!
These sound great! I will be making them for a football tailgate soon.
how many does this make??
Hi Cindy,
Gosh, I made sure to count them when I made them the first time, and totally forgot the number! 🙁 But, as I think about it and rack my brain, I’m pretty sure it was around 48. I’m making them again soon, so I’ll definitely count them again!
-Nikki
Such a great idea to use the cornflakes! I bet that’s delicious! So glad they turned out great.
This looks amazing! I also love the idea about the cornflakes!
Just made these tonight, awesome! I made the balls a little bigger and the recipe yielded 30 balls so if you made them smaller I could definitely see 48 being possible 🙂 I also used crushed fiber one cereal instead of cornflakes and egg beaters instead of eggs to make them a little healthier.
I know I would love these, because I love anything that is Buffalo Chicken related. This is going to taste amazing! Thanks for sharing!
My fiance said he could “eat these by the tubfull.” Big success!
These were maaarvelous. Easy to make, easy to bake, looved eating them and watching others become addicted to them. Thanks so much!
Genius!
Holy cow. It’s 8:00 in the morning and I want to make these right this second! Yum!
Can I make these the day ahead and cook them the next day?
Hi Irene,
Yes, you can. 🙂 You can even freeze them then bake them.
-Nikki
I LOVE the idea of these so as a vegetarian who greatly misses buffalo chicken I adapted them to be vegetarian friendly! I credited you for the original recipe of course, so check it out! 🙂
https://veginamonologues.blogspot.com/2011/07/baked-buffalo-chicken-bites.html
WOW! These. Taste. Amazing! I’ve been making the dip version for years (same recipe, -batter,) but what a great twist to make them into balls with a crunchy shell! I discovered them while browsing Pinterest and it was love at first site. I made them for dinner last night – HUGE HIT – then packed some in my kids’ lunches today.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I will be making it often. 🙂
P.S. For the dip, I’ve always used 1 lb. of chicken breast fillets, pre-boiled for about 15 minutes. That’s what I used for the bites.
Thanks for the review, Becka. I just made these again last week to throw in the freezer for my husband while I’m on a 2-week trip visiting family. This way, I know he won’t starve while I’m gone! 🙂
Shweet. I bet he’ll be singing your praises. 😉
P.S. You’re welcome. 😉
Also….
I post what I pack in my kids’ lunches on my blog, so when I post this week’s lunches on Friday, I’ll be sure & link the pic back to this page. I just know that people will WANT this recipe! Just FYI. 😉
I can’t wait to try this recipe! But, my husband does not like cheese… the cream cheese will be fine, but do you have any recommendations for an ingredient that isn’t cheddar?
You can use any kind of shredded cheese instead of cheddar. But, if he doesn’t like cheese all together, then try leaving it out and reduce the amount of hot sauce or add a little more chicken. 🙂
(but keep the cream cheese)
Do you know calories on these?
No, I’m sorry, Heather. I do not calculate nutritional information.
These are perfect for football!
These look great! I don’t have any Corn Flakes, I wonder if bread crumbs or crushed crackers would work? I will try it next week and post an update on my blog with a link back here.
Kim – You can definitely use bread crumbs. I haven’t, myself, but the original recipe did! 🙂
I used frosted flakes because that is what I had and the little bit of sweetness was fabulous!
Oooh! That sounds like a grand idea! I love frosted flakes, too!
My coworkers and I bring goodies in on the 1st Monday of each month and I brought these in. Needless to say, your recipe was shared and the buffalo balls were devoured! Everyone raved, went home and made them for their spouses, who also raved! Thanks for sharing this wonderful treat with us!
I love this recipe and blog…I posted it on my community foodie blog. Hope you can come check it out https://www.facebook.com/thefrenchiefoodie
Also, feel free to post you’re recipes or you’re favourite foodie tips on it whenever you like!
Made these for our tailgate last weekend! They were such a hit!
Hello! I found this on Pintrest and I made them the other night. They are awesome. I used Panko instead of corn flakes because I didn’t want the sweet flavor, though. I will say that I had to put the bowl of chicken mix up overnight and it was much easier to make into balls after that. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I have more in the freezer for an appetizer to pizza later on. I’m looking forward to it!
Hi there!
This is great! I was looking for something new to make along the Buffalo chicken line. I need an appetizer for my MOPS group service project night on Thursday night. This is exactly what I had in mind and I’m excited to make it. My hubby LOVES Frank’s too so hopefully I’ll have some left for my mom’s night.
BTW, I subscribed to your feed too. I’m a pro photog mom too so I was having a good time looking briefly through your shots. Incorporating food and photography is great!
And, My name actually IS Penny! 🙂
These were so good, a hit with the whole family! I will be making them again soon! I also loved them cold the next day! Breakfast of champions!
Oh, that is SO funny! (breakfast of champions!) I like you!! 😉
These are sooo yummy!!!! Can’t wait to serve them at Thanksgiving.
Umm looks so good! Definitely going to consider making them tomorrow,
I made these for a school Christmas party yesterday. The kids LOVED them!! I brought some home for my hubby though…is the best way to reheat them in the oven on a low temp?
By the way, I made another batch again tonight for another Christmas party tomorrow!! They are fabulous! 🙂
Hi Katie,
That’s so neat you made these for the kids AND for another party tomorrow! 🙂 I would reheat them at the same temp, not a lower one, but for a shorter time (just until hot and crispy again).
YUM!! I made these Saturday night and they were voted the favorite appetizer.
I made these for a bachelorette party a few days ago and they were a major hit! Thanks!
i made these on sunday for the super bowl. they look EXACTLY like the photo. they were AMAZING and all of the boys ate them in 10 minutes.
I found these via Pinterest and we love them in our house. But more often than not, when I make the chicken mix, we use it in quesidillas rather than the bites. So yummy!
Brilliant! I’ve been wanting to change up my quesadillas for some time. Other recipes are just ‘meh’, but this is the bomb. 🙂
Do you think you could use blue cheese crumbles in these?
Sure! I don’t see why not. 🙂
tHE BUFFOLE CHICKEN ECIPE ISN’T THERE
Hi Anonymous,
The recipe is listed in the body of the post. Do you not see it?
Can I prepare these the night before and just keep them in the fridge instead of freezing them if I plan to bake them the following morning before work?
Hi Trisha, I think that should work just fine. 🙂
My fiance and I were.so excited to try these but sadly, we didn’t care for them at all and threw away the whole batch. They tasted cheap.
I’ve made these twice and both times were a hit! I was getting the chicken ready to go to put them together for a Christmas party tomorrow, right now only thing that is mixed is the chicken and shredded cheese….I randomly decided to throw in a half teaspoon of garlic powder as thought it would go well and give them a little extra flavor but now I’m worried I ruined them or it won’t go well with the cornflake crumbs or something. Thought?? I’m debating on blotting with a paper towel to try to get some off now, lol
haha! Well, I might be too late with my response, but I don’t think you need to worry too much. I probably would’ve started with just 1/4 teaspoon of the garlic powder, though. I’m curious how they ended up tasting for you. We all have our moments of wanting to add a little more of something here and there. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. 🙂 Lesson learned? If it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it? haha!! 😉
Ha, nope you are not too late, I will be blotting shortly:) I was on a chicken salad kick awhile ago and I accidentally used Miracle Whip instead of Mayo which I don’t like at all in chicken salad. I was so mad I may have wasted chicken and ruined my salad, I blotted that chicken for at least a half hour, my husband thought I was nuts:) But hey it worked!:) Agreed, totally should have put in less to try it out and the if it’s not broke don’t fix it sentiment! Well I’ll let you know how they end up tasting, thanks for the response!:)
I made these using Gluten Free Bisquick instead of flour and it was amazing!
At last! Buffalo Chicken with the sauce baked into the chicken. I love the flavor of Buffalo chicken, but hate, hate, hate ruining (at least IMO) perfectly good fried chicken by pouring sauce over it. This is brilliant, and exactly the recipe I wanted. Nikki, you’re my new best friend. I think I’ll take you to the circus! You’re not afraid of clowns, are you? 🙂
haha! I’ll be your new best friend, but please leave me home when you go to the circus because, yes, I’m afraid of clowns. lol! 😉
I made these for a book club gathering and the ladies loved them! I used the precooked, canned chicken from Costco and it worked really well. The prep is a little time consuming and can get messy but it is well worth it in the end. A couple friends asked me for the recipe at the end of the night.
Thanks, Lyndi! By the way, I love that you made them for a ladies’ book club, proving that these are good for more than just men during football season! 😉
Found your recipe through food gawker a few weeks ago and tried it tonight. Delicious! I thought the cornflakes would be too sweet but it paired perfectly. Thanks for sharing your recipe. 🙂
Thanks for your feedback, Judy! Glad you liked them. 🙂
Found your site thru a pinterest pin.. but would love a few more of your stuff.. but hard to sift thru alllllllllllll the pins on pinterest.. suggestion…. can you add a pinterest button to your individual posts.. would love that feature.. seriously love your recipes and everything!! 🙂
Hi there! I do have a Pinterest button on my individual posts. There are a few ways you can do it. First, over the left side of each post is a “Share This Post” area with a few button options of ways to share your favorite recipes. The first button is the Pinterest option. Another way to do it is when you hover over a photo, a “Pin It” option appears at the top of the photo. Click to pin! 🙂
And now that I re-read your comment, I am reading it a different way. 🙂 Do you mean you want a link to all of my recipes that are pinned on Pinterest? If so, ignore my previous response and here is a link to most of my recipes on Pinterest. I still need to update it, but this is a start. 🙂 https://www.pinterest.com/seededtable/my-recipes-seeded-at-the-table-recipes/
(Great idea to add a link on my sidebar. I’ll try to get that done!)
I must try these!
So if I were to take your advice and use corn flakes…. but not take your advice and fry them- Do you think 2 minutes @ 350F would work? Canola or peanut oil?
The buffalo chicken is absolutely fantastic i Love it and also the guest