Who here loves Chik-fil-A? My entire family is obsessed with this meal! These copycat Chick Fil A nuggets give you the same crispy, tender bite you love, right from your own kitchen. They fry up golden in minutes and taste just like the real deal.
What makes them special is a quick milk and egg dip plus a light coating with a touch of powdered sugar for that signature crisp and hint of sweetness. They are family-friendly, budget-friendly, and totally weeknight ready. Don’t forget to pair them with our Chick Fil A Sauce.
Craving more chicken favorites? Try making our Chicken Nuggets, Baked Chicken Fingers, and Chicken Strips.
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Fast for busy nights. Have a delicious meal on the table in 30 minutes.
- Simple ingredients. The recipe uses pantry staples, no special trip needed.
- Anytime favorite. They are great to serve for parties, game days, or family dinners.
Copycat Chick Fil A Nuggets Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts (2) – These are lean, tender pieces that cook quickly and give you that classic nugget bite. You can use chicken thighs or chicken tenders to make Chik-fil-A-style nuggets.
- Milk (½ cup) – Milk softens the chicken and helps the egg cling, so the coating sticks evenly.
- Eggs (1) – Eggs bind the flour mixture to each piece for a uniform, craggy crust.
- All-purpose flour (1 cup) – This creates the light, crispy outer shell that fries up golden.
- Powdered sugar (3 tablespoons) – This adds a hint of sweetness and helps the coating brown to a perfect crisp, just like your favorite drive-thru.
- Salt (2 teaspoons) – Salt seasons the chicken throughout, so every bite is flavorful.
- Black pepper (½ teaspoon) – Pepper adds a gentle warmth that balances the sweetness.
- Vegetable oil – This is a neutral frying oil that crisps without overpowering the flavor. You could use peanut oil as the restaurant does. Canola oil is another option.
How to Make Chick-fil-A Nuggets
PREP. Cut up chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Add milk and egg to a bowl and whisk together, then set aside.
COAT. Pour flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper into a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put chicken pieces in the egg mixture. Once they are well coated, transfer the chicken pieces to the Ziploc bag and shake to evenly cover with seasonings and flour mixture.
FRY. Place chicken in a pan with hot oil and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Drain the pieces on a paper towel.
SERVE. Serve warm with our homemade Chick Fil A Sauce recipe. ENJOY!
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Cut the chicken into even, bite size pieces so everything cooks at the same rate.
- Fry in batches and avoid crowding so the nuggets stay crisp.
- Air fry. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and lightly spray the air fryer basket. Working in batches, place nuggets in a single layer. Fry for 6-9 minutes, turning halfway.
- Pickle Juice. Soak the chicken cubes in dill pickle juice for 20-30 minutes. Drain and proceed with the recipe.
- Favorite dipping sauce: Chick Fil A Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Honey Mustard Sauce
Copycat Chick Fil A Nuggets Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup milk
- 1 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- vegetable oil
Instructions
- Begin by cutting up your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.
- Place oil in a medium pan and turn to medium heat.
- From there add your milk and egg to a bowl and whisk together until combined. Set aside.
- Pour your flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper into a gallon bag.
- Add several chicken pieces to your milk/egg mixture until well coated and then throw the pieces into your gallon bag and shake until each piece is evenly coated.
- Place chicken pieces in oil and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
- Drain pieces onto paper towel and serve warm.
Notes
- Cut the chicken into even, bite size pieces so everything cooks at the same rate.
- Fry in batches and avoid crowding so the nuggets stay crisp.
- Air fry. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and lightly spray the air fryer basket. Working in batches, place nuggets in a single layer. Fry for 6-9 minutes, turning halfway.
- Pickle Juice. Soak the chicken cubes in dill pickle juice for 20-30 minutes. Drain and proceed with the recipe.
- Favorite dipping sauce: Chick Fil A Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Honey Mustard Sauce
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you My Name is Snickerdoodle!
Recipe FAQ
I have found the best way to get evenly cut cubed chicken is to partially freeze the chicken breasts before cutting them. Let them thaw the rest of the way and coat.
This one is a little tricky to answer. If they are going to be served as an appetizer, I would plan 4-5 nuggets per person. If they are going to be the main dish, plan 6-8 per child and 10-12 per adult.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat chicken nuggets in the microwave, toaster oven, air fryer, or oven.
Complete the Meal
Sides
Chick Fil A Sauce
10 mins
Chick Fil A Mac and Cheese
42 mins
How to make the perfect homemade french fries
2 hrs 35 mins
Fruit Salad Recipe
1 hr 20 mins
More Chicken
Collections
This post was originally published May 2015.
Would this recipe work in an air fryer?
While I like them best pan fired, you can use the air fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and lightly spray the fryer basket. Place nuggets in a single layer, be sure they are not touching. Fry for 6-9 minutes, turning halfway.
Je vais sûrement essayer cette recette qui me semble délicieuse et j’aimerais avoir une idée de sauce pour servir avec … genre chinoise avec du beurre d’arachides peut-être. Dès que j’aurai essayé la recette de nuggets, j’enverrai mon commentaire.
MERCI !
Super, merci beaucoup ! Une sauce aux arachides serait une excellente idée. J’ai hâte d’avoir ton retour après avoir essayé la recette! (Great, thank you so much! A peanut sauce would be an excellent idea. I’m looking forward to your feedback after you try the recipe!)
My kids love these. They think they taste better than chick-fil-a. Definitely will be making again. Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve probably made these a dozen times since finding the recipe a year ago. The people sometimes forget to save me any so I’ve learned to eat as I’m cooking. BIG hit in our house!
Awe, that makes me so happy to hear that you like the nuggets that much! I’m glad you’ve figured out a way to have some before they’re all gone! 😉
Can this be done in the air fryer?
I haven’t tried, but I am sure they could 😉
We love this recipe at our house. Chick fil a is one of our favorites; but , the closest is an hour away from our house . I’m so happy to have found this recipe so that we can easily make it when we get the craving for chick fil a. It’s a bit messy to make, but so worth it!
Easily one of the best CFA knockoffs around. We made one tiny change- brined the chicken in a little pickle juice. If you’re wanting nuggets and home- this is definitely the recipe.
Love this copycat recipe! Chick-fil-A is close by but it’s so much easier when you don’t have to leave the house! And so much more economical!
Happy you like it!! Thank you for sharing that!
The whole family loved them! Definately a favorite!
*WHERE* has this recipe been? My kids looove this copycat recipe (and secretly? So do I!)
We love these nuggets! We don’t live too close to a chick fil a so these are awesome to make when we need our fix!
My kids (and husband) can barely tell the difference! We love these for a simple weeknight dinner!
I love Chick-fil-A but it’s so pricey for a fanily of 5. This copycat recipe was easy to footie and tasted great!
Our family favorite! Everyday can be a Chick-fil-A day now 😉
Yummy nuggets. We definitely don’t pickle juice it!
mine tunrned out more smooth than chic fil A niggest, but they tasted great!
Any kind of nugget is a favorite in our home.
it would be helpful to have an idea of how much oil to use.
I use enough to coat the bottom like 1/2in high. Hope that helps 🙂 Enjoy!
THere’s a close sauce…try great value “chicken” saUce…pretty yummy & easy to find. Plus it comes in a squeeze bottlE!
Yes, it’s good!
thank you for sharing this! My kids absolutely love chick fil a nuggets & they will think I am the best, if I can make them at home!
We love these nuggets. They taste even better than the Chick-fil-A ones! We will be making them more often.
You have no idea how happy these make my kids! They want to go to chick Fil A all the time. These taste just like theirs!
Oh, fun tip for you all making these: get a bag of frozen waffle fries and bake those as you cook the chicken. You’ll feel even more like you’re at Chick Fil A! haha 🙂
Yes, for sure!! Thanks!
These were very good. Pretty similar to Chick Fil A and delicious. I’ve never fried anything before, but this was easy. I’ll definitely make it again.
I am glad you tried them! And, liked them 🙂 Thank you so much!
You are missing the most important ingredient in the Chick-fil-A chicken…..it is marinated in pickle juice….that is what makes it taste so good
Delicious! we used coconut oil instead….we didn’t even need dipping sauce! Thank you!
Perfect! Thank you 🙂
I maDe this tonight exactly aS the ReCipe states. I would defin use less pIckle juice to marinate. THe pickle taste was a bit overwhelming. OTher than that, it was really good. My Kids (18 & 15) loved it!
I am glad they did! Thank you for trying it!
Where’s the pickle juice?
No pickle juice in this 🙂
Made this the last two days for my girls and i ended up eating more than they did becaue they were so good. I did add about double the powdered sugar the second time around thOugh. That little touch of sweet is the trick. Im a chef dad to my girls now.
Haha!! I know what you mean! Thank you so much!
Where’s the pickle juice!
What kind of oil do you use?
Vegetable oil 🙂 Hope you enjoy!!
Definetely still missing something. Didn’t have much of a flavor but thanks for recipe
Thanks for giving it a try! That’s why we love all the dipping sauces! 🙂
These turned out great! Added a little butter to the oil for browning but that’s just a me thing. Tasted really good. Thanks Kristyn!
So glad to hear!! Thanks so much for letting me know!
I will have to adapt this recipe for gluten free before I can try it but I can not wait! Thanks for all that you do to share your talents with the world.
Chick-Fil-A sauce: honey mustard and BBQ (Famous Dave’s Sweet n Sassy works well). That’s it. PLay around with the amounts of each until you find the right combination that you like. This sauce was created at the Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Spotsylvania Mall in VA. I had friends that worked there back in the 80’s and we’d make this sauce at home when we had sleepovers, parties, etc. Still make it today. It’s awesome!
http://inside.chick-fil-a.com/serendipitous-sauce-the-chick-fil-a-sauce-story/
People would really run off with the pump containers of the stuff!!
I LOVE Chik fil A sauce!!
One more thing…they use a pressure cooker for all their chicken!
I’ll have to mess around and figure it out. IT’s my favorite. 🙂
Hi Kristyn….love your blog! I don’t have a blog but sure am getting the bug to want to start one!
What a great recipe and I am going to try that soon. We LOVE Chick-fil-A too and you are so right about their customer service! They are spot on! They sure train them well!
I LOVE their sauce too…if you are talking about their polynesian one. My daughter loves it with the waffle fries as well. I found a recipe online a while back for a copycat sauce and it is pretty close to the real deal. I wanted to share it with it you:
1 cup California French Dressing
3 tsp. apple cider vinegar
6 tbsp. honey
I almost always add more honey and tweak it til the taste is just right. I also sometimes leave out the apple cider vinegar, doesn’t seem to make a difference…to me anyway. I have a big family so I usually triple this recipe and make as much as I need for the dinner that night. If by chance any is left over, I refrigerate it.
I also was told by a friend that she heard there is a dressing that taste just like the sauce. It’s called Maretti’s Honey French Dressing and you find it in the refrigerator section at the store where they have the salad stuff, etc. I had a hard time finding that particular one, they had other flavors, but not this one. I only found the brand at Wal-Mart too. My local grocery store is HEB and they didn’t have that brand. But we make the recipe above and it suits us just fine!
Thanks for your blog and all your wonderful-ness you bring to it! 🙂
Thanks for the sweet words, Kim and for sharing the recipe – will totally give it a try!! 😀
How much oil do you use ?
It depends on how many I’m making at the time, but it’s usually about 2/3 cup oil. 😉
These look delicious!! Totally trying it out tomorrow. My recipe for chick-fil-a sauce (still in progress, but I think it’s pretty good!):
1/2 cup mayo
1 Tb mustard (preferably brown)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tb vinegar
2 Tb honey
1 Tb BBQ sauce
Slightly adapted from the Table for Two blog 🙂
Oooooh – I will totally try this out. I LOVE Chik-fil-a sauce. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi! Just honey mustard and a sweet BBQ sauce. See my post below on why this is the recipe. 🙂
According to chick fil a employee – the sauce is honey mustard, bbq, ranch mixed together… we make it ALL the time!!! Tastes pretty darn close!!!! Now we can make the nuggets to go with it! thanks!!! 🙂
The real Chic-fil-a sauce has dill pickle juice in it. Try it instead of the vinegar.
So you’re going to think I’m nuts, but I have such a sentimental attachment to Chik-Fil-A that it’s crazy. And we just have none around here! This recipe isn’t just something my mouth needs, it’s something my soul needs. Thanks so much for sharing!
Chik-fil-A is the best!! I hope you try the recipe and enjoy it. 🙂
Oh, I am so happy that you tried them and LOVED them! They are a family favorite. (Thanks for the link back!)
Chick-Fil-A is my favorite and there isn’t one within 100 miles of me! A good copycat recipe is just what I need! Thanks for sharing this!
Let me know if you try it out – We LOVE this recipe!! 😀
Yum!! I made copycat chickfila nuggets for my family a while back and was surprised how much the powdered sugar really made it taste like chickfila! Your nuggets look so good, looks like they will be on my menu again soon!!
I will definitely have to give this a try! We can’t ever got to Chick-fil-A because they use peanut oil, and my oldest daughter is allergic! My youngest daughter has been taken there by friends and says she doesn’t like the french fries because they “taste like potatoes.” But everybody here does love chicken nuggets, so I think these will be a winner!
Thank you Kristyn. Have a great Monday and the rest of the week.