Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets
I have been making a version of these chicken nuggets every week for the past few years, but was hesitant to post a recipe on the site because there are already so many grain free chicken nugget recipes out there.
On further inspection I realized that the recipe I created is slightly different, and after posting a photo of a plate of nuggets on Instagram, the consensus was that I needed to share the recipe ASAP. So here it is, easy and delicious grain free chicken nuggets that I suspect will quickly become a staple in your home like they are in mine.
I usually make a big batch of these on Sunday night and then add them into salads for dinner throughout the week or eat them with ketchup as a light lunch. In my opinion they taste just as good cold as they do warm, so they are great to snack on when you are in need of some extra protein.
These chicken nuggets make me so nostalgic, there is something about eating little bite sized pieces of chicken that make me feel like a kid again. If you prefer you can cut the chicken into strips to make chicken tenders instead, or alternatively you could also use entire boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts, but the cooking time will be slightly longer.
This recipe requires a few extra steps to coat the chicken, but it’s incredibly easy to do and will ensure that you are left with a crispy breaded coating. The chicken should first be dredged in coconut flour which will seal in the moisture and give the liquid, which in this case is egg and almond milk, something to stick to. Once the chicken pieces are coated in flour on both sides, transfer to the liquid bowl and finally to the bowl with the almond flour and seasoning.
Although this isn’t completely necessary, I recommend baking the chicken nuggets on a wire rack placed on a baking sheet. The wire rack will help with air flow and will ensure that the bottom of the chicken doesn’t become soggy.
My final trick for getting grain free oven baked chicken nuggets crisp is to spray them with a cooking oil. You can buy coconut oil spray on Amazon, or alternatively fill an empty and clean spray bottle with olive or coconut oil. I recommend spraying the nuggets once before putting them in the oven and again half way through baking.
I can confirm that these nuggets are also a hit with kids, so I recommend doubling the recipe and keeping them on hand for quick and easy dinners throughout the week. Any leftovers will last up to 4 days in the fridge.
Here are a few other appetizer recipes you might enjoy:
- Creamy Chicken, Spinach & Artichoke Dip
- Chipotle Chicken Wings with Avocado Crema
- Hot & Creamy Crab Dip
- Poached Salmon Spread
- Mexican Chicken Salad Stuffed Avocados
- Creamy Jalapeno Chicken Dip
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 700 g Chicken Breasts (1.5lbs)
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp mixed herbs
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (omit if on SCD)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- coconut oil spray or olive oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) and place a wire rack on a baking sheet.
- Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch "nugget" sized pieces. You need 3 shallow bowls. In the first bowl whisk together the eggs and almond milk, set aside. In the second bowl place the coconut flour. In the third bowl stir together the almond flour, paprika, mixed herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Working in batches of 3 to 4 at a time, dredge the nuggets in the coconut flour, transfer to the egg bowl and turn them with a fork so that they are well coated in the liquid. Finally place the nuggets in the almond flour bowl and make sure they are well coated on all sides in the mixture. Place the coated nuggets on the wire rack and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
- Generously spray the nuggets with the cooking spray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping them half way through to ensure both sides are golden. You can spray them again one more time during cooking to make them a bit more crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
Regarding the nutrition information.
How many chicken nuggets = 468 calories?
These look delicious but my daughter is allergic to nuts. What flour could I substitute for the almond flour?
I would recommend using tapioca flour
Hi there,
Tried this recipe and it didn’t come out quite like these pictures. The breading was falling off the chicken when they came out of the oven and it was a much lighter color than yours. I followed the instructions closely (including spraying the chicken in oil). The only difference is that I brined my chicken prior to coating.
Any advice on how to get the breading to adhere better and come out more crispy?
oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that! Was the chicken patted dry with a paper towel after removing from the brine? I suspect that that might have been the problem
I too have egg allergy and use chia seed as egg substitute mixed with the nut milk to help hold the batter. Allow it to sit a little while to thicken up the nut milk
Thanks for the info Aurora! That’s really helpful!
You vaguely mention herb mix but can you explain what goes into that? Also ,is there a reason to use two different flours? Can I just use arrowroot or tapioca both times?
These looks so good! Planning on making them this weekend. I was wondering the same thing. Would love to know what herbs are used. 😊
Mixed herbs is a dried herb mix, if you cant find it then I would recommend using equal parts marjoram, oregano and basil.
Thank you for all your amazing recipes!!!
Is there any substitute for the egg wash in this recipe? We have a serious allergy here :-/
You could dip it in just milk, the coating might just not stick as well.
Hello! These look DELICIOUS! I’m on the Whole30, but one really hard thing for me is that I loathe the taste of coconut. Can I use all almond flour, or would there be a texture/taste issue?
When it comes to savoury dishes I am the exact same, I really don’t like the taste of coconut and I can promise that you can’t tell that there is any coconut in the coating. If you don’t have any coconut flour then you could use arrowroot flour instead.
I notice that you use tomato paste in a recipe but being on the scd diet, from what i understand, it is not legal. What do you suggest instead?
Hi, Barb. Their are legal tomato pastes like bionature and pomi. Italian tomato products must list all ingredients (even the last 2% that US companies don’t have to). Just a tip I’ve found helpful when it comes to finding legal tomato products.
Thanks for responding Marnie! You took the words right out of my mouth 🙂 Italian brands are required to list ever single ingredient so when they say that they use just tomatoes then they really do in fact contain only tomatoes and are ok to consume on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet