A tasty kid-friendly fast food has to be Chick-fil-A Nuggets. They are juicy and have a good amount of flavor and crunch on the outside. Pair these copycat chicken nuggets with our homemade chick Fil A sauce and they make a great lunch, snack, or appetizer!
Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets
Chick Fil A is a staple here in the South. Here is an easy way to make their delicious Chicken Nuggets for a fraction of the in-store price. You can serve these nuggets with our delicious Homemade Chick Fil A Sauce.
One of the top secrets about these nuggets is that they marinate the chicken in a secret ingredient, pickle juice to keep the chicken moist and give it an amazing taste. We just pour the juice from a jar of pickles, but you can buy a bottle of just the pickle juice on Amazon.
The Best Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets
Getting takeout can get expensive if you have a family. So, it’s great when you can recreate your favorites at home for a fraction of the cost. Bonus points when it tastes just as good, too! These copycat Chick-fil-A nuggets are almost exactly like the real thing. The best part is that you can make extras for leftovers and enjoy them for a couple of days at a time. We all know that kids go crazy for chicken nuggets!
This is a very simple recipe that I make often. It’s less expensive than multiple trips to Chick-fil-A and the nuggets have so much more flavor than frozen ones from the grocery store. I promise that even the pickiest of eaters will be asking for seconds.
Love other Chick-fil-A menu items? Try making the copycat Chick-fil-A recipes for Frosted Lemonade or Chicken Minis next!
Ingredients You Will Need:
- Chicken – you will need boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 2-inch cubes.
- Pickle juice – This is the secret to the best chicken. It is used as a marinade for tenderizing and adding flavor.
- Whole Milk
- Peanut oil – you will use peanut oil for frying.
- Egg
- All-Purpose Flour
- Powdered Sugar: This is mixed with the flour for the coating. It adds a hint of sweetness.
- Salt & Pepper
How to Make Copycat Chick Fil A Nuggets
I like how simple this recipe is. Once the chicken is prepped and marinated, dip the pieces into the mixtures and fry. Since they are so small they cook so fast!
- Step 1. First, add the cubed chicken and dill pickle juice to a large bowl. Allow it to marinate for at least one hour. Drain well and pat dry if needed.
- Step 2. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet. I turn it to medium-high heat.
- Step 3. Whisk milk and egg in a large bowl. Add the chicken and gently toss to coat the chicken pieces in the mixture.
- Step 4. Mix flour and powdered sugar in a separate bowl. Transfer the chicken to the flour mixture and lightly toss to coat.
- Step 5. Add a few pieces of chicken to the skillet at a time so it doesn’t become overcrowded. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Step 6. Line a plate with paper towels and place the cooked chicken on it to soak up excess oil.
- Step 7. Repeat this process until all of the chicken is cooked.
- Step 8. Serve with homemade Chick-fil-A sauce or your favorite dip. Enjoy
Serving Suggestions
Wondering how to best enjoy these delicious Chick-fil-A nuggets? Below I have dipping sauce AND side dish recommendations. You can turn it into a complete, quick dinner if you like!
Dipping Sauces
- Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce Recipe
- Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Fry Sauce
- Homemade BBQ Sauce
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Honey Mustard Sauce
- Buffalo Sauce
Sides
- Easy Fried Zucchini
- Bacon Cheddar Smashed Potatoes
- KFC Coleslaw
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- French Fries: Frozen, homemade, or even sweet potato fries pair so well with these Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets.
How To Store Leftovers
If you have any leftover chicken nuggets, store them in a resealable bag or other airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or the air fryer so they crisp again.
More Fried Chicken Recipes
- Easy Popcorn Chicken
- Crispy Chicken Tenders
- Doritos Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
- The Best Fried Chicken Recipe
Copycat Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast boneless cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 cup pickle juice
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup peanut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using a large bowl, combine the pickle juice and chicken and let marinate for 1 hour and then drain well
- Using a large skillet, heat peanut oil up
- To test to see if the oil is ready, toss in a pinch of flour and if it sizzles, its ready
- In a large bowl, whisk milk and egg
- Add in chicken and gentle toss
- Add chicken to flour and powdered sugar. Toss in the flour mixture until coated
- Add a few pieces at a time of chicken into the oil
- fry chicken in oil for 2-3 minutes
- Place cooked chicken onto a plate of paper towels and let the oil drip off
- Serve with Homemade Chick Fil A Sauce.
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14 comments on “Chick Fil A Nuggets (Copycat Recipe)”
These sound delicious! Can they be baked in the oven?
Hi Sharon. These are really best when fried or air fried. You could try the oven but it won’t give the same result.
So delicious and easy to make! I tried it with gluten free flour and the nuggets were great!
These were absolutely delicious! I made these with your orange chicken recipe (I didn’t want to use store bought nuggets) and better than takeout fried rice, and it was a hit. Thank you so much. The chicken was spot on, as a copycat for chick fil-a, which is awesome…because my closest is over an hour away. I had to drain a jar and a half of juice from my dill pickles though, but maybe I had small jars. This was so good!!!! I love all of your recipes. You’ve become my favorite go to.
Thanks Stacey!
Love this recipe! I have made it several times and everyone loves it! One question though: sometimes when I make it the breading comes off and other times it doesn’t. What mistake am I making when it comes off? That way I can make sure it comes out perfect every time! Thank you
Hi. Thank you for the feedback.
The pickle juice, from sweet or dill pickles?
Made this tonight. My kids and husband loved them! I didn’t have dill pickle juice, so I used bread and butter and it turned out great. I will definitely make sure to have dill pickle juice on hand for next time. This recipe is a keeper!
Has anyone made these. Can’t wait to try. Thank you for this luscious post
Made them last night and they were amazing, spot on in my opinion.
Thank you for the recipe. My family loved it. Marinating the chicken in dill pickle juice for an hour made all the difference. I added some garlic powder and parmesan cheese for additional flavor.
It’s probably not sweet pickle juice, just my guess
What kind of pickle juice do you use for the chicken
Sweet pickle juice or Dill pickle juice?