You won’t believe how easy it’s to make healthy keto air fry chicken nuggets right at your own home! Made with real ground chicken and seasoned to perfection, you won’t be missing those greasy fast food chicken nuggets ever again!
I admit there are definitely times when I’m in a rush and a fast food drive thru seems to be the most quickest and convenient way to feed my kids.
And of course, my kids are thrilled when this happens because they get to order their favorite – chicken nuggets.
But since they ask for it so often, I thought I would try to make a healthier low carb version in the air fryer. Perhaps that may keep them from asking me so often for the fast food alternative.
I didn’t really know where to start but I knew I wanted to use ground chicken, season it and then bread it somehow.
After some experimentation, I settled on a few basic seasonings and a pork rind crust to make these air fry ground chicken nuggets.
I was so happy when during taste testing, my kids kept coming back asking for more! I knew I had to share this recipe with all of you. Maybe you have kids that love chicken nuggets or perhaps you love chicken nuggets.
Then hopefully this recipe will deter you from heading to that fast food restaurant and make these easy, healthy air fry chicken nuggets right in your own kitchen instead!
How do you make keto low carb air fry chicken nuggets?
You start with ground chicken, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, half and half, egg and green onions. Mix it all together, form balls, roll it in crushed pork rinds and air fry.
What are the benefits of air frying as opposed to deep frying?
Air frying cuts calories from oil by 70-80%. The method of air fryer might also cut down some of the other harmful effects of oil frying. There’s also less clean up and you don’t have to figure out what to do with all the leftover oil afterward, which for us is the best part.
What if I don’t have an air fryer? Can I deep fry with oil instead?
Yes, you can. Follow the same directions and deep fry at 350F for 4-6 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken nuggets reaches 165 F.
What kind of dipping sauce do you recommend for these air fry keto chicken nuggets?
I love dipping these in a mayo sriracha sauce but they also go wonderfully with ranch, sugar-free ketchup, or sugar-free barbecue sauce.
Can I meal prep and freeze keto chicken nuggets?
You, can absolutely make these in advance! After coating with pork rinds, lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer into a ziplock bag. To cook, air fry at 390 F for about 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 F.
Why do we use ground chicken as opposed to chicken fillets to make these keto chicken nuggets?
The main reasons are texture and seasoning. Seasoning ground chicken is much easier since you can add the spices and mix it all together, rather than taking an overnight marinating approach. Also, the texture of the ground chicken is softer where as using chicken fillets would result in harder fried chicken like texture.
The special ingredients needed for this recipe are Unflavored Pork Rinds/Pork Panko, which can be picked up on Amazon or a local Supermarket. If you’re also making the optional dipping sauce, you’ll need Kewpie Mayo and Sriracha.
You’ll also need an air fryer if air frying, which if you’re on the fence about, we couldn’t recommend them more! It’s a deep frying game changer if you dislike traditional frying methods!
Now, let’s get some air frying some Keto Chicken Nuggets – LCA style!
- Prepping Time 3M
- Cooking Time 7-9M
- Total Time 10M
- Net Carb/Serv ~0.5g
- Servings 20 Pieces
Ingredients
Chicken Nuggets
- 1 lb Ground Chicken (breast or thigh)
- 1/2 oz Unflavored Pork Rinds (~1 tbsp if using Pork Panko)
- 1 Stalk Green Onion
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp Half & Half
Crust
- 3 oz Unflavored Pork Rinds (~6 tbsp if using Pork Panko)
Optional Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce
- 4 tbsp Kewpie Mayo (you can sub with American mayo but will alter taste)
- 1/2 tsp Sriracha
Directions
1) Gather all the ingredients.
2) Chop green onion and set aside.
3) Pour Unflavored Pork Rinds into a food processor and pulse until ground into very fine. You can also use your hands to crush the pork rinds if you don’t have a food processor, but we strongly recommend using a food processor. Place 1 tbsp of crushing pork rinds into the mixing bowl and set the remaining aside.
4) In the same mixing bowl, add ground chicken, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chopped green onions, beaten egg and half & half. Combine until mixed well.
5) Take ~1.5 tbsp of the chicken mixture, place it in the crushed pork rinds from step 3) and then roll it around to coat all sides. Note – it may help to rub some oil on your hands to avoid the mixture from sticking.
6) Using your hands, gently form nuggets from the coated chicken nuggets and transfer them to the air fryer tray. Repeat until all the chicken mixture is used. Air fryer at 390F for 7-9 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165F. Note – if you like your chicken nuggets crispy, re-fry them by putting it back in the air fryer for 2-4 minutes after they have cooled down.
7) Optional mayo sauce – combine Kewpie Mayo with Sriracha into a mixing bowl and mix well.
8) Once chicken nuggets are air fried, serve with a dipping sauce of choice. Enjoy!
Hope you enjoy your low-carb Keto Air Fry Chicken Nuggets!
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Keto Air Fried Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
Chicken Nuggets
- 1 lb Ground Chicken breast or thigh
- 1/2 oz Unflavored Pork Rinds ~1 tbsp if using Pork Panko
- 1 Stalk Green Onion
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp Half & Half
Crust
- 3 oz Unflavored Pork Rinds ~6 tbsp if using Pork Panko
Optional Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce
- 4 tbsp Kewpie Mayo you can sub with American mayo but will alter taste
- 1/2 tsp Sriracha
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Chop green onion and set aside.
- Pour Unflavored Pork Rinds into a food processor and pulse until ground into very fine. You can also use your hands to crush the pork rinds if you don’t have a food processor, but we strongly recommend using a food processor. Place 1 tbsp of crushing pork rinds into the mixing bowl and set the remaining aside.
- In the same mixing bowl, add ground chicken, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chopped green onions, beaten egg and half & half. Combine until mixed well.
- Take ~1.5 tbsp of the chicken mixture, place it in the crushed pork rinds from step 3) and then roll it around to coat all sides. Note - it may help to rub some oil on your hands to avoid the mixture from sticking.
- Using your hands, gently form nuggets from the coated chicken nuggets and transfer them to the air fryer tray. Repeat until all the chicken mixture is used. Air fryer at 390F for 7-9 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165F. Note - if you like your chicken nuggets crispy, re-fry them by putting it back in the air fryer for 2-4 minutes after they have cooled down.
- Optional mayo sauce - combine Kewpie Mayo with Sriracha into a mixing bowl and mix well.
- Once chicken nuggets are air fried, serve with a dipping sauce of choice. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Is the ground chicken raw?
Hi Brittany! Yes, it is.