These Chick-fil-A inspired gluten free Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets are made from all real food ingredients and without any egg! The coating ACTUALLY sticks to your chicken despite being gluten free and is sure to be loved by even your most picky eater. Trust me, my fast food loving dad LOVES this recipe!
Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets
These Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets are super easy and only take 20 minutes to bake. They require minimal ingredients and fit the needs of multiple dietary types and preferences without sacrificing ANY taste. Honestly, these are one of the best chicken nuggets I’ve ever had!
DIETARY NOTES
This recipe is made with real ingredients and fits seamlessly into the following dietary needs when using the products/brands (or ones that are similar) listed in the recipe:
- gluten free
- grain free
- soy free
- refined sugar free
- egg free
- tree nut free (using cassava flour and dairy milk)
- dairy free
- Whole30
- paleo
COPYCAT CHICK-FIL-A CHICKEN NUGGETS
I was on day 9 of a round of Whole30 when my dad walked in with Chick-fil-A. If you’re not familiar, they make delicious fried chicken and waffle fries. I couldn’t stop thinking about those nuggets after smelling and seeing them, so I thought, why don’t I just make my own but with cleaned up ingredients?!
Not only are these comforting bites made with mindful ingredients making them a healthy choice, but they are also a great way to get your protein in! They’re free from any grains, gluten, dairy, eggs, tree nuts and refined sugars as well, so they’re super allergy friendly! Plus, they’re so crispy and delicious you could fool even your most picky eater!
WHY CASSAVA FLOUR?
Instead of using coconut and almond flour here (which you totally can if you’d like, and I’ve included a version for those flours in the recipe!), I choose to use cassava flour. It’s my favorite flour to bread things with as it makes the coating nice and flaky instead of grainy. It also sticks super well and the taste is so so so good! Trust me.
Not all cassava flours are created equal. Some are grainy while others are super high quality. Otto’s Naturals is the only cassava flour I use, and they were nice enough to give me a discount code for you all! Use “kaylaskitchandfix” at checkout for a discounted price. They also have free shipping on all orders! Click here to shop!
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
Here are some sides that pair perfectly with these baked nuggets/tenders:
- 3 Ingredient Homemade Waffle Fries (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan)
- Crispy & Healthy Oven French Fries (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan)
- Paleo Sweet Potato Tots (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free compliant, gluten free, grain free, soy free, nut free, vegetarian)
- Mini Crispy Smashed Potatoes (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan)
If you’re looking for more delicious breaded chicken recipes:
- Copycat Gluten Free Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free)
- Gluten Free Fried Chicken Sandwich (paleo compliant, whole30 compliant, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free)
- Whole30 Spinach Artichoke Chicken (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free)
- Whole30 Crispy Buffalo Chicken (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free)
- Gluten Free & Paleo Boneless Wings (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, soy free)
- One Skillet Lemon & Thyme Chicken Milanese (paleo, whole30, refined sugar free, dairy free compliant, lactose free, gluten free, grain free, soy free)
FOLLOW ALONG
Be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok to see all of the behind the scenes of recipe creation as well as how to videos to watch them come to life! You can also head over to my Pinterest to save all of my recipes in one spot that you plan whip up in the future.
PS – If you make this recipe or any of my other recipes, I would be so grateful if you left a review so I can hear what you think! I also am happy to answer any questions you may have on here, but if you want a quicker response, be sure to shoot me a message on Instagram. Thank you so much and talk soon!
Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets
Equipment
- Wire Cooling Rack
- Rimmed Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast
- ¼ cup pickle juice (I use Bubbie's)
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk (I use MALK Organics)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup cassava flour (I use Otto's Naturals, can sub ¼ cup almond flour + 2 tbsp coconut flour)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- avocado oil spray (I use Chosen Foods)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425° F and top a rimmed baking sheet with a wire cooling rack. Spray the rack with avocado oil spray and set aside.
- Combine apple cider vinegar and almond milk in a bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes in order to create something similar to buttermilk. After the 5 minutes, add in the pickle juice.
- Cut the chicken into your desired nugget size and add the pieces into the bowl with the marinade you just made. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Combine cassava flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a bowl with a flat bottom and mix together.
- Once the chicken is ready, piece by piece, remove from the marinade and place into the breading mixture. Toss the nugget gently until it is evenly and fully covered, then move it to the wire cooling rack. Repeat this step until all of the chicken is coated, ensuring the nuggets are evenly spaced out on the rack.
- Generously spray the nuggets with avocado oil. This will help the coating get crispy, so don't be skimpy here!
- Bake the nuggets for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy!
Notes
Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup avocado oil mayo (I use Chosen Foods or make my own, can add more if you want a thicker consistency)
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp dijon mustard (I use Noble Made)
- squeeze lemon
- 1 ½ tbsp bbq sauce (I use Noble Made)
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together until fully combined.
- Add more mayo for a thicker consistency if desired.
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve been searching for a recipe exactly like this one using almond flour and baking the nuggets, thanks I’ll leave a comment after I make them
I can’t wait to hear what you think, Camille!
I just made those today, I used an air fryer instead of the oven.
They were amazing! A huge success at home.
Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you so much for making them and letting me know! 🙂
LOVED this recipe. It was the pickle juice for me. And I used smoked paprika (my fav). Thanks Kayla!!!
I’m so so so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for making these and for leaving this kind review! 🙂
Plan on making these…how would you recommend making larger batches to freeze and have on hand for air fryer oven heat up?
I have not tried that, so I am not sure. I also want to note to be sure to make these in an oven as described in the recipe for them to work correctly! They are great reheated in the air fryer, though, if that’s what you meant. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Can’t wait to try them 😊. Chicken is my favourite food 🍗
I hope you love them as much as I do!
Can I marinate the chicken overnight? Or would it be too long? 🙂
As long as your chicken isn’t past the sell by date and you keep it covered in the fridge you’re good!
Can i use whole organic milk instead? 🙂
Should be fine!
Just made this for dinner. Turned out perfectly. Really delicious. Crispy and tender. Thanks so much for this great recipe!
Sooo thrilled to hear this! Thanks, Robyn!
Nice recipe, I’m trying it slightly modified with whole milk and different flour (don’t have cassava right now). It’s just misleading on the beginning it says treenuts free but uses almond milk and coconut flour.
That was an oversight on my behalf, thank you for catching! It is tree nut free when using dairy milk, which I just added to the dietary notes section. Thank you!
Does it work without any milk and with a normal oven pan (no baking rack)? Thanks!
No and no! Both aspects would alter the recipe a good amount.
Hi Kayla!
I was wondering if I could just use regular gluten free flour blend for the flour portion? Thank you!
I have not tried this so I can’t say for sure!
Hi, can I substitute pickle juice with something different or can I omit?
Apple Cider Vinegar should work great, but don’t omit!