Juicy and flavorful Garlic Butter Chicken Bites with Zucchini Noodles ready in less than 25 minutes! Made in one pan, perfectly seasoned bite-size pieces of chicken are cooked in a mouthwatering garlic butter sauce and served with low-carb zucchini noodles for the perfect weeknight dinner.
25-Minute Garlic Butter Chicken Bites
After updating my bruschetta chicken recipe a couple of months ago and sharing these (reader favorite) garlic butter steak bites with you guys, I thought it would be fun to combine a few of my favorite bits from each recipe to make these simple, easy, and delicious garlic butter chicken bites with zucchini noodles. Cooked in just one pan, this amazing chicken dinner will have the whole family asking for seconds!
Faster than roasting an entire chicken or baking chicken breasts, this super fast dinner takes just 20, maybe 30 minutes to prepare and cook. Tops.
The ingredients are simple and easy to modify, so if you don’t like something, simply leave it out or trade it for something that you do love! This recipe is low-carb, high in protein, and perfect for weekly meal prep.
Chicken Breasts, Chicken Thighs, or Ground Chicken?
To keep the overall cooking time short, I recommend using any of the following,
- Chicken breast – Chicken breast meat is recommended if you’re looking for the leanest, most protein-packed chicken option. Given the low overall fat content in chicken breast meat, you want to take extra care not to overcook the meat as it is prone to drying out.
- Chicken thighs – Naturally higher in fat, chicken thigh meat will ultimately result in juicier, more flavorful chunks of chicken.
- Ground chicken. While I have not tried this option personally, I suspect this would taste delicious. Probably the easiest option, ground chicken requires no chopping at all.
How to cook Garlic Butter Chicken Bites with Zoodles
1. Prepare the chicken: Chop the chicken into small, bite-size pieces. Coat the chicken in a little bit of olive oil and season with the Italian seasoning, garlic seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Meanwhile, mince the garlic, chop the fresh parsley, and spiralize the zucchini. Set aside.
2. Cook the chicken: Add the remaining olive oil and one tablespoon of butter to a large pan or skillet set over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the chicken to the skillet in a single, non-overlapping layer. Cook on all sides until golden brown and fully cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside. Repeat with any remaining chicken.
3. Cook the zucchini noodles: Add the remaining three tablespoons of butter, minced garlic, parsley, and chicken broth to the same skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and the garlic to become fragrant before adding the zucchini noodles. Cook the zoodles until warm, about 2-3 minutes, gently tossing as needed.
4. Return the chicken and assemble: Return the cooked chicken pieces to the pan and cook until hot, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese, if desired. Garnish with fresh lemon juice.
Recipe Tips
- For extra flavor, swap the chicken broth for a dry white wine.
- Try this recipe with other veggies, including asparagus, green beans, or broccoli.
Serving Garlic Chicken Bites
Not in the mood for zucchini noodles? Try any of the following:
- 10-Minute Garlic Bok Choy
- Baked Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Butternut Squash
- Sauteed Zucchini
- Easy Tomato Salad Recipe with Homemade Vinaigrette
- Mashed Potatoes or Mashed Cauliflower
Looking for more of that delicious buttery garlic sauce? Serve my garlic butter sauce on the side.
Storage and Leftovers
Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheating is possible on the stovetop, but I find it much easier to simply microwave leftovers at 30-second increments until hot.
Have you tried making Garlic Butter Chicken Bites?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes. I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Garlic Butter Chicken Bites with Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - chopped into small chunks
- 2 tablespoon olive oil - divided
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 tablespoon butter - divided
- 6 medium zucchini - spirilized
- 6 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley - minced
- 2 tablespoon chicken broth
- ½ cup parmesan cheese - shredded (optional)
- 1 lemon - sliced into wedges
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken – Slice each chicken breast into small, bite-size chunks equal in size. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic seasoning, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Prepare remaining ingredients – Allow the chicken to rest as you mince the garlic, parsley, and spiralize your zucchini. Set these things aside and get started on cooking the chicken.
- Cook the chicken – Grab a large cast-iron skillet (if you have one) and set it over medium-high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Work in batches, if needed, adding the chicken to the skillet in a single layer (avoid overcrowding). Cook the chicken on all sides until just cooked. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Cook the zucchini – return the skillet to medium heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, minced garlic, parsley, and chicken broth. Allow the butter to melt and garlic to cook just until fragrant (approximately 30 seconds). Add the zucchini noodles. Mix well to combine the zucchini with the garlic butter and continue to cook just until the zucchini is warm (approximately 2 minutes of continuous tossing).
- Return the chicken and assemble – Add the chicken back to the skillet and continue to cook just until the chicken is reheated, 1-2 minutes more. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese, if desired, and lemon wedges for serving.
Jessica’s Notes
- This recipe may also be made using boneless skinless chicken thighs or shrimp. Adjust cooking time accordingly.
- Zucchini, once cooked for a certain period of time, will drop its water and become quite soggy. You can help prevent this by sprinkling your pre-cooked spiralized zucchini noodles with salt, allowing them to drop their moisture before cooking. Just be sure to rinse and dry your noodles thoroughly before cooking. OR, you can keep an extra close eye on your noodles and plate them before overcooking.
- Broccoli, asparagus, or green beans would be delicious alternatives to zucchini.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
I loved this recipe. I made pasta on the side for my kids and didn’t mix all of the chicken back into the zoodles. Mom and Dad had a nice dinner to their liking and so did the kids. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the lovely feedback and rating, Becky 🙂
Very good, I’ve been trying different recipes and I found that I like this one the most nice flavors.
I appreciate the nice feedback, Lisa 🙂
Can this be made with frozen zucchini noodles? If so, how?
Great question Dominique! I have actually not used frozen zucchini noodles before, as I always make them fresh. So I am actually not what what the process would be or how it would come out 🙂
I made it with frozen and it was such a big disappointment! The zucchini was limp and very soggy. There is no way to get around all the water that is released with frozen noodles. I had chicken and zucchini soup!
Besides messing up with using frozen instead of fresh, my hubby thought this was a 50 dollar dish! It was some good eating as far as taste, but next time I am buying a spiralizer and using fresh! I will be making this many times!
Thanks for the kind feedback on the recipe, and also the honest feedback on frozen zoodles – I won’t be using those anytime soon 🙂
made it, loved it.
Thank you for the kind feedback Karen 😊
I’ve made this several times and it’s my favorite Zucchini noodle recipe! Before mixing the noodles in, I spiralize them, lay them on a baking sheet (the bigger the better, spread them out), sprinkle with salt and bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes (for al dente) and longer if you want them softer. This way, when I add them to the chicken, it doesn’t get too watery! Wonderful dish:)
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for the great feedback! I am going to have to try it your way next time 🙂
Such a delicious recipe! I bought the spiralizer and it is quite an amazing too.
Wouldn’t change a thing