These healthy air fryer chicken nuggets are easy, crispy, and seriously delicious—no deep frying required. They come out golden and crunchy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and honestly? You’d never guess they’re the healthier version.

A plate of whole30 friendly air fryer chicken nuggets that is coated with almond flour and coconut flour. There is a hand holding one keto chicken nugget to dip in the sauce.

Inspired by Chick-fil-A nuggets, these homemade nuggets hit all the right notes. My husband didn’t believe they were made with almond flour and coconut flour—and now we’re both obsessed.

Instead of breadcrumbs (even gluten-free ones), this recipe uses a blend of almond flour and coconut flour, which keeps the chicken moist and adds just a hint of natural sweetness. Optional crushed chips take the crunch to the next level.

 

How to make Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets

 

First, in a medium shallow bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, and seasoning. Set aside.

Secondly, crumble up about 1 cup tortilla chips, plantain chips, or your favorite kind of chips.

Then combine with the flour.

Step by step instruction on how to bread chicken nuggets in gluten free chips and almond flower.

Note: You can use potato chips or any chips you like. 

Thirdly, in a separate bowl, beat 1 egg with cooking oil.

Then, pat dry 1 – 1 .5 pounds chicken breast or chicken thighs (I usually like a mix of both).nThen cut into inch-sized pieces.

before and after picture of almond and coconut flour crusted healthy chicken nuggets in an air fryer

It’s time for coating! 

Step 1: Dip cubed chicken in egg wash. 

Step 2: Coat chicken with the flour mix. 

Step 3: Place coated chicken pieces in the air frying basket. Make sure you don’t overcrowd the fryer so they can get “fired” by the heat circulation all around.

Step 4: Fry it up.

Step 5: Dip. ENJOY! 

 

A Couple Of Cooking Methods to Choose From 

1. Air Fryer (Preferred)

  • Requires very little oil

  • No flipping needed

  • Hot air circulates for even crispiness

This is my go-to method—I use my air fryer all the time.

2. Cast-Iron Skillet

If you don’t have an air fryer, a cast-iron skillet works great. It gets hotter than a regular pan, giving you a crispy exterior while keeping the inside juicy.

No cast iron? A regular pan works too—just make sure the oil is fully heated before frying.

Pro Tip: Use the Right Oil

I highly recommend avocado oil. It has one of the highest smoke points, making it ideal for quick, high-heat cooking. Oils like olive oil or coconut oil will smoke too fast and affect flavor.

 

Why You’ll Love These Nuggets

  • So easy to make

  • Crispy, savory, slightly sweet

  • Major cool-mom energy when you casually say,
    “Oh yeah, I made healthy air fryer chicken nuggets.”

 

Substitutes you can use for Chicken Nuggets

A plate of chicken nuggets with a hand dipping one piece in-to a flavorful sauce.

1.Almond flour and coconut flour

Both almond flour and coconut flour are gluten-free. If you don’t happen to have them on hand, or you are not following any of these dietary restrictions, you can use panko or regular breadcrumbs.

How to: Sub for the total amount of almond and coconut flour

2. Chips

You can use any type of chips of your choice to add a nice crunch.

My favorites are:

  1. Siete Tortilla chips
  2. Trader Joe’s Plantain chips

A plate of whole30 friendly air fryer chicken nuggets that is coated with almond flour and coconut flour. There is a bite in one of the air fryer chicken nuggets and it appears to be moist and tender.

Easy “Almost Chick-fil-A” Dipping Sauce

This sauce takes 2 minutes and tastes dangerously close to the real thing.

  • ¼ cup ketchup

  • ¼ cup BBQ sauce

  • Juice of ¼ lemon

  • 1 tsp maple syrup

Stir and serve.

These air fryer chicken nuggets aren’t just healthier drive-through copycats—they’re finger-licking good. Perfect for busy weeknights, kid-friendly dinners, or anytime that nugget craving hits.

 

A plate of crispy and sizzling hot air fryer chicken nuggets. There is a serving dish of chick-fil-a copycat sauce in the middle. There is a hand holding a piece of chicken nugget.

Get the recipe:Healthy Chicken Nuggets

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
This chicken Nugget recipe is easy, healthy, and delicious and it's made in the air fryer! No deep frying is needed, but still perfectly crispy and flavorful.
5 stars (3 reviews)
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Ingredients

  • 1 -1.5 lb chicken breast, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 2-3 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 tbsp arrowroot flour
  • 1 cup chips, optional *

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Chicken Nuggets
  • Preheat air fryer to 400F.
  • Cut the chicken into 1-2 inch bites sized pieces, coat with arrowroot flour, salt, and pepper.
  • In a shallow bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion, and garlic powder. Crumble up a cup of chips (optional). Mix well to combine with the flour mix.
  • In a second shallow dish, whisk the egg and avocado oil together.
  • Dip the chicken in the egg wash, then coat with the "breading".
  • Spray the air fryer basket with avocado oil, Place the coated chicken nuggets in the air fryer basket (make sure not to overcrowd them). Fry for 8 minutes.
  • Dipping Sauce **
  • Combine 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce and 1/4 cup of Ketchup
  • Dip and Enjoy!

Notes

  1. If you are using the pan-fried method: Heat up 2 tbsp of avocado oil in a cast-iron skillet. Fry the chicken for 3 - 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel to cool.
  2. *You can use tortilla chips, plantain chips, or potato chips as well, your choice!
Nutrition Fact below does not including dipping sauce.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 362kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g, Cholesterol: 95mg, Sodium: 359mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g

The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.

Author: Shuang Shuang Liang
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American