30 Chicken Appetizers For When You're Over Wings
Chicken: It's what's for dinner... and for appetizers!
From game days to baby showers, a party’s not really a celebration without appetizers. If you’re looking for some that will always please your crowd, look no further than ones made out of everyone’s favorite white meat—chicken. From wings to meatballs, skewers to tacos, there’s a little something for every occasion here. Check out our 30 chicken appetizers for ideas, then get ready to make extra—these will go fast!
What kind of chicken appetizer you should make really depends on what kind of event you’re having (and what kind of guests!). Having a cocktail party and want poppable bites people can enjoy with a drink in hand? Grab some toothpicks and make some meatballs. Chicken keeps them light, so no one gets so full they stop mingling, and makes them take well to almost any flavor you can imagine. Try our garlic butter meatballs, our French onion chicken meatballs, or our chipotle chicken meatballs to see what we mean. Having more of a sit-down soirée, but still want your guests to have something to nosh on while they wait for the main event? We’ve included some of our favorite chicken apps inspired by cultures around the world here, like our Taiwanese popcorn chicken, our chicken flautas, or our Korean fried chicken. Trust us, these flavors are sure to spark lively dinner table conversation.
Throwing a game day celebration and want something laid-back that can double as a meal (why do so many sports games air at dinnertime!?)? You gotta go wings—they’re messy in all the right ways and come in so many different flavor combinations, like our classic Buffalo, our garlic Parmesan, or our chili garlic wings. We’re partial to baking them, but you can even make them in your air fryer if you’re short on oven space. Why? You’re probably making the other game day classic in there: nachos, ofc! We like them with jazzed up rotisserie chicken on top, like in our BBQ chicken nachos or our sheet-pan green chile chicken nachos. Feel free to add it to any of your favorite nacho toppings as well.
Want even more chicken in your life? You’ve got to check out our top chicken weeknight dinners, our baked chicken recipes, and our best healthy chicken dishes too.
Classic Buffalo Wings
To save time (and avoid a messy kitchen), skip the fried wings for your game day party and make these baked wings instead. They're so much easier while still giving you deliciously crispy, saucy, and caramelized results.
Get the Classic Buffalo Wings recipe.
Sheet-Pan Green Chile Chicken Nachos
What’s better than a tray of cheesy chicken nachos? FOUR-CHEESE chicken nachos! Don’t worry, though, a couple cans of chopped green chiles cut the richness of all that cheese. (Not that we’re complaining. 😉)
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken
In our opinion, the crunchier, the better. Which is why pretzels make the perfect chicken coating. The obvious and best dipping sauce? Honey mustard, of course. It's a MUST.
Best-Ever Buffalo Chicken Dip
We love serving this dip with chips, crackers, toasted baguette, and raw vegetables—celery and carrots especially. But honestly, we’ve also definitely just eaten it straight, with a spoon. No judgment.
Get the Best-Ever Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe.
Korean Fried Chicken
Nicknamed “candy chicken,” Korean fried chicken is known for its crunchy exterior and its thick sweet-and-spicy sauce. These bites pack a little capsaicin punch, so feel free to decrease the amount of dried chilis that go in. But if you like your adrenaline kick like we do, please enjoy the sweet-and-spicy ride.
Get the Korean Fried Chicken recipe.
Fried Chicken Strips
Fried chicken strips take us right back to our childhood. This homemade version makes the tenders so much better—make some homemade fries to go along with them!
Get the Fried Chicken Strips recipe.
Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Japanese chicken karaage is basically fried chicken, but with a twist. If the meat is seasoned, then coated with flour, it's karaage. Beyond the semantics, we love it because it’s a quick and easy way to jazz up one of our favorite apps, using ingredients you’re already have at home.
Chicken Satay
Satay, considered to be a national dish of Indonesia, is a popular Southeast Asian street food that usually involves a marinated meat being skewered and grilled, then served with a simple saucy dip. Our peanut sauce is the ultimate wingman to satay, containing all the fragrant notes of lemongrass, coconut, fish sauce, and fresh lime zest.
Get the Chicken Satay recipe.
Spicy Chicken Taquitos
A taquito is essentially a rolled taco with many of the toppings, like guacamole and sour cream, on the outside. They're traditionally shallow fried to get that beautifully crisp exterior. Our version is baked with an option to make them in the air fryer!
Get the Spicy Chicken Taquitos recipe.
French Onion Chicken Meatballs
We think everything can be improved by adding meatballs to it. Even French onion soup.
Chili Garlic Chicken Wings
A good marinade can make your chicken wings absolutely impossible to put down. This sauce is spicy, sweet, and garlicky—you're going to LOVE how caramelized and sticky it gets on the wings in the oven.
Get the Chili Garlic Chicken Wings recipe.
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Crispy chicken tenders without the deep fryer? YES! These air fryer chicken tenders only need 10 minutes to get golden and crispy. The honey mustard dipping sauce can be stirred together during that time to make this a fast and weeknight-friendly meal.
Get the Air Fryer Chicken Tenders recipe.
BBQ Chicken Nachos
On game day, you want something quick and easy—and CHEESY. So give the people what they really want. This twist on nachos comes together in less than 30 minutes and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Get the BBQ Chicken Nachos recipe.
Chicken Flautas
Made with shredded chicken wrapped in flour tortillas and then pan-fried, flautas lie somewhere between taquitos and chimichangas. They come together quickly, making them the perfect party appetizers or a great weeknight meal served with Mexican rice and beans.
Get the Chicken Flautas recipe.
Grilled Chicken Kebabs
Many cookouts are plagued by folks using breasts and not knowing how to grill them. Chicken thighs, like we've used here, however, are a lot more forgiving due to their natural tenderness and flavor. They taste even better when slid on skewers alongside bok choy and scallions, then glazed with a hoisin BBQ sauce.
Get the Grilled Chicken Kebabs recipe.
Butter Pecan Chicken Bites
Pecans and chicken are an underrated pair: A quick dredge, then coated in crushed pecans, and baked for 15 minutes, this easy dish is perfect for dinner or a satisfying, snackable appetizer.
Get the Butter Pecan Chicken Bites recipe.
Air Fryer Cumin Spiced Chicken Meatballs
These are a breeze to throw together, and the spicy hot honey mayo recipe we included makes for the perfect dipping sauce. Bonus: These are perfect in the air fryer, which makes the outsides crispy!
Air Fryer Drumsticks
This dish is loosely inspired by two Chinese dishes: fragrant and umami-filled Cantonese soy sauce chicken and a dish that was popular in '80s and '90s in China, Coca-Cola wings. Instead of poaching the chicken, you'll get the soy-marinated chicken slightly crispy and perfectly tender in the air fryer. Then you'll use the reserved marinade, along with some Coke, to make a sticky, sweetish sauce. Yum!
Get the Air Fryer Drumsticks recipe.
Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Souvlaki is a classic Greek street food consisting of tender pieces of marinated meat that have been skewered (in Greece, “souvla” means skewer) and cooked on a grill. We love it whether we’re serving it on skewers at a BBQ (no picnic tables? no problem!) or as a cocktail party app.
Get the Greek Chicken Souvlaki recipe.
