These crispy keto chicken nuggets are quick and easy in the Air Fryer. Whip up a batch with just a few ingredients and 10 chicken nuggets have only 1g net carbs!These air fryer chicken nuggets are keto, gluten free, Paleo and definitely kid friendly! Plus they tasty better than traditional chicken nuggets.
You might also like these low carb breaded pork cutlets.
I’ve started usingmy air fryermore often. Air frying is just so much better than deep frying. One thing I noticed is that it cooks breaded food really well. To me it cooks like a microwave and oven all in one.
So today I wanted to make somecrispy keto chicken nuggetsin the air fryer for my son because they are one of his favorite foods but I wanted to keep to my keto diet. He loved them!!!
I loved them because not only were they easy to make and very tasty, I didn’t have to use any type of flour so they are low carb, gluten free and flour free! So no almond flour or coconut flour necessary.
He actually said to me “mom you know how you try to make foods I like [junky foods ] more healthy, well this one I really like!”
Yay for me! I’ve been trying for years to make healthier versions of foods he likes and I win maybe 25% of the time. So.
My low carb chicken breading recipe.
I have used pork rinds for my breading when I made my breaded pork cutlets awhile back. And while I don’t really like them as a snack they do make great a great keto breading!
Today I used mayo instead of the usual egg mixture for my breaded chicken. It worked great for this dish because usually you have to mix whatever you make in the air fryer with a tablespoon of oil. In this case the mayo acts as the oil and keeps the crunchy topping on the chicken.
So my low carb chicken breading is a mixture of crushed pork rinds, grated Parmesan cheese, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. And I use mayonnaise for liquid coating instead of eggs.
Note you can crush the rinds by hand or put them in the the food processor to get a crumb consistency. Below you can see that a 3.25 oz bag of pork rinds will create just a little over 1 cup of bread crumbs.
This is now my preferred way to bread food when air fryer. This breading is made from simple ingredients and I bought them all at Aldi. Note I used chicken tenders but you could also use skinless chicken breast.
Let’s Make Some Keto Chicken Nuggets
Step 1: Preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes at 400°F. Cut the chicken tenders into small nugget size pieces then place it in a baggie with the mayo. Squish it around until all the pieces are covered in mayo. You can do this in batches if you want.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients for the low carb breading (groundpork rinds, parmesan cheese and spices) and place in a shallow mixing bowl.
Step 3: Roll each of the mayo covered chicken bites into the pork rind mixture to cover it all and place on a plate. Continue doing this until all the pieces are breaded.
Step 4: Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and then gently place the nuggets into the basket of the air fryer. Try to keep them in a single layer if you can.
Step 5: Air fry the chicken nuggets for 10-12 minutes at 380°F then turn up the heat to 400°F and cook for 3-5 minutes more. Depending on how big your air fryer or how much chicken you make you might have to cook these in batches. Also baking time may vary depending on your air fryer.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and store leftovers in an airtight container. You can quickly air fryer them for a few minutes to get them crispy again and to heat them up. (Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.)
Keto dippings sauces to try.
I have lots of dipping sauces on this blog that would go great with this dish. Try one of these:
- roasted garlic aioli recipe
- avocado lime dipping sauce
- tomato bacon jam
- jalapeno aioli
- buffalo aioli recipe
- sugar free sweet mustard sauce
Of course if you have a sugar free ketchup or bbq sauce brand that you like, try that or maybe this homemade dairy free ranch recipe.
Also you can check out all of my keto air fryer recipes here. I have over 50 recipes so far!
What temperature do you air fry homemade chicken nuggets?
I air fryed the chicken at 380°F for 12 minutes and then turned it up to 400°F for 3-5 more minutes. The higher temperature will get make for the crispy coating.
Make sure the meat is done though. If not put them back in for a few more minutes. It’s so easy to do that in the air fryer. The internal temperature should be 165°F when using a meat thermometer.
Note I originally made tenders and nuggets when I created this recipe. The nuggets cook a bit faster than the planks so make sure you check them to see if the tenders are cooked through before you serve them. I would cook tenders for 15 minutes at 380°F and a full 5 minutes at 400°F.
Where to buy pork rind breading.
If you don’t want to make your own pork rind crumbs you can always buy thesePork Pankobreading crumbs on Amazon!
Keto recipes to serve with this recipe.
If you want to do the fast food theme you can serve these chicken nuggets with keto fries. I also like to this baked cauliflower and cheese or green beans with bacon. In the warmer weather a good keto coleslaw is nice as well.
Well these delicious keto chicken nuggets were awesome and so easy to make in the air fryer. and I will definitely be making them part of our regular meal plan. They are great if you have fast food cravings on a low carb diet. Even picky eaters will love them.
Next time I might use Aldi’s spice pork rinds and see how they go. And for another awesome fried chicken recipe, check out my friend Mira’s best crispy keto fried chicken!
The nutrition facts for 1 out of 28 total nuggets is: 56 calories / 3.5g fat / 0.2g carbohydrates / 0.1g fiber / 6.3g protein = 0.1g net carb count
Crispy Keto Chicken Nugget Recipe in the Air Fryer
Yield: 28
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
This crispy keto friendly chicken nuggets recipe is quick and easy in the Air Fryer. Whip up a batch with just a few ingredients and the 10 nugets have just 1g net carbs!Make it a part of your next keto meal plan.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- 1 bag pork rinds (3.25 oz)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking oil.
- Pour the contents of the pork rinds in to a baggie and crush or add to a food processor and grind until they form bread crumbs. Pour into a large shallow bowl and mix in the spices and cheese.
- Either cut the tenders in to small bite sized pieces or just add the tenders as is to a large plastic baggie and spoon the mayo on top.
- Squish the mayo and chicken around to cover the chicken completely. Note you can also add the mayo to a separate bowl and coat them that way. The baggie just seems easier to me.
- Take a piece of chicken and roll around in the shallow bowl of bread crumbs and then carefully place in the basket of the air fryer. Continue with all of the chicken pieces.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes at 380° F and then 3-5 minutes. at 400°F. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked, especially with the tenders. They should be golden brown and an internal temperature of 165° F.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe Notes
The nutrition for 1 out of 28 total nuggets (1 used a pound of chicken tenders) is:
56 calories / 3.5g fat / 0.2g carbohydrates / 0.1g fiber / 6.3g protein = 0.1g net carb count
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 389Unsaturated Fat: 0g
