Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets

At a glance

What stands out: It’s hard to tell these air fryer chicken nuggets aren’t deep fried! They get so crispy, and without all the extra oil, they’re healthier, too. From-scratch chicken nuggets are straightforward to mix.

How long it takes: 22 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: air fryer, bowls, tongs
Servings: 4 but can be doubled

Air Fryer Magic

We've had an air fryer for quite awhile now, and we'll be honest. At first, we just ate more French fries and tater tots (they get SO crispy!). Since then, we've come to use our air fryer nearly every day for everything from boiled eggs to roasted mushrooms. We've had lots of requests for air fryer recipes, so today we're featuring from-scratch air fryer chicken nuggets.

Air fryer chicken nuggets are always a total hit with our kids. The first time our daughter tried these chicken nuggets, she was obsessed. She kept saying that they were so tender and juicy. That’s the magic of the air fryer! The air fryer also works great for breaded pork chops and, kind of surprisingly, reliable salmon.

From-scratch Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets

Crispy breading, but not deep fried. These chicken nuggets are breaded in the traditional way. First they get dipped in flour, then egg, and then a seasoned bread crumb mixture. We like to use whole wheat flour and whole wheat panko bread crumbs. Taste-wise, you can’t tell the difference but it makes these nuggets more satisfying and nutritious.

Perfectly seasoned. The flour is seasoned with salt and pepper so that the chicken gets seasoned properly on that first layer. The panko gets mixed with Parmesan and dried parsley for more flavor.

Fast cooking. Air fryer chicken nuggets are fully cooked in just 7 minutes! (Looking for more “speedy” chicken recipes? Try pan-fried chicken bites or, even better, garlic Parmesan chicken bites!)

Cooking Tip

We use finely grated Parmesan (yes, the kind in the green can!). Shredded Parmesan tastes great, but looks a little stringy on these nuggets. The finely grated Parmesan blends in better with the breadcrumbs.

What is an air fryer?

An air fryer is a medium-sized kitchen appliance that circulates air around food (similar to a convection oven). It cooks food quickly and gives food a crispy brown outside. It also requires far less oil than many other cooking methods. Read more about the air fryer here.

Great Air Fryer

We've had a couple of air fryers, and this is the one we currently own. We love it! It has a great capacity and is user-friendly.

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Ways to change it

• Serve the nuggets with a dipping sauce. Our first choice is usually our from-scratch Chick-fil-A sauce. Perhaps you would enjoy yum yum sauce or bang bang sauce. Other popular choices are from-scratch ranch, BBQ sauce (gotcha covered with a from-scratch bbq sauce, too!), French fry dipping sauce, ketchup, honey, hot honey, honey mustard sauce, whatever you like!
• Change the seasoning: Add an Italian twist by mixing in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon dried oregano to the breadcrumb mixture. Give them a little heat by adding ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to the flour.
• Make them gluten-free or without breading. Use your favorite gluten-free flour and breadcrumbs for breading. You can also make the nuggets without breading. Season the chicken with a little sprinkle of salt and pepper. The cubes cook in the same amount of time without breading, as long as they are cut in roughly the same size. They’re reliable for adding to a salad. Our skillet chicken bites are popular, too.
• Bake them in your oven. Try our lighter chicken nuggets with Parmesan.
• Rather have chicken strips? Try air fryer chicken tenders, basically the same process but a different size.
• Looking for a vegetarian choice? Try making falafel or Buffalo cauliflower bites in your air fryer.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #51. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list.

Browse Meal Plans

Reliable Side Dishes

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 7 minutes
• Total: 22 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
• ¼ teaspoon salt (more if desired)
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper (more if desired)
• 1 large egg
• ⅔ cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs (or regular panko)
• ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• olive oil spray

Method

1. Preheat air fryer at 400ºF for 5 minutes.
2. Dice chicken evenly into 1-inch pieces. We like to cut it into long strips, about 1-inch wide, and then make horizontal cuts, about 1-inch apart.
3. Set out three small shallow bowls. In the first bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. In the second bowl, add egg and beat lightly. In the third bowl, combine panko, Parmesan cheese, and parsley flakes
4. One at a time, coat chicken pieces in the flour mixture, then dip into the beaten egg, and finally coat with the panko mixture, pressing lightly to help the coating adhere.
5. Place chicken nuggets in basket of air fryer, in a single layer. Spray the nuggets with olive oil spray (this helps them get golden brown and crispy). You probably won't be able to cook them all at once. Cook each batch of chicken nuggets for 7 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Do not overcook.
6. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce, such as ranch, honey mustard, honey, BBQ sauce, etc. Refer to the post for more suggestions.

Notes

Pro tip: Don’t try to cook the nuggets all at once unless you have a large air fryer. They should be in a single layer with space in between so there will be plenty of air circulation.

Options: Omit the parsley flakes if you’re not a fan of green in your food. You can also change up the seasoning, maybe using our all purpose seasoning (it’s like seasoned salt) or garlic salt, instead of the salt and pepper in the recipe. If you don’t have olive oil spray, you can use non-stick baking spray.

Gluten-free/dairy free: Use your favorite gluten-free flour and breadcrumbs for breading. To make dairy-free, omit Parmesan cheese. You can also skip the breading. Season the cubed chicken as desired and air fry.