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Chicken nuggets in a white bowl with another bowl of honey mustard dipping sauce and a topo chico bottle
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5 from 2 votes

Paleo Chicken Nuggets

A gluten free and paleo version of Chick-fil-A's chicken nuggets, made without nuts! These tasty treats are best served with ranch or my healthier Chick-fil-A sauce.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Brine1 hour
Total Time1 hour 23 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 402kcal
Author: Alicia

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds chicken tenderloins or chicken breast pounded to ½ inch thickness, cut into bite size pieces
  • ½ cup pickle juice
  • cup pumpkin seed flour
  • cup tapioca starch
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk of choice
  • ½-3/4 cup sunflower, avocado, or canola oil

Instructions

  • Combine the raw chicken pieces with pickle juice (or brine) and toss to coat. Place in the fridge for an hour to sit. Meanwhile, grind your pumpkin seeds in a food processor till finely crumbled. Combine with tapioca flour, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl or plate. Meanwhile whisk the egg and milk together till light and frothy.
  • Prepare a deep cast iron pan with the oil and heat over medium high heat until it sizzles with a splash of water flicked in. Prepare a sheet pan with paper towels and a metal rack over it to drain the chicken nuggets
  • Remove the chicken pieces from the fridge, leaving behind the pickle juice, place them in the egg/milk mixture, then transfer to the spiced pumpkin seed/tapioca flour mix.
  • Add the coated chicken nuggets to the oil, and for the love of cheese do not splatter yourself. You may need to work in 2 batches so the pieces have enough room to fry and do not touch each other. A splatter screen works great for dishes like this! Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned on the first side. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes until cooked through, being careful to not burn.
  • Place on the metal rack and allow them to drain and cool. I like to pat the tops carefully with a paper towel to just soak up some extra oil. Serve warm with this honey mustard dipping sauce.

Notes

  • Use pickle juice from this recipe, a quality store brand, or use a simple salt water brine.
  • Pumpkin seeds can burn fairly easily so just keep an eye on how dark they're getting. If it's getting too dark too quickly, you need to turn down your heat.
  • Tapioca flour can get a little less crunchy the longer it sits, so try to serve these fairly quickly.
  • If your coating is not sticking well, you can coat these lightly in a little extra tapioca flour before placing into the egg mixture (I have not had this issue). 
  • This can probably be made with regular flour, I just have yet to try it that way. 
  • See the post for dipping sauce ideas.

Nutrition

Serving: 6pieces | Calories: 402kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 151mg | Sodium: 799mg | Potassium: 761mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 357IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg