When you’re looking for that super simple recipe that both kids and adults enjoy, look no farther than these air fryer chip crusted chicken nuggets. This recipe is so easy to make for two reasons. First of all, the coating is made of crushed up potato chips which means you don’t have to fuss with breadcrumbs AND the seasoning on the chips can act as the seasoning for your crumb coating. Secondly, these nuggets cook in the air fryer, which is far easier than deep-frying at home and has the added benefit of being a little better for you than the traditional chicken nuggets. So, if you’re looking for simple… here it is!
Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Nuggets
It’s really not about what ingredients you use to make homemade chicken nuggets. It’s about what ingredients you don’t use when you make homemade chicken nuggets. As you can see above, you really need very little – some flour, some seasonings, an egg, a drop of milk, some flour and of course the chicken and potato chips. What you don’t see in the photo above are preservatives and ingredients that you can’t pronounce. There’s a feel-good moment for you!
What Chips to Use
You can honestly use whichever chips are your favorite for this chip crusted chicken nugget recipe. I happen to love Cape Cod potato chips and that’s what you see above, but you could go with your favorite brand AND your favorite flavor. If you love BBQ chips, try BBQ chicken nuggets. Sour cream and onion chips or black pepper potato chips make tasty coatings too, but make sure they suit your guests (especially if your guests are under the age of 12!).
How to Dredge Properly
Coating the chicken the right way makes all the difference to whether or not your coating stays on or falls away from the chicken pieces as they cook. You can read all about how to dredge and bread foods here, but basically what you need to know is that you always coat the chicken with seasoned flour first, THEN the egg and finally the crumbs.
Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
Not only do these chicken nuggets have no preservatives or artificial ingredients, they also come with a lot less guilt cooked in because they are air-fried instead of deep-fried. Win-win! Just remember the keys to successful air frying. First of all, remember not to overcrowd the air fryer basket. If you try to save time by cooking all the nuggets at once, you’ll regret it because you’ll end up with soggy nuggets. Leave lots of room around the pieces of chicken so that the hot dry air can do it’s thing and make the nuggets crispy all the way around. You might even find that you don’t need to flip them over if you’ve left enough empty space around them. Secondly, don’t forget to lightly spritz the chicken pieces with oil. You won’t need much, but a little spray will enhance the browning and the crispiness.
Dips for Nuggets
Most kids just like to dip nuggets into ketchup and who can blame them. There’s a reason ketchup has become a household name and pantry staple. If you want to venture away from ketchup, however, you do have a lot of options. Mixing spicy brown mustard together with honey will give you a simple honey-mustard dip. You can also try the dipping sauce from my air fryer blooming onion recipe, the Creole dipping sauce in my Cajun Fries recipe, the special sauce in the air-fried chicken sandwich recipe, or one of these buttermilk dips – basil buttermilk dipping sauce, lemon dill buttermilk dressing. With all these options, maybe you can pick two or three and give people a choice.
Delish Meredith. Got the post today and just happen to have a NEW air fryer from Costco before the SHUTDOWN happened. Really a great recipe. I did adult it a bit with some spices because my kiddo’s are in their 30’s and not at home. YEAH. Really loved it. Side salad we were good to go. 10 stars
The grands (ages 9 & 8) love these…especially when they get to choose and crush their favorite flavor chips. Once I cube the chicken, they can prep the rest and I then supervise the ‘frying’.
I made these with Jalapeno Lime tortilla chips and they were fantastic. Thanks for the tip on not crowding the basket — it made a big difference in the end result. 😀
My husband loves these and I serve as the entree. I’ve made with potato chips but we prefer the flavor of crushed Poppables by Lays. Thank you!
These were a hit with the family! Recipe is quick and easy to follow. The nuggets were cooked perfectly in the time specified and the crunch was so addicting!! This one is a keeper!
So I made these chicken nuggets this evening for dinner as they just looked like they would be delicious. And they are. The first thing I did differently was to soak the breaststroke in buttermilk for a bit more than two hours. Also I used my convection oven as opposed to my cooks essentials air fryer only because I could air fry more all at once ( keeping appropriate space between the pieces. The nuggets I will never do another way as they are delicious. What I found was that I don’t believe the flavor of chip matters as I couldn’t taste anything but potato chip. I used kettle cooked sour cream and onion and also jalapeño chips combined. That being said the nuggets were delicious and I will definitely do this again, especially for my grandkids. Thank you BJC
This nuggets turned out extremely delicious and I will certainly make them again soon. The crispness of the nuggets was perfect. I made a honey mustard dip and dinner was well received. The recipe was easy to follow, keep them coming.
The nuggets turned out perfectly and I will certainly make them again soon. The crispness of the nuggets was perfect. I made a honey mustard dip and dinner was well received. The recipe was easy to follow, keep them coming.
Added a bit of Frank’s Hot sauce with the egg and milk. Dipped in Frank’s after cooking and put back in AirFryer for 1 minute. Great for football game; gone in Minutes!! Thank you
I used Dot’s Pretzel crumbs instead of chips and they were fantastic!
I followed your comment on using potato flakes for us gluten free people, worked great. This is our 4th time making them, they are a hit in our house! Thank you for the great easy recipe and giving gluten free suggestions for those of us with this issue.
These were delicious! Crispy outside, tender and juicy inside. My husband and I couldn’t eat them all for dinner so the leftovers are ziplocked in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. I have to admit, I ate two nuggets later last night. They are even good cold! I added a dash of Hungarian hot paprika, onion and garlic powder to the gluten free flour I used to bread them with. Yummy! I absolutely love and trust your recipes, BJC! Recommend to everyone. I used ruffled potato chips, BTW.
Wow