Longhorn Spicy Chicken Bites Recipe: Add Some Heat to Your Meal

Longhorn Steakhouse, a well-established US steak and grill chain, is known for several specialties. Ranging from legendary steaks to ribs, chops, seafood, and chicken, the restaurant has an enticing menu, especially for meat lovers. They also serve classics such as mac and cheese, side dishes, salads, and much more.

Spicy chicken bites are one of Longhorn’s most preferred specialties. The tender chicken meat, covered with a crust and served in bite sizes with hot sauce on the side, is a crowd-pleaser. You can serve Longhorn spicy chicken bites at family dinners or prepare them for big parties. No difficult-to-find ingredients, no complex cooking methods! All you need to do is to follow our instructions.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Pro Tips
• Longhorn Spicy Chicken Bites Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

1. Base

• Boneless chicken breast — 1.5 lbs.
• Vegetable oil — 3 cups, for frying

2. For marinade

• Sambal oelek sauce — 4 tbsp.
• Water — 4 tbsp.
• Soy sauce — 1 tbsp.

3. For coating

• All-purpose flour — 3 cups
• Salt — 1 tbsp.
• Ground black pepper — ½ tbsp.

4. For serving

• Chili sauce — 1 ½ cups
• Honey — 1 tsp.
• Green leaves — 2 tbsp., finely chopped for garnish
• Sesame seeds — 1 tsp., for garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare the marinade in a mixing bowl large enough to hold the sliced chicken. Put the marinade ingredients into the bowl and mix well.

2. Cut the chicken breasts into one-inch cubes. Put them into the marinade bowl and ensure every piece is coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let it marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Prepare the flour mixture in another mixing bowl, one large enough to hold the chicken bites. Put flour, salt and ground black pepper into the bowl and whisk it.

4. Pour the chicken bites into the flour bowl and make sure you coat every bite. You can do this in two or three batches for a better coating. Take the coated chicken pieces out on a tray.

5. Pour the oil into a deep-frying pot. Heat in a medium setting. When the oil starts forming tiny bubbles on the sides of the pot, it has reached its frying temperature. If you use a kitchen thermometer, when the oil temperature reaches 350 F., it is ready.

6. Fry the chicken bites until golden brown in 4-5 batches. Be careful not to overfill the frying pot.

7. Place a paper towel on a serving plate. Take the fried chicken pieces out and put them on the paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

8. Put the chicken bites on a serving plate. In a bowl, mix the chili sauce and honey well. Pour the sauce into a serving bowl/s. Garnish the chicken bites with chopped greens and sesame seeds.

Substitutions

• Sambal oelek — If you are not accustomed to using this Indonesian sauce, you can substitute it with another hot sauce. Sambal oelek is known for its dense consistency, so to replace it choose a sauce with a similar texture.

• All-purpose flour — You can substitute the flour with an equal amount of pancake mix. If you go with pancake mix, you should still add salt and pepper.

Variations

• Make it gluten-free — If you are gluten intolerant or on a gluten-free diet, there is still a way to enjoy your spicy chicken bites. You can substitute all-purpose flour with extra fine corn flour. This ingredient may not stick to chicken pieces as well as flour does. So, you may need to add ½ cup more of the corn flour.

Equipment

• Measuring spoons and cups

• Knife

• Chopping board

• 3 mixing bowls

• Whisk

• Plastic wrap

• Kitchen tray

• Deep frying pot

• Kitchen thermometer (optional)

• Paper towels

• Serving plates and bowls

Storage

• You can store the leftover chicken bites in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheat them on the stove or microwave.

• This recipe is not suitable for freezing as the coated chicken will get soggy when defrosted.

Pro Tips

• We recommend sunflower or canola oil for frying.

• You can roast the sesame seeds just before serving. This extra step will enhance the flavor and appeal to the eye with its golden color. Heat a nonstick pan without oil. When heated, toss the seeds and cook them until golden brown. It will take a minute or two. To ensure even roasting, shake the pan occasionally.

• If you want to add extra volume to the crust, put ½ teaspoon of baking powder into the flour mixture.