When my son was small, he could not get enough chicken nuggets. It was so intense that one year at Thanksgiving, he wrote it on his “I’m Thankful For” project at school.
As time went on I hated buying the bagged nuggets but it’s hard to beat that convenience. It was the first food he learned how to cook on his own.
I tried baked varieties but never quite liked them and the texture was off for my son’s liking.
Then I got an air fryer. A new world opened. Oh boy ...
These took a bit of perfecting for flavor and texture. Bread crumbs work better because the texture works better to stick to the raw chicken. The sodium is a bit high in store-branded crumbs. You can grind up oats or almonds but don’t get it as fine as flour, keep it the consistency of bread crumbs.
You could add in some spicy seasonings if you like a bit more heat.
This uses egg whites but two whole eggs and a splash of some kind of milk whipped up might work as the binding agent.
Ingredients:
1 package of boneless skinless chicken thighs = 3 lbs
1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs (or oat or almond flour)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup egg whites
2 tbsp coconut oil
Directions:
Cut up the chicken into the relatively same size bite-size chunks.
Put the pieces in a plastic bowl with a cover or a zip-top bag.
In a separate bowl, add all the seasonings and the bread crumbs, stir them together, set aside.
In your chicken container, drizzle the egg and coconut oil all over the chicken.
Sprinkle the seasoning mixture on the chicken, put the cover on your container, and shake until well coated.
Heat up your air fryer at 400 degrees for 3 minutes.
Add the chicken pieces to the bottom of the air fryer tray in a single layer.
Cook at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the nuggets.
When they are done, transfer from the hot tray to a plate.
Repeat until all the chicken pieces have been cooked.
One 5 oz serving is about 14-19 pieces depending on the size.
Nutrition:
Per serving
Calories 552
Total fat 15g
Total Carbs 34.2g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Sugar 1.5g
Protein 73.5g
Carbs 24% - Fat 24% - Protein 52%