Really? Just like Chick-fil-A?
I have a firm rule on here that I never say anything tastes exactly like a particular food from my favorite restaurants. But I do love to try to re-create some of my restaurant/fast food favorites at home. It’s a fun pastime for me that started many years ago. After a lot of trial and error, I can usually get flavors very close to my favorite meals, but never exactly the same taste.
Pickle juice or no pickle juice? That is the question…
Take these chicken nuggets for example. I played around with this recipe for a while trying to get them to taste like my favorite nuggets at Chick-Fil-A. I even tried adding pickle juice to the batter because I heard that’s what they do at Chick-Fil-A. Note: it didn’t add anything to the flavor (in my humble opinion) so I haven’t added it since.
So here’s my disclaimer, these do not taste exactly like those famous nuggets, but they do taste pretty daggone good. They are juicy, tender, and have a nice, slightly sweet exterior. And my family really loves them, so that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?
Ingredients:2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup milk or buttermilk (2% or higher)*
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp. corn starch
2 1/2 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
vegetable or peanut oil 
*Cook’s Notes: If you can use buttermilk in here – do it. It adds great flavor.
*Cook’s Notes: If you can use buttermilk in here – do it. It adds great flavor.Directions:
My chicken breasts were on the large side so I only used 2 this time. Cube chicken breasts into bite size pieces (trimming away any excess skin that might be hanging on).
In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg.
Place cubed chicken into bowl.
If you have time, cover it and let it hang out in the refrigerator for a few hours. This helps to make the chicken a bit more moist and tender. When ready to cook, start preheating oil in your fryer or deep pot to 375F degrees. In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine flour, sugar, corn starch, salt & pepper. Give it a good shake to combine ingredients.
Add in cubed chicken, small batches at a time, to the flour mixture. Seal and shake until chicken is coated. In small batches, place chicken into fryer.
And cook until golden brown.
About 4-6 minutes.
Remove and drain on paper towels.
Continue with above steps until all your chicken is cooked. Serve with your favorite sauce.
Enjoy!
Served here with my favorite Honey Mustard Sauce
Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Nuggets
Prep Time
3 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
33 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Calories: 347 kcal
Ingredients
- 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup milk 2% or higher
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- vegetable or peanut oil
Instructions
- Cube chicken breasts into bite size pieces, trimming away any excess skin that might be hanging on.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and egg.
- Place cubed chicken into milk/egg mixture.
- If you have time, cover it and let it hang out in the refrigerator for a few hours.
- This helps to make the chicken a bit more moist and tender.
- When ready to cook, start preheating oil in your fryer or deep pot to 375F degrees.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, salt & pepper.
- Give it a good shake to combine ingredients.
- Add in cubed chicken, small batches at a time, to the flour mixture.
- Seal and shake until chicken is coated.
- In small batches, place chicken into fryer.
- Cook until golden brown.
- About 4-6 minutes.
- Remove and drain on paper towels.
- Continue with above steps until all your chicken is cooked.
Recipe Notes
Use buttermilk if you have it, it adds great flavor.
MY LATEST VIDEOSServe with your favorite sauce.
Nutrition Facts
Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Nuggets
Amount Per Serving
Calories 347 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 126mg 42%
Sodium 1071mg 45%
Potassium 657mg 19%
Total Carbohydrates 26g 9%
Sugars 6g
Protein 38g 76%
Vitamin A 2.1%
Calcium 6.2%
Iron 12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
These were awesome! And I have to agree – we decided to try a batch with pickle juice and without and no one could tell the difference. Delicious!
I have made these and actually soaked the chicken in pickle juice, Claussen Brand, for 30 minuets to up to over night, and it made a huge difference! Actually tasted like Chick Fil A!
Oh yes! my girls favorite meal – bookmarked!!
Mary x
Thank you so much. This would be much better for my son than the store bought popcorn chicken he loves. Can you freeze these? I would like to make a bunch so I can pull out some as he wants it. That would be awesome.
The nuggets looks really crispy and irresistible my boy will finish them in no time:-)
thanks for the simple recipe.
Yin
My granddaughter loves nuggets and these would be so much better for her.
Thanks for the lovely comments everyone!! I really hope you like this one if you give it a try!
Shana, I haven't actually tried freezing these to be honest but I think you could. The breading on these are similar to Chick-fil-A in that it is not a crispy batter so freezing them should be alright.
Joan, yes, that is an electric fryer that I have. But you could certainly use your large cast iron skillet for frying these! 🙂
These look great Brandie! Have to give them a whirl!
Holy cow these were good! Thank you for this recipe!
MMMM!
I definitely give these two thumbs up! Made it exactly to your recipe!
Yours are better b/c there is no MSG! Sad but true, Chick-Fil-A adds MSG to there breaded chicken 🙁
And I'm so excited b/c your frying set up is sweet!
No doubt in my mind that these are far better than anything you can get at a fast food place. Good job!
I've never had the Chick-fil-A nuggets, but I can tell that these nuggets are delicious! And your honey mustard sauce looks like a perfect dipping sauce for them! Great Job!
Oh My Word! These Look JUST like the chick fil a nuggets!! I can't wait to try these!!!
I love recreating recipes at home too. It's always such a challenge and so gratifying when you come so close! And the powdered sugar! Who would have thought! You're so smart! Thanks for sharing at Church Supper. Have a blessed week and come back soon.
Thank you for posting this, I'm making these tonight and I can't wait! I love your recipes and have never had anything I didn't enjoy from your site.
Delicious!! I will try it!!!
I just found your blog and enjoy it very much! I am a former south Virginia girl also and I gotta love someone who uses the term, "daggone"!
Angie
These are amazing! Thank you for all of the wonderfull recipes you share!!
I just made these and they are AMAZING! Thank you for all of the wonderful recipes you share!!
Made these tonight, everyone loved them! Another winner from your blog, thanks!
Thank you SO very much!! I am so happy this recipe turned out good for you. I really appreciate y'all taking the time to let me know how a recipe turned out. I hope you find many more recipes on here that you love!! ~Brandie
I have made these a couple differnt times for my family. My daughter (5) just eats them up as quick as i can pull them out of the oil! HUGE HIT!!!!! 🙂
To hear when the kiddos like something is always one of the biggest compliments. Because we all know, they don't hesitate to tell us the cold, hard truth. Ha!! Love reading that – thank you!
I just made this for my VERY picky husband. He liked it and said I can make it again. That's saying something lol! He only eats about 10 things.
Now that is what we like to hear! 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know how they turned out for ya!!
This is my second raving review today! We made these for dinner and they were delicious and looked just as pictured. The only change was I used a cast iron skillet with oil on med high heat. Yum!! Big thanks!
Woo hoo! So glad they turned out yummy! I sure do appreciate you taking the time to come back and leave a comment!!
I encourage everyone to make these. Don’t be scared of frying – it adds so much flavor!
I am very excited to try this recipe!! I worked at Chick-fil-a so I've breaded and pressure cooked my fair share of chicken. The only difference I see is that they soak the nuggets in a marinade before they freeze them for storage. When they thaw out the nuggets, directly before putting them in the pressure cooker they toss them in the milk wash and then the flour coat.
I used to work at Chic-fil-a and made the nuggets when I worked there. The only thing different in your process is that they use Butter Milk instead of regular milk to soak the chicken in before battering. So your note about buttermilk was spot-on. Well done!
I can't wait to try these! I don't have an electric fryer and I don't have a cast iron skillet–any other suggestions? Nonstick skillet or bake in the oven? Thanks!
My girls love chick-fil-a and the little bites they sell in the morning are addictive so to be able to do them at home is an extra bonus. Thank you.
How creative!. It is so delicious. Thank for sharing. I love chicken. I'm going to try it now
I love this chicken. These look crunchy and delicious!
would you freeze these before or after cooking?
Is it ok to bake the chicken?