Air fryer chicken nuggets made with chicken breast and a simple grain free coating are going to become a family favorite!
These healthy chicken nuggets are baked in the air fryer and get a crispy, golden, crunchy coating without added oil! Made with almond flour and arrowroot powder, these chicken tenders are gluten free, egg free, grain free, paleo, low carb and Whole30 friendly!
Crispy homemade air fryer chicken tenders
One of the favorite nights of the week is when I make air fryer chicken tenders for Dave! They smell amazing and Dave just adores them! I love how easy they are to make and now that I have the air fryer, I don’t have to heat up the whole kitchen to make them!
The air fryer has easily become one of my favorite kitchen gadgets! I love making crispy roasted brussel sprouts, sweet potato fries and these healthy crispy chicken nuggets!
What I love about using the air fryer to make these chicken nuggets is how crispy the crust gets! You can also make this recipe in the oven but I find that they never get as crispy as in the air fryer.
How to make air fryer chicken nuggets
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast (or chicken thighs or turkey breast)
- Dijon mustard
- Almond flour
- Arrowroot powder
- Salt
- Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning)
- Non-stick spray (olive oil spray or avocado oil spray)
Step by step instructions
Since Dave is egg free, I have had to get creative with how to get the breading stick to chicken nuggets and chicken tenders. Well I have the perfect solution for that: Dijon Mustard!
The dijon mustard works just as well as an egg wash and it also adds a layer of flavor to the chicken.
If you don’t want to use the dijon mustard and can use eggs, you could also use a traditional egg wash (just whisk up an egg or two and dip the chicken nuggets in the egg before the crust mixture).
- Start by cutting the boneless, skinless chicken breast (or boneless, skinless chicken thighs) into bite size pieces using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. I usually use kitchen shears because it’s so much easier
- Have 2 pans or bowls out for the chicken, one for the dijon mustard and one for the coating.
- Mix together the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and seasoning in one of the pans.
- Coat the chicken in dijon mustard
- Dredge the chicken in the seasoned mixture and be sure to fully coat the chicken.
- Place the chicken nuggets in the air fryer basket, making sure not to overcrowd the basket.
- Bake at 390F for 15 minutes, flipping halfway
- Depending on the size of your air fryer you may need to do this recipe in batches to cook all of the chicken.
What spices can be used to coat homemade chicken nuggets
Air fryer chicken tenders common questions
The dijon mustard works just as well as an egg wash and it also adds a layer of flavor to the chicken.
If you don’t want to use the dijon mustard and can use eggs, you could also use a traditional egg wash (just whisk up an egg or two and dip the chicken nuggets in the egg before the crust mixture).
Instead of almond flour you can use sunflower seed, pumpkin seed or hemp hearts. Put whatever seed you want to use in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until the seeds are broken down into a flour like texture.
If you decide you want to double or triple the recipe, you can always store the extra in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you need them to last longer than 3 days, you should put the air fryer chicken nuggets into the freezer and pull them out when you need them.
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How to store leftovers
Yes! After cooking, you can freeze the chicken nuggets after allowing them to cool completely. Freeze them in on a cookie sheet or in a gallon size freezer bag in a flat layer so they don’t freeze together. Once frozen you can transfer them to a freezer bag or freezer safe container.
To reheat frozen air fryer chicken nuggets you can use the air fryer or the toaster oven. You could reheat the frozen nuggets in the microwave but they may get soggy.
What to use as chicken nugget dipping sauce
What to serve with these air fryer chicken tenders
Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
$11.75 Recipe/$1.96 ServingGuided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast - $10.49
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard - $0.12
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder (or tapioca) - $0.16
- 1/2 cup almond flour (see post for nut free ideas) - $0.73
- 1/2 tsp salt - $0.03
- 1 tsp herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning) - $0.10
- olive oil or avocado oil spray - $0.12
Instructions
- In a large pan, combine the arrowroot flour, almond flour, salt, and herbs de provence
- Cut the chicken breast up into bite size pieces using a knife or kitchen shears.
- Place the cut up chicken in a separate large pan or plate.
- Add the dijon mustard to the chicken and coat the chicken, moving it around with your hands until fully coated with a thin layer of mustard.
- Transfer the chicken to the pan filled with the almond flour mixture a few pieces of chicken at a time.
- Coat the chicken nugget pieces in the almond flour mixture, being sure to press down and really make sure all sides are getting coated.
- Place the coated chicken into the air fryer basket, making sure it doesn’t get over crowded.
- Once the basket is full, spray the chicken with a light mist of the non-stick spray. This might require you to cook the chicken in batches depending on the size of your air fryer
- Cook at 390F for 15 minutes. After 9 minutes, flip the chicken carefully.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce
Risa B.
Tuesday 18th of August 2020
This was so good! It even had my picky teen's vote! I'll definitely make this again.
Samantha Rowland
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
That is a win for sure Risa!! I'm sure these disappeared quickly with teens in the house :)
Cindy
Thursday 2nd of April 2020
Easy, delicious, and fits both our diets (mine and hubby's, that is). I didn't have Dijon mustard, so I subbed 4 teaspoons brown mustard and 2 teaspoons honey. Since I don't have an air fryer, I cooked my chicken at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes. Air fryer would probably make the nuggets crispier, but we both loved these nuggets. Thanks for sharing your recipe!