Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets (How to Cook)
Air fryer chicken nuggets are perfectly crisp and tender and ready in a fraction of the time. Make some tonight for a quick and easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 20 chicken nuggets
- salt and pepper optional
- dipping sauces optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer at 400°F for 5 minutes.
- In an even layer, spread the chicken nuggets in the bottom of the basket. Cook for 8 minutes, stopping halfway to flip the nuggets with a turner. If you would like them a little bit crispier, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. If you would like your tots extra crispy, add additional time in 1-2 minute increments until you reach the desired crispiness.
- Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to a plate and serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Sauces to serve with chicken nuggets: ranch, honey mustard, barbeque, cheese sauce, honey, buffalo sauce or ketchup.
Don’t thaw chicken nuggets before cooking.
Don’t overcrowd your air fryer. When the chicken nuggets are touching each other, they can become soggy in those areas. Separate all of your chicken nuggets for maximum crispiness and to make sure they are fully cooked inside.
Recipe times are based on a preheated machine. If you don’t preheat, you may need to add more cooking time to ensure that your nuggets are heated to perfection.
What can I serve with chicken nuggets? Some possible ideas are: to serve them with a side salad, macaroni and cheese, french fries, potatoes, onion rings, broccoli or vegetable medley, applesauce, or just serve on their own with your preferred sauce.
Please note: this was made in the Cosori air fryer, 5.8 quart. If you have a different air fryer with a smaller basket or with racks, you may need to adjust your cooking times. Set your air fryer to cook at a lower cook time, and add in increments of 2-3 minutes, stopping to check on your nuggets.
If you want to try veggie nuggets, just decrease the cook time by a few minutes and check more often towards the end of the cooking times.
What is the best brand of chicken nuggets? We love the Tyson brand. For this recipe, I used regular chicken nuggets, but they also have “fun nuggets” in dinosaur shapes that work for this recipe. The regular chicken nuggets were used in this recipe (not their new “air fried” versions, which have different cooking times)
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator and reheat in the air fryer at 375°F for 3-5 minutes(or until desired crispiness is achieved), stopping halfway to flip.
Nutrition
Serving: 1