Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets

This chicken Nugget recipe is easy, healthy, and delicious and it’s made in the air fryer! It is Paleo, Keto-friendly, and can be made Whole30 as well. No deep frying needed, but still perfectly crispy and flavorful.

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

These keto 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 healthy, that’s how good they are! And we are both obsessed.

Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets are healthy

This air fryer chicken nugget recipe is so easy and so flavorful. 

Husband Approved? YES! 

Even better!

Ingredients you need to make these Healthy Chicken Nuggets

• Chicken Breast
• Avocado oil (has a high smoking point)
• Almond flour
• Coconut flour
• Optional: Plantain chips or certain tortilla chips (I love Siete paleo-friendly 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.

Note: You can use potato chips or any chips you like. My favorite is Nacho Siete tortilla chips. It is paleo-friendly.

 

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.

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! 

 

Healthy Frying methods for keto Chicken Nuggets

 

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.

Some of my other Air Fryer favoriets

• Crispy Air Fryer Cauliflower Gnocchi
• Air Fryer Potato Fries
• Air Fryer Zuccini Fies

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

 

 

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 Healthy Chicken Nuggets

1.Almond flour and coconut flour

Both almond flour and coconut flour are gluten-free, paleo, keto, and whole30 friendly.

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 – Paleo Friendly, Gluten-free
2. Trader Joe’s Plantain chips – Paleo Friendly, Gluten-Free

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

An easy Whole30 Chicken Dipping Sauce

 

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. If you are following the Whole30 diet I have linked a couple of my favorite Whole30 brands for ketchup and BBQ sauce here

1. 1. Ketchup (1/4 Cup) – My favorite Whole30 option is This One.
   2. BBQ sauce (1/4 Cup) – My favorite Whole30 option is This One.
   3. A quarter lemon squeezed
   4. 1 tsp maple syrup (paleo but not whole 30)

 

These healthy 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.

And this chicken nugget recipe is paleo, keto, and whole30. I’m secretly calling it “Almost Chick-Fil-A” chicken nuggets.

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

More Healthy Chicken Recipes you might like:

1. Paleo Crockpot Pulled Chicken

2. Healthy Chicken Salad (Whole30)

3. Instant Pot Peanut Butter Chicken