My Homemade Chicken Nuggets are one of my kids favorite things I make! I brine the chicken before frying and use a combo of seasoned flour AND breadcrumbs to get that perfect coating that is crunchy but not too thick! Like Chick Fil A, but better because they’re homemade! And yes, you can bake them too!
Make sure to serve these with my Favorite Chicken Dipping Sauce! And if you love a little kick, make sure to try my Spicy Chicken Nuggets too!
These Homemade Chicken Nuggets Are A Chick Fil A Copycat!
We are a nugget household. I dare even say that chicken nuggets are possibly our favorite food. I know it’s not refined, classy eating, but really…is there anything better than a nugget done right?
Of course we are partial to the ever popular Chick Fil A nugget. I do happen to feel like they are the superior fast food nugget. So I used their nuggets as inspiration for my recipe and these are a pretty close match!
What Ingredients Do You Need For Homemade Chicken Nuggets?
The great thing about my recipe is that you use everyday ingredients…nothing fancy here! Here’s a quick rundown of the ingredient list:
- Chicken Breasts. You will use boneless skinless chicken here and cut it into 1- inch chunks. Don’t get too hung up on the size, just try and keep them all the same(ish) size so they cook evenly!
- Pickle Juice and Milk. I use a combo of pickle juice and milk to brine the chicken, which flavors and tenderizes the chicken!
- Hot Sauce. I use a tablespoon of hot sauce, like Franks, or Louisiana Hot Sauce in the brine to add a little flavor. It doesn’t make the chicken spicy, it just adds another layer of flavor!
- All Purpose Flour and Plain Breadcrumbs. I love the combo of the 2 in the breading. You get the crunch the from the breadcrumbs, while getting an even coating from the flour.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and powdered sugar is the combo I use. You could also just use seasoned salt and pepper to simplify the process of you prefer! OR adjust the seasonings to your own taste!
What If You Don’t Have Pickle Juice?
Whether you don’t have it in your fridge, or just don’t LIKE pickles it’s no problem…you can also use buttermilk in place of the pickle juice/milk combo. Buttermilk won’t have as much tang as the pickle juice, but it works!
And if you don’t have buttermilk either, use 1 1/2 cups milk combined with 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to create your own DIY buttermilk!
Can I Bake These Nuggets Instead Of Fry Them?
Yep, if you prefer not to fry your nuggets you can absolutely bake them. Just follow these steps for best results:
- Prepare the nuggets the same as you would if you were frying.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the coated nuggets onto the baking sheet and liberally spray the nuggets with cooking oil spray (like THIS) or if you have a refillable oil spray that works great too!
- Bake 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through, so both sides get crispy.
Air Fryer Option:
I actually have a recipe that is similar to this on my site for Air Fryer Chicken Tenders…using the pickle brine also! Make sure to check out that recipe fo the AirFryer details.
Can You Freeze These Nuggets?
YES! Imagine having homemade nuggets whenever you get the craving! Here’s how:
- Make a batch of the nuggets as the recipe is written. Or double the recipe to enjoy now AND later!
- Allow the nuggets to cool completely.
- Place the nuggets into zip-top freezer bag, or airtight container and freeze for up to a month.
- To reheat these preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the nuggets in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the nuggets are crispy and warm.
Dip Your Nuggets In Any Of My Homemade Sauces:
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Homemade Chicken Nuggets Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes + marinating
- Yield: serves 6
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Dinner
Description
Homemade Chicken Nuggets are crispy, packed with flavor, and easy to make!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1– inch chunks
- 1 cup dill pickle juice
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 quart canola oil
Instructions
- Place the chicken chunks into a large zip-top bag. Pour the pickle juice, milk, and hot sauce into the bag and seal. Massage the mixture together and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and powdered sugar.
- Drain the chicken from the pickle juice mixture. Working in batches coat the chicken chunks in the breading, making sure all sides are coated.
- Turn your oven onto warm and set aside a large baking sheet.
- In a large Dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat. Oil should reach 350°F, or when you place the back of a wooden spoon into the oil bubbles should form around it immediately.
- Working in batches, place chicken into the hot oil. Allow the chicken to fry for 4-5 minutes, until it is golden brown.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken nuggets from the oil and place onto the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven to keep the nuggets warm while you fry the remaining chicken.
- Serve warm
Notes
Serve with my Chicken Dipping Sauce. Don’t transfer the chicken onto a paper towel to absorb oil. This creates soggy bottomed nuggets. Just drain the oil using a slotted spoon. Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 610
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 1454.9 mg
- Fat: 25.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.6 g
- Protein: 56.7 g
- Cholesterol: 165.9 mg
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I’ve made these twice now and my family and I really loved them. I’ve tried several other recipes, and this is the keeper by far! I never have pickles around, so I just use 1.5 cups buttermilk. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!
So glad you liked them!! And yes, buttermilk works great as well!
This is by far the best recipe ever! Tasted just like the Chick-fil-A ones! Super easy. We will be making this a lot in our house!
Love hearing this! Thank you for the review!
I made the nuggets but didn’t have confectioners sugar . I loved the pickle taste and the nuggets was delicious and juicy !!
The next time I made the nuggets I had the sugar. The kids gobbled them up. With the sugar on the nuggets it didn’t have much of as
a pickle taste. Also I tried frying and deep frying , it was good but nothing like using the Dutch Oven!!!!
Thanks for your feedback!
Waste of 3lb chicken
Followed recipe to the letter, did it both baked and fried. Marinaded overnight.
The tempura is soggy in both cases and it’s lacking salt& spice. I will try to salvage it with dipping sauce, but it’s quite a disappointment both in taste and look.
Won’t be doing this mistake again!
Sorry you had that result. This recipe is made with a breadcrumb coating, not a tempura, so if you used a tempura batter possibly that lead to a different result? Also the recipe has a great deal of salt between the pickle brine and the tablespoon of kosher salt in the breading, so it must just be a personal preference on this 🙂
I would guess the only way the chicken would not be crisp if deep frying is that your oil might not have been hot enough. Again, sorry you had a poor result!
How many nuggets is a serving?
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but was wondering how to decrease the sodium content, but still making them flavorful, so my 14-year old will eat them like he does Chick-fil-a’s.
Can you air fry these?
I did. Sprayed the inside of the fryer and the nuggets with canola oil really well and they got golden. Tasted the pickle a ton tho. Idk if that’s because I didn’t fry them.
Not quite Chikfila…
Baked these instead of frying, so I never got the golden color I wanted. I was a little disappointed by the color and flavor, but my picky eater ate a ton! Will definitely be part of my regular rotation, but I will probably try frying instead.
This was very good. I used buttermilk (skipped the hot sauce), Soaked for a few hours, drained, and continued with instructions. I used Italian Style bread crumbs. Regular table salt. No powdered sugar. Used the baking instructions above on a tinfoil lined pan.
These were very very tasty. They were not as brown as I thought they should be but yes very good.
Does almond milk work as a substitute for the milk?
It will work!
Read in an article that calcium in milk may help tenderize the meat. So it may work.