Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce are just as good as the real thing. Enjoy this delicious take-out-fake-out chicken dinner at home!
When you’re gluten free, most fast food restaurants are a hard no.
Except Chick-fil-A coming in clutch with waffle fries and grilled chicken nuggets!
When you’re craving crunch and a taste of traditional chicken nuggets though, you will not believe how delicious and simple copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce are. Skip the drive-thru for this homemade version you can make right at home!
Start by cutting a couple large chicken breasts into bite sized pieces then season with salt and pepper and place them inside a medium-sized bowl or gallon-size Ziplock bag.
To the bag add a marinade consisting of milk (any kind), an egg, and pickle juice.
Yes, pickle juice! I once heard that the key to Chick-fil-A’s signature chicken nugget flavor that it’s injected with pickle juice. Who’s to say if that’s true but either way, the addition of pickle juice to the marinade will impart juiciness and flavor to the chicken nuggets — and that’s definitely not a bad thing!
Let the chicken marinate in the mixture for 2-4 hours in the fridge.
When it’s time to cook the chicken, combine gluten free flour (or all-purpose flour if not gluten free) to another gallon-size Ziplock bag with powdered sugar, salt, and pepper then seal and shake to combine.
Transfer the chicken pieces into the mixture with tongs then seal and shake the bag again to evenly coat the chicken pieces.
Next heat peanut oil, which is what Chick-fil-A uses to fry all their foods, in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. If you don’t have peanut oil, vegetable or canola oil will work great.
Test the oil to see if it’s hot enough by dropping a bit of the flour mixture into the pot. If it sizzles, the oil is ready. It it pops and spatters, the oil is too hot. If it does nothing at all, it’s too cold.
Working in two batches in order to avoid crowding the pan, place the coated chicken pieces into the oil using tongs. Cook until one side is golden brown, 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown.
It depends on how big you cut your chicken, but my 1″ chicken pieces take about 3 minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken to a paper-towel lined plate then continue with the other half.
Serve ’em hot and fresh with a simple homemade honey mustard sauce that’s spoon-drink-worthy. SO GOOD!
I know you can buy Chick-fil-A sauce at the grocery store these days, but my homemade, creamy honey mustard sauce is super simple, and a bit lighter. It’s the perfect pairing.
Dip, devour, and enjoy!
Chick-fil-A Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3/4 cup milk, any kind
- 1/4 cup dill pickle juice
- 1 egg
- 1-1/4 cups flour, gluten free or all-purpose (dish will not be GF if using AP flour)
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup peanut oil, divided, or canola or vegetable oil
For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons honey
Directions
For the Chicken Nuggets:
- In a medium-size mixing bowl or gallon-size Ziplock bag, add the egg, milk, and pickle juice then whisk or squish to combine. Add the chicken pieces then cover or seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
- In another gallon-size Ziplock bag, add the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper then shake to combine. Remove the chicken from the marinade then add to the bag with the dry ingredients and shake to coat the chicken completely.
- Add the oil to a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or dutch oven then heat over medium-high heat (6 or 7 out of 10). Test the oil by dropping in a bit of the flour mixture. If it sizzles, the oil is ready, if it pops, lower the temperature a bit, if it does nothing, the oil is too cold.
- Carefully place half the chicken pieces into the oil with tongs. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Turn the chicken over then cook for 2-3 more minutes. Remove the pieces to a paper-towel lined plate then cook the other half of the chicken.
For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
- Stir together the honey mustard dipping sauce ingredients then serve with the hot chicken bites. Can be made up to 5 days ahead of time.
Notes
- Estimated nutrition information includes all the cooking oil.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
We make it perfect here in Uganda. Just book any travel trip and you will enjoy it when you meet us
Do you have the nutritional stats for this recipe?
Hi Joanna! I don’t calculate nutritional information for my recipes but recommend Livestrong’s recipe calculator if you need that information! >> http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/create/
Made these last night outside on the burner of the propane grill (so as to not smell up the house) but I did strips instead of nuggets. The breading is SO wonderful! The powdered sugar in there really did the trick! I burned mine a bit since it was getting dark, but they were still great. My wife and I love Chick-Fil-A so we couldn’t pass this up. Next up is your baked potato chip chicken fingers. I think that will be a great use for all of those crumbs left over in the Kettle chip bags.
I can see a lot of skinny chicks gaining weight fromthis one lol !! looks good thanks
This recipe is SOOO amazing! I made these last night, I added more powdered sugar cuz i thought 2 tspns were not enough, lets just say it was a little too much. Follow recipe to the exact and you’ll be good! *I couldn’t stop eating them, ESPECIALLY with the honey mustard sauce! YUM! YUM! and YUM!
Just made these and they were delicious. I think next time I’d add a little paprika to the flour mixture, but otherwise they were quite tasty.
I made these tonight for dinner … honestly, better than Chick-Fil-A!! Even my husband liked them … he hates CFA because of the excessive salt in their recipes … & he normally likes salty food. Thanks for sharing, from now on I’ll make them at home for a lot less salt … & a lot less money!!! Love it!!!!!!!
I have been cooking chicken for YEARS and I never do a fried version……I am a nut about only grilled, or broiled chicken but I might just start relaxing on that. This chicken was delicious and my whole family was so happy I made this for dinner! I can certainly make this particular recipe every once in a while for a treat, cuz it really was a treat! :). Btw, it does taste a bit like the amazing chicfila chicken, but my family swears this was BETTER! Thanks!
These sound awesome. Can I use hamburger dill juice instead of the kosher dill you have pictured? That’s all I have in the house.
made these while I was in Ecuador craving chik-fil-a and was very pleased. I am making fried drumsticks tonight and was wondering how you thought they would work using the same marinading/breading ideas
Its called “Animal Style”…not Monkey Style. Jeeesh!
Wondered if you had ever made these little beauties, and then heated them up later? I’m headed to a Thanksgiving party and would love to make them up ahead of time. Perhaps a reheat in the oven?
I haven’t! I tend to think they might get a little soggy. Did you give it a try?
I have! They reheat better in the oven then in the microwave.
Hey! So, I absolutely love Chick-fil-a, and I am all up for making things at home. However, due to some recent health issues with my mom (possibly caused by wheat), in support, my whole family is going gluten-free — which is quite hard. I was just wondering if you had any ideas on how to make this gluten free? Maybe oat flour? Whew — I’m such “newbie” to this.