Like many, I am a fan of Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets. It’s one the only fast food nuggets I will allow my daughter to eat on occasion but recently I looked up the list of nugget ingredients and with all of the good qualities Chick-fil-A has, I was surprised at a few of the ingredients.
This made me set out to try an make my own at home.
Looking at the ingredients, the most important factor is the peanut oil used in frying.
Peanut oil has a unique flavor and while you can opt to use vegetable oil, it will definitely change the flavor of the nuggets. The remainder of the ingredients is a basic spice blend made of items you most likely already have in your pantry.
Now that we can make these at home, we are going to start frying them and freezing them for quick dinners that can easily be reheated in the oven or air fryer (see recipe cards notes on how to do this). My daughter says these are the best chicken nuggets ever.
I like that I can control the ingredients.
In the mood for chicken? Try one of these recipes:
Copycat Chic-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 cups peanut oil , for frying
- 1 pound boneless , skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon fine Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper , more or less to taste
Instructions
- Heat peanut oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat to 350°F - about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk [paid link] together milk and egg for dredging. Add chicken and stir to coat.
- In a gallon size zip top bag or large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, paprika, confectioners' sugar, salt and pepper. Add chicken to the bag and shake to coat. Let the chicken stand in the flour mixture for 1 to 2 minutes - or until you are ready to fry.
- Add the chicken pieces into the skillet in batches being mindful not to over-crowd the pan. Cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
Notes
Freeze:
- Place cooled chicken pieces onto a sheet pan [paid link] and individually freeze so they do not stick together. Transfer the frozen nuggets into a zip-top storage bag. Freeze up to 3 months.
Reheat:
- OVEN: pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for about 10 minutes if thawed or about 15 minutes if frozen
- AIR FRYER: Pre-heat air fryer at 350 degrees F. Air Fry for about 7-10 minutes or until heated through. Time can sometimes depend on the air fryer brand/model.
Another huge help is to marinate chicken in pickle juice don’t ask me why just try it
Great site. loved this recipe. Served it with sweet and sour sauce
So good and can be baked instead of fried
Came across your nuggets on Pinterest. My kids love chic-fil-a so I am going to try these out. Thanks for posting.
Hi Cleo! Thanks for stopping in to say hello! My daughter loves these nuggets, be sure to also try my homemade Polynesian sauce – which was recently featured on Buzzfeed. :)
My kids love nuggets but I don’t like the kind that come frozen. It doesn’t even look like real chicken. This I can do!
Me too. We fry these as a treat every so often, but I do usually bake tenders for her.
Love these! Easy to make and tasty :)