Skip the drive-thru and make your own Chick Fil A Nuggets at home! A few secret ingredients make these nuggets taste just like the real thing. Of course, what would these nuggets be without that special Chick Fil A sauce? I’ve included a simple recipe for that too!
In a large bowl, combine the milk and pickle juice.
1 ½ cups milk, ½ cup dill pickle juice
To the milk mixture, add the cut up chicken pieces and make sure they are submerged.
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate for 1-3 hours.
Use a food processor to finely crush the crackers. (alternatively, you can place the crackers in a large zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin)
37 Ritz crackers
Pour the cracker crumbs into a large bowl and add the breadcrumbs, flour, paprika, pepper, salt and powdered sugar. Whisk together and pour into a large zip top bag.
1 ½ cups breadcrumbs, ½ cup all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon paprika, 1 ½ teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons salt, ½ cup powdered sugar
After the chicken has marinated, pour approximately 2" of oil into the bottom of a deep frying pan, dutch oven, or deep fryer. You want enough oil to cover the nuggets.
Peanut oil for frying
Heat the oil to 350-360° F.
While the oil is heating, use tongs to move the marinated chicken to the bag of seasoned bread crumbs, shaking until evenly coated.
Once the oil is at temperature, drop in the nuggets in batches, and let them fry until golden brown, approximately 2-3 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165° with a meat thermometer.
Move the cooked nuggets to a paper towel lined plate to drain and repeat until all batches are cooked.
To make the copycat Chick-Fil-A Sauce
In a medium bowl combine all the sauce ingredients and whisk until smooth.
½ cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons yellow mustard, 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, 2 tablespoons honey
Serve!
Notes
Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. Air Fryer InstructionsTo use the air fryer, lightly spray the basket of your air fryer and then lay the coated chicken pieces into the basket in a single layer. Don't overcrowd them. Cook for 6 minutes at 360° F. Open the basket, give them a shake and lightly spray with oil. Close and cook another 6 minutes at 360° F. Check to make sure they've reached an internal temperature of 165°. If you like them extra crispy, raise the heat to 400° and cook an additional 2 minutes.