These Whole30 Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets are JUST what you’re hoping they’ll be – tender, crispy + with that signature tang of the traditional. They’re Paleo, Whole30 + so simple + delicious!
Is there EVER a bad time for chicken nuggets? I feel like everyone loves them – they’re universally delicious! However, when we’re talking about the “chicken” nuggets available from fast food restaurants? They might be tasty, but they can also be….full of lots of not so nice ingredients. These Whole30 Chick Fil A nuggets, however, are real bites of white meat chicken, flavored with your fav pickle juice, breaded in gluten free flour and some spices before being cooked to crisp, juicy perfection.
I mean, what’s not to love?!
For not much effort, we are taking the childhood comfort classic + turning them into the paleo, whole30 chicken nuggets of your dreams! You won’t believe the finished product.
What makes these like Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets?
The secret to these whole30 chick fil a nuggets is the marinading process. The actual restaurant has a 3 step process that we aren’t going to mirror exactly, but we’re going to copy in spirit 😉
Chick Fil A marinates their chicken in pickle juice (check), they toss the chicken in sugar (skip), and cook in a pressurized fryer. We’re going to use an air fryer (or oven), but the results turn out just as delicious, I promise! What this simple recipe looks like is more: soak in pickle juice, coat in a delicious whole30 breading + cook util you end up with juicy, crisp, divinely yummy whole30 chicken nuggets.
They really are that good.
This recipe turned out exactly as I hoped it would + it honestly doesn’t take a ton more effort than hopping into your car + driving all of the way to the drive through. PLUS, you can feel good about feeding these to your family again + again because they’re packed with protein, healthy fats + you totally control the amount of salt.
(Just to be clear, I am not discouraging the occasional partaking of normal chick fil a if your tummy can handle it… one of life’s simple joys.)
Why is this Whole30 Chick Fil A Nugget recipe the best?
- They are so, so simple to make. They take a few steps and a bit of waiting, but it’s actually SO easy!
- This method produces the juiciest chicken nuggets, even if you freeze and reheat them! The pickle juice gives the best “what is that?” tanginess and the almond flour adds a delicious sweetness.
- They replicate exactly what you want them to from the chick fil a original: juicy inside, crispy outside.
Tips for these Whole30 Chicken Nuggets
- Try to cut all of your pieces of chicken to roughly the same size. Ensuring they’re mostly equal means that your nuggets will all cook evenly!
- Don’t skip out on marinating the chicken in pickle juice for as long as you can! It adds so much flavor and really tenderizes the meat so that it stays nice and juicy when cooked.
- If you’ve never breaded meat at home before, it’s really helpful to have one “wet” hand and one “dry” hand to make the process easier. What this means is that one hand touches the chicken in the pickle juice and eggs, the other touches the chicken in the flour. This prevents you from breading your fingers too 😉
How to make these Whole30 Chick Fil A Nuggets
If you follow one step outlined in the recipe, PLEASE let it be the marinating in pickle juice. I can’t articulate how much of a difference this makes. And sure, it takes a bit of time, but you literally don’t have to do ANYTHING while they marinate. So please, please, please don’t skip this step when making these chick fil a nuggets…or they won’t taste like chick fil a nuggets.
Once your chicken is marinated and you’re ready to cook, add the eggs to a shallow bowl or rimmed plate and beat until they’re smooth. You can add a dash of dairy-free milk if you like, but it’s not necessary. In another dish, add the flours and the spices. Whisk it all together to get ready to bread!
Breading your chicken nuggets is a messy job, but a simple one. Here are the steps:
- Using your “wet” hand, remove the chicken from the pickle juice and drop into the flour.
- Using your “dry” hand, toss the nugget in the flour mixture until coated and drop in the egg.
- Coat in the egg with your “wet” hand and drop back into the dry.
- Pat the mixture onto your chicken with your “dry” hand until its thoroughly coated.
- Repeat until all of your nuggets are ready.
- Cook until crispy and juicy!
What’s the best way to cook these so they stay crispy?
To cook the nuggets once they’re coated, I love to use an air fryer. If you don’t have one, you don’t need to buy one specially for this recipe, although you wouldn’t regret it, ha! I literally use mine every single day nearly…and I’ve had it for 2+ years. It never loses it’s appeal!
When air frying, just be sure to space these chicken nuggets out enough so that the air can fully circulate and crisp the entire nugget. Cooking at 400f or 200c is just what you want! Depending on the size, they’ll take roughly 8 minutes. I love to flip halfway through to ensure the entire nugget is crunchy all around.
If you don’t have an air fryer, don’t fear! Baking these in the oven is just as easy. My little tip? Place a cooling rack over top of a baking sheet to simulate that same circulating air of the air fryer to get the whole thing crispy. You just may want to spray your cooling rack with cooking spray so that it doesn’t stick! The nuggets will cook in 8-10 minutes in the oven at the same temperature.
What kind of pickle juice? Where do I get it?
The best place to get pickle juice…is from a jar of pickles, ha! Just snag your fav jar of pickles (ensuring it’s a sugar-free dill version for Whole30) and empty out the juice! Honestly, the pickles survive just fine for a few weeks without it. Or, save a jar of juice once you finish it off to make these!
There are a few places where you can buy pickle juice on it’s own these days, but I’ve never worked that hard. I just grab my fav jar of pickles and go!
Is it essential to marinate the chicken in pickle juice?
Yes and no. Obviously you can do whatever you want, you never HAVE to do anything. But, if you want these to be tender and flavourful and to taste more like chick fil a, then yes. You have to + guys, it really takes no effort, so just try it!
If you’re running out of time, even 30 minutes or one hour will make more of a difference than you can imagine!
What flours can I substitute?
The almond flour is essential, so sorry friends, no swapping out of that one!
If you’re unsure what arrowroot powder is, or you don’t have any, the best swap would be tapioca starch, but you could also use coconut flour in a pinch. They’ll be slightly less crunchy if you use coconut flour!
Can I make these ahead?
Yes! In my opinion, this is the best part of this whole30 chick fil a nugget recipe! If you want to prep these ahead, there are 2 ways:
- uncooked: simply follow all of the steps up until they’re ready to cook. Instead, place them on some parchment paper on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, toss them in a bag and store in the freezer. Simply air fry or bake from frozen! You’ll need to increase the cooking time to closer to 15-20 minutes to ensure they’re cooked in the middle.
- cooked (my preference): the other option is to freeze the cooked nuggets, which is what I usually do. Once they’re cooked, allow them to cool to room temperature before popping into a container or bag and freeze. You can then bring them to room temperature before re-crisping or just pop them back into the oven or air fryer frozen! I usually do 8 minutes to reheat them from frozen.
To make these babies a meal, I love to serve them up with my salt + vinegar magic potatoes, but you could totally just go straight homemade fries and a simple side salad. Enjoy friends!
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Whole30 Big Mac Salad
- Paleo Chicken Tenders and Fries
- Whole30 Lamb + Mint Burgers
- Sweet + Salty Magic Sweet Potatoes
Did you make and ADORE these Whole30 Chick Fil A Nuggets? If so, I’d love for you to leave a review below and let me know what you thought. And don’t forget to share your nuggets on instagram + tag me! Brings me so much joy!
Whole30 Chick Fil A Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts (1-1.5 lbs)
- 2 eggs
- 1 jar dill pickles (ensure sugar free for whole30)
- 1.5 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup arrowroot powder (can sub coconut flour or tapioca starch)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Te begin, cut the chicken breasts into strips and then into cubes – they should be nugget sized! Add them to a bowl or airtight container, pour the jar of pickle juice over the top and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
- When ready to start cooking, crack the eggs into a shallow dish and whisk until combined.
- In another shallow dish, add all of the dry ingredients – flours and spices – and whisk until combined.
- One by one, take the nuggets from the pickle juice and coat in the flour mixture. Once coated in flour, dip into the egg. Drip off excess and add back to the flour. Press the flour mixture onto the nuggets until you have a nice thick coating. Set aside.
- These nuggets can cook in an air fryer or in a regular oven. Preheat either to 400f (or 200c). If cooking in the oven, place a wire cooling rack over top of a baking sheet so the nuggets get crispy all around.
- Cook in batches in an air fryer for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size, flipping halfway through. In the oven, they make take more like 10-12.
- Serve hot and crispy!
