Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets {gluten free with paleo option}
Looking for an easy meal that's guaranteed to please? These Homemade Gluten-Free Baked 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 & Dairy Free with a Gluten-Free & Grain-Free option, and they freeze well too!
Today I'm sharing with you a recipe that is truly one of our favorites--Baked Chicken Nuggets. I'm always on the lookout for easy recipes since my life is full. full. full. And since Hamburger Helper isn't on the menu for this whole foodie family (though this healthy version is) anymore, I have to figure out alternative ways to get dinner on the table in a flash.
If you struggle like I do, and you're tempted to go through a drive through when time is tough, then this gluten-free chicken nuggets recipe is for you! It's a super-easy recipe that 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.
Recently we've been so busy that our meals have gotten a bit blase. Meat, eggs, or beans, a grain and a veggie. Good, but a bit boring.
Truly, a highlight for my kids would be when I served them healthy no-nitrate, no-antibiotic hot dogs :-).
But the other night I pulled out some thawed chicken breast out of the fridge and served up this great chicken recipe for yummy chicken chunks and well, you should have seen the smiles on my kids' (and my husband's) faces.
You know by now that my criteria for a great recipe is one that is:
- healthy
- fast
- frugal
- tasty and
- kid friendly
With all of that being true about this recipe, this just might be the best homemade chicken nuggets recipe ever.
Not that fried chicken is necessarily unhealthy (I think it depends on the type of chicken and the fat that you fry in), but instead of deep fried chicken, you can use this easy baked chicken nuggets recipe instead (and it's less messy than fried chicken too :-)!)
The origin of this recipe
To start with, here is where this Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets Recipe came from ......I found the inspiration for this recipe in Simple Choices for Healthier Eating, a cookbook that was recommended to my by Linda, the owner of Whole Approach.
Whole Approach focuses on providing products and resources for those suffering from systemic candida. Unfortunately (:-)), I became acquainted with Whole Approach about 3 years ago when it became quite clear that candida had a pretty bad hold on me.
I had to move on from Whole Approach when it was obvious that I had more going on than candida, but I have stayed pretty close to some form of the candida diet since then, and one of my boys has as well. Most likely another will be joining us soon as we have seen the effects of too many carbs on him.
In any case, Linda told me what a great book this is -- filled with simple, tasty, and pleasing dishes. I couldn't agree more.
Making healthy changes
I'd has a sugar problem my whole life, but didn't want to talk about it or face how bad it had become. In fact, there was one day that I was standing listening to some friends of mine talking about some health issues and how they were related to sugar intake.
I basically almost covered my ears with my hands and walked away because I didn't want to think about what changes might lie ahead.
But ....eventually I faced the music and had to do something.
It was one of the big turning points for our family's health as several of us had to deal with sugar problems head on.
The first change we made was going sugar free, and we also went gluten free.
As time has progressed, we have eaten more and more low carb, and on and off I have dabbled with the AIP diet to address autoimmune issues.
Serving Options:
You can serve these alone or serve with dipping sauces.
I mentioned the Homemade Vegan Ranch Dip in the recipe, but this Easy Marinara Sauce would make a great dip as well.
This AIP Guacamole is another great option.
Substitutions for Special Diets
- Flour Option: I am not an “iron chef” when it comes to flour choice most of the time. I typically use a blend of mostly sweet brown rice, some millet, some buckwheat and sometimes GF oats. Especially with a recipe like this where the flour is just a coating, it will work just 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. - Garlic Powder: If you would prefer to make your own garlic powder, see Easy Homemade Garlic Powder.
- Oil: You could use another 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!
- THM: This recipe qualifies as an "S" if you are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
- whole30: Use almond flour.
Recipe 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! The original recipe recommended a spray bottle for the oil to coat the chicken. I recommend using a solid oil like coconut for this recipe as its smoke point is higher and you will not be creating free radicals by cooking at a high temperature.
- "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. These would also taste great with the homemade barbecue sauce from my Oven Barbecued Chicken!
Easy Baked Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup almond flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika (use onion powder for AIP)
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional - omit for AIP)
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (omit for AIP)
- avocado oil (use amount desired. About 1/4 cup should be enough)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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).
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
More "Ready in a Flash" Recipes:
Indian Lentils (ready in as little as 9 minutes!)
Fast and Yummy Bean Dip (it's a real winner!)
Quick Whole Grain Biscuits (w DF & GF options)
Pakistani Kima (ground beef curry). My kids ask for this all the time. Enjoy!
How about you? Do you have a quick and healthy "treat your family" meal?
Photo Credits: Naomi Huzovicova
These are one of my go-to recipes now and they are always a huge hit with the whole family! Love the simplicity, that they can be made in under 30 minutes, and that they are so very tasty. These chicken nuggets don't disappoint. Most of my immediate family have extensive multiple allergies and finding a single recipe that accounts for all those allergies, not to mention personal preferences, is no small feat. So when I get the rare "2 thumbs up, way up" from Every Single Member - SCORE! Thank you so much Adrienne!!!
Oh wow. I have been getting a lot of compliments on these recently. So fun! You made my night! I just had some not so great things happen so your lovely comment was appreciated more than you know! I'm sooooo glad to hear how much you all liked them! Hoping to get more recipes up soon and I hope you like them as well!
Omg! I made these today and they are the BOMB!!! I’m eating them rn and they’re literally so good! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Thank you!! So glad you liked them!!
I love this recipe and so do my 3 little girls! They are big nugget fans, but these are actually healthy! My 5 year old is severely allergic to egg and dairy, so I’m always excited to find a good recipe she can eat. I usually put them on top of a big salad for my husband and I, and we both really enjoy them! All that to say, thank you so much for this recipe!
Awww thank you!!!! Soooo glad to hear it. It's been waaay too long since I've made these!
Came out perfect!
So so glad to hear it!!
Can't have almond on AIP 🙁
Hi Kathleen - there are AIP option notes above the recipe. Please let me know if you don't see that and I hope you like them! Thanks for reading!
Great flavor and my whole family loved them. Not just for kids lol this mama loves her chicken nuggets too 🙂
So glad to hear it! You made my weekend! Time for me to make some for my family! 🙂
These were incredibly easy and so delicious. I only had 2 eggs and needed them for pancakes, so I especially loved that I didn't need eggs for this recipe. I was unsure of how they'd turn out since I normally coat my chicken in egg before seasoning, but this will be my new go-to nugget recipe! Thanks! #deletingallothernuggetrecipesfrompinterest
Oh wow---so great. I'm so happy to liked them that much! Love the hashtag -- too fun!
Very nice.. Loved it
Glad to hear!!
Question to clarify about freezing...
Do you coat with flour/seasonings and oil and put in freezer raw? And then pull them out and put them in the oven frozen and bake for an extra 5 minutes?
Or to you prep and bake and then freeze?
I think you could do it either way!
These were incredible!!my 15-year old daughter wanted Chik-Fil-A nuggets so badly on our Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living.
She was so HAPPY with these.
We all LOVED them-‘my husband, my daughter, my 86 year old mother and myself.
Thank you!!
Thank you so much--so glad to hear! You have good taste :).
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!