Chick-Fil-A Nuggets Clone Recipe

If you love Chick-Fil-A nuggets as much as we do, then you’ll love this Chick-Fil-A nuggets clone recipe. With just a few simple ingredients, you can make Chick-Fil-A nuggets at home that taste a lot like the restaurant version. Chick-Fil-A nuggets are one of the most popular items on the menu. And for good reason! They’re juicy, flavorful, and perfect for dipping in Chick-Fil-A’s signature sauce.

But why wait in line when you can make them at home? This Chick-Fil-A nuggets recipe is easy to follow and will have you enjoying the same delicious Chick-Fil-A nugget experience right in your kitchen. So grab your apron, preheat the oven, and get ready to enjoy Chick-Fil-A nuggets at home. Enjoy!

Chick-Fil-A indisputably makes one heckuva chicken nugget. There isn’t anything like it. Anywhere. Unless you make a Chick-Fil-A Clone at home.

What is in Chick-Fil-A nuggets?

The following is a list of ingredients in the nuggets that you get at Chick-Fil-A (according to Chick-Fil-A’s ownwebsite):

nuggets (whole chicken breast, seasoning [salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika], seasoned coater [enriched bleached wheat flour {with malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid}, sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening {baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate}, spice, soybean oil, color {paprika}], milk wash [water, nonfat milk, egg], peanut oil [fully refined peanut oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness and dimethylpolysiloxane as an anti-foaming agent]).

This Chick-Fil-A Clone does not include some of those ingredients, such as nonfat milk or monosodium glutamate (MSG). One thing you will find in my recipe that is not in the original is powdered sugar. (Notice: Chick-Fil-A does list “sugar” as an ingredient.)

Kitchen Notes

The first couple of times that I tried to make a clone, I brined my chicken solely in pickle juice. I really like the way that it came out. However, one of my family members has an aversion to pickles, so I tried it with a combination of pickle juice and carbonated water. That combination worked fine, but there is more flavor when the chicken is brined in pickle juice.

I also followed another recipe that I found online and used flour and cornstarch for the base. It worked okay, but when I coupled it with an egg/milk wash to dip it in prior to breading, the chicken would come out beautiful but the batter did not stay on the chicken after removing it from the oil.

I have been battering crappie (fish) with a mixture of dry pancake mix, salt, and pepper for quite some time. Every time I cooked it I couldn’t help but notice how much the breading looks like that on Chick-Fil-A chicken. I have never had a problem with that breading with fish, so I decided to try it on chicken. It worked beautifully.

One thing I like to do is to make a double batch of breading. That way if I end up making a mess and need to use more I don’t have to stop what I am doing.

Let’s take a look at how to make this recipe.

Instructions

• Combine all dry ingredients in a large container and set aside.

• Soak chicken in pickle juice and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

• Place peanut or vegetable oil in a large skillet or deep fryer and heat to 350 degrees.
• Drain the chicken and place the nuggets, a few at a time, in the flour mixture. Be sure to coat each piece well. Shake off any excess flour.

• Fry for approximately 4-6 minutes until golden brown and cooked thoroughly. Drain nuggets on a plate that has been lined with paper towels.

Serve with Chick-Fil-A sauce, honey mustard, BBQ sauce, or your favorite dipping sauce.

Storage

Store any leftover nuggets in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Tips

In my research, I learned a couple of little tricks:

1. To get those extra crunch pieces of goodness that are found on some of the nuggets, take a little bit of milk and splatter it into the dry mix before breading your nuggets. [Serious Eats]
2. If you don’t have a thermometer and want to check if you have your oil at the right temperature of 350 degrees, you can test it by placing a couple of popcorn kernels in your hot oil. The popcorn will pop right around that temperature. [Cooking Comically]

Substitutions

If you or someone you will be serving have peanut allergies, you can use a neutral cooking oil like canola oil in place of the peanut oil.

Make Chicken Minis at Home

Love Chicken Minis? You can easily re-create the delicious breakfast entree by baking a batch of Sister Schubert’s Parkerhouse Rolls. Once they have been baked, let them cool slightly, and then insert one nugget into each roll.

You’ll save money by making your own chicken minis at home. How much is a tray of chicken minis, you ask? A small tray with 20 chicken minis costs $19.50 and a large tray of 40 chicken minis costs $38.00.

Be sure to come back and tell us how your chicken nuggets turned out!

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