My Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets are tender, juicy and crispy as can be! Made in less than 30 minutes, this easy recipe is always so much more satisfying than frozen nuggets. With two kids under 7, this is a favorite recipe at my house.
What’s in air fryer chicken nuggets?
Made with simple pantry staple ingredients, I likely don’t need to plan an extra trip to the store to make this chicken nugget recipe. That makes it a recipe I make time and time again.
- Chicken Breast: Make sure to slice them into the correct nugget shapes before breading.
- Breadcrumbs: You can use panko if you’d like! Just note that the texture will be different.
- Olive Oil: This is used just to make sure the nuggets don’t stick to the air fryer. You can swap it with something else, like vegetable oil.
Can you make these without an air fryer?
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can still make these chicken nuggets. You can deep fry them in an oil such as canola or vegetable or you can oven bake them.
To oven bake, preheat the oven to 400°F and place the coated chicken on to a baking sheet. Bake for around 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
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How to Store and Reheat
Store chicken nuggets in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To reheat, just pop the nuggets back in the air fryer at 400°F for 4-5 minutes.
How to Freeze
Let the cooked chicken nuggets totally cool to room temperature. Then, toss them into an airtight freezer safe container. Date, label and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow the nuggets to defrost in the fridge for a few hours prior to reheating.
Notes from the Test Kitchen
- I also tried panko crumbs, and they worked too! They have a different texture, and I liked the breadcrumb texture better.
- You can add hot sauce or chili powder to the milk and seasonings mixture if you want a spicier chicken nugget.
- If in a hurry, and you aren’t concerned with how “pretty” the nuggets look, you can pour the flour over the chicken pieces in a larger bowl and toss until they are covered. It saves a step, but I wanted to make sure all of my pieces were evenly covered.
Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour divided in half
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground paprika
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (or make your own– see below!)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips or 2×2 size.
Instructions
To Make Breadcrumbs
- Depending on the size of the bread, you can make your own bread crumbs from about four slices of bread. Place bread in the basket, and set time for about 5-7 minutes at 350°F, flipping over halfway. The air fryer makes the bread very crisp! Pace the crisp bread into the food processor and pulse into fine crumbs form.
For the Chicken Nuggets
- To prepare the basket: Using a pastry brush, brush oil onto the basket. (I used olive oil, but I am sure vegetable oil works just as well. This will keep the batter from sticking to the basket as it cooks.) Set the basket aside.2 tablespoons olive oil
- In a small to medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup of flour, plus all of the milk and seasonings. Using two other bowls, one filled with the other ½ cup flour, and the other with the breadcrumbs, place the bowls next to each other for easy dipping.1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup milk, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground paprika, 1 cup breadcrumbs
- Dip each piece of chicken, starting with the flour, then once coated, dip into milk/seasonings mixture, then coat each piece with bread crumbs. Place each piece into the oiled basket, without stacking. Repeat coating for each piece, until all are covered and in basket.1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Select chicken, make sure the temperature is 380°F. Cook on each side for 7 minutes. If you prefer extra crispy, you can cook an additional minute on each side.
Notes
- We also tried panko crumbs, and they worked too! They have a different texture, and we liked the breadcrumb texture better.
- You can also add hot sauce or chili powder to the milk and seasonings mixture if you want a spicier chicken nugget.
- If in a hurry, and you aren’t concerned with how “Pretty” the nuggets look, you can pour the flour over the chicken pieces in a larger bowl and toss until they are covered. It saves a step, but we wanted to make sure all of my pieces were evenly covered.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets Step by Step
Whisk the batter: Whisk together 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp paprika.
Dip in flour: Place remaining flour into a bowl. Dip each piece of chicken in the flour.
Dip in batter: Dip the flour coated chicken in the batter.
Coat in breadcrumbs: Add breadcrumbs to a third bowl. Coat each piece of chicken in breadcrumbs.
Cook the chicken: Brush 2 tbsp oil in the air fryer basket. Place the chicken in the basket and cook at 380°F for 14 minutes, flipping halfway through cook time. Feel free to cook for an extra minute to make the nuggets even crispier!
More Air Fryer Chicken Recipes We Love
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
- Air Fryer Nashville Hot Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Chili Lime Chicken
- Air Fryer Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
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