Homemade Chicken Nuggets In The Air Fryer
Homemade Chicken Nuggets in the Air Fryer are juicy, crispy and easy to make in under 30 minutes using minimal oil! This easy air fryer snack or main dish is quick to make with a handful of ingredients and they are a much healthier alternative to grocery store frozen chicken nuggets! Pair with your favorite dipping sauce and a side salad or creamy Homemade Coleslaw for an easy lunch or dinner!
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We love fried chicken in this house! Classic fried chicken nuggets without buttermilk is our favorite go-to whenever we don’t want to commit to making a whole lot of fried chicken at once(but that would be fine too!).
However, since getting an air fryer and as we are getting closer to summer, we have been reaching for the air fryer more and more to make for everything, but especially chicken nuggets. And boy, homemade chicken nuggets in the air fryer are top-tier eating!
They are so light and crisp but also juicy and tender and full of flavor thanks to a seasoned breadcrumb mixture!
Make it a meal and pair these chicken nuggets with a Kale Crunch Salad(Chick-Fil-a Copycat) and an Iced Peach Sweet Tea or simply enjoy them with your favorite dipping sauces as a quick snack or party appetizer!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are dairy-free! This recipe is perfect for you if you are trying to avoid dairy or you simply ran out of buttermilk. Like all my fried chicken recipes these air fryer chicken nuggets are made without buttermilk and are completely dairy-free!
- They are super crispy without using a ton of oil. The air fryer does such a good job at circulating hot air which equals less oil, no standing over a hot stove and super crispy nuggets! Using the air fryer is a great option if you are trying to reduce your oil intake or just want a lighter and slightly healthier chicken nugget option.
- This is a 30-minute recipe! Don’t we all love an easy and delicious meal idea? These nuggets take about 20 minutes to prep and 8 minutes to cook. They would be delicious served with this 3-ingredient Alfredo Sauce over fettuccine, this Kale Pasta with Red Cabbage, or with Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Heavy Cream.
Ingredients For Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chicken breast – You’ll need 1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 2-inch pieces. You can also use 1/2 lb of chicken tenderloins, cut into pieces.
- Eggs – Used to bind the flour and bread crumbs onto the chicken nuggets.
- Seasonings – These air fryer chicken nuggets are seasoned simply with salt and pepper, onion powder, and ground paprika. They would also be really good with an Italian herb blend!
- Oil – Since the air fryer does a good job of crisping up these nuggets we only need to use a little bit of oil – about 3 tablespoons to get them crisp.
- Flour and breadcrumbs – Flour is used to seal in the juices of the chicken so the meat doesn’t dry out in the air fryer. For the breadcrumbs, I made them from scratch by drying out Challah Bread or sandwich bread in the oven then blending it in a food processor. Homemade or storebought bread crumbs are both fine, just make sure they are plain because we will be adding our own seasonings to them!
Tips and Tricks
- Set up all your drenching stations ahead of time: You’ll need a bowl/ shallow dish for the eggs, one for the flour and one for the bread crumbs and a plate to place the breaded raw chicken. Setting everything up ahead of time makes for a smoother prep experience! Oh, a tip I saw on Youtube was to use the air fryer parchment paper liners instead of bowls for the flour and bread crumbs. It will save a couple dishes and then after you’re finished you can just simply throw it all away!
- Don’t forget to preheat the air fryer basket. This will speed up the cooking time by a few minutes and it makes sure your nuggets will get crispier, faster!
- Make sure to salt your chicken before breading them. This is very important because we don’t want bland chicken underneath the seasoned breadcrumbs.
- Love spice? Make these chicken nuggets spicy by adding ¼- ½ teaspoon of ground cayenne to the spice mix.
Looking For More Recipes?
Fried Chicken Nuggets without Buttermilk
Air Fryer Breaded Buffalo Wings
Air Fryer BBQ Wings with Homemade BBQ Sauce
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Homemade Chicken Nuggets In The Air Fryer
Equipment
- Air fryer
- Pastry brush
- 2 Pairs of tongs one for the raw meat and one for the cooked nuggets
- 3 Shallow bowls or dishes for drenching
Ingredients
Chicken Nuggets
- 1 chicken breast cut into 2 inch cubes, boneless skinless
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 – 2 eggs whisked
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs plain
- 3 tablespoons oil
Seasonings
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
Optinal
- Ketchup
- Mustard or honey mustard
- Homemade BBQ Sauce
- Ranch
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 – 7 minutes.
- Set up your drenching stations with 3 shallow bowls one for the eggs, one for flour, and one for the breadcrumbs.
- Rinse and pat dry your chicken breast with paper towels. Cut into 2-inch pieces then toss with salt, mixing until well combined.1 chicken breast ¼ teaspoon salt
- Next, mix seasonings together in a small bowl. Add half of the seasonings to the flour and the rest to the breadcrumbs, mixing to combine. ½ cup all purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Black pepper 1 teaspoon Ground paprika 1 teaspoon Onion powder 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- Add a couple pieces of chicken into the flour mixture then into the whisked eggs. Use a fork to drain off the excess egg then transfer them to the seasoned breadcrumb mixture. Firmly pressing the breadcrumbs onto the chicken, then transfer the chicken nuggets to a plate. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken. 1 – 2 eggs
- Transfer breaded chicken nuggets to the preheated air fryer leaving about ½ inch of space all around each one. Work in batches if needed. Brush the tops with olive oil. 3 tablespoons oil
- Set to the Air Fryer setting then cook for 6 – 8 minutes, flipping half through the cooking time.
- Transfer cooked chicken nuggets to a clean plate then allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before enjoying with your favorite dipping sauces. Enjoy!
Notes
Tips and Tricks
- Set up all your drenching stations ahead of time: You’ll need a bowl/ shallow dish for the eggs, one for the flour and one for the bread crumbs and a plate to place the breaded raw chicken. Setting everything up ahead of time makes for a smoother prep experience! Oh, a tip I saw on Youtube was to use the air fryer parchment paper liners instead of bowls for the flour and bread crumbs. It will save a couple dishes and then after you’re finished you can just simply throw it all away!
- Don’t forget to preheat the air fryer basket. This will speed up the cooking time by a few minutes and it makes sure your nuggets will get crispier, faster!
- Make sure to salt your chicken before breading them. This is very important because we don’t want bland chicken underneath the seasoned breadcrumbs.
- Love spice? Make these chicken nuggets spicy by adding ¼- ½ teaspoon of ground cayenne to the spice mix.
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
How to Cook Homemade Chicken Nuggets in the Air Fryer:
Step one. For the chicken: Rinse and cut your chicken breast into 2-inch pieces. Toss with salt and set aside. Into a small bowl mix together all the seasonings, add half to the flour mixture and half to the breadcrumbs mixing until well incorporated. Preheat the air fryer while you are breading your chicken.
Step two. Breading: Add a few pieces of chicken to the flour mixture, into the whisked eggs then into the seasoned breadcrumbs. Firmly pressing into the breadcrumbs so that they will stick better, then transfer the breaded chicken to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Step three. Air frying: Plate breaded chicken nuggets into the preheated air fryer leaving a little bit of space in between each one. Use a pastry brush to brush vegetable oil over each one then air fry for 6 – 8 minutes or until golden brown and at least 165 degrees on the inside. Transfer to a clean plate, working in batches until all the chicken is cooked.
Step four. Serving: Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes to redistribute the juices before serving with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
