CHICKEN PARMESAN APPETIZER

Chicken Parmesan Bites are a delicious appetizer perfect for the big game! With popcorn chicken, a little marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, this pop-able appetizer couldn’t be easier!

Easy Appetizer Ideas

I personally think you can never have a shortage of easy appetizer recipes. Not only are appetizers great for, well, appetizers 😉 but they also make an amazing lunch or snack for the little tummy’s in your life! Chicken Parmesan Bites are no exception to the Easy Appetizer rule.. this may be the easiest!

If you have an air fryer, these little bites can become even easier, if that is even possible. I also love how we can take this one recipe and idea and adapt it to many other appetizers! Substitute bbq sauce, honey mustard, sweet and sour or wing sauce for the marinara sauce and you have a completely different dish!

How to make Chicken Parmesan Bites

To make these Chicken Parm Bites, the first thing you’ll need to do is purchase your favorite brand of popcorn chicken. You can honestly make these as small and pop-able as you’d like. If you want to use larger chicken strips, be my guest!

Once you have picked out what chicken you’d like to use, we need to cook it until they are nice and crispy. As I mentioned earlier, I like to use my air fryer for this, they consistently have a great crispy texture that is hard to achieve in the oven.

Once the chicken is baked, hot and crispy, arrange in a serving dish. Spoon a small amount of your favorite marinara sauce onto the chicken and then top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Now toss it in the oven and broil for a few minutes until the cheese is melty, bubbly and delicious. Pull out of the oven and serve immediately with toothpicks.

Can I Make This Appetizer a Meal?

YES! I absolutely love doing this. I will add a bit more marinara sauce and then scoop and serve over pasta instead of eating with a toothpick. This is always a hit with my kids as a meal.

Other Chicken Bite Appetizer Ideas to try

As mentioned above, using this same baking method but substituting sauce is a great way to switch things up. Below is a list of variations to try.

• BBQ sauce with parmesan cheese
• Honey Mustard and Swiss cheese
• Sweet and Sour sauce
• Franks Red Hot Sauce and brown sugar
• BBQ sauce and honey
• Salsa and cheddar cheese

What’s The Difference Between Marinara Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce?

Marinara sauce is much more basic and simple. Its often a tad thicker than pasta sauce but it contains tomatoes and seasonings whereas pasta sauce runs a little thinner and often contains other vegetables and even meat.

 

Can I Use Pasta Sauce or Pizza Sauce to Make These?

Yes! One of the best things about this recipe is that you have the creative free-range to adapt it to what you have in the house or what you feel like eating. Pizza sauce, pasta sauce, and marinara sauce are all pretty similar and you can feel free to pick and choose whichever you want.

 

Would These Appetizers Taste Good As a Sandwich?

They would taste incredible as a slidder sandwich on a nicely toasted bread roll. Of course, you’ll want to avoid the toothpicks (for safety reasons) and instead scoop several of the popcorn chicken pieces to place on your roll because one piece simply won’t be enough. With the loose chicken pieces, I’d imagine that the dish would be a little messy so make sure plates and napkins are readily available.

 

Looking for more Appetizer Ideas? Try These!

1. Pepperoni Pizza Dip
2. Sandwich Skewers
3. Easy Lil Smokies and Meatballs
4. Easy Appetizer Veggie Cups with Spinach Dip
5. Ham and Pickle Roll Ups
6. Swiss and Cheddar Cheese Fondue
7. Smokey Ranch Dip and Veggie Game Day Tray
8. Loaded Baked Potato Rounds
9. Honey Glazed Chicken Wings
10. Mexican Lettuce Wraps
11. Wacky Nachos
12. Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip

 

Chicken Parmesan Bites are a delicious appetizer perfect for the big game! With popcorn chicken, a little marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, this pop-able appetizer couldn’t be easier!