If you’re looking for an easy and delicious gluten free chicken nugget recipe, you’ve come to the right place! Heck they’re so yummy, I can eat a whole plateful all by myself! Yup, I’ve finally nailed a nugget recipe that my kids love and I wholeheartedly approve of.
What you’ll need to make these gluten free nuggets
Chicken I especially like using chicken tenders as they are a good compromise between white breast meat and dark thigh meat. They are tender and juicy just as chicken nuggets are meant to be.
Gluten free flours Because these nuggets are gluten free we will be coating them with a blend of almond and tapioca flour. If you can’t find tapioca flour where you live, rice or arrowroot flours work just as well.
Spices I like to keep it simple. Just salt, red chili powder, garlic powder and if you have it on hand, dried oregano.
Eggs Whisked eggs in a bowl for a quick egg wash.
Oil I like to shallow fry my nuggets in refined coconut oil or avocado oil because it can withstand high heat. Avoid using canola, corn and other vegetable oils as they are highly processed and high in omega 6 fatty acids.
Making the nuggets
Cut the chicken tenders into bite sized pieces and season with all the spices. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the coating. You can also refrigerate the chicken overnight if desired.
Next, in a flat bowl, mix together the gluten free almond and tapioca flours and salt and set aside. In another bowl whip the eggs and set next to the bowl of flour mix in an assembly line of sorts.
Take the marinated nuggets and add a batch into the egg wash. Ensure that the chicken pieces are well coated and then draining any excess egg, drop them into the flour mixture.
Coat well with the flour mixture and if frying immediately, lay on a plate. Repeat with the rest of the chicken till all the nuggets are coated.
These nuggets can be air fried or shallow fried in neutral oil. Whichever way you cook them, they turn out crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside!
Storing the chicken nuggets for easy meal prep
There are a couple of ways to make these gluten free nuggets meal prep friendly:
Freeze raw: Once you have them coated in the egg and flour mix, you simply lay them in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet and pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes. This helps the flour stick and get a little bit of a seal on them so that when you put them in an air tight bag for storage, they don’t stick together. When ready to eat, simply take out of the freezer and air fry or pan fry till ready to eat.
Freeze cooked: If you’d rather cook your chicken nuggets first make sure they are thoroughly cooled off and then store them in a single layer in a freezer safe bag. You can heat them in the oven once you’re ready to eat them.
More chicken recipes to try:
I hope you try this recipe out! If you do, please let me know in comments how it worked out for you! Or tag me on Instagram @eatdrinkpure. I love seeing you try out my recipes!
Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenders cut up into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoons red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano optional
- Oil for frying
Coating
- 6 tablespoons almond flour
- 9 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 eggs whipped
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken pieces with the spices and refrigerate till you work on the coating.
- In a bowl stir together all the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Next whip up the eggs and set aside.
- Work in batches to first coat the chicken in the egg wash and then the dry flour mix.
- Set aside the coated nuggets on a plate.
- If you are freezing them un cooked, set them in one layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes before putting them in a freezer friendly zip top bag. This helps them from sticking together.
- If you are frying them immediately, heat some neutral oil ( about 3 tablespoons if you want to shallow fry ) in a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan and work in batches.
- Fry the nuggets 3-4 minutes on each side and drain on a paper lined plate.
- Repeat till all the nuggets are done.
- You can air fry them as well. Put them in your air fryer tray in a single layer.
- Spray with oil and follow your air fryer directions for chicken.
- Half way through flip the nuggets and spray with another coating of oil.
- Continue frying till ready.
- Enjoy warm with your condiment of choice.
Notes
- I often use refined coconut oil as it is a cheaper option to avocado oil and has a high smoke point.
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