Cooking Chicken Nuggets in the Air Fryer is the BEST. You get perfect crispy nuggets every single time with almost zero effort. In just a few minutes you’ll have your entire family believing you picked up take-out!
This is one of my go-to quick meals, but I have hundreds of other easy dinner recipes just for you! Be sure to check the full list and find some yummy additions to add to your menu.
Recipe Features
- Quick and Easy: Faster than the oven and more crisp than the microwave. Win-win.
- Crispy chicken every single time.
- Easy Cleanup: A quick wipe down of the air fryer basket and you are done!
Why make frozen chicken nuggets air fryer? Well, if you are anything like me and have a long standing love with frozen nuggets, you’ll know that it is near impossible to get a nice crisp when cooking in the microwave. Using an air fryer gives you perfectly crips chicken nuggets with a super soft and moist inside. Every. Single. Time.
There’s no guesswork and your chicken is done in under 10 minutes.
What You Need:
You’ll be happy to know that the ingredient list for this is SHORT. You literally only need your favorite nuggets from the freezer section. Here’s a list of our go-to’s:
- Just Bare: This brand has chicken chunks and chicken tenders available at most grocers and by-far wins our family taste test. The tiny pieces, photoed in this post, taste like Chick-Fil-A and are sold in a giant bag at costco for around $10. You just can’t pass that up.
- Tyson: No matter how hard I try I cannot break the cycle of love I have with these tenders.
What is the best air fryer?
Beyond the ingredients, you will also need an air fryer. Here’s a quick breakdown of a few popular brands and their features:
- Instant Vortex 4 Quart Air Fryer (affiliate): I have owned this air fryer for almost 3 years. It is used on a weekly basis and has held up well. It offers air fry, bake, reheat, and roast settings- which have all come in handy at one point or another. The only downside is that it takes up a lot of space and can be tricky to clean. But it was also rated the top air fryer by Food Network in an article published last month.
- Ninja Air Fryer (affiliate): I got to use this at a friends and loved the ease and versatility of the ninja. It’s more compact than the one I own but still feels incredibly sturdy. It also offers the option to dehydrate, which I’m slightly jealous over. It is more expensive, and slightly smaller cooking space, than the one above.
- Dash Compact Air Fryer (affiliate): This little nugget is ADORABLE and the perfect addition to smaller kitchen spaces. Over 14,000 reviews and a 4.5 rating, I’d give this one a go if I was cooking for 1-2 people.
Regardless of which option you find fits your needs best, you will LOVE adding this appliance to your kitchen. It is the single most used item that my entire family agrees is a game changer.
Crispy Air Fried Chicken Nuggets
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees.
- When the air fryer is heated, add the frozen chicken nuggets in a single layer into the basket and on top of the tray.
- Cook for 8 to 12 minutes, removing and shaking the basket once halfway through cooking.
- Remove the nuggets from the air fryer and serve with your favorite sauce.
Check your nuggets at the 8 minute mark. If you want them a little extra crispy add a few extra minutes, but cook no more than 12 minutes total.
Air Fryer Tips and FAQs
For this recipe, you do not need to add any oil to the air fryer. The frozen chicken nuggets will not stick to the pan and will cook through perfectly.
No. You should not defrost the chicken before adding to the air fryer. This chicken will cook perfectly straight from the freezer.
Some air fryers require preheating. We find it best if you do preheat the fryer for a few minutes to help get that perfect crispy texture.
More Air Fryer Recipes
More Chicken Recipes
- Grilled Hawaiian Chicken
- The BEST Chicken Fajitas
- Copycat Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad
- Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
- Chicken Cordon Bleu
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Frozen Chicken Nuggets in the Air Fryer
Ingredients
- Frozen chicken nuggets- however many you’d like in your serving
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees.
- When the air fryer is heated, add the frozen chicken nuggets in a single layer into the basket and on top of the tray.
- Cook for 8 to 12 minutes, removing and shaking the basket once halfway through cooking.
- Remove the nuggets from the air fryer and serve with your favorite sauce.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
George says
What do you mean by “on basket on top of the tray”? Do you mean a crisper tray or just on top of the bottom of the basket
Jesseca says
“into the basket and on top of the tray.” – If you have a basket type air fryer. It goes onto the crisper tray. If you have a toaster oven style it goes onto the tray.