Healthy Chick-Fil-A Grilled Nuggets
Are you all ready to learn the secret behind making HEALTHY chick-fil-a grilled nuggets?!
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Get ready to have your socks blown off, this delicious recipe is so easy, your kids will be begging you to make this ALL.THE.TIME.
These perfect lil’ babies are cooked to perfection in the air fryer and tastes so dang delicious. A true copycat chick fil a recipe, and will for sure be added to your list of favorite healthy meals. Here is the air fryer link that I have and LOVE.
We LOVE going to Chick-Fil-A….something for everyone, and their sauce….well don’t even get me started on that love story.
BUT I decided that I needed to recreate Chick-Fil-A at home so that I can have an easy macro friendly dinner, have those yummy leftovers, and save some moolah, because lets face it folks, everything is stinkin’ expensive these days.
Not to mention, every time I go there I am tempted, OH so tempted to just eat their sauce…my three year old gets it from somewhere. Hey, no judgement zone.
Did I mention the best part? Cooking these copycat chick-fil-a grilled nuggets in the air fryer.
Cooked to a golden brown and crisp perfection. These come out so juicy and delicious every single time. Ever since I’ve gotten my air fryer, I use it multiple times a week.
There is nothing like cooking a meal and having it crispy like you’ve fried it in oil when in fact you haven’t, ah….the joy. Lemme tell ya.
Once you’ve made these…..try them with my healthy honey mustard with greek yogurt dip, you wont regret it. Here’s that recipe if you wanna go for it, get ready for a wow factor.
Feel free to also pair up with your Chick-Fil-A favs like BBQ sauce and Polynesian sauce.
Why you’ll love this Chick-Fil-A grilled nuggets recipe:
- Very macro friendly – low in total carbs, fat, and sugar!
- Much healthier than the real version, without sacrificing the taste! A true copycat recipe.
- Perfect weeknight meal that the entire family will love
The simple ingredients you’ll need to make these grilled nuggets in the air fryer:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – cut into bite-sized pieces
- Dill pickle Juice – Yes, totally serious
- Almond Milk – any type of milk will do, but I recommend skim or almond for macro purposes
- Powdered Sugar – kinda contradicts what I said about the milk, but hey, YOLO! Yes, you need the sugar
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika
Steps to make this copycat Chick-Fil-A Grilled Nuggets Recipe:
Step 1:
Trim off any excess chicken fat on the boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut into bite-sized pieces
Step 2:
Add the chicken into a bowl for marinating purposes. Add in your milk and pickle juice. Let the chicken marinate for at least 30-60 minutes……but for the full effect, I highly recommend marinating overnight.
Step 3:
When your ready to cook, drain the marinade completely and pat the chicken dry with some paper towels. Doesn’t have to be perfect, but enough to make sure its pretty dry so the seasoning blend your going to be mixing together will stick well and coat evenly to the chicken.
Step 4:
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees and combine the rest of the ingredients together and mix until combined well. Powdered sugar, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and the pepper.
Step 5:
Add the seasoning blend to the cut up chicken and make sure its coated evenly.
Step 6:
Once the air fryer has preheated, spray the air fryer basket or tray with cooking spray.
Step 7:
Place the chicken in the air fryer in a single layer and make sure its spaced out a little and not sticking together so the chicken cooks evenly.
Step 8:
Cook the chicken for 10-12 minutes or until fully cooked, flipping grilled nuggets over once halfway through.
Notes and best tips on these Chick-Fil-A nuggets :
Why do we need pickle juice for this recipe?
This my friends, is the secret. No one really knows for sure if Chick-Fil-A soaks their nuggets in pickle juice, but that’s what the word on the street is, so I’ve made sure to incorporate it into this recipe so we are leaving nothing to chance.
Trust me, it makes ALL the difference. You do NOT want to skip this step.
What to dip these in?
Get crazy people. Sooooo many options. Stores now sell the famous Chick-Fil-A sauces in stores, LOVE them.
If you really want the sauce, go for your favorite dipping sauce. However, if your looking to stay on the healthier side, try one of these two options that take less than 5 minutes to whip together and so tasty!
Healthy honey mustard with greek yogurt
Greek yogurt ranch
What should I serve as a side?
I think you know the obvious answer. Fries. Yummy, tasty, crispy, mouth watering fries. But, living that healthy lifestyle is easy!
I love serving these with some homemade fries, roasted potatoes, maybe some corn, broccoli or a side salad.
There are a ton of solid choices that goes well with these delicious chick-fil-a grilled nuggets.
Can I make these without an air fryer?
Yes!!!! You can add a little bit of olive oil and heat in a large skillet. Add in the chicken and cook in the skillet until cooked all the way through.
The other option is you can bake these in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-18 minutes or until cooked fully on a baking sheet.
You don’t even have to do these as grilled nuggets either, feel free to use the same recipe for chicken tenderloins, make into a sandwich with some yummy lettuce and tomato.
How to store these Chick-Fil-A grilled nuggets:
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and simply reheat in the microwave when ready to enjoy! These are my favs right here because you can store them in here and pop in the microwave when your ready to chow.
You can find this recipe and others by Yummymacrolife.com already preloaded on My Fitness Pal.
Simply seach Yummymacrolife – Healthy Chick-Fil-A Grilled Nuggets
Equipment
- 1 Medium to Large Mixing Bowl To marinade the chicken
- 1 Air Fryer
- 1 Small Mixing Bowl or Cup To mix together the seasoning blend
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1/2 Cup Pickle Juice
- 1/4 Cup Almond or Skim Milk
- 2 Tsp. Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Tsp. Paprika
- 1/2 Tsp. Sea Salt
- 1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper
Instructions
- Trim off any excess fat on the boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the cut chicken into a bowl for marinating purposes. Add in your milk and pickle juice. Let the chicken marinate for at least 30-60 minutes……but for the full effect, I highly recommend marinating overnight.
- When you're ready to cook, drain the marinade completely and pat the chicken dry with some paper towels. Doesn't have to be perfect, but enough to make sure its pretty dry so the seasoning blend your going to be mixing together will stick well and coat evenly to the chicken.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400℉.
- Combine the rest of the ingredients together and mix until combined well. Powdered sugar, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and the pepper.
- Add the seasoning blend to the cut up chicken and make sure its coated evenly.
- Once the air fryer has preheated, spray the air fryer basket or tray with cooking spray.
- Place the chicken in the air fryer and layer evenly (single layer) and make sure its spaced out a little and not sticking together so the chicken cooks evenly.
- Cook the chicken for 10-12 minutes or until fully cooked, flipping grilled nuggets over once halfway through.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and ENJOY!!