Air Fryer Chicken Bites (low carb)

For an easy and healthy dinner try these low carb air fryer chicken bites. Using bottled Italian dressing, fresh garlic and lemon you can create a delicious chicken marinade. Then add in some chopped veggies and you have a tasty keto chicken dinner made in the air fryer. One serving of this dish as 7.7 grams net carbs and 54.3 grams of protein!

You might also like easy beef kebabs marinade.

I love to make an Italian dressing chicken marinade for easy summer dinners either on the grill or air fryer. Today for this low carb air fryer chicken bites recipe I added just 2 extra ingredients to the Italian dressing marinade for extra flavor.

I’ve been making this a lot lately because it’s light and delicious and since you make it in air fryer you can have dinner on the table in 30 minutes. I also like using fresh summer vegetables from our garden. The leftovers are great for meal prep and can be used on a salad, with cauliflower rice or keto pasta if you are on a low carb diet. And if you’re not, try it with regular rice or pasta. It would also be good in a pasta salad.

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

The 4 simple ingredients I used were boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fresh garlic cloves, lemon zest and bottled Italian dressing. No need for added Italian herbs or seasonings as it’s all in the dressing.

• Chicken – I used boneless, skinless chicken breast but if you prefer chicken thighs you can use that as well. That being said you could also use pork, turkey, shrimp or beef with this marinade recipe.
• Bottle Italian Dressing – I used a Tuscan Garden Italian dressing which is from Aldi and similar to Olive Garden dressing. You can use any kind of dressing you want but I had this on hand and used it. Similarly you could also make a simple dressing of olive oil, vinegar, salt and black pepper along with the lemon zest and fresh garlic.
• Fresh Lemon and Garlic – I always like to use fresh garlic in my marinades but if you don’t have any you can substitute ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder for every clove of garlic. I also used fresh lemon zest which gives a bright flavor to the dish. You could also try using a bit of lemon extract if you don’t have a fresh lemon for the zest. Other citrus like lime or orange would also work.

For the vegetables I wanted to keep the carbs low so I used a few colorful sweet bell peppers, zucchini and red onion. You can use any vegetables you want like mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

I also used olive oil, fresh garlic, lemon juice, salt and black pepper to marinate the vegetables. If you want to add a little heat you can sprinkle in some red pepper flakes. And for added flavor you can sprinkle some garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and or Italian seasoning on the vegetables. They really don’t need it in my opinion.

How to make air fryer chicken bites and marinade.

Step 1: Cut the chicken breasts into cubes or bite sized pieces and place in a large ziplock bag.

Step 2: Make the marinade by whisking together the dressing, crushed garlic and lemon zest in a bowl. Pour in the marinade to cover the chicken bites. Mix around to make sure all is covered.

The longer you marinate the cubes the more flavor it will have. I like to do it overnight but most time I do it in the morning and cook it for dinner. The least amount of time I would marinated would be 1 hour.

Step 3: When ready to eat spray the air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray then spoon the marinated chicken bites into it. Spread out in an even layer and then place in the air fryer. Cook for 15 minutes at 400°F.

Step 4: While that is cooking, chop up the vegetables into uniform pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic and mix well. Season with salt and black pepper and mix again.

Step 5: After the 15 minutes is up for the chicken, add the chopped vegetables to the air fryer basket and mix around. Place back in the air fryer and cook for 15 minutes more.

Cooking time may vary so check after the 15 minutes to see if the chicken breast bites are cooked through and the vegetables are done to your liking. If not cook for a few minutes more. The internal temperature of the meat should be 165°F.

When done, take out of the basket and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

You can eat this air fried chicken bites and veggies as is or if you don’t care about carbs, serve it with rice or even pasta. We just ate it with a green salad for a light summer dinner.

More easy and low carb air fryer chicken recipes to try.

If you are looking for more low carb air fryer recipes using chicken, here are a few more ideas for you.

• chicken thighs with creamy parmesan sauce
• bacon wrapped chicken thighs
• keto wings or sticky drumsticks
• canned chicken nuggets or patties
• cheesy chicken breasts

I’ve made these simple chicken bites and veggies several times in these summer months as it’s so easy and light for dinner. And it’s great for meal prep. Sometimes I make a batch for lunches or eat the leftovers on a salad for lunch the next day and it’s delicious. I hope you enjoy as much as I do. 

The nutritional information for one serving of just the chicken is 363 calories / 14.1g fat / 2.6g carbs / 52.9g protein = 2.6g net carbs

The nutritional information for 1 serving of just the vegetables is 92 calories / 6.9g fat / 6.7g carbs / 1.6g fiber / 1.4g protein = 5.1g net carbs