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Looking for an easy meal that’s guaranteed to please? These Homemade Gluten-Free Baked Chicken Nuggets fit the bill.
These gluten-free chicken nuggets always get rave reviews, and are suitable for almost any special diet–they’re Egg & Dairy Free with a Gluten-Free & Grain-Free option, and they freeze well too!
Today I’m sharing a recipe that is truly one of our favorites–Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets.
I’m always on the lookout for easy recipessince my life is full. And since traditional Hamburger Helper isn’t on the menu for this whole foodie family (though this healthy Hamburger Helper is) anymore, I have to figure out alternative ways to get dinner on the table in a flash.
If you’re tempted to go through a drive through when time is tough, then this gluten-free chicken nuggets recipe is for you! It’s a super-easy recipe you can put together in almost no time flat that will make your family feel like you really went out of your way for them.
The other night I pulled out some thawed chicken breast out of the fridge and served up this great chicken recipe for yummy chicken chunks and well, you should have seen the smiles on my kids’ (and my husband’s) faces.
My criteria for a great recipe is one that is:
- healthy
- fast
- frugal
- tasty and
- kid friendly
With all of that being true about this recipe,this just might be the best homemade chicken nuggets recipe ever.
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The Origin of This Recipe
To start with, here is where this Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets Recipe came from ……I found the inspiration for this recipe in Simple Choices for Healthier Eating, a cookbook that was recommended to my by Linda, the owner of Whole Approach.
I Recommend
Simple Choices for Healthier Eating
Simple Choices for Healthier Eating is a great resource for anyone who wants to get lots of helpful recipes for eating healthier without all the fuss!
I had to move on from Whole Approach when it was obvious that I had more going on than candida, but I have stayed pretty close to some form of the candida diet since then, and one of my boys has as well. Most likely another will be joining us soon as we have seen the effects of too many carbs on him.
In any case, Linda told me what a great book this is — filled with simple, tasty, and pleasing dishes.I couldn’t agree more.
Ingredients
boneless skinless chicken breast
almond flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
salt
garlic powder
paprika
cayenne pepper
black pepper
avocado oil
Directions
Cut chicken into chunks. (Photo 1)
Coat the chicken. (Photo 2)
Bake in the oven. (Photo 3)
Place on a plate with your choice of dip. (Photo 4)
Serving Options
Serve with rice or other grain of choice, in pitas, with or without a dipping sauce. These would also taste great with the homemade barbecue sauce from this Oven Barbecued Chicken.
As mentioned, this Homemade Vegan Ranch Dip or this Easy Marinara Sauce would make great dips as well.
This AIP Guacamole is another great option, but this Healthy Chick-fil-A Sauce is by far the best option.
Substitutions for Special Diets
- Flour Option: For a recipe like this, most gluten-free flour blends should work fine. Organic almond flouris a good grain-free option. Use organic coconut flour or organic tiger nut flour for AIP. Note that coconut will absorb a lot of moisture so blending it with another flour is best.
- Oil: You could use any other oil suitable for high heat instead of avocado oil.
- AIP:If you use cassava or tiger nut flour and adjust the spices, these baked chicken nuggets work for the AIP diet. Omit the pepper and paprika, and cayenne. There aren’t really any good substitutes for these, but this AIP Taco Seasoning would likely taste great on these nuggets.
- THM:This recipe qualifies as an “S” if you are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
- whole30: Use almond flour or other non-grain flours on their own or as a blend.
Recipe Notes
- Extra Coating Option: The recipe as is tastes great, but you might want to increase the amount of the coating by half or two times for added flavor.
- Size of Cuts: The smaller you cut the chicken, the faster the chicken nuggets will bake. Don’t cut them so small that you have crispy bitty pieces of chicken, but not as big as commercial nuggets.
- Oil: I know that it seems odd to add the oil after the coating, but this recipe really works. Trust me! The original recipe recommended a spray bottle for the oil to coat the chicken. I recommend using a solid oil like coconut for this recipe as its smoke point is higher and you will not be creating free radicals by cooking at a high temperature.
- “Spicy-ness:” Experiment with the cayenne and pepper to adjust the “spicy-ness” to your taste.
- Meal Prep: For even faster meal prep, cut up chicken into chunks, coat, and store in small plastic bags in the freezer. Just take out of the freezer and bake in the oven for a ready-in-a-flash meal! The chunks will only take about 5 minutes longer to cook.
Easy Baked Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets Recipe
These Easy Gluten-Free Baked Chicken Nuggets taste like you spent a TON of time in the kitchen. But they come together in a flash. Grain & egg free and they freeze well too!
4.95 from 20 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Entree
Cuisine: AIP, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Keto, Low-Carb, Paleo, THM:S
Keyword: Gluten-free Chicken Nuggets, grain-free chicken nuggets
Prep Time: 13 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 173kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup almond flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika (use onion powder for AIP)
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional – omit for AIP)
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (omit for AIP)
- avocado oil (use amount desired. About 1/4 cup should be enough)
Instructions
Cut chicken into small chunks, about 1 – 1½ inch chunks. Place in bowl.
Mix flour with seasonings.
Sprinkle flour and seasoning mixture over chicken and mix well to coat thoroughly.
Melt oil (if necessary). Drizzle over chicken and mix to coat lightly.
Bake in preheated oven (425 degrees for convection / 450 for conventional) until chicken’s internal temperature reaches 180 degrees (about 10 minutes for a convection oven [I love my Hamilton Beach convection oven] and 14 for conventional).
Stovetop Option
Cut chicken into small chunks, about 1 – 1½ inch chunks. Place in bowl.
Mix flour with seasonings, using 1 1/2 times the amount of the coating ingredients for the recipe.
Sprinkle flour and seasoning mixture over chicken and mix well to coat thoroughly.
Melt oil (if necessary). Drizzle over chicken and mix to coat lightly.
Cook in large shallow pan over medium heat, stirring often enough to prevent burning. Cook until chicken’s internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.
Notes
- Extra Coating Option: The recipe as is tastes great, but you might want to increase the amount of coating by half or even double it for added flavor.
- Size of Cuts: The smaller you cut the chicken, the faster the chicken nuggets will bake. Don’t cut them so small that you have crispy bitty pieces of chicken, but not as big as commercial nuggets.
- Oil: I know that it seems odd to add the oil after the coating, but this recipe really works. Trust me! The original recipe recommended a spray bottle for the oil to coat the chicken. I recommend using a solid oil like coconut for this recipe as its smoke point is higher and you will not be creating free radicals by cooking at a high temperature.
- “Spicy-ness:” Experiment with the cayenne and pepper to adjust the “spicy-ness” to your taste.
- Meal Prep: For even faster meal prep, cut up chicken into chunks, coat, and store in small plastic bags in the freezer. Just take out of the freezer and bake in the oven for a ready-in-a-flash meal! The chunks will only take about 5 minutes longer to cook.
- How to Serve: Serve with rice, in pitas, grain of choice and with or without a dipping sauce. These would also taste great with the homemade barbecue sauce from my Oven Barbecued Chicken!
Nutrition
Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 569mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.7mg | Net Carbs: 2g
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
More “Ready in a Flash” Recipes:
Indian Lentils (ready in as little as 9 minutes!)
Fast and Yummy Bean Dip (it’s a real winner!)
Ground Beef Curry My kids ask for this all the time. Enjoy!
How about you? Do you have a quick and healthy “treat your family” meal?
Photo Credits: Naomi Huzovicova
