Skip to Content

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Today I am recreating a popular item from one of the best fast food chains you can find… Chik-fil-A! These are my Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets.

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets recipe from RecipeBoy.com

Eat more chikin! Everyone has seen the commercials, and I’m willing to guess that everyone has been to Chik-fil-A at some point in their life. Their nuggets are to die for! This week I attempted to recreate those very nuggets in my kitchen, with successful results!

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets recipe from RecipeBoy.com

The raw chicken marinates in a mixture of milk and pickle juice, which I found interesting. At first, I questioned the strange combination of liquids. Later on, I learned never to doubt the mysterious ways of Chik-fil-A. After the marinade was drained from the chicken, I dipped the chicken and milk and egg.

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets recipe from RecipeBoy.com

The chicken is coated in a mixture of flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper. Not quite the eleven herbs & spices of KFC, but that just proves that sometimes simplicity can be better.

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets recipe from RecipeBoy.com

This chicken is fried in peanut oil, a healthier alternative to typical frying oils. It’s lower in saturated fat, for you people that care about that sort of thing…

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets recipe from RecipeBoy.com

Lesson learned: bubbling oil is incredibly hot… You have to be extremely careful with it or you’ll end up with arms covered in mini burns. I opted for using an oven mitt while flipping the chicken.

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets recipe from RecipeBoy.com

I also made Chik-fil-A Sauce for these nuggets… That recipe will be coming soon. I had always wondered what was in their famous sauce, so recreating it was exciting.

These nuggets are phenomenal! They taste just as good as they do in the fast food joint. As I learned from my professional chef cousin, you cannot go easy on the salt in this recipe. Salt is important and can ultimately determine a dish’s flavor. Chik-fil-A is possibly my favorite fast food of all time, so I am stoked that I’ve learned how to make one of their most popular meals. These nuggets are perfect for anyone, whether you’re a Chik-fil-A fanatic like me or not!

Chicken Nuggets

Copycat Chik-fil-A Chicken Nuggets

RecipeBoy.com (using several recipes on the internet as inspiration)
Like Chil-fil-A's, these nuggets are to die for! 
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 472 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound boneless chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch chunks

MARINADE:

  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup dill pickle juice

DIP:

DUSTING:

FRYING:

  • 1 to 2 cups peanut oil

Instructions
 

  • Combine chicken and marinade in a large zip baggie, and let marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  Drain the marinade.
  • Place the milk and egg into a bowl.  Add the chicken to coat with the dip, and then drain the dip from the chicken again.
  • At this point, you can get your peanut oil heating up in a medium skillet over medium heat.  You'll need just about an inch of peanut oil in the skillet.
  • Place the dusting ingredients in a large zip baggie and shake to combine.  Add the chicken and shake to coat.
  • Once the oil is hot enough (Test by flicking a drop of water into the oil. If it sizzles, it's hot enough), use tongs to add the chicken to the skillet (shaking off excess flour as you take the chicken out of the bag).  Cook in batches, turning when golden.  Remove cooked chicken to a paper-towel lined plate.
  • Serve immediately with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce!

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 472kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 32gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 1086mgPotassium: 594mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 226IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 289mgIron: 3mg
Keyword chicken, chicken nuggets, chik-fil-a
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Here are a few more copycat Chik Fil A recipes you might enjoy:

Recipe Rating




laura

Tuesday 24th of May 2022

Made these tonight they were so good! I did not use peanut oil just regular vegetable oil.

Steph

Wednesday 31st of January 2018

I saw your Copycat version of Chik-Fil-A sauce from yesterday which led me to your Chik-Fil-A nuggets today. We're having this for dinner tonight. Sounds great!

recipeboy

Thursday 8th of February 2018

awesome!

Stacey

Wednesday 10th of January 2018

The food babe has a similar recipe for chick-fil-a sandwich, but they are baked. I'm going to try this by baking them. Yummy!

Tony Dean

Tuesday 9th of January 2018

I have found that you can use almost anyone's 'Fried Chicken' Recipe as long as you brine with Pickle Juice and include Powdered Sugar in the seasoned flour

Kathy

Tuesday 9th of January 2018

Thanks, Brooks!  Always enjoy reading your posts. I LOVE Chic-Fil-A, too, and look forward to making these!