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
So amazingly good! My kids ate them all! Thank you so much for this option!!
So happy and you are so welcome!!!
HI sweet Friend,
what can you tell me about adrenal support?
Hi there – what would you like to know? There are a lot of posts on this site–you can search “adrenal”–let me know :).
Thank you! At least turned out great. Thank you for giving all the different options.
You are so welcome! Glad you liked them!
Just noticed the typo. It should have said “these turned out great.”
No problem and thanks again!!
These were a huge hit at my house! I used coconut oil and a gluten-free flour blend. My husband is getting ready to start a keto diet so I plan to use almond flour next time. Thank you so much for this recipe so our family can enjoy “normal” foods!
You are so welcome!
These are amazing. My son has egg and wheat, gluten allergy and I can not do diary. I made them yesterday and even my picky husband loved them. I mixed gluten free oatmeal flower with almond flower and they were just so juicy! My 4 year old asked if he can bring them to school because they are so good! Thank you so much for this quick and easy chicken nuggets recipes. (I did not use cayenne)
So glad to hear it!! You made my day!!!
I’m about to make these for my kids. Do these nuggets freeze well after you cook them? Just thinking I could bag them, freeze them, and put in the oven when ready to cook.
Yes, they do! So hope you like them!
Could you microwave them after freezing the cooked nuggets? Or do you still recommend Baking ? For how long would you reheat them ?
I think you could do that but I personally avoid the microwave. Baking is so much better–you could even use a convection oven or cook them in a pan on the stovetop. Maybe 20 min at 400 F.
Could you use crushed pork rinds instead of the flour?
I’m sure that would work!
I tried this as a meal for myself and I loved them, plus they were easy to reheat as leftovers in my toaster. I think I’ll try making these for my nearly 8 year old niece sometime. A lot healthier than the boxed kind of nuggets (e.g. Tyson) and DEFINITELY a lot healthier than the fast food variety (and we all know the fast food ones are NOT 100% chicken) I actually forgot about the Pepper and I skipped Cayenne as I don’t care for spiciness plus I don’t buy it. I used grapeseed oil because I was too lazy to melt some coconut oil & I wasn’t sure how olive oil would do.
So glad! Olive oil would work fine I think. Just go for something w a high smoke point!
3/4 t salt??? I just tasted the mixture and it tasted like a salt lick! Otherwise good
Hi David. Sorry you felt that way! I really like salt but I will put that in as a “to taste” option. For years I was told it wasn’t good for you but now I feel differently and see how it’s good for the adrenals when you use a quality salt, so I use it liberally :)!
Thanks for this recipe! Tasted pretty good!! I switched the flour to rice flour to accommodate my childs allergies and it worked great! I also used grapeseed oil since i didnt have avocado oil. Is there a way to make the bottom side of the nugget crispier? It was a little soft, should i flip em half way thru the cooking time? Or bake them on a wire rack? Any suggestions?
Hi there. Sorry for the delay in responding. I’m having to go back to comments I didn’t address yet. I think both of your ideas are good but they would fall through the wire rack for sure. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!