These sweet chili chicken lollipops are simple and easy to make and taste great. They are seasoned and baked to perfection and then brushed with a sweet chili sauce. These lollipops make for a perfect appetizer or a great meal for the little ones.
Chicken lollipops are such a fun little appetizer. While they take a little bit of time to prepare but they are well worth the work. They make a perfect finger food for any gathering whether it be a football game, game night, or girls’ night. Plus, they make a really fun way to let the little ones have dinner. This is a great recipe for those cooking on a budget.
In this recipe
Like most of my recipes this one just has a few simple ingredients making it easy to gather everything up. Most of the ingredients may already be in your pantry.
Chicken: you can use either drumsticks or drumettes from the wing for this recipe.
Sweet chili sauce: this sauce will balance out the heat from pepper on the chicken.
Chili powder: adds some smokiness to the chicken.
Getting ready to prepare the chicken
Making the chicken lollipop is going to be the toughest part of this recipe and the most time-consuming part of the preparation. If you have gloves this will be helpful for you although you do not need them. I prefer to use sturdy and sharp kitchen shears instead of a knife mainly because they are easier to use, the knife may start to dull faster, and you don’t have to worry about accidentally slicing your hand.
Making the chicken lollipops
When you are ready to get started, you will want to grab the drumstick by the smaller, ankle, end and cut about an inch above the ankle. Being aware of the fibula, small sharp bone, press the meat down to form the lollipop shape. You will then take a paper towel to pull off the small amount of meat and skin off of the ankle end of the drumstick. Using the shears you can cut away any visible tendons as well.
Ouch! That hurt!
One of the things that I want to warn you about is the cut end of the fibula. When you go to push the meat down to from the lollipop your hand may run into that sharp little bone. The way that I prevent that is to gently press down until I find it and then use my kitchen shears to cut the bone down a bit further. That way you don’t have to worry about getting poked in the hand.
Time to get cooking.
Once you have prepared your lollipops, it’s time to get cooking. Wrap the exposed ends of the drumsticks in foil to help prevent them from burning. Spray down a baking rack with a nonstick cooking spray. Then all you will need to do is sprinkle the seasoning mixture over all of the drumsticks, lay them on the rack, pop them in the oven and come back 40 minutes later. Brush them with the sweet chili sauce and you are ready to enjoy!
Saving them for later
The easiest way to store these tasty little bites is in an airtight container for 3-4 days. If you aren’t going to serve all of the chicken lollipops then store them without the chili sauce. Once you are ready to reheat, place in the oven at 350F or 177C and cook for 15 minutes or until they are warmed through and then brush with the sweet chili sauce. If they already have the sweet chili sauce you will want to reduce the temperature to 325F or 167C to help prevent the sauce from burning as it reheats.
Looking for other finger food recipes?
Sweet Chili Chicken Lollipops
Equipment
- Sheet pan with baking rack
- Sharp knife
- Kitchen shears
- Pastry brush
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 12 chicken drumsticks
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, 190°C, or gas mark 5. Spray a baking rack with oil.
- Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife cut around the “handle” of the drumstick. Being careful of the small sharp bone, push the meat away from the “handle” to make a lollipop shape.
- Remove the skin and small bits of meat at the other end of the drumstick with a paper towel.
- In a bowl combine the salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Mix to combine.
- Wrap the bare ends of the drumstick with aluminum foil, place on the baking rack, and sprinkle the seasoning mix over all of the drumsticks, flipping to cover each side.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165F or 74C. Brush each side with the sweet chili sauce. Remove the foil from the ends.
Nutrition
