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Tender, juicy chicken breast wrapped in crispy breadcrumbs with delicious seasonings for the best Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets recipe! Learn how to make homemade chicken nuggets in an air fryer—with way less oil than regular and less mess.
Yummy Homemade Chicken Nuggets – Air Fryer Recipe
- Healthy recipe – Skip the cups and cups of oil and enjoy fewer calories.
- Less mess – Forget the tedious and odorous deep frying that gets oil everywhere!
- Kid-friendly – Kids can help make this easy recipe and will love the tasty results, like with pizza sliders & air fryer nachos.
Tasty Chicken Nuggets Recipe – Air Fryer Style!
When we were little kids, my sisters and I would ask for chicken nuggets all the friggin’ time. Since the budget didn’t always allow for it, we got homemade ones my mom made instead. Now that we’re all older and wiser, we like to make healthier choices—like making our beloved homemade chicken nuggets in an air fryer.
Today’s chicken nuggets are made in an air fryer with way less oil, scratch ingredients, and delicious results. Think: crispy exteriors, juicy and tender chicken centers, and the perfect palette for dipping in delicious sauces like chipotle aioli!
Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets – Homemade Ingredients
- Chicken: we’ll be using skinless chicken breasts (just like in my creamy chicken dijon and my pan seared chicken breast), which can easily be picked up at the grocery store all prepared!
- Buttermilk: a crucial ingredient in making nearly any fried appetizer delicious. See my air fryer onion rings!
- Flour + Breadcrumbs: by using a combination of these two, we’ll achieve a crisp exterior for the nuggets.
- Spices: paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Oil and Cooking spray: the oil is a kind of glue that keeps the breadcrumb coating on the healthy air fryer chicken nuggets, and cooking spray keeps the nuggets crispy.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets in Air Fryer
- Trim off any excess fat off the chicken breasts, and slice into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Prep our dipping bowls! Bowl 1: buttermilk. Bowl 2: salt, flour, paprika, and garlic powder. Bowl 3: breadcrumbs and oil stirred together.
- Dip one piece of chicken into the buttermilk, then the dry seasoned mix, then back to the buttermilk, and finally the breadcrumbs. Coat each piece and tap off excess.
- As you finish coating each chicken nugget, lay them in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- If needed, preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Use cooking spray to coat the nuggets. Cook this chicken nuggets recipe in the air fryer for about 8 minutes.
Our Favorite Air Fryers
These are some of my favorite air fryers for making air fryer salmon bites, homemade chicken nuggets, air fryer Brussels sprouts, and more.
Sauces for Air Fryer Chicken Breast Nuggets
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Use a big fork to dredge the homemade chicken nuggets. This keeps your hands clean and helps to shake off excess bits.
- Change the fork once it gets gunky. Over time, a paste will form on the fork. Toss it and use another.
- Use a different fork for the breadcrumbs. I know, I’ve been tempted to use the same, but this keeps the breadcrumbs cleaner and yields a crisper result.
- Spray the chicken breast nuggets evenly in cooking spray for a crisp exterior.
For more delicious recipe ideas, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it! Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
Delicious Air Fryer Recipes
For parties, we love making air fryer baked potatoes, air fryer roasted potatoes, Caprese skewers, super cute mummy dogs or delicious taco dip.
Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Potato Wedges
Appetizers
Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings
Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Onion Rings {Homemade Recipe}
Appetizers
Air Fryer Nachos
How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets (In Air Fryer)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 16 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Cooking spray
Bowl 1
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
Bowl 2
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Don’t forget the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt
Bowl 3
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Trim excess fat off chicken and slice into even, 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper onto chicken.
- Add buttermilk to a shallow bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together flour, paprika, garlic powder and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. In a third bowl, stir together breadcrumbs and oil until well blended.
- Dip a chicken piece into each bowl to coat, tapping off excess. Start with buttermilk, then the seasoned flour mixture, back into the buttermilk, and finally coating in breadcrumbs.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Working in batches, cook chicken nuggets in a single, spaced-out layer. Coat the air fryer basket in cooking spray. Spray the nuggets with cooking spray, then halfway through, flip and spray again. Cook for a total of 8 minutes.
- ★ Last Step: If you made this recipe, leave a comment and review. It truly helps our small business keep running and it helps readers like you!
Made this for my grandkids because all they ever want to eat are chicken nuggets, and they practically inhaled them! Thank you!
Nothing beats the grandchildren’s approval! So happy it was a hit, Norma!
These were easy to make, and according to my husband “so good”!! I have tried so many of your recipes and they are easy to follow and delicious!
Another hit!!! Thanks!!!
Woohoo! I’m super pleased to know that they get the hubby’s seal of approval. 😊