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These Chick-fil-A Nuggets taste just like the real thing! They are crispy and salty with the slightest hint of sweetness. Pair them with the Chick-fil-A sauce and make the perfect family meal!
I especially love to make other super easy homemade sauces like fry sauce and BBQ sauce to dip them in too!
Reasons You’ll LOVE this Recipe
- It’s better than takeout: Not only do you save money and get more nuggets out of this recipe, but it’s so much cheaper than getting it at the restaurant and taste so much better!
- Feeds a crowd: Need an easy go-to meal for a group of kids? This is it! Make a few batches of this recipe at once and you’re wallet will thank you.
Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets
My family’s favorite fast food restaurant is Chick-fil-A, mainly because it’s the one place we all agree on. We know we’ll always get delicious, high-quality food that we love. However, eating out can get expensive, and sometimes nailing a recipe to be an exact copycat is hard. But guess what? This one has a secret ingredient that will surprise you, but I promise it makes these nuggets taste just like the real deal!
So, here’s a spoiler alert—the secret ingredient is pickle juice! It’s what gives these nuggets their authentic flavor. The whole family devoured them just like they do when we buy them, and they even begged me to make another batch. Having the Chick-fil-A sauce for dipping really enhanced the experience. If your family is always craving Chick-fil-A, you need to stop and make these instead!
Ingredients in Homemade Chick Fil A Nuggets
These ingredients are actually pretty simple. I also like that when I make something at home, I know exactly what’s in the recipe! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all of the exact measurements.
Chicken Nuggets
- Chicken breasts: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Buttermilk: Adding buttermilk to the marinade helps to tenderize the chicken.
- Pickle juice: The pickle juice adds a vinegary and salty flavor to the coating.
- Egg: Helps bind the marinade ingredients together.
- Flour: The base of the breading mixture.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: Gives the perfect texture to the chicken nuggets!
- Garlic and Onion Powder: Perfect seasonings to flavor the chicken.
- Salt: The salt brings out all the flavors in the chicken and its breading.
- Pepper: To taste.
- Oil: Use canola or vegetable oil if you desire, but peanut oil is what gives these nuggets their signature flavor because that’s Chick-fil-A uses!
Chick-fil-A Sauce
- Mayonnaise: Creates the oily base.
- Mustard: Gives the spice to the sauce.
- Lemon juice: The lemon juice keeps the flavor of this sauce fresh and light.
- Honey: The perfect smooth sticky sweetness.
- Smokey BBQ sauce: The smokiness of the BBQ sauce rounds out all the flavors.
How to Make Chicken Nuggets
These nuggets are so easy to make. I love to double or triple the recipe so that I can have some on hand for later!
- Cut the chicken: Dice the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet or heat up a deep fryer if you have one.
- Whisk dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, panko, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Coat the chicken in wet ingredients: Whisk together the buttermilk, pickle juice, and egg in a large ziplock bag, place the diced chicken into the bag and seal it. Shake the bag to evenly coat the chicken in the liquid.
- Toss in dry ingredients to coat: Pull the chicken out of the bag a few pieces at a time and allow any excess liquid to drip off. Place the chicken into the breading bowl and toss to coat each piece evenly.
- Fry: Place the breaded chicken into the hot oil and fry for 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally to evenly cook. The chicken should be golden brown and cooked through completely, the internal temperature should reach 165 degrees fahrenheit.
- Repeat: Remove the cooked pieces and place them on a paper towel lined plate to soak up any excess oil. Continue these steps with the remaining chicken until it is all cooked.
- Make the sauce: Stir together the Chick-fil-A dipping sauce ingredients, and serve with the hot chicken bites.
Tips and Variations for Nuggets
- Do I have to add the pickle juice? There is some debate over whether or not to add the pickle juice. Â Some people say that is the secret to the signature flavor and ultra-moist texture. Â Others, however say that it makes no difference. Â
- Season the flour mixture heavily: Don’t worry about there being too much salt or seasoning in the flour. Most of it gets shaken off anyway.
- Double dip the chicken. The first layer of flour should be very thin. Once wet, it acts as the glue that holds the second layer of flour to the chicken chunks.
- Let the chicken rest before frying. Chick-fil-A insiders say that allowing the chicken to sit between coating and frying helps the breading hold-tight to the chicken, not bubble and fall off. To do this, place the chicken on a drying rack before heating the oil in order to give the breading time to adhere to the chicken.
Storing Leftover Chick-fil-A Nuggets
- In the Refrigerator: Allow the nuggets to cool completely before storing them. Place them in an airtight container in the fridge and store them for up to 3-4 days.
- To Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets: When ready to eat, reheat the nuggets in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or in an air fryer at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-5 minutes
More Chick-fil-A Copycat Recipes
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Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets and Chick-fil-A sauce
Ingredients
Nugget Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup pickle juice
- 1 egg
- Oil for frying
Chick-fil-A Sauce
- 1/2 cup Mayo
- 2 tsp Prepared Mustard
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 1 Tbsp Smokey BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Dice the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet or heat up a deep fryer if you have one.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, panko, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Whisk together the buttermilk, pickle juice, and egg in a large ziplock bag, place the diced chicken into the bag and seal it. Shake the bag to evenly coat the chicken in the liquid.
- Pull the chicken out of the bag a few pieces at a time and allow any excess liquid to drip off. Place the chicken into the breading bowl and toss to coat each piece evenly.
- Place the breaded chicken into the hot oil and fry for 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally to evenly cook. The chicken should be golden brown and cooked through completely, the internal temperature should reach 165 degrees fahrenheit.
- Remove the cooked pieces and place them on a paper towel lined plate to soak up any excess oil. Continue these steps with the remaining chicken until it is all cooked.
- Stir together the Chick-fil-A Â dipping sauce ingredients, and serve with the hot chicken bites.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
chicken was delicious but the sauce tasted way WAY WAY WAY to mayo like. even when I added tons of barbecue sauce it still tasted like i was just eating mayo. but the chicken was absolutely fantastic one of the greatest recipes i’ve ever found!!!!! good job!!!
O.M.G. Made this last night and it turned out amazing! The pickle juice really gives it that something extra. They didn’t taste exactly like Chic-fil-a because theirs are more breaded, but my husband said he liked these even better because of that, and I will def make again!
I made the sauce, and wow, you nailed it – it tastes just like Chick Fil A sauce! Yummy!
I have a deep fryer and love it…could that be used?
Just made this for lunch and my husband and 5 year old LOVED it and wanted more after they were gone. We love chik fil a but have none around, we ate there several times on vacation last year and my daughter said it tasted just like vacation 🙂
When you say “Smokey BBQ sauce’, is that a brand?
I used Kraft Hickory smoke bbq sauce, sauce came out great., I think she just means one with a smokey flavor.
I just made these, and my husband is going to flip out. PERFECT recipe. I ended up marinating mine overnight. They’re soooo good, and the sauce is amazing. He is going to love me SO much! (Chick fil a is his favorite spot, and we moved and dont have one within hours). THANKS!