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If you have children or ever were one, you understand the pleasure of a great-tasting chicken nugget, preferably one that comes in amazing shapes–like dinosaurs. The struggle I always have with chicken nuggets isn’t about the shape or the lack of diversity it brings to the menu, but rather, the texture of a soggy, rubbery microwaved chicken nugget. However, when you cook frozen chicken nuggets in the air fryer, you can deliver crisp, great-tasting nuggets every time.
Chicken Nuggets for any day of the week
We often use Kirkwood’s Dinosaur shaped nuggets, which are my four-year-old son’s favorite. We purchase them by the box at our neighborhood Aldi for around $6.99. These nuggets, which come in T-Rex, Triceratops, and Apatosaurus shapes, taste great, and they are relatively healthy, as far as chicken nuggets go.
In the microwave, chicken nuggets take around a minute to heat up, which is convenient, but the texture of most frozen-to-microwave products really disappoints me. It’s definitely worth the extra twelve minutes to prep these in the air fryer, which is still 8-10 minutes faster than baking them in the oven, not including the time it takes for your oven to preheat. Cooking frozen chicken nuggets in the air fryer will never be a disappointment.
Using an air fryer is also a fast, easy way to reheat restaurant chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, or french fries your little one couldn’t finish while you were eating out. When it comes to texture and taste, an air fryer beats a microwave any day.
It's quick and easy to air fry frozen chicken nuggets. They come out so crispy!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Nuggets in Air Fryer, Frozen Chicken Nuggets
Servings: 1
Calories: 400 kcal
Chicken Nugget Ingredients
- 8 pieces frozen chicken nuggets
Chicken Nugget Instructions
Preheat air fryer to 400° F | 204° C for 5 minutes
Add an air fryer liner, and place frozen chicken nuggets in the air-fryer basket.
Air Fry for 12 minutes at 400° F | 204° C
Shake or flip the chicken nuggets halfway through air frying at around 6 minutes.
Serve with your favorite sauce, plate and enjoy!
Note: If you are making plant-based vegan nuggets, I suggest 380° F | 180° C for 10 minutes. Using a food thermometer, they above the suggested 160° F | 71° C.
If you liked chicken nuggets, look what else you can air fry:
- Chicken Wings
- Taquitos
- Chicken Fries
- French Fries
- Chicken Strips
Tools used for this recipe:
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You’ll love air frying chicken nuggets, we guarantee that! These air fried frozen chicken nuggets come out so crispy and quick when they’re air fried. It’s hard not to cook these air fryer frozen chicken nuggets in any other way.
How to Cook Air Fried Frozen Chicken Nuggets in Air Fryer
- The frozen air fried chicken nuggets can easily be cooked when taken straight from the freezer.
- Depending on the size and thickness of the nuggets, they’ll cook between about 10-12 minutes.
- Do you need to oil spray? Since these frozen chicken nuggets are already pre-fried, we don’t feel you need to add extra oil. You’ll see all the oil release at the bottom of the air fryer. It’s less greasy if you DON’T add extra oil spray.
- Lay them in a single layer and leave a little space between the nuggets. You want the hot circulating air to crisp all sides and edges of the nuggets. If they’re too close or stacked onto of each other, they won’t cook evenly.
- Our timing and details are below in the recipe box.
- Pro-Tip: here’s our favorite tools to help make air frying easier:
We LOVE Evo Oil Sprayers. Not the prettiest, but they’re functional and spritz oil great! They don’t clog up like many others we’ve bought. There’s different styles, but all seem to have the same great spray head. Works great for grilling!
There are Square Mats & Round Mats. These perforated non-stick silicone mats are used to cook food in your air fryer or steamer to minimize sticking. Holes allow hot circulating air to cook the food & keeps the food from sticking.
Parchment sheets are great for your air fryer or bamboo steamer (food tends to stick most on wire basket or tray). Choose from different sizes, shapes, white and brown (unbleached). Holes allow air to cook food evenly.
Video: Frozen Chicken Nuggets in the Air Fryer
Best Brand of Frozen Chicken Nuggets for Air Fryer?
There’s so many different brands with different sizes and thicknesses of the chicken nuggets. Do a test batch first for a small handful. After cooking your first few nuggets, you’ll know more of how long and temp is best for your brand. Also, the more you cook, the longer it will take to get crispy. So you should be flexible and check to make sure the nuggets are cooked though. Organic brands of frozen chicken nuggets are perfect for cooking in the fryer too. You can eat more chicken nuggets and eat consciously with organic brands!
Dipping Ideas to Serve
Ketchup is the go-to dip of choice and we all love ketchup! But if you want to taste something different, here’s some dip ideas for these air fryer chicken nuggets
- Guacamole
- Hot Sauce
- Sriracha Mayo
- Honey mustard sauce
- BBQ sauce
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets
Yield: 3 servings
Cook Time: 12 mins
Total Time: 12 mins
Lots of factors influence outcome of how frozen chicken nuggets cook. They all vary in size, thickness, and sometimes the coating so you’ll have to adjust timing.
For best and even cooking, don't overcrowd the basket. Fill just an even single layer of chicken nuggets.
All air fryers are different and some cook much hotter than others. Once you cook your first batch of chicken nuggets, you’ll know more of what works for your model of air fryer and size of food. These were tested on basket style air fryers. Read more recipe notes below the recipe. Nutrition will vary from brand to brand and will depend on the type of coating.
- 8 ounces (170 g) Frozen Chicken Nuggets
Place the frozen chicken nuggets in the air fryer basket and spread out into a single even layer. No oil spray is needed.
Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for 8 minutes. Flip the nuggets over and then continue to cook at 400°F/205°C for another 2-4 minutes or until heated through and crispy.
Air Frying Tips and Notes:
- No Oil Necessary. Cook Frozen – Do not thaw first.
- Shake or turn if needed. Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket.
- Recipe timing is based on a non-preheated air fryer. If cooking in multiple batches of chicken nuggets back to back, the following batches may cook a little quicker.
- Recipes were tested in 3.7 to 6 qt. air fryers. If using a larger air fryer, the chicken nuggets might cook quicker so adjust cooking time.
- Remember to set a timer to shake/flip/toss as directed in recipe.
If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).
Calories: 225kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 392mg
Course: Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American, Frozen Foods
Calories: 225
This recipe was originally published in 2020 and re-published in 2021 with updated photos. Here’s a great recipe for oven homemade chicken nuggets.
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