Chicken Nuggets are a delicious treat the whole family loves and we make ours homemade for a healthy, scratch made option! Ground chicken is dredged formed into nuggets, dredged in panko crumbs and air fried to perfection. These Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets will be one recipe your kiddos and family ask for time and time again!
To start making them, we’re going to make a ‘panade’, and then combine it with the ground meat and add a few seasonings. A Panade is a mixture of bread and milk- something often used for meatloaf to keep it moist but at the same time hold it together (Jessica Gavin explains the science behind it here!). After mixing your nugget base, refrigerate it while we put together our next steps. You’ll need 3 shallow bowls (but if you are feeling like that is too many bowls, use paper plates for easier cleanup!).
PRO TIP: Set up a mini assembly station!
Using a cookie scooper or a tablespoon, make little patties, then follow the below order to coat them. I like to use a foil lined sheet pan to stage the nuggets from start to finish. Fill 3 bowls
- Flour (to dry coat nugget, this will help the egg dredge stick better)
- Eggs whisked
- Panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, and a few spices (paprika, oregano, granulated garlic and pepper).
Finally, preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees, place nuggets in a nonstick sprayed air fryer basket (making sure they don’t overlap) and give the tops a good spray of olive oil (or nonstick cooking spray to keep them crispy) for about 7-9 minutes or until 165 degrees internally at their thickest point.
The end result is delicious and crispy homemade Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets! Eat them whole, cut them up on a salad, or pick at them through out the night!
PRO TIP: I made a homemade Chick-Fil-A sauce.. If you want to give it a try, combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp BBQ sauce, 1 tbsp yellow mustard, and 1 tbsp honey. Whisk and dip!
Looking for sides to serve your nuggies with it? Here’s a few ideas!
Need more Air Fryer recipes? We got you covered there, too!
Cheers to delicious & healthy family friendly recipes!
Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets (from scratch recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 slice sandwich bread (wheat or white, chef's choice)
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 lb ground chicken (we like Isernio's brand)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
Panko Coating
- 1 1/4 cup panko crumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
Other Ingredients
- 2 eggs (whisked, in a separate bowl)
- olive oil spray
- 1/2 cup flour (in a separate bowl)
- 2 tbsp panko crumbs (optional, if needed)
Instructions
- Combine slice of bread and milk in medium sized mixing bowl. Allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Add ground chicken, salt, pepper and oregano. Mix with hands to combine. If mixture seems overly wet, add 1-2 tbsp of panko crumbs if desired.
- Using a small cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, create chicken nugget patties, and place on foil, or a cookie sheet for ease of next step.
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
- Create assembly station, dredging the chicekn nugget patties in the following order. Station 1- Egg wash Station 2- FlourStation 3- Panko Coating
- Spray the tops of the nuggets with nonstick spray, and place in air fryer basket (do not overlap, you may need to do 2 batches) for 7-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the nuggets at their thickest point reaches 165 degrees fahrenheit.
Ashley T says
made this for meal prep lunches with my husband. I cooked them and put them in a freezer bag for him to heat up during the week and for random snacks we make a big batch at a time now!! He loves them!!! they are a good meal prep for frozen meal foods without all the toxic ingredients!!!
Abby says
These were crispy, juicy, and delicious! I’m going to make a triple batch to freeze for lunches for my toddler!
JC says
FYI Step 4 of the instructions has the coatings out of order… I believe it should be flour then egg wash then panko.
Kathi & Rachel says
Hi JC – the recipe is correct as written. We use a small amount of panko for this recipe and its perfect just coated on top of the flour.
Alex says
That’s how I did it, turned out perfectly. That’s how I’ve breaded things for years