Air fryer chicken nuggets are easy to make from scratch! Whether frozen or fresh, these crispy healthy chicken nuggets will be a family favorite! Move over Tyson, homemade is here!
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Making air fryer chicken nuggets is so easy! The beauty of these nuggets is that I actually find the process of them even easier than doing an entire chicken breast!
One of my most popular recipes is a Kodiak cakes air fried chicken breast recipe. It has tons of 5 star reviews here on my blog and on Pinterest. It's still one of my favorite recipes to date and my family loves it!
This recipe piggybacks off of the success of that recipe! Dare I call these, better than Chick Fil A Chicken nuggets!? They are definitely in the running for the best copycat!
Healthy chicken air fryer recipes are kind of a thing around here so once you get done making this one, be sure to try our tenders, barbecue chicken and wings! If you want even more ideas be sure to download my free healthy air fryer recipe book.
Why This Recipe Works
- Great to freeze and prep ahead. You can bread the nuggets and then freeze them for easy and quick cooking later!
- Kid friendly and family friendly making them the perfect easy lunch or dinner for busy days and weeknights.
- Air fryer chicken nuggets are easier than hand breading a whole chicken breast one at a time.
- Battered with simple, healthy ingredients that you probably already have on hand in your pantry and freezer!
- You can cut the nuggets into bites or even popcorn sized which is great for baby-led weaning and toddlers.
- Crispy breading and made with no butter and no oil. They have less fat and calories than the deep fried or fast food competitor.
- A surprisingly easy homemade air fryer chicken nuggets recipe. Quick prep and few ingredients.
- Try this recipe in a fun chicken nugget charcuterie board!
Ingredients You Need For This Recipe
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.
- Pancake Mix: I like using Kodiak cakes but any pancake mix like Bisquick or even oat flour would work. You can usually find Kodiak cakes at Aldi, Costco, Walmart, Sam's and even Amazon.
- Breadcrumbs: Panko breadcrumbs work well as well as homemade breadcrumbs which you can make by pulsing bread in a food processor and then lightly toasting it in the oven.
- Parmesan cheese: optional if you are wanting these to be dairy free but I highly recommend it.
How to Make This Recipe
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to cook this recipe. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.
Start by trimming chicken of excess fat and cutting it into cubes. You can get fancy and cut it into dino shapes, but I like to stick to the basics.
Rather than using the pancake mix for a batter, we are using the mix to coat the chicken, similar to how you would use flour.
If you're wondering how long to air fry them it really depends on the size of the chunk you have. I try to cut them into even 1-inch cubes and then it only takes 4-5 minutes per side.
Expert Tips
- Storage: Store cooked nuggets in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
- Freezer Storage: Freeze uncooked, breaded nuggets in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Reheat cooked nuggets in the air fryer for about 2 minutes per side or until heated through. Microwave reheating not recommended as they will not maintain their crispy breading.
- Cut chunks or cubes into equal size, about 1 inch to ensure even and proper cooking.
- Make these without breading by skipping the breading part and instead seasoning the chicken with the spices and then air frying according to the recipe. No breading will make it low calorie but not as crispy. This version with no breadcrumbs will also make it keto and low carb.
- Substitute crushed up Ritz crackers, pork rinds or pretzels in place of Panko breadcrumbs.
- Make spicy by adding in 1 or 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper to the seasonings.
- To make gluten free: use gluten free flour in place of Kodiak cakes and gluten free breadcrumbs.
FAQs
Grab some dijon or honey mustard, Chick Fil A sauce, bbq sauce, ketchup, hot sauce or ranch and dip away. I like to serve these with an easy veggie or two like broccoli and pasta salad or potato wedges and green beans.
My favorite one to use is the Ninja Foodi Multi-cooker. I find it to perform the best for a multi cooker and you also get the instant pot and other cooking functions.
I also like the Ultrean and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp.
Yes, you can air fry frozen chicken nuggets. You may need to add 1-2 minutes to account for the frozen chicken.
Be sure to ensure that your chicken is cooked to 165F using an instant read thermometer to ensure doneness.
For this recipe I recommend preheating if possible. If you do not, you will need to cook the nuggets for at least 5-6 minutes per side for fresh nuggets.
If you do preheat it, you will get a crispier result. You can also reduce cook time for fresh nuggets to about 4 minutes per side.
Before consuming be sure to check it is cooked to 165F (the internal temp for chicken) using an instant read thermometer to ensure doneness.
Related Recipes
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Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup homemade bread crumbs see post for recipe
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup Kodiak Cakes Flapjack Mix
- ½ teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon onion powder divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper divided
- 1 teaspoon paprika divided
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat to 390F. Spray roasting pan with coconut oil or cooking spray.
- Trim chicken breast of excess fat. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces with similar thickness.
- Measure out breadcrumbs and Kodiak cake mix into two separate bowls. Season breadcrumbs and Kodiak cake mix evenly with spices. Add parmesan cheese to the breadcrumb bowl. Put egg in third bowl and scramble with a fork. Line up the bowls in order of Kodiak Cakes mix, egg, breadcrumbs.
- Dredge chicken in flour then dip and coat into eggs. Coat with breadcrumb mix on all sides.
- Place chicken nuggets in basket and cook at 390F for 4 minutes. Flip and cook for 4-5 minutes depending on thickness of chicken. Chicken is cooked at 165F and is best determined with a meat thermometer. Cook until done.
Notes
- Storage: Store cooked nuggets in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
- Freezer Storage: Freeze uncooked, breaded nuggets in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Reheat cooked nuggets in the air fryer for about 2 minutes per side or until heated through. Microwave reheating not recommended as they will not maintain their crispy breading.
- Cut chunks or cubes into equal size, about 1 inch to ensure even and proper cooking.
Liz
Is it possible to make these with ground chicken ?
Lyndsey
I haven't tried with ground chicken!