air fryer chicken nuggets recipe - this succulent flourless bite sized chicken pieces are perfect to eat for dinner or even a game time appetiser.
If you are a true die hard fan of breaded chicken then you will love these air fryer chicken nuggets. They a miniature cuts of chicken bread coated in a flourless gluten free/keto/paleo approved breading made from ground almonds. The chicken is generous seasoned with truly amazing herbaceous flavour. Everything is made from scratch and it's very simple to put together too.
When I was younger I had this tendency to purchase chicken nuggets from Mcdonalds after school. Growing up in a Caribbean household meant most of the cuisines were non western. For me chicken nuggets for more-ish, granted they probably weren't healthy and didn't beat moms cooking but hey I was teenager and grew to love them.
Since I started blogging and purchased my air fryer I simply cannot get enough of it. This may sound cliche BUT my favourite recipes so far have to be air fried chicken - breasts, wings or thighs. I love all variations. I swear I am not being biased and I don't wanna sound like a sales pitch but the air fryer in my humble opinion cooks breaded chicken a lot better than the oven.
I rarely use my oven for breaded cooking recipes anymore which is why I just had to share this air fried chicken nuggets recipe - flavoursome, succulent, meaty and lean. All in one serving!! Did I mention how more-ish they are? I won't judge you for not wanting to share you nuggets with the family. I don't!!
The steps
Chicken breast - Make sure the chicken has been washed (lime/vinegar) and blotted dry before moving onto the next step which is to cut the chicken up into small bite sized pieces that resemble nuggets. Try to cut them in uniform so they cook evenly. Don't worry if you can't achieve an all around uniformed look, it just means you will have to keep a watchful of any nuggets which may cook faster than the rest.
The marinade - I marinated the chicken with some herbs, spices, egg and coconut yoghurt. The yoghurt is great for tenderising the chicken so I would not miss this step. I prefer to prepare this and leave the chicken to infuse overnight however, marinating the chicken for up to an hour works too.
Setting up the breading station - Once the chicken has been marinated for awhile I would suggest setting up the bowl with the chicken directly next to the herbaceous breading bowl.
The breading - the breadcrumbs are an old classic which are the ground almonds that I use them for almost all recipes. The breadcrumbs are clean containing no fillers and accessible too. Roll the chicken in the breading for it to evenly distribute then place each nugget in the air fryer basket.
What if I can't find mixed herbs
Don't worry if you cannot purchase mixed herbs in your neck of the woods. You can make you own using a combination of thyme, parsley and marjoram.
Cooking time
The chicken nuggets take roughly 14-16 minutes to cook depending on the size of the nuggets and how brown you may want the coating to be. Set your fryer to 14 minutes and add a few minutes extra if need be.
What to serve the chicken nuggets with
- Dipping sauce
- Vegetables
- Rice
- On their own
Other air fryer and chicken recipes you may like
Lemon pepper chicken
Air fryer steak
Air fryer chicken wings
Authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken
The steps
Place the chicken in a bowl with the coconut yoghurt, eggs, mixed herbs, garlic, onion powder, curry powder, paprika and pink salt
Stir and coat the chicken with the marinade
Roll the chicken pieces in the breading then place in the air fryer basket ready to cook
Air fryer chicken nuggets
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken breasts cut evenly (if possible
For the chicken marinade
- ⅓ cup of coconut yoghurt
- 1 egg cracked
- 1 teaspoon of garlic granules or powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon of curry powder optional
- ½ teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs or use ¼ teaspoon of thyme, ¼ teaspoon of marjoram and ½ teaspoon of parsley
For the breading
- 1 cup of ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs or use 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1 teaspoon of marjoram and 1 teaspoon of parsley
- ½ teaspoon of garlic powder/granules
- 1 teaspoon of himalayan pink salt
- Spray/cooking oil
Instructions
- Spray/coat the air fryer basket in oil then set aside.
- Grab the chicken and proceed to rinse in lime juice and blot dry with kitchen towel
- Place the chicken in a medium sized bowl then marinade with coconut yoghurt, egg, garlic granules, onion powder, pink salt mixed herbs, curry powder and paprika.
- Coat the chicken by stirring the ingredients together then refrigerate overnight or for atleast one hour
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator then prepare the breading
- Grab a medium sized bowl then add the breading, mixed herbs, garlic, pink salt and evenly combine
- Pick up the chicken, one at a time, shake off any excess liquid, then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Handle with care using hands. Index finger and thumb is best to avoid the breading from being scraped off.
- Place each nugget once they are breaded in the air fryer basket and spray or drizzle some oil over the top.
- Insert the basket into the fryer unit, switch it on, select M, temperate 180C and time 14 minutes ..... turn over half way through. Keep an eye on the chicken are the time does vary depending on the size of the chicken but around 14-16 minutes is the sweet spot
- Serve accordingly
Nutrition
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