Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets (Homemade and Baked)

These Homemade Gluten Free Nuggets are a simple and more nutritious take on a classic family favorite recipe. Made with a seasoned corn tortilla chip breading, they’re baked in the oven with a cook time of under 30 minutes for crispy, high-protein chicken nuggets that are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and perfect for dipping into our special sauce or any of your favorite condiments!

Ingredients: What Are Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets Made Of?

You won’t find any corn starch, flour, or breadcrumbs in this recipe. Instead, we use simple, whole food ingredients to create the best gluten-free chicken nuggets and even pair them with our favorite homemade dipping sauce!

Baked Chicken Nuggets

• Tortilla chips – you can use any favorite brand and flavor of tortilla chips to make the crispy coating on these chicken breast nuggets. Since you’ll be grinding the chips into small pieces, you can use whole chips, broken chips, and even those chip crumbles from the bottom of the bag. For grain-free chicken nuggets, use grain-free tortilla chips, such as Siete brand
• Seasonings – garlic powder, onion powder, fine salt, black pepper. You could also add a pinch of paprika for subtle spice
• Boneless, skinless chicken tenders – tenders are convenient, though they can be a bit pricey. You can easily use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead if that’s what you have on hand
• Avocado oil – may sub olive oil

Homemade Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

• Mayonnaise – we like using Primal Kitchen mayo, but you can always use what you have on hand
• Brown mustard – may sub Dijon mustard
• Honey – can sub maple syrup, but this will create a different flavor profile
• Seasonings – sea salt, dried thyme, black pepper

Find the ingredient list and nutrition information with exact measurements, kcal, carbohydrates, serving size, etc. in the recipe card below.

How Do You Make Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets? 

With a total time of just 30 minutes, this recipe comes together in less time than it takes to cook those frozen nuggets stashed in the back of the freezer. Here are the basic steps:

1. Preheat the oven, and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Crush the chips. Add the tortilla chips to the bowl of a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Or, place them in a sealable bag, and crush them with a rolling pin.
3. Make the gluten free breading. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow dish or pie plate, and combine them with the seasonings.
4. Coat the chicken. Transfer the chicken to the bowl, and toss to coat each piece completely.
5. Bake. Arrange the chicken pieces evenly on the baking sheet, and lightly spray the tops with cooking oil spray. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165° and the breading is golden brown, flipping the pieces over and spraying them again halfway through.
6. Prepare the dipping sauce. While the chicken nuggets bake, whisk all the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl, if using.

Can Baked Chicken Nuggets Be Made In The Air Fryer?

Yes. If you have an air fryer (or an air fryer lid for your Instant Pot), preheat your device to  400℉, and follow the directions to coat the chicken as normal. Then, arrange 8-10 pieces in the air fryer basket, and mist each one with cooking oil. Air fry for 6 minutes, then flip each nugget over, mist again with cooking spray, and air fry for another 6 minutes. Repeat the steps, baking 8 to 10 nuggets at a time. 

How to Serve Homemade Chicken Nuggets

We think that your favorite dipping sauce (or a few of them) is essential when serving nuggets! We love to serve ours with our Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce (recipe is also in the recipe card below). They’re also great with ketchup, Homemade Buffalo Sauce, our date-sweetened Homemade BBQ Sauce,  our famous homemade Ranch Dressing.

Then, pair them with side dishes, such as Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges, Crispy Parmesan Crusted Potatoes, or Baked Carrot Fries for a boost of fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

Recipe

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Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, these homemade baked nuggets are so delicious and simple to make, they’re sure to be a regular on your table.

Prep: 10 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal: 30 minutes

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Servings: Serves 4

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Ingredients

For the Baked Nuggets:

• 6 ounces tortilla chips (white or yellow corn), crushed to make about 1 ½ cups
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon fine salt 
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, patted dry and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
• Cooking spray

For the Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce:

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons pure honey
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450℉. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. 
2. To crush the tortilla chips, add them to the bowl of a food processor and process until finely crushed. Alternatively, you can place the chips in a plastic zip-top bag and crush them with a rolling pin. 
3. Transfer the finely crushed tortilla chips to a shallow dish or pie plate. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper to the crushed chips and mix to combine. Set aside. 
4. Place the chicken in another bowl. Add the oil then toss to coat.
5. Add the chicken pieces, a few at a time to the seasoned tortilla chip mixture. Toss the chicken in the crumbs pressing them onto the surface of the chicken to ensure each piece is well coated.
6. Arrange the chicken pieces, evenly spaced, on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the top of each chicken piece with cooking spray before placing the pan in the oven. Bake 8 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, turn over each piece of chicken, and spray them again with cooking spray before returning to the oven. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the coating is lightly browned.
7. Meanwhile, whisk together all of the dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl.
8. Remove baked nuggets from the oven and serve with Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce or other sauce for dunking. Refrigerate any leftover sauce in a covered container for up to 1 week. If desired, garnish with a fresh herb, such as chopped flat-leaf parsley or thyme leaves.

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Notes

Air Fryer Directions: If you have an air fryer (or an air fryer lid for your Instant Pot), you can just as easily bake these crispy homemade nuggets in there instead of an oven. To do so, turn the air fryer to 400℉ and let it heat for 2-3 minutes. Since air fryers work like a convection oven, circulating hot air around the food, it’s important not to overcrowd the basket of the air fryer so the hot air can reach all sides of each nugget. For that reason, you’ll need to bake them in batches, 8 to 10 at a time. Place coated nuggets in the air fryer basket, mist each one lightly with cooking spray, and air fry for 6 minutes. Flip each nugget over, mist again with cooking spray, and bake for 6 minutes more, until the nuggets are cooked through. Repeat the steps, baking 8 to 10 nuggets at a time.

The nutrition analysis for 1/4 of the baked chicken nuggets without sauce is as follows: 448 cals, 17 g total fat (3 g sat fat), 94 mg chol, 22 g carb (2 g fiber, 0 g sugars), 576 mg sodium, 37 g protein

Nutrition Information

• Serving Size: ¼ of the nuggets with 2 tablespoons sauce
• Calories: 533
• Fat: 29 g
• (Sat Fat: 4 g)
• Sodium: 843 mg
• Carbohydrate: 27 g
• (Fiber: 2 g
• Sugar: 5 g)
• Protein: 38 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 106 mg

Dietary

Dairy-FreeEgg-FreeGluten-freeNut-free

© The Real Food Dietitians

Recipe By: Jessica Beacom

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Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter. 

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