Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets
The following recipe and photography were provided by local blogger Carolyn Hodges of The Dinner Shift.
Everyone loves chicken nuggets! These nuggets are super kid friendly, but will also appeal to adults. Coating them in a simple quinoa breading gives them added crunch, and cooking them in an air fryer results in an extra crispy nugget. I’ve also included instructions for baking them in the oven.
To make these nuggets gluten free, use a gluten-free all-purpose flour, like the King Arthur brand. Regular wheat flour can also be used if you’re not a gluten free household.
Pull together this meal in minutes by serving the nuggets with a grab-and-go side from Heinen’s Prepared Foods Department and a simple green vegetable. We love Heinen’s Daily Bites mac and cheese, and steam-in-bag green beans and Heinen’s frozen French fries are staples for my weeknight cooking.
Don’t forget the Two Brothers barbeque sauce for dipping!
Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup gluten free all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. Heinen’s garlic powder
- ½ tsp. Heinen’s ground mustard
- 1 Heinen’s large cage free egg
- 4.2 oz. container Heinen’s organic cooked quinoa
- 1 lb. Pasturebird chicken breasts
- Heinen’s avocado or olive oil spray
- Two Brothers barbeque sauce
- Heinen’s Daily Bites mac and cheese, heated
- Steam-in-bag green beans, prepared
Instructions
- Start with the assembly line. In a wide shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, garlic powder, and mustard. In a separate wide shallow bowl, beat the egg. Empty the container of quinoa (do not heat) into a third wide shallow bowl.
- Cut each chicken breast into 1 ½-inch pieces. You should have about 16 nuggets.
- Working in batches of 4 chicken pieces at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour, coat in the egg and then transfer to the bowl of quinoa. Use your hands to gently press the quinoa onto all sides. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
- To air fry the nuggets, preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Spray the tray with avocado oil spray, then arrange the prepared chicken nuggets in a single layer, allowing space so they don’t touch. Work in batches if necessary. Spray the tops with oil spray, then air fry for 12-14 minutes, flipping once halfway through, or until the internal temperatures reaches 165°F. Air fryer cook times may vary.
- To bake, preheat the oven to 400°F. Set a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the chicken pieces on the rack, allowing space so they don’t touch. Spray the tops with oil spray, then bake for 10 minutes. Flip and continue to bake until the internal the temperature reaches 165°F, about 8-10 minutes more.
- Serve warm with BBQ sauce, mac and cheese and green beans.
