Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets (Gluten-Free Optional)

Make the BEST Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets that can also be made gluten-free with simple, pantry-style ingredients!

This copycat recipe is very easy to make at home with a few simple ingredients. The secret ingredient is going to be pickle juice, which the chicken pieces are going to be marinated in. This will allow the chicken to get nice and juicy, and stay that way all throughout the air frying time.

How do you make Gluten-Free Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets?

Only one swap is needed to make these nuggets gluten-free, which is gluten-free all-purpose flour.

The flour needs to be a 1:1 swap of regular flour to gluten-free flour.

The best flour options to use are Better Batter, King Arthur, or Cup 4 Cup.

What do you need for Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets?

• 2 Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast or Thighs – Cut into Chunks
• 3/4 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Dill Pickle Juice
• 1 Egg Beaten
• 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour or Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Paprika
• 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
• Grapeseed Oil Spray

This is all you need for the best chicken nuggets made right in the basket of the air fryer.

Do you need cooking oil?

Instead of using cooking oil like you would in a deep-fried nuggets recipe, this recipe will use oil spray, which means it’s a lot less oil. This needs to be Grapeseed Oil Spray which has a higher smoke point.

Olive Oil Spray does work; however, just remember it does not have as high of a smoke point. Be sure to check out this article about oil sprays in the air fryer.

Tips for Making Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets:

These Homemade Chicken Nuggets can be made with chicken breast or chicken thighs. Whichever you choose, they need to be boneless and skinless.

Once you have your chicken ready, it will need to be cut into chunks and placed in a Ziploc bag.

Along with the chicken, combine the milk, egg, and pickle juice and add that to the bag, coating the chicken. This will marinate for at least 4 hours.

If you would like, you can let it marinate all day or overnight until you are ready to cook it. We find it works best to prepare them in the morning or evening before and just let them sit in the fridge. The longer they marinate the more tender the chicken will be.

The pickle flavor will be very subtle, the acidity of the pickle juice combined with the chicken helps it become much more tender during the cooking time.

I also like to place the Ziploc bag into a shallow dish just in case of any leaks.

The marinating steps are a MUST if you want to have the real deal when it comes to this copycat recipe.

Once you are ready to cook the nuggets, it’s time to create a second Ziploc bag with the flour, salt, paprika, and black pepper, and then place the nuggets in the flour bag. Seal up the bag and coat the nuggets well.

Next up, you are ready to air fry the chicken following the recipe card instructions below.

If the nuggets look floury at all, simply spray some more oil spray on them.

It’s best to use a meat thermometer to be sure the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F to be considered well done.

What should you serve Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets with?

These nuggets can be served with your favorite sauces such as:

• Barbecue Sauce
• Honey Mustard
• Ranch
• Store-Bought Chick-Fil-A Sauces

There are a variety of dipping sauces that can be used, plus now they sell Chick-Fil-A sauces in most grocery stores, choose your favorite dipping sauce!

How do you store leftover nuggets?

The nuggets are best kept in an airtight container for 3-4 days, then they can be reheated in a microwave-safe dish for 3-4 minutes.

Alternatively, they can be reheated in the air fryer at 360°F for 5-6 minutes.

Remember though they are best served right after being made.

Enjoy these easy Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets and be sure to add them to your list of Air Fryer Chicken Recipes.

Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

Air Fryer Fanatics

Make easy Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Nuggets that can also be made gluten-free too, all in your Air Fryer or Ninja Foodi!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 4 hours hrs

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Air Fryer Chicken Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 4 Servings

Calories 787 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast or Thighs – Cut into Chunks
• 3/4 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Dill Pickle Juice
• 1 Egg Beaten
• 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour or Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Paprika
• 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
• Grapeseed Oil Spray

Instructions

 

• In a Ziploc bag, combine the milk, pickle juice, and egg.
• Place the chicken inside the bag, seal, and let this marinade at least 4 hours or overnight. Be sure to place it inside another bowl or pan in case it leaks.
• Once you are ready to cook the chicken, combine the flour, salt, paprika, and ground pepper in another Ziploc Bag.
• Take the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess marinade drip off it and then place it inside the bag with the flour mixture.
• Seal and shake the bag so that all the chicken is well coated with the mixture
• Carefully remove the chicken from the bag, shaking off the excess flour and place in the basket of your air fryer.
• Coat with grapeseed oil spray.
• Cook in the air fryer at 400°F for 8-10 minutes, turn the chicken, spray with cooking oil spray, and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes.
• Be sure the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
• Serve.

Notes

Air Fryers all seem to cook at a different level, so I suggest checking these at 8 minutes. Cook an additional 2 minutes if needed before turning, if they appear done on one side, flip them over and finish cooking.

Nutritional information will vary based on servings and ingredients used.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 787kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 88gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 285mgSodium: 1288mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3g

Tried this recipe?Mention @AirFryerFanaticsRecipes and Tag #AirFryerFanatics!