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.

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.

Copycat Chick-fil-A, this healthy homemade air fryer chicken nuggets came out perfect – tender, juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside.

These chicken nuggets are “breaded” with almond flour and coconut flour which keeps the chicken inside moist and also gives it a little sweetness.

My husband didn’t believe these were the healthier version, that’s how good they are! And we are both obsessed.

Ingredients you need to make these Healthy Chicken Nuggets

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.

  • Chicken Breast
  • Avocado oil (has a high smoking point)
  • Almond flour
  • Coconut flour
  • Optional: Plantain chips or certain tortilla chips 
  • Seasoning

Nope, this healthy chicken nugget recipe doesn’t require any breadcrumbs, not even the gluten-free ones.

All you need are almond flour, coconut flour, and a few spices.

Products I used to make this recipe

I promise they turn out so flavorful. I could literally eat the “breading” by itself.

Oaky, I did…

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. My favorite is Nacho Siete tortilla chips.

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! 

 

Air Frying methods for These Chicken Nuggets

 

A plate full off the crispiest health homemade chicken nuggets and a read spicy dipping sauce

Obviously, I’m not that fancy and just have a deep fryer sitting in my kitchen. So here are a couple of frying methods you could use in this recipe:

 

1. Air fryer

Very minimum oil required for this frying method. And you don’t have to flip the chicken nuggets.

Because the hot air flows all around these crispy bad boys.

You know I love my air fryer. There are so many things you can make in it.

A basket of air fryer chicken nuggets that look crispy and golden brown on the outside.

Some of my other Air Fryer favoriets

2. Cast-iron skillet

The reason I choose cast-iron skillet is that it can get a lot hotter than a regular pan.

So you can have chicken nuggets that are super crispy on the outside but still moist and soft on the inside.

However, if you don’t own a cast-iron skillet, you can use a regular pan. Just make sure you heat up the oil on high for a couple of minutes before frying.

Appliances I love to use for frying

Tip:

I highly recommend using Avocado oil when frying these chicken nuggets.

Since we want the frying temperature to be hot and quick, oil with a low smoking point like olive oil or coconut oil will start smoking very quickly.

On the other hand, Avocado oil has one of the highest smoking points of cooking oils.

 

Why I love these air fryer Chicken Nuggets

 

this is a bite shot of a crispy tender homemade chicken nugget that is gluten-free and pale

 

1. So easy to make

2. It is so flavorful: a little spicy, a little sweet

3. You feel so cool when you tell your friends “Hey! What’s up? I made some 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:

Crushed up Trader Joe's Plantain 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

Note: Chips are not compliant with Whole30, despite the ingredients listed.

An easy Fried Chicken Dipping Sauce

 

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.

I would like to call this “Almost Chick-fil-A” Sauce. This dipping sauce is so easy to make. I used half ketchup and half BBQ sauce.

    1. Ketchup (1/4 Cup) 
    2. BBQ sauce (1/4 Cup)
    3. A quarter lemon squeezed
    4. 1 tsp maple syrup 

 

These Air Fryer chicken nuggets are not just drive-through finger food, they are definitely finger-licking good!

They are perfect for a summer party, a kid’s friendly dinner, or just to fulfill our guilty pleasure for a quick and easy meal.

Ooo also I look forward to seeing your creations! You can use “Tried it” on Pinterest or share on Instagram by tagging #shuangyseasts

Pinterest picture for the Air Fryer Chicken nugget recipe

 

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