Frozen Chicken Nuggets In Air Fryer
If you’re like our family, we always have frozen nuggets on hand. My kids would eat me out of house and home if I didn’t keep some quick and easy snacks on hand.
Placing these chicken nuggets in the Air Fryer is the easiest and best way to make chicken nuggets.
The frozen chicken nuggets should be perfect and fully cooked in about 10-12 minutes.
You can find all of the details and full instructions are written below or skip to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe.
If you like using the air fryer to heat frozen foods, you might also enjoy these frozen burritos in air fryer.
Because there are so many different sizes and brands of nuggets, consider doing a test batch. Once you’ve done a test batch, you’ll know the perfect amount of time to use for your favorite brand and size nuggets.
Don’t overload the basket with nuggets or they will take longer to cook and get crispy. Make sure you leave a little room between the nuggets and keep them in a single layer.
Is Air Frying Healthy
It depends on what youre making, but overall, yes! Air frying is definitely healthier than deep frying. Air fryers use hot air instead of oil to cook food while still producing that crispiness we all adore about fried food.
For me, its the halfway point between baking and deep frying. Air frying creates crisper food than baking and while its SIGNIFICANTLY healthier than deep frying in oil, it doesnt get food quite as crispy.
How To Cook Frozen Chicken Nuggets In An Air Fryer
Ive included tips in the recipe below for the best way to freeze chicken nuggets . Once youre ready to cook your nuggets from the frozen stage, youll want to drop your air fryer temperature down to 360°F. The slightly lower temperature allows the interior to cook without the outside burning.
All thats left to do is decide on dipping sauces! Will you keep it classic with ketchup? Will you bust out the barbecue? Or will you go big with the ultimate Homemade Ranch Dressing?
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Tips To Make The Best Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Bring the meat to room temperature before preparing. Otherwise, the butter coating will solidify and the breadcrumbs wont stick.
- For extra crispiness, you can dredge the meat in flour before coating with the butter and seasonings.
- Keep the size of your chunks consistent and dont let them touch. This will help each bite to cook evenly and crisp up on all sides.
- Dont spray your basket. Because we coat each piece with butter, theres no need!
Air Frying Vegan Chicken Nuggets
Air frying vegan chicken nuggets is very easy you just have to place the nuggets evenly in the basket. Spray oil on it and air fry the nuggets at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. When you are half way through flip sides and within 12 minutes you will get crispy, crunchy golden nuggets from the outside and juicy nuggets from the inside. You can serve it with any dip or mayo to enhance the flavor.
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Storing Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Refrigerating: Store air fryer chicken nuggets in an airtight container in the fridge. They will stay fresh for up to five days.
- Freezing: Freeze air fryer chicken nuggets by placing them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Pop the entire baking sheet in the freezer. Once completely frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe plastic storage bag for later use. Frozen air fryer chicken nuggets are great to have on hand and can be used for up to 3 months.
Reheating Tip: Reheat your air fryer chicken nuggets by popping them in the air fryer again until warmed through. Avoid microwaving nuggets, as they will turn soggy.
How To Make The Perfect Chicken Nuggets
Chicken nuggets really taste good when you make them with chicken breast fillet. I like the lean meat and prefer to keep it whole instead of making a mince.
It is important to use Greek yoghurt or thick Indian curd as we want the marinade to be really thick and not runny.
You could use egg wash but because of the thick marinade, the breading adheres easily and does not need it.
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How Long To Cook Frozen Chicken Nuggets In The Air Fryer
To cook frozen chicken nuggets in the air fryer, first, preheat the air fryer to 400°F and spray the inside basket with nonstick cooking spray. Add the frozen chicken nuggets in a single layer. Air fry for 8 minutes, then flip and continue to cook for an additional 4 minutes, or until golden, crispy, and heated through.
How To Make These Your Own
Ranch , bbq sauce , ketchup, honey
Kidding, kind of. Theyre really great the way they are, you guys! But here are a few ideas:
- Rather have chicken strips? Try air fryer chicken tenders, basically the same process but a different size.
- To make gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten-free flour and breadcrumbs for breading.
- Add an Italian twist: Mix in 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano to the breadcrumb mixture.
- Give them a little heat by adding 1/4 teaspoon cayenne to the flour.
- If you cant get down with whole wheat, use purpose flour and white Panko.
- Looking for a vegetarian choice? Try making falafel or Buffalo cauliflower bites in your air fryer.
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Best Brand Of Frozen Chicken Nuggets For Air Fryer
Theres so many different brands with different sizes and thicknesses of the chicken nuggets. Do a test batch first for a small handful. After cooking your first few nuggets, youll know more of how long and temp is best for your brand. Also, the more you cook, the longer it will take to get crispy. So you should be flexible and check to make sure the nuggets are cooked though. Organic brands of frozen chicken nuggets are perfect for cooking in the fryer too. You can eat more chicken nuggets and eat consciously with organic brands!
How To Make The Butter Sauce Coating
More garlic flavor is in the butter coating, as well as the hint of lemon flavor I stated earlier. To make the coating, simply combine the melted Challenge Butter, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and salt in a medium bowl. Then, pour the sauce over the bowl of warm chicken. Toss the chicken pieces in the sauce to coat as evenly as you can.
Finally, place the sauced chicken back in the air fryer to cook for an additional five minutes. Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Remove the chicken from the air fryer and serve as an appetizer ! These air-fried nuggets would also be delicious added to a bed of lettuce, topped with jalapeno ranch dressing.
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Spritz With Cooking Spray
Have a large rimmed baking sheet off to the side of your dredging station when assembling your Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets. The baking sheet will provide you with ample workspace to spread out the nuggets without crowding them. Where there is no oil, there is no browning. Which means that gorgeous golden, crispy crust? It’s not going to happen unless it comes into contact with a spritz of oil.
Allowing room between each chicken nugget is important as it allows you to get an even, full-coverage mist of oil across both the surface and along the sides of each and every nugget.
Lightly coat the panko breading with the cooking spray, turn each nugget, and spritz again.
Why Are Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets The Best
If you want that perfect texture with a crispy outside and tender inside nugget, then air frying them is the way to go! I tried these and could not believe how delicious they were and how the texture is exactly what I want in a nugget! And then to know that I did it without any oil splatters and mess Well, thats basically a miracle! These nuggets are so delicious and easy to make!
Not only did I eat these plain but you can do SO many different things with them! Add them to a salad, dip them in some sauce or eat them with some french fries and lemonade and you will have yourself a meal! You can even cook up a bunch of these at once and eat them on the go. We have so many activities and places to be during the school year and are gone all the time! So these are great to make ahead and heat up to eat on the go! You will absolutely love these and your family will too!
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How To Make Keto Chicken Nuggets
Start by creating the breading. To do this, crush up some pork rinds, add in some parmesan cheese, and add in all of the necessary spices. Mix so that all of your dry ingredients are incorporated.
*Alternatively, instead of crushing your pork rinds, you can place them in a food processor which will do all the work for you.
Once you have your breading mixture, crack an egg and scramble it to create an egg wash. This will help your breading to stick to the diced chicken.
Simply dip each chunk of chicken into the egg wash, toss it in the breading and make sure that it has a healthy layer of coating, and place the chunk of chicken into the air fryer. Repeat this process until all of the chicken is coated and in the fryer. This process may need to be accomplished in batches if your air fryer cannot accommodate the amount of chicken being cooked.
Enjoy and dip your keto chicken nuggets in you favorite sugar free sauce! Why not give this keto blue cheese dip a try!?!?!
Keto Chicken Nuggets Ingredients
Not only do these air fryer keto chicken nuggets taste amazing, but they are also great for you.
These keto chicken nuggets are made with the best quality ingredients but also the simplest ingredients. You can probably go to your kitchen right now and make these keto chicken nuggets with no special trip to a special store.
The main ingredient in these keto chicken nuggets is Perdue Farms Diced Chicken Breast. This chicken is all natural, is always fresh, contains no chemicals, and tastes amazing. It is always tender and juicy every time.
Not only that, but Perdue Farms has done all of the work for you. The hassle of trying to dice up chicken is often a sticky, tedious mess. Not to mention the hassle of having to clean a cutting board.
This all-natural chicken is already diced and ready to cook, right from the package!
Perdue Farms offers amazing products, for sure, but they also offer amazing service. Perdue Farms has recently began to offer direct-to-consumer shipments of all of their meats!
That means added convenience and less stress at the grocery store!
And if you didnt know, Perdue Farms offers more than just delicious chicken. They also offer beef, pork, and lamb through their many sub-brands. That means that you can get farm fresh chicken, pork, steak and more shipped right to your door!
Not only can you save some cash, but youll also be saving a ton of time at the grocery store.
to view all of Perdue Farms direct-to-consumer products!
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Air Fryer Keto Chicken Nuggets
This last Christmas my parents got Dylan and I an air fryer and we cant stop using it! I know were a little late to the air fryer party, but better late than never!
As soon as we unboxed our air fryer, the first thing we knew we needed to make were keto air fryer chicken nuggets!
The first batch was pretty good, but since then we have worked super hard to perfect the recipe, and I can honestly say with all the humility in the word these air fryer keto chicken nuggets are the best thing maybe in the whole world. Maybe. Probably. At least tied for second.
Before I say any more, I feel as if I must defend the honor of chicken nuggets. Yes, most chicken nuggets are gross. I mean, they may taste good, but they are not good for you.
Fast food chicken nuggets are just breaded and fried chicken fat, skin, and sometimes even bone. No one wants that.
But just because most chicken nuggets are gross does not mean all chicken nuggets are gross. These chicken nuggets are not the chicken nuggets you get from a drive-thru window. These low carb air fryer chicken nuggets are simply chunks of crispy, juicy, tender real chicken!
Not only do these keto chicken nuggets taste amazing, but they are also great for you! They are made with all natural Perdue Farms chicken that contains no antibiotics, were fed an all vegetarian diet, and were raised cage free, among other things.
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Can You Make Chicken Nuggets In The Oven
You can absolutely make air fryer chicken nuggets in the oven.
Homemade Chicken Nuggets In The Air Fryer
If you love chicken nuggets, then you are really going to love air fryer chicken nuggets. They are super easy to make! All you do is chop fresh chicken breasts into small pieces, mix them with egg, coat them with seasoned panko breadcrumbs, and bake them in your air fryer for about 10 minutes. The breading is golden and crispy while the inside chicken breast stays tender, juicy, and perfectly delicious. So much healthier than deep-fried or frozen chicken nuggets, but just as fun to eat with all of your favorite dipping sauces .
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Heres What Im Going To Teach You In This Post:
- How to cook chicken nuggets in the air fryer, and some great tips on how to get perfect results every time!
- Some keto-friendly and flavor variations to try, and some of the best sauces for dipping
- Other common questions about how to prepare and reheat homemade chicken nuggets in the air fryer
This recipe is so easy and comes together in no time! And with my delicious combination of spices and seasonings, youll never want to buy frozen grocery store nuggets again.
I made this recipe using the 5.8 QT Cosori Air Fryer. Its square basket makes it the perfect size for our family of 4.
How To Cook Air Fried Frozen Chicken Nuggets In Air Fryer
- The frozen air fried chicken nuggets can easily be cooked when taken straight from the freezer.
- Depending on the size and thickness of the nuggets, theyll cook between about 10-12 minutes.
- Do you need to oil spray? Since these frozen chicken nuggets are already pre-fried, we dont feel you need to add extra oil. Youll see all the oil release at the bottom of the air fryer. Its less greasy if you DONT add extra oil spray.
- Our timing and details are below in the recipe box.
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Why Youll Love These Homemade Chicken Nuggets
- Super easy. This recipe only uses 8 ingredients that you probably already have around the house. Then you just need ten minutes to prep and 15 minutes to cook before dinner is ready to serve!
- Kids and adults love them. Chicken nuggets are a childhood classic that no kid will turn down. But adults like them equally well, so you can serve them to the whole family.
- Healthier version. Making chicken nuggets in the air fryer cuts down on fat and calories compared to store-bought, deep-fried, or fast food versions. Plus they are dairy-free and can easily be adapted to be gluten-free.
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets
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Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets are the newest, greatest way to make this easy snack. No longer do we use our microwave, and now we never have soggy, dry, nuggets. These Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets are always crispy and perfectly cooked.
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What Do I Need To Make Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
These nuggets are made up of a bunch of ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry! Mix them up and then youll be ready to start! See the recipe card below for a list of exact measurements.
- Chicken breast: Cut up the chicken breast into cmall cubes. Make them all about the same size so that they cook evenly.
- Flour: I used all purpose flour for this recipe!
- Salt and pepper: I used this right before baking to season the nuggets.
- Olive oil: If you dont have any olive oil the you can use melted butter instead!
- Garlic: Mince up some fresh garlic cloves. If you dont have any, you can use minced garlic from your fridge. ½ tsp equals about 1 clove of garlic!
- Panko: The pank bread crumbs give these chicken nuggets the best crispy texture.
- Parmesan: This adds to that crispy texture and tastes delicious.
- Dried parsley: I like to used parsley to flavor it. It gives a similar taste to restaurant nuggets!
- Paprika: Paprika is a sweet spice that I love to use in this coating.