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–+ servings
Air fryer chicken nuggets next to a bowl of Chick-fil-a sauce

Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets (Chick-Fil-A Style)

These air fryer chicken nuggets are simply the best! Made Chick-Fil-A style, they're quickly marinated in pickle juice for extra juicy nuggets, then cooked in the air fryer for nuggets that are easy to make and not fried in oil. Served with a copycat Chick-Fil-A sauce, these are my kids' favorite nuggets!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Marinating Time 30 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Yield:6

Equipment

  • Small bowl
  • whisks
  • Large bowls (2)
  • Gallon-size Ziploc bag (or another large bowl)
  • air fryer
  • Air-fryer-safe cooking spray

Ingredients

For the "Chick-Fil-A Sauce"

For the Chicken Nuggets

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 cup dill pickle juice
  • 1 ½ cups milk divided, see Notes
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar or Swerve Confectioners'
  • kosher salt to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

For the "Chick-Fil-A Sauce"

  • In small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until combined. Let sauce chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
    Copycat Chick-Fil-A sauce in a bowl with a whisk

For the Chicken Nuggets

  • In one large bowl, combine chicken breast pieces, pickle juice, and ½ cup milk. Let chicken marinate in pickle juice mixture for at least 30 minutes. After marinating time is up, drain chicken well.
    Chicken in milk and pickle juice marinade
  • In separate large bowl, whisk together remaining 1 cup milk and 1 large egg to create egg wash. Add marinated chicken pieces to egg wash and stir to combine, then drain excess milk mixture from bowl.
    Chicken in egg wash
  • Preheat air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit. In gallon-sized Ziploc bag (or third large bowl), combine flour, confectioners' sugar, salt, and pepper. Add chicken to bag and seal well. Toss and shake bag to thoroughly coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
    Flour-coated chicken pieces on a plate
  • Spray air fryer basket with appropriate cooking spray. Place chicken nuggets in basket in one even layer, being careful not to overcrowd basket. Work in batches as needed. Lightly spray nuggets with cooking spray.
  • Place basket in air fryer and cook chicken nuggets 7 to 8 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165° Fahrenheit. Transfer cooked chicken nuggets to separate container and repeat steps 4 and 5 until all chicken nuggets have been air fried. Serve warm with sauce.

Notes

  • Milk: Any type of milk will work.
  • Make it Gluten Free: Use a gluten-free all-purpose flour.
  • Make it Dairy Free: Use an unsweetened, non-dairy milk.
 
Recipe yields approximately 6 servings. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using ingredients listed, including "Chick-Fil-A Sauce". Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 6. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1serving of nuggets with sauce | Calories: 464cal | Protein: 23g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 1016mg | Potassium: 451mg | Total Carbs: 49g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Net Carbs: 48g | Vitamin A: 209IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 2mg
Recipe By:Cheryl Malik