Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets
Just like Chick-fil-A, but it tastes 10000x better! And the homemade honey mustard is out of this world!
I have always been somewhat of a late adopter in almost all aspects of life. I was one of the last people on earth to start wearing converse “chucks”. Or make the switch to skinny jeans. I was also very late on the iPhone adoption. And now I’m one of the last people to finally try Chick-fil-A.
The funny thing is, we didn’t even mean to go there. I was craving pancakes so we made our way to a popular waffle house just to find out that there was a 30-min wait on a Tuesday afternoon. So we drove back to our house and on the way home, we passed a Chick-Fil-A when Jason looked at me and said, “It’s time. We have to try this place at some point.”
So we pull up to the drive-thru and ordered 2 chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets and all of their dipping sauces. And boy, was I in for a treat. It was ah-mazing. All of it. The sandwich. The nuggets. Oh, the nuggets. We almost went back because there wasn’t enough nuggets to go around!
But as amazing as that was, I couldn’t help but recreate this at home. I was a bit skeptical because I was unsure if the homemade version could actually top the original but surely enough, it tasted a million times better. Not to mention the epic homemade honey mustard sauce. I’m not even a mustard fan but this – this I could slurp, drink, and gulp down in my sleep. And once you dip those crisp nuggets, you’ll never want to go to Chick-fil-A again!
Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup dill pickle juice
- 1 ½ cups milk, divided
- 1 cup peanut oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the honey mustard
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- To make the honey mustard, whisk together mayonnaise, honey, mustards and lemon juice in a small bowl; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, pickle juice and 1/2 cup milk; marinate for at least 30 minutes. Drain well.
- Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 1 cup milk and egg. Stir in chicken and gently toss to combine; drain excess milk mixture.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken, flour and confectioners' sugar; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve immediately with honey mustard.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Not sure if anyone posted this already, but I didnt see it as I skimmed. A little secret from a former Chickfila employee… They marinate their chicken in pickle juice. If you have a jar of pickles at home and little extra time to let the chicken soak, give it a shot. I promise it will make them even better, if thats possible 🙂
I’ve heard that and this might be a crazy question but is it dill juice or sweet? Your response is appreciated, just not trying to have a mess on my hands. Thanks
They use dill pickle juice. When I worked there the pickle juice along with a premixed season packet was for their grilled chicken. They did not use it for the original chicken sandwich or nuggets.
I haven’t see any answer on this as I, too, wonder if it’s sweet pickle juice or not.
I do not recommend using sweet pickle juice.
I gave my children the choice of chicken Parmesan and spaghetti or these chicken nuggets for dinner tonight. They picked these nuggets. We’ve only been to a chick fil a once and were unimpressed, but hoping that these will be delicious. I’d rather the kids gave real chicken nuggets than the processed stuff.
JOI : ChicFilA nuggets are not processed. They are whole, cut chunks of white (breast) meat chicken , breaded. just like this recipe. That is one reason they are the best fast food chicken out there. Try them again, if you are sure you tried them at a Chic Fil A the first time///they are NOT processed. McDonalds, Wendy’s and most other fast food restaurants DO serve processed nuggets, but Chik Fil A is not one of them!
Yes true true and true.
You may want to take a look at Chik-Fil-A’s ingredients. They put lots of unnecessary chemicals in their chicken. (MSG and yellow#5 to name a couple.) I was very disappointed when I found out and I haven’t eaten there in years. It does explain where some of my migraines came from though.
I just made these and they were fantastic! I did add about a teaspoon or two of paprika into the flour mixture to up the seasoning.
I tried these tonight using almond milk. They were pretty good, I will make them again and be more generous with the salt and pepper. I don’t think I added enough because without dipping sauce mine turned out just a little bland. I paired it with easy baked red potatoes and applesauce. Thanks for the recipe! I’m optimistic I’ll get it just right for my family 🙂
Yes, you’d be surprised as to how a little bit of salt and pepper go a long way!
Love the recipe! Have you figured out how they make their cheese sauce? It’s very addictive! So smooth and light!
Can you fry them in peanut oil instead?
Yes, absolutely!
Tried these tonight. Huge success. The perfect nuggets! Thanks!
I know you pan fried these, but would a deep fryer work? We recently got one as a wedding gift and love to find reasons to use it!
Thanks for the recipe! Plan to make this tomorrow night. I am sure the husband will just love it!
Yes, absolutely!
Chick-fi-a does not exist in my part of the world. But, this sounds easy and delicious and I love honey mustard dipping sauce. I will be trying these when I have company during Labor day weekend. Thank you for the recipe.
What are your thoughts on baking the nuggets instead of frying? I don’t really like to fry and if I do it’s not in that much oil. Love your website by the way. Thanks.
I highly recommend frying these. You just won’t get that amazing crispness by baking!
I would love to get my son away from the store bought nuggets. They are one of his go-to foods when he really does not like what I am making for dinner. But if I have too many things going on at once something that is cooking will end up going to waste. If I think it is bad I will not force or guilt anybody else to eat it. Here is my actual question: Can I make these nuggets ahead of time, freeze them, then reheat? Providing the end results are just as good as when they were first made. Have a great day!
I do not recommend freezing. It is best to serve these immediately to really enjoy the crispness of these nuggets.
I made these not too long ago and dipped them in peanut oil then baked them! I flipped them a couple of times and watched them, but they were about as good as fried (I tried frying also). Is also much cleaner!
I am interested in baking them as well. How did you do it?
I could seriously kiss you right now!! These were DELICIOUS and the honey mustard was spot on. I made these and the cheddar bay biscuits since they’re both favorites of the family. Perfect 🙂
Do you salt and pepper the chicken after taking it from de liquids or do you put the salt and pepper in with the flour and sugar?
Thanks
You can add the salt and pepper along with the flour and sugar.
Oh, I ADORE Chick-fil-a! It’s probably the restaurant I miss the most since we’ve moved to Hawaii. I’m so excited that you’ve created a recipe to make their nuggets at home, and homemade honey mustard to boot! Your pictures have made my cravings kick in big time!
I live in Australia now and miss ChickFilA so much. I really, really try not to fry stuff but I can see this recipe in my future! I’ve tried several of your recipes and love them! Thanks!
WOW – these look and sound amazing! A must make. My hubby would devour these. Hope you are doing well!!!
do you think you can freeze these?
I do not recommend freezing.
I’ve frozen other prepared chicken nuggets (haven’t had a chance to try this recipe yet!) and the trick is to put them straight from the freezer into an oven at about 375 degrees, just like you would with store-bought prepared chicken nuggets. You loose a tiny bit in moistness, but the upside is that you can make a big batch and keep them on hand for when you need a quick meal. When freezing, let them cool completely, freeze in a single layer spread out, then put them in a bag or box for longer storage.
Just tried these at home and it was absolutely delicious, way better than Chick-fil-A! Also, love the honey mustard recipe. Thank you!
I just found your site and am addicted!! Damn Delicious is a great name! I have a request for those of us who have little culinary imagination. Could you possible suggest sides with some of your recipes. You may do this already and I have yet to see these, but I want to make the nuggets, but don’t want to do fries. Keep the wonderful recipes and photos coming! Your hard work is appreciated by this foodie!
I’m so happy to hear about your “addiction” Dawn! As for side dishes, I generally do not include suggestions along with my recipes as that is really based on personal preference. As for these nuggets – we didn’t even serve them with a side – we just gobbled them up!
Tried this recipe today. You nailed it! Once again you have made me a culinary genius in the eyes of my family!!!! Keep them coming