These are the best crispy, EASY keto chicken nuggets to make at home with real ingredients and only 3g net carbs per serve! Plus, this keto nugget recipe includes an oven fried option too. So keep reading to learn how you can enjoy simple crispy keto chicken nuggets with no guilt!
Before I start sharing this simple keto nugget recipe, let me answer a few questions that probably come in your mind as you started the keto diet.
Unfortunately none of the store-bought keto nuggets or homemade classic nugget recipes are keto approved. All manufactured nugget recipes include a lot of carbs in the wheat flour and breadcrumb coating. Plus, you’d be surprised by the others additives that go in the coating like sugar or vegetable oils, that aren’t keto either.
I couldn’t skip answering this question, because I know that most of us have had some Mcdonald’s chicken nuggets at some point, whether because it was convenient or tasty to you. The Chicken McNuggets are not keto. In fact, Mcdonald’s Nuggets are coated with starch and natural flavoring made of dextrose. Both will raise your blood sugar level quickly and take you out of ketosis.
So now you probably wonder if it is safe to eat chicken nuggets on a keto diet. Great news, yes you can make keto-friendly chicken nuggets! Read more to learn how!
There are many different keto chicken nugget recipes online, using different coating options like ground pork rinds, coconut flour or almond flour. My favorite way to make crispy, juicy keto nuggets that taste like the real thing is to make almond flour nuggets with a touch of parmesan. And great news, it is super EASY to make your own keto chicken nuggets at home. All you need is to follow 3 simple steps.
The trick to perfectly cooked chicken nuggets, crispy outside and juicy, tender in the middle is the size of the chicken pieces. The best is to first cut the breast into 1-inch (2.5 cm) wide strips and then cut 2-inch (5cm) length chunks from each strips. Your keto nuggets should be small enough to perfectly cook inside without having to burn the coating. On the other hand, if your nuggets where too small, the meat would cook faster than the coating. So as a general rule the perfect nugget size is 1 inch x 2 inches (2.5 cm x 5 cm).
I know it sounds like a weird step but soaking your chicken into acetic acid like vinegar breaks down meat fibers. It results in a tender and flavorsome chicken meat. Regular homemade chicken nugget recipes soak the meat in pickle juice which I don’t recommend as pickle juice is often loaded with sugar. Follow my recipe to properly soak your nuggets meat for tender keto chicken nuggets.
The best part of a chicken nugget is the outside, the crispy coating. In order to achieve the best crispy keto chicken nugget recipe you must dip each piece of chicken into a egg-wash first. Then dip the chicken into the dry coating ingredients. I always recommend to make the egg-wash by combining beaten egg and cream, rather than milk or almond milk. The cream keeps the chicken meat juicier.
You only need few basic ingredients to make almond flour chicken nuggets. Let’s see what you need to start:
While I prefer to fry my nuggets in coconut oil you can also oven-bake chicken nuggets. It takes a bit longer to bake as you will have to cook the nuggets 10 minutes on one side first, then flip them one by one of the other side and bake for 5-10 extra minutes. Oven-baked nuggets are firstly sprayed with oil then baked at 400F (200C) for a total of 15-20 minutes on a baking tray, leaving 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) space between each nuggets. Check the baking process by slicing one nuggets in the center, if the meat is still pink in the center it needs to bake for longer. The result of oven-fried nuggets is crispy, as well as pan fried nuggets, but they are less fatty and the meat is slightly less juicy.
You can freeze your nuggets baked or unbaked. The best way to freeze nuggets is to lay them one by one on a plate covered with parchment paper. Leave a 1-inch space between each nugget. One hour later, the nuggets are slightly frozen and it’s a good time to transfer them all into a zip bag. This two-step freezing method will prevent the nuggets from sticking to one another in the freezing bag.
You can rewarm your keto chicken nuggets with almond flour in a preheated oven at 400F (200C) for 15-20 minutes. Place the nuggets on a large baking tray covered with a piece of parchment paper or slightly oil the tray with coconut oil. Leave 1 inch (2.5 cm) between each nugget and bake for 20-25 minutes flipping over half way to make sure both side bake as well. You don’t have to thaw the frozen nuggets before baking them.
The best sauce to dip your chicken nuggets are avocado oil mayonnaise, dijon mustard or these other keto dip recipes along with crunchy keto vegetables on the side.
Have you made these keto chicken nuggets yet? Share a picture with me on Instagram! I love to connect with you.
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only. The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sugar alcohols from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sugar alcohols are excluded because they are not metabolized. You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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Followed the recipe exactly as written, except I used turkey meat…. these were absolutely delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi is there any substitution for the egg, allergy issues. Great recipe!
Sure, you can use a flax egg. Combine 1 tablespoon of flaxmeal into 3 tablespoon of lukewarm warm and let sit for 1 minutes until an egg like texture form. Use as a keto egg replacer in this recipe. Enjoy ! Carine
I love chicken nuggets
I hope you wil love this recipe then! Let me know how it goes 🙂 Enjoy, XOXO Carine
Hi, can I substitute Apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar?.
Sure! or even lemon juice. Enjoy, XOXO Carine