Easy Baked Gluten-free Chicken Nuggets (Keto and Stovetop Options)
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Looking for an easy meal that's guaranteed to please? These Homemade Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets fit the bill.
These gluten-free chicken nuggets always get rave reviews, and are suitable for almost any special diet. They're egg and dairy-free with a keto/grain-free option, and they can even be made on the stovetop!
If you're tempted to go through a drive through when time is short, then this gluten-free chicken nuggets recipe is for you! It's a super-easy recipe you can put together in almost no time flat that will make your family feel like you really went out of your way for them.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This just might be the best homemade chicken nuggets recipe ever for several reasons. They're so much healthier than store-bought or restaurant chicken nuggets. They come together fast and require no special ingredients so it's a frugal recipe as well.
They can be made in the oven or on the stovetop, and they taste amazing. The reviews say it all.
And my husband agrees with the stellar reviews as well. Every time I make them, he says, “How long do these take you to make?” which is basically him asking me to make them more often.
Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken breast
- almond flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
- salt
- garlic powder
- paprika
- cayenne pepper
- black pepper
- avocado oil
Directions
Cut chicken into chunks. (Photo 1)
Coat the chicken. (Photo 2)
Drizzle with oil.
Place on baking tray and bake. (Photo 3)
Serve. (Photo 4)
Serving Options
Serve with rice or other grain of choice, in pitas, with or without a dipping sauce.
These nuggets taste great dipped in:
- Sugar-free No-Cook Ketchup
- Healthy Chick-fil-A Sauce
- AIP Guacamole: yes, nuggets taste great dipped in guac!
- Dairy-free Ranch Dressing
- Dairy-free Avocado Dressing
- Moroccan Vinaigrette: this is a thinner dip, but the nuggets still taste great with this.
- BBQ Sauce from this Keto BBQ Chicken.
Substitutions for Special Diets
- Flour Option: Any gluten-free flour blend should work fine. Organic almond flour is a good grain-free option. Use organic coconut flour or organic tiger nut flour for AIP. Note that coconut will absorb a lot of moisture, so blending it with another flour is best.
- Oil: You can use any other oil suitable for high heat instead of avocado oil.
- AIP: If you use cassava or tiger nut flour and adjust the spices, these baked chicken nuggets work for the AIP diet. Omit the pepper and paprika, and cayenne. There aren't really any good substitutes for these, but this AIP Taco Seasoning would likely taste great on these nuggets.
- THM: This recipe qualifies as an “S” for the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
- whole30: Use almond flour or other non-grain flours on their own or as a blend.
Recipe Notes
- Extra Coating Option: The recipe tastes great as it is, but you might want to increase the amount of the coating by half or simply double it.
- Size of Cuts: The smaller you cut the chicken, the faster the chicken nuggets will bake. Don’t cut them so small that you have crispy itty bitty pieces of chicken, but don't make them too large either. A bit smaller than typical frozen chicken nuggets is a good size.
- Oil: I know that it seems odd to add the oil after the coating, but this recipe really works; trust me! I like using avocado oil due to its high smoke point.
- “Spicy-ness:” Experiment with the cayenne and pepper to adjust the “spicy-ness” to your taste.
- Meal Prep: For even faster meal prep, cut up chicken into chunks, coat, and store in small plastic bags in the freezer (flash freeze first on a baking tray). Just take out of the freezer and bake in the oven for a ready-in-a-flash meal! The chunks will only take about 5 minutes longer to cook.
How to Store
You can keep these nuggets in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
To freeze, let cooked nuggets cool, then for best results, flash freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet or in a shallow container. Freeze for 1-2 hours until frozen solid. Then place the nuggets in a freezer-safe bag or other container. To reheat, bake or air-fry around 375° for about 10-15 minutes until hot.
More Easy Healthy Dinner Recipes
- Indian Lentils: A delicious meatless meal that's ready in as little as 9 minutes!
- Ground Beef Curry: This dish is so delicious, we serve it for guests all the time and have even had it for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter!
- Gluten-free Chili Mac: An easy, hearty and delicious one-pan meal.
- Gluten-free Hamburger Helper Beef Skillet: Another one-pan meal that tastes great.
Easy Baked Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup almond flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika (use onion powder for AIP)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional – omit for AIP)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (omit for AIP)
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (About 1/4 cup should be enough to coat the chicken.)
Instructions
- Cut chicken into approximately 1 – 1½ inch size chunks. Place in bowl.
- Mix flour with seasonings.
- Sprinkle flour and seasoning mixture over chicken and mix well to coat thoroughly.
- Melt oil (if necessary). Drizzle over chicken and mix to coat lightly.
- Bake in preheated oven (425 degrees for convection / 450 for conventional) until chicken’s internal temperature reaches 180 degrees (about 10 minutes for a convection oven [I love my Hamilton Beach convection oven] and 14 for conventional).
Stovetop Option
- Cut chicken into small chunks, about 1 – 1½ inch chunks. Place in bowl.
- Mix flour with seasonings.
- Sprinkle flour and seasoning mixture over chicken and mix well to coat thoroughly.
- Melt oil (if necessary). Drizzle over chicken and mix to coat lightly.
- Cook in large shallow pan over medium heat, stirring often enough to prevent burning. Cook until chicken’s internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.
Notes
- Size of Cuts: The smaller you cut the chicken, the faster the chicken nuggets will bake. Don’t cut them so small that you have crispy bitty pieces of chicken, but not as big as commercial nuggets.
- Oil: I know that it seems odd to add the oil after the coating, but this recipe really works. Trust me! I recommend using avocado oil as its smoke point is higher.
- “Spicy-ness:” Experiment with the cayenne and pepper to adjust the “spicy-ness” to your taste.
- Meal Prep: For even faster meal prep, cut up chicken into chunks, coat, and store in small plastic bags in the freezer. Just take out of the freezer and bake in the oven for a ready-in-a-flash meal! The chunks will only take about 5 minutes longer to cook.
- How to Serve: Serve with rice, in pitas, grain of choice and with or without a dipping sauce.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
This recipe was inspired by a nuggets recipe in the book Simple Choices for Healthier Eating.
How about you? Do you have a quick and healthy “treat your family” meal?
Photo Credits: Naomi Huzovicova
Thank you so much for the “skip to recipe” button! I just want to be able to read and print recipes. I wish more food bloggers would do the same thing!
You are so welcome! It’s fairly new on my site – I knew I had to have it! I might be making a change w/ the recipes soon that should make them even better 🙂 — thanks for taking the time to give feedback. Much appreciated!! I do, just so you know, consider myself to be more of a health blogger, but kind of 50/50 b/c well, recipes and food and health go together. And I love to eat and make new things!
Wow, why are you so awesome? Thanks for the easiest and super yum recipe for nuggets. I’ve no doubt my son will be thanking you tomorrow also after he eats his lunch. :o)
So happy – thank you!!
I am gluten-free mom to 5 blessings. Always trying to find whole food, gluten-free, kid-friendly recipes for the whole family so I don’t have to cook mine & theirs separately. This fit the bill. Made this recipe (quadrupled the breading part and doubled the meat) and they are gone! Yummo! 😀 Will be making this again, thank you.
🙂 thanks!
Never mind. After looking for it for two hours it finally appeared. Seriously. Weird.
Thank you for your great recipes.
I’m so sorry again. Something with the blog made it so that after commenting the recipe would appear. Thanks for your patience!
I don’t see a recipe on this page. Where do I find it?
Hi Rose. So sorry – there was a problem with the blog last night but it’s fixed now. So sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for reading!
Where is the recipe? It’s nowhere to be found on this page.
Hi Rose. So sorry – there was a problem with the blog last night but it’s fixed now. So sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for reading!
Sorry I wrote “Sarah” – I was responding to a bunch of people this morning and got goofed up! Thanks again!
I really appreciate this dairy-free & egg-free recipe! If choosing between all-purpose flour vs. bread flour, which would you recommend? And will using a different type of flour change the measurement?
I would tend to use bread since it has more protein but then I avoid gluten so I’m no longer a gluten flour expert. They can typically be used interchangeably. Hope you like it!
I grind oat flour in the coffee grinder to make the flour for this recipe and it’s so fab it made it to my “Favorite Recipes” Pinterest board. Thank you 🙂
So great – thank you!!!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe!! My kids are picky and they actually ate these. I made a honey mustard sauce to go with them and it was amazing.
So glad to hear it! I would LOVE the honey mustard recipe if you are able to share. Thanks!
do you have to use avocado oil when making this?
No – I just like to use a high smoke point oil since they are cooked at a high temp.