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If you are GFCF and looking for gluten free recipes, reviews and engaging discussion, then this blog is for you! We have posted a wide variety of gluten free recipes and information since 2006 for people struggling with Celiac, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, other health concerns and food allergies. Thankfully, there's been great progress with gfcf food selection and ingredient listings since this blog's first posts. Please join us!

5.10.2023

Quick and easy Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets -- just like McDonald's

Gluten free chicken nuggets are possible with this fabulous recipe. Image: Freepik.com.
I found a recipe for Batter Fried Chicken Nuggets over at the GFCF Recipes Yahoo site at Recipe Circus (so, no credit to me for t
he recipe).

At first glance, I didn't think it could possibly work, meaning I did not believe I'd end up with the tasty, fried fast food nuggets that you can buy in many drive thru's - at least not gluten free chicken nuggets with the same taste. 

Well, to my surprise, it does. I - of course - played with the recipe a little bit. It's hard to not tinker in the kitchen and make a recipe your own. The best part of this recipe is that you can use basic gluten-free flours and it turns out pretty much like the nuggets you'd buy at McDonald's. 

I made the recipe specifically using Bob's Red Mill products. Why? Reliability. I found Bob's to have the best selection of gluten free flours and other products, available in many stores - including the grocery down the street, and the quality was always high. So, that's why I endorse Bob's.

Specifically, I used these two flours to make the flour mix:

I'll point out that there are affiliate links in this post, which means I may receive a small commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Please know that I only promote by name and link products that I've personally tried and endorse. I never promote any product that I personally would not feed to my family or endorse to friends. The compensation received is used to support the blog.

So, if this is the style of gluten free chicken nuggets that you're looking for - this is the recipe.
  • Chicken: I cut up about 3 breasts.
  • 1/3 cup gluten free flour (I used about 80 percent brown rice flour and 20 percent tapioca)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp Heinz vinegar (or other gf brand)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup water
Wash your chicken and then cut it up into nugget sized pieces. 

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Then, combine the vinegar and soda in another small bowl, quickly dump it in the flour as it reacts. Then, quickly add the water. Whisk well. Let this sit for about 5 minutes. It thickens. 

Meanwhile, heat some oil in a frying pan. Mix your chicken pieces in the batter and let them sit in there while the oil heats. When hot, fry until golden brown and cooked through.

Trust me, this works. And it's quick. And it's very simple. Say hello to homemade drive through gluten free chicken nuggets!

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

These came out AWESOME - my 8 yr old son said that the recipe was wrong - they were not just like McDonald's - they were 10x BETTER than McDonald's! We're new to GFCF cooking (almost 3 week's in) and I'm experimenting with all sorts of recipes...At first, I was hesitant but I just had to be a little patient with the frying - they crisped up better than I expected - yayy!

BTW - by chance, I found a GREAT sauce - tastes soooo good with the nuggets. It's called Agave Nectar - Natural Sweetener (Light - Organic). YUMMY. Found it at Ocean State Job Lot for only $2.99. Comes in an easy-to-pour 11.75oz squirt bottle. It was the PERFECT sauce for dipping the nuggets!

Thanks again! I can't wait to try out more recipes...

Deb Adams - New GFCF Mom :)

jim said...

Deb -- so glad this worked out for you. It's amazing how the recipe works so well. And, I've had the agave before -- it is good stuff. If I can help with anything else, let me know. It's important to have help when you're starting out. We had help and it made a world of difference.
jim

Anonymous said...

My son has been GFCF for 4 years. The nugget recipes that I have used have been awful. To whomever created this recipe, I bow to you nugget (god)dess.

Anonymous said...

These nuggets have saved my life since chicken nuggets are the only meat my child will eat. I tried every other breading nugget recipe for him with no success. This recipe was the winner by far!! I decided I needed to have these tasty nuggets on hand. so I made a huge batch by cutting up all the chicken, dipping in the batter and then placing individual pieces into mini-muffin tins....then freeze in the tin for a couple hours or so and them tap them out, place in a zip loc and GUALA....nw I have these ready for a quick meal of gfcf nuggets and fries...thank you thank you thank you!!

H said...

I just made these nuggets and all I have to say is "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" My 4 year old finally ate more than one of the GFCF chicken nuggets due to your recipe.....I am thrilled:)

Little Mrs Sunshine said...

these turned out great! thank you!

Garners said...

Thank You so very much! This is our first week of both casein and gluten free and it has been challenging, especially on a very tight budget. I am so excited to see my son enjoying eating food he loves!

Jenn said...

I will most certainly be trying these out for my 9yo Autistic son who is GFCF. He LOVES chicken nuggets and of course, misses mcdonalds chicken nuggets dearly since going GFCF 4months ago.

What kind of oil do you use to fry in?

Anonymous said...

This is my third or fourth time making these nuggets. My daughter loves them but I can't get the coating to stick on the chicken. It comes off when I flip them in the pan. Any suggestions?

Anonymous said...

I don't have Heinz vinegar in my pantry but do have apple cider vinegar...could I use that?

Anonymous said...

WOW, I LOVE these! More importantly, so does my son. They've been in his diet now for over a month and he still chows down on them! Woo hoo! Thank you so much! As a pervious comment said...I bow to the nugget diety who created this...

Unknown said...

I'm not sure how to get the batter to stick well..maybe I don't have enough oil in the pan? mine didn't quite come out so please any suggestions.

Chris Miller said...

very good - it's like a tempura batter - I bet it would be good on fish as well.

Unknown said...

LOVE THEM! So now I want to freeze:
1. can I fry them, freeze and then microwave or will they turn out disgusting?

2. If I do what MJ says and batter then freeze - do I defrost them in the refrigerator first and then fry them?

Anonymous said...

I tried this recipe and first placed the raw chicken in sweet rice flour. Then I placed it in the delicious batter. I read that sweet rice flour works well as a thickening agent.

Falesha LeBlanc (Mom) said...

Very Good recipe!!! The texture is the same as McDonalds so it was a hit for all my kids. I even added a little coconut flour to add more nutritional value.

Now I don't have to spend lots of money on store bought GFCF chicken nuggets. I can also control the batter ingredients.

Plus it was really easy to make. THANK YOU!

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to add seasoning to the batter? Or would it be too much? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Just tried making these - I had to use about twice as much flour, maybe three times as much, to get anything sticky enough to attach to the chicken! But the end result was great.

As well as frying some in a pan, I also cooked some in an AirFryer (fry without oil) - batter was just a bit too crispy, and they took 15 mins in there - the lack of oil made them look somewhat anaemic. Sticking with the frying pan now!

Great recipe, from this Celiac.

5kidsnadog said...

My gfcf son until recently only ate a few foods - oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt, kefir, scrambled eggs, and McDonald's chicken nuggets (which just confirmed for me that they are not really MEAT). Not only did my son eat the nuggets, but my whole family loved them! This is a great recipe!

Order Pills Antibacterial said...

Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this recipe.. My options at meal time were getting limited as my daughter, who is 9 hated the bought nuggets, and was getting a bit of a food phobia. We made these together and she ate loads. She was so impressed she had cooked her own GF food and even said they were as good as McDonalds...
Thanks again, simple but brilliant.

Unknown said...

Wow these look fab trying them later 2nd day of gfcf :)

Unknown said...

Wow these look fab trying them later 2nd day of gfcf :)

Anonymous said...

I haven't tried this batter yet but it sounds wonderful. I just wanted to post for those that are having a hard time getting the batter to stick there are many different techniques but the most of them have to do with making sure the meat is dry. You can go about this by patting the meat/vegetable dry before battering, dipping in flour before battering, or simply just letting the meat/vegetable rest on a paper towel before battering. Also be sure to let the battered items of choice rest for at least 5- 10 minutes before frying, after freshly battering. For a thicker batter that will stick the best, try refrigerating your batter or battered items before you use it.

Anonymous said...

Is this deep fried or pan fried? How much oil should I use?

Anonymous said...

We found that if you use a egg wash, then flower, place on cookie sheet and in freezer till almost froze. Then batter will sticks well... Thanks

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this recipe. Can't wait to try it. My toddler is a very picky eater and I don't want to feed her store bought or McDonald's nuggets so this recipe will be great!!!
@MJ...Thanks for your tip for making ahead. I will be totally using your idea.

Anonymous said...

These were awesome and super easy to make. It is really tasty, thank you for sharing.

Unknown said...

I make the same thing, but don’t bake it for anywhere near as long. Ten minutes on one side, turn over, and five on the other. Make sure to spray some veg spray before baking, and when you turn them over. In my experience, the short baking time guarantees that they will be really moist.

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