Chicken nuggets are a household staple when you have kids at home. These keto chicken nuggets are just as delicious, if not better than traditional recipes. Your entire family will love the super crunchy texture and perfectly seasoned coating.
These keto homemade chicken nuggets are fun to make so get your kids involved! They will be excited to eat them after they had a hand in making them. The recipe uses simple ingredients and requires only a few basic steps.
Normally I am not a fan of making my own breaded chicken recipes when it comes to traditional methods that use wheat flour and bread crumbs. They never turn out as crispy as I would like unless they are deep fried. These keto chicken nuggets, on the other hand, get super crispy...especially in the air fryer.
The crispy coating
The best way to make chicken nuggets keto friendly is to use a keto friendly coating. Pork rinds that have been crushed in the food processor are my keto friendly breading of choice. They make the most delicious keto chicken nuggets and keto chicken tenders!
You can also buy crushed pork rinds at large grocery stores or on amazon.
How to make crispy keto chicken nuggets
I like to get everything prepped before I start cooking. That means cutting the chicken breast into bite size pieces. and prepping my breading station.
The crushed pork rinds are combined with the seasonings in a shallow bowl, and then in a separate shallow bowl we have either our egg wash or heavy cream. Heavy cream is a perfect substitute if you have someone in your family that cannot have eggs.
Dip the chicken pieces in the heavy cream or egg, followed by the crushed pork rinds.
My preferred cooking method is in the air fryer. They get really nice and crispy without overcooking. They can also be baked in the oven on a sheet pan.
When they are finished, serve them with your favorite dipping sauce. I love sugar free ketchup or bbq sauce.
Crispy Keto Chicken Nuggets - Oven Baked or Air Fryer
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Ingredients
- 1 Cup Crushed pork rinds
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, use less if your pork rinds are salted
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- black pepper to taste
- 2 large eggs, beaten (see notes)
- 1 pound Chicken Breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks
Instructions
- Pour crushed pork rinds in a shallow bowl and add the seasonings. Mix well. In a separate shallow bowl, add the beaten eggs. Add the chicken pieces to the egg mixture and stir to coat.
- In batches dip the chicken breast pieces into the the pork rinds. Toss to coat. Set aside on a plate.
Air Fryer
- Place the chicken nuggets in the air fryer basket in a single layer and air fry at 400F for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook in 2 batches.
Oven Baked
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Bake the nuggets on a baking sheet (use a wire rack for best results). Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- Egg free: use heavy cream in place of the eggs.
- Store leftover nuggets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy only. Please re-calculate on your own with the ingredients and amounts you used for the most accurate data.
Katherine Howerton says
Can this recipe be air fried?
Jennifer Banz says
Definitely! I would start with 8 minutes at 400F
Jenny says
This. Tastes. Amaaaazing!!! 🙌🏼😋 We loved this recipe so much. However, one thing I didn’t like too much was the texture. (Not your “fault” at all!) Instead of avocado oil, I used unrefined coconut oil. I usually bake with that with no issue, but I’m wondering if the use of it lent itself to a rubbery texture of the chicken. Was it too overdone? Can anyone maybe shed some light on this? My family—my picky kids!!—LOVED the taste of it, but they were turned off by the rubbery texture.
Virginia says
Chicken nuggets, easy tasted really good 😌
Susan says
Tried this tonight, it was fabulous. I’m on Keto and could never get chicken nuggets or fingers to work. I used my air fryer and they were so crispy. Next time I might kick up the heat and spices in the pork rinds. Thanks so much!
Jessica Lee Averre says
Can I cook these in a deep fryer?
Jamie says
I do mine really, really similar to this. I use powdered parm + zero carb ranch seasoning+other seasonings for the 'flour' layer, then roll through an egg wash, then through crushed pork rind crumbs and then -back- through the 'flour' (no egg between crumbs and 'flour' though) and it makes it super crispy. We also like to use this for cheese sticks and pork chops.
Amy says
These are a good alternative to regular nuggets. The thing that is SO annoying about recipes like this that the portions are off. I only used 13 oz of chicken and still had to stop and make more of the seasoning. I would definitely make double.
If you make them in the oven, stop three-ish minutes short of 15 and broil them. They won’t be crispy is you don’t. I will make these again.
JEFF SONDROL says
Thanks for this recipe!!!
I was so excited to try this recipe. I tweaked it a little and it turned out Awesome!!! I only had chicken tenderloins & BBQ flavor pork rinds so omitted the additional spices. I added pinch of Cayenne pepper for heat of course. I also swapped the egg dredge with 1/4 C. Heavy Cream and 1 ts. White Distilled Vinegar. Coated like old school shake & bake plastic bag. Ninja Foodi at 490° air fry mode for 7 minutes turn over to other side for an additional 4 minutes. Phenomenal!!!
S says
How much is 1 serving. The recipe says serves 4
jenniferbanz says
1/4th of the recipe. It would depend on how many chicken nuggets you actually make.
Linda Chartrand says
Can you make these in the air fryer?
jenniferbanz says
Yep!
Judith A Lehman says
Best breading ever. Made breaded pork tenderloin. An Indiana fast food favorite. Tweaked with parmesan in crumbs. Was just like the good old days. Thank you.
Debra L Steele says
I plan on trying the nuggets after my next shopping trip. I will be subbing the eggs with buttermilk. I have a nasty egg allergy.
Karly says
These look amazing! My husband thanks you!!
Destiny says
I made them in the air fryer on 350° for 12 minutes flipping halfway through. They were amazing. No need to freeze!
jenniferbanz says
Good to know, thank you!
Tracey L Johnson says
I'm glad to know about the air fryer! I just finished dinner, where my husband and I went crazy over the fried nuggets. They are so tender and juicy and crunchy. Thank you, Jennifer.
Lisa Cox says
I air fried these and they were delicious. Next time I will use the buffalo flavored pork rinds.
Beth says
Have you ever used the air fryer to cook them and I’m looking to free e some, would I freeze before or after cooking? Thanks
jenniferbanz says
I bet they would be great in the air fryer! I am not sure about the freezing so I think I need to experiment and add that to the recipe.
Destiny says
I made them in the air fryer on 350° for 12 minutes flipping halfway through. They were amazing. No need to freeze!
Brenda says
The nuggets are amazing! Is there any way I could get the nutrition facts? That would be wonderful if you could do that for me. Thank you.
Gina Sheridan says
How long and what temperature would you use to bake them
jenniferbanz says
We did 375F for 15 minutes
Vanessa says
Oh my gosh! I’ve been craving fried chicken like a madwoman since I started keto but your recipe righted me! I was astonished at how well the batter stuck together and stayed nice and crispy, like an airy panko. I seasoned the chicken like you mentioned and used plenty of thyme and rosemary and... thank you so much!! New go to!
Hayley says
I made these last week for my little guy that has Type 1 Diabetes. Originally I was going to do tenders but I saw your recipe and thought nuggets would be a good idea. He loved them and so did I! I couldn't stop eating them! Thankfully I made a big enough batch for leftovers and froze those for easy and fast dinners in the future. I was surprised the pork rind flavor disappeared when baking. Will definitely make these again!
jenniferbanz says
So glad you liked them!
Pam says
I would love to freeze these. Do you do it before or after baking? Do they heat up crispy after freezing?
jenniferbanz says
You could freeze them before or after cooking. I think freezing before cooking, then letting them thaw and continue cooking as the directions state, would yield crispy results.