This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Looking for the best Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets that everyone is going to love? This recipe uses a blend of almond flour and spices to make a crunchy and delicious chicken nugget that also happens to be gluten-free and easy to make! With instructions for making in the oven, air fryer or stovetop, these healthier chicken nuggets will make for a perfect quick dinner or meal prep that will make the whole family happy.
Our Favorite Healthy Chicken Nugget Recipe
These Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets are the perfect healthier version of everyones favorite hand held chicken recipe! They are low carb, flavorful, and completely gluten-free and grain-free. A reader favorite and loved by adults and kids alike! We originally published this back in 2014, but we thought it was time take new photos so more of you can find these on our site!
So many of you have made this recipe (check out the comments below) and have loved these perfectly crispy healthier chicken nuggets. Serve them up with your favorite dipping sauce (we’re partial to honey mustard) and everyone is going to be happy!
Ingredients Needed
Here is an overview of the ingredient list. Keep scrolling for the full recipe.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Eggs
- Almond Flour
- Spices: Garlic Powder, Italian seasoning, Paprika, Chili Powder and Cayenne (optional)
- Salt and Pepper
- Avocado Oil Spray, or Avocado Oil (for cooking the chicken)
Substitutions
Eggs: We haven’t tried this, but you might be able to use an almond milk to wet the chicken to get the breading to stick.
Almond Flour: Can’t have nuts? Check out this Nut-Free Chicken Tender breading option.
How to Cook Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets
We’ve included instructions for pan-frying, oven baking and air frying depending on your own needs and time.
They all take roughly the same amount of time to make, but we are partial to pan-frying them. They are obviously more crispy this way! But they do require more hands on cooking.
Air-frying them results in a crispy exterior as well, but with a much less oil and less hands-on cooking.
If you do bake them, be sure not to skip the step of using the parchment paper and to lightly grease the uncooked breaded chicken. Using the parchment paper prevents the chicken from sticking to the sheet pan.
Tips for Working with Gluten-Free Breading
Over the years, one of the most common complaints we’ve received when it comes to working with paleo and gluten-free chicken breading is that the breading falls off. Truthfully, we really haven’t had that happen to us during our years of making them, and I think the reason why is that we treat these delicately while breading them and while cooking them.
The biggest tip we can give for pan-frying is to make sure you use enough oil, and also don’t flip the chicken before it is ready. This tip doesn’t just apply for this chicken nugget recipe, but generally speaking, if a piece of meat isn’t fully cooked when you try to flip it, it can stick! So just test one and make sure it easily comes off the pan before flipping. If you’ve found it stuck, let it cook longer before you try to flip it.
Also, we’ve found using a thin spatula works best to flip these instead of a pair of tongs, that way there is less chance of breaking the coating.
And a tip if you are baking, don’t skip the parchment paper! It’s essential to make sure these don’t stick to your baking sheet. Make sure to coat the paper and the breading with a bit of oil (we’ve found a spray oil to work the best here) to ensure nothing sticks.
Can I Freeze These?
Absolutely! You can make a big batch of these and keep them in the freezer whenever you need a quick bite to eat for the kids (or yourself)!
My biggest tip is to freeze them initially on a parchment lined sheet tray first for about 24 hours. Then transfer to a bag for easy storing. This ensures they don’t all stick together.
You can defrost them overnight and reheat in a toaster or oven, or you can reheat them straight from frozen. I recommend 350ºF until they’re warmed through. I’m guessing you can reheat in a microwave too, but I’ve never tried!
Sides to serve with these gluten-free chicken nuggets:
- Roasted Potato Wedges
- Avocado and Corn Salsa
- Healthy Cole Slaw
- Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes (Paleo + Vegan)
- Oven Roasted Vegetables
Looking for other chicken recipes? Check these out:
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
- Buffalo Chicken Tenders (Keto)
- Crispy Buffalo Chicken Bites
- The Best Baked BBQ Chicken Breast
- French Onion Chicken Bake
Watch the video:
Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1-½ pounds chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces (about 1-½”-2” pieces)
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1-½ cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne optional
- Avocado Oil Spray or Avocado Oil (for cooking the chicken)
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
- In a shallow container whisk together eggs with a big pinch of salt and pepper
- In a separate shallow container, whisk together almond flour, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, chili powder, and cayenne.
- Dip sliced chicken into the egg, then dredge in flour mixture, being sure to coat it evenly. Repeat until all chicken is coated. Make sure to handle the chicken delicately to not disturb the coating.
To Pan Fry:
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Once hot, cook chicken in the skillet, in batches, for 3-4 minutes on each side depending on how thick your chicken is. Cook until chicken is crispy and golden-brown and cooked through. Place on towel to drain excess oil.
- Sere immediately or let cool for meal prep.
To Air-Fry:
- Preheat air-fryer to 400ºF (if necessary, not all air-fryers need to pre-heat).
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with avocado spray (or similar spray without additives) and place the prepared chicken in one layer, with spacing in between each piece. You may need to do it in multiple batches if your air-fryer is small. Lightly spray the chicken with additional avocado spray.
- Air fry for 12-14 minutes, turning the chicken at the 5 minute and 10 minute mark. The outside should be lightly golden and crispy, and the internal temperature of the meat should be 165º
- Serve immediately, or let cool for meal prep.
To Bake:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lightly spray or brush the sheet tray with oil. Place the chicken on the sheet tray and lightly spray or brush with oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the coating is crispy.
- Serve immediately or let cool for meal prep.
I found almond meal/flour in the baking specialty section of Shop Rite. I doubled the recipe and found I needed more than double the spice and almond flour mix. But this is really delicious, and I’m sure you could customize it with whatever spices you like. Next time I am planning to try coconut flour because my son is both celiac and allergic to nuts. Thank you Lexi!
I am loving these. So happening soon!
Hi Lexi! This may be a weird question, but I’d love to try these…the problem is I’m not sure what almond meal is or where to find it
Whoa, these look beyond amazing. I can’t believe they are clean!
— Alex at Brainy Girls Beauty
These were excellent! Thank you, Lexi! Do you have a good paleo marinara recipe you’d recommend?
Yes! The sauce in the meatball sub recipe 🙂
Is almond meal the same as almond flour?
Almond meal is almonds ground with the skin on, and almond flour is ground almonds that are skin-less.
These were delicious! I visit many blogs for Paleo recipes and this is the first time I felt the need to leave a comment! I didn’t have the 1 tsp Italian Seasoning.. so I substituted with 1/2 tsp Basil and 1/2 tsp Oregano. I will definitely use this recipe again. Great job!
What a wonderful idea – did the almond meal crisp up in the oven?
These look amazing. One little problem: my little fuel is allergic to eggs (bummer she’s missing out on their amazing nutritional powerhouses and TASTE!). Any suggestions for replacing? Not sure how a flax egg would work here… Thanks!!!
Hi Ellie!! Aw! Honestly, I haven’t tried a flax egg, but it couldn’t hurt. Also, if your chicken is pretty sticky, I bet you can get by without the egg (or by using a little oil).
I made this using olive oil instead of an egg. It turned out really well! I also used the flax instead of almond. I will definitely make this again!
I made these last night and it was a HIT! We dipped them in Frank’s Red Hot for added spicy but the bottom line, they were delicious!
As I said on my instagram, Guuuurl you know what you’re doing in the kitchen!! I will definitely be making these again and I’ve already passed the link onto two of my friends 🙂 Thank you!
These look delicious! I will definitely be bringing them to my next friend gathering! The snacks are usually good but not a ton of super healthy options! Great recipe!
Made these for dinner tonight! Sooo good! Loved by my whole family….even my 24 yr old, junk food-junkie son! Will be making these often 🙂
So happy they were a hit!
Just made these and it’s literally the best chicken I’ve eve eaten. This recipe will definitely stay in rotation!!
I love to hear that Christia! Thanks for the taking the time to write 🙂
Olivia- I just made them with cashew meal and they turned out awesome!
Yum! I think my only problem would be not eating the whole batch myself!
Okay thanks! I think I might give flax meal a try..
Flax is a great idea!
What can I use instead of almond meal?
I’ve only made this recipe with almond meal so I can’t vouch, but using any breadcrumbs you’d like should work great!
These look unreal!!!! I need them in my life.
i’m snowed in and trying these today! Thanks love!
Yummy! Those look wonderful! And they appear to be gluten free….which I am beginning as of tomorrow! Need to keep my protein intake up for my training, so these would be great! Yum!
Thanks for sharing 🙂 Will be needing you a lot over the next few weeks I think!
Hi Tina! Enjoy! They are absolutely gluten-free and definitely the perfect protein-packed snack 🙂