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
These are my go to homemade nuggets! I’ve made them GF, whole wheat, white flour, but always with coconut oil! They’re so good and we never have leftovers 🙂
Awww Rachel – thanks for taking the time to tell me. I’m so happy! I have a yummy recipe coming tomorrow hopefully that goes with these (and another one soon after that)—-stay tuned! You can subscribe here if you’d like (it’s really good!)
Also can you freeze them cooked already and just warm up?
Hi again – Yes, you can for sure do that!
Can you make these in an air fryer? And if so what would you recommend?
Gosh good question! I am checking online for what makes sense….I’ll have to try it but how about try 375 degrees, coat the basket w/ some oil or a healthy cooking spray, and air fry for 7-9 minutes until done, flipping 1/2 way through. Do let me know how it goes!!
Hi, to freeze, do I do all the instructions up to and including the drizzle of oil, then freeze? Or do the oil before baking? Also, do they need to be thawed before baking? Thanks a bunch.
Hi there. I think drizzling after freezing is best and the least messy. You don’t have to thaw before baking, but they will take longer to bake if you start with frozen nuggets. So hope you like them!
Whoops! Just saw your Freezer directions. Please disregard my previous question!
No worries! It’s a good question. Enjoy!
I made these tonight to try the vegan hemp ranch dressing and oh my! So simple and easy and delicious!!!
Awww you made my night (again–after your comment on the ranch recipe) – thank you! How did they look..did they turn out looking like real nuggets at all – or do you think they kind of needed more breading? Thanks again!
They were lightly breaded, almost similar to what I remember of chick-fil-a, but way better. I did add a little more gluten free flour since we can’t do nuts and my 3 year old was helping (so we lost some). They were so good, he was thrilled, and my 18 year old picky daughter had some too!
So glad to hear! I want to get the photos redone—time to work on that. I’m sooo happy your kids loved them. That means a lot!
Sooooo glad I found this recipe. It has been life’s trying to find allergy friendly food recipe for my 3 years old. This recipe is a life saver. However, I did omit most spices as I am still worried, but will incorporate in a little later. I only used, salt, Brown rice flour, and canola oil and it was a hit with my three years old. Now we have more food options too. Thanksfor sharing the recipe!
Yay I am so glad to hear this! Hope the spices work out too! Hang in there….I know how hard food allergies are. My oldest is now losing his – it’s pretty much a miracle. You can see a little bit about it here: wholenewmom.com/about-me/.
Thanks for taking the time to come and comment and say hi to your Little One for me. ♥️
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Looking forward to trying it. Question for you. I have already-cooked chicken pieces in the freezer. Do you think I should thaw them first or just coat them and bake a bit?
You are so welcome! I so hope you like them!!
Hi, It was yummy but maybe we didn’t make it right as it was not very crunchy. Do you have a recommendation on how to get the coating to be a little crunchier?
Whoops! You already mentioned trying a higher temp. I will give that a try!
Glad you liked them and sorry for the delay in responding….Did you get a chance to try that and if so, how did it go?
We loved this! Unfortunately it didn’t come out very crispy, but I think my oven Temperature wasn’t high enough? I am always weary with my oven temp when I try a recipe for the first time. Next time, and there will definitely be a next time because it tasted so good, I will put it on a higher temp!
Hi there — so glad you liked them! Were you able to try again with a higher temp? Maybe get an oven thermometer to see? It can make all the difference.
Thank you thank you for this recipe! My son has an egg allergy and my husband is gluten free, and we plow through the GF nuggets from Costco. These taste so much better and will save me some money! I actually used tenderloins and they were so yummy!
So so glad to hear this. Wow the great reviews have been just pouring in on these recently. May I ask you a question–did you do the drizzle of oil on top after the topping and did you think they had enough coating? I’m just wondering if I should make any changes—did they look good re: appearance? Thanks in advance and again, so glad!
Yes I did the drizzle, and I was a little unsure about how that would affect the coating, but I trusted your instructions and they turned out great! I did double the amount of flour since I was using tenderloins (I think I had about 10) and there was a little extra in the bowl pre-oil. But after adding the oil and mixing more the extra flour sort of just stuck on, if that makes sense? Ha! I don’t know if I can post a pic but I’d be happy to share one if there’s a way.
Thanks much! So basically you doubled the flour and then did the drizzle and stirred a little and put more flour on?
Or you doubled the flour and put it all on the chicken and there was extra so after you drizzled you mixed a little?
You could send a photo to me at adrienne (at) wholenewmom (dot) com if you’d like – thank you!
I doubled the flour, put it all on, and then put the drizzle on!
I’ll email the pic here soon!
Thank you!!
How do I rate more than 5 stars? These are so good and this is the first time I’ve ever seen my picky toddler eat meat without spitting it out. Instantly in the rotation!
I’m sooo glad to hear this! I have been getting a LOT of great reviews of these recently. Makes me so happpy!