Keto Chicken Nuggets
These keto chicken nuggets deliver the crispy, golden perfection of your favorite fast-food nuggets while staying completely low-carb. They are made with chicken breast, coated in keto breadcrumb and are crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and ready in just 30 minutes.
If you’re craving fast food, these nuggets are sure to satisfy you without compromising your keto goals. Each nugget comes in at just 3 net carbs!
Step by Step Video Instructions
Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: Boneless, skinless chicken breast provides lean, tender meat for the nuggets. Blend it until smooth for the perfect nugget texture.
- Old Bay Seasoning: Adds a flavorful blend of spices to the chicken. If you can’t find Old Bay seasoning, you can substitute it with paprika, salt, and garlic powder.
- Egg: Acts as a binder for the coating, helping the psyllium husk stick evenly to the chicken.
- Psyllium Husk: This is a keto-friendly breading alternative that creates a crispy, golden exterior without the carbs.
- Olive Oil: I used olive oil to deep fry these chicken nuggets; you could also use coconut oil, avocado oil or your preferred cooking oil.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavor and balances the seasoning.
Expert Tips
Use a Food Processor for Smooth Mince: Blending the chicken breast in a food processor gives the chicken nuggets a smooth and even texture. This step helps to achieve the signature fast-food nugget consistency.
Chill the Chicken Mixture: Refrigerating the chicken portions for at least 15 minutes firms up the mince, making it easier to shape and coat.
Control the Frying Temperature: Keep the oil at 375°F (190°C) to achieve a crispy exterior without overcooking the chicken. Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature for best results.
Serve with Keto Dipping Sauces: Pair these nuggets with sugar-free ketchup, keto BBQ sauce, keto mayo, or other keto-friendly dips.
Storage and Leftovers
Refrigerator: Let the cooked chicken nuggets cool completely before storing them in an airtight container. They can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezer: You can freeze the nuggets in two ways:
- Cooked Nuggets: Allow the nuggets to cool, then freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
- Chicken Mince Portions: Freeze the seasoned chicken mince portions before coating them in psyllium husk. Place them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before coating and frying.
Reheating: Reheat in an oven at 350°F (175°C) for 10-12 minutes or in an air fryer for 4-5 minutes.
FAQs
These keto chicken nuggets contain 3 net carbs per nugget.
If psyllium husk isn’t available, you can substitute it with almond flour, crushed pork rinds, coconut flour or my keto breadcrumbs recipe.
Yes! Preheat your air fryer to 375°F (190°C). Lightly spray the nuggets with cooking oil and place them in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook until they are 165°F (74°C) in the center, which takes about 8-10 minutes. Flip the nuggets halfway through for even crispiness.
Keto Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare Chicken Mince:
- In a food processor, blend the chicken breast with Old Bay seasoning and a pinch of salt until smooth.
- Transfer the chicken mince to a large bowl and portion it into 1 oz servings.
- Refrigerate the portions for at least 15 minutes until firm.
Prepare Egg Wash and Coating:
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and a pinch of salt until well combined.
- Dip each chicken mince portion first into the egg wash, then thoroughly coat with psyllium husk. Set aside on a plate.
Fry the Nuggets:
- Heat a large pot with enough olive oil for deep frying to 375°F (190°c).
- Deep fry the chicken nuggets until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (75°c), about 5 minutes.
- Remove the nuggets from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Serve:
- Serve the chicken nuggets hot.
Notes
- The nutritional information accounts for approximately 2 teaspoons of olive oil absorbed per chicken nugget.
Old Bay!! That is amazing! I’m from Maryland where Old Bay comes from! So cool that you have used it in this recipe. I’ll definitely be making these ASAP 😉
Just made these and they turned out great! Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Made these for my daughter and I last night and we both loved them! My wife decided to have something else because she thought they sounded disgusting, but ended up very jealous after she tried one.
For anybody looking for a good low carb dipping sauce just google Raising Cane’s sauce, its perfect with these!
I suppose you could weigh before and after frying to find the oil content by mass. I have to try these…
haha that’s a little too OCD for me 😀
And the water in the nuggets willboil off, so now way of knowing.
You save my l….lunch buddy! I love u
Just a query – I want to make the keto chicken nuggets but would you tell me what is « passive time » in the recipe? Thanks and keep up the good work. Eileen.
Passive time is the 15 minutes in the fridge for them to firm up.
For the husk how much do we use?
Just as much as you need to coat it.
Hi! I’m new to kept. Can we sub almond or coconut flour for the Psyillium Husk?
You can but there is a reason I didn’t use either of them, they both don’t taste that great IMHO and almond flour is just like coating chicken in almonds and frying it.
Is it ok for my 2 year old to eat this (because of the psyillium husk)?
I have no idea what a 2 year old is supposed to be eating but if they can eat chicken I think the husk should be fine as well it’s just fiber.
HORNS UP!
I made these the other day and haven’t been able to stop thinking about how good they were. I could eat these every day. Hands down the best chicken nuggets I have ever had.
Thank you so much!
We are making these tonight for the first time. We have watched you a ton and appreciate your quick and easy recipes. We can’t wait to try these…this is what my husband wanted for his Keto Father’s Day dinner.
love this recipe !! I just took out my chicken breasts lastnight in the freezer but took em out of the fridge just now so they’ll defrost for dinner tonight. I have no Husk at the moment n will buy it next week when I go shopping but have pork rinds. Cant wait to try this.. Nice meeting your brother on here. My sons name is Sean. (Shawn if thats the way yer brother spells his if Im correct)
Do you take into account the oil or ghee when you calculate the macros for the recipe?
For a fattier cheaper alternative I used chicken thighs. Took the skin off the though and fried it in a little olive oil. Cut the meat off the bone as best as I could then followed the recipe except I fried the nuggets in the oil/fat I fried the skins in. I also baked the bones at 400 for 20 minutes and then made a bone broth.
Delicious! Works great with thigh/leg meat as that is what I had on hand. Fried in duck fat. Thank you so much for this recipe, it wonderful to have actually have crispy fried food where the coating sticks (unlike coconut or almond meal). Made a dipping sauce from full fat greek yogurt, garlic, hot sauce, dijon mustard. Biggest regards for introducing physillum in keto cooking, it is a game changer! I hope I will be able to search for other recipes in your collection using it as a key word. The Naan is great.
Hello, first I would like to day thank you for sharing your recipe. I followed exactly as described, but the psyllium husk powder and egg coating got really dark/black really fast. My nuggets look burnt before the chicken inside even had a chance to fully cook. My nuggets were small, too. How did you get your nuggets to look a normal shade of brown instead of a black mess? Lol cheers
That means the oil is way too hot!
Made these for lunch today. Omg. So good! I’ve never fried with just psyllium husk before, but I’ll never use anything else. I had about a pound and a half of boneless chicken thighs in the fridge , so used that. Otherwise stuck to the recipe exactly in proportion with the amount of chicken. Perfect. I made the Raising Cane’s sauce another reviewer recommend. Delish! This is my first time to your site, but I’m looking forward to trying many more of your recipes. Thanks so much for sharing. People like you make the keto lifestyle so much easier for technically good cooks who lack the creativity to create their own recipes. 🙂
I recommend the Chicken Farcha.
Actually, I recommend all Sahils recipes. I’ve used quite a few and no failures.
I made these tonight and they were delish! Thank you for this awesome recipe, we’ll be making them often.
I think the macro for fiber cannot be ‘0’ as psyllium husk adds at least 2 or 3 grams of fiber to each nugget.
i tried this recipe and it turns out so delicious. i use paprika because there is no such thing in Malaysia. i add some knorr sesoning. thats all. i fried for small portion just enough for myself. then my children came and taste it. well i said..that one is for me. my children love it so much. they said this is better than nugget in supermarket!.
you should make a cookbook with QR codes linked to the video. id buy that
can you use an air fryer?
Yes no problem.
Can you use ground lean chicken meat instead of buying and grinding breast meat yourself – or would that be a bad idea?
Yes you can no problem.
Thanks for sharing your ideas and struggles it a real world! I have shared your music with others who don’t even like Keto and but found they love your food too! Just so you know how far away I am I’m in USA, Oregon. Keep it up thanks. Teresa
When I first tackled the keto diet about 6 weeks ago, I made the mistake of buying psyllium husk instead of psyllium powder for bread recipes. Thought, “well there goes 10 bucks down the drain.” Was I wrong! I would never in a million years have thought to use psyllium husk for deep fried breading. Thanks for the the recipe, Sahil. It’s crispy and delicious. Pretty ingenious
Have you ever tried these with just chucks of chicken breast without mincing it? And add the seasoning to the hudjs instead.
Not this recipe but my fried chicken recipe is pretty much that. As far as nuggets go the original ones are ground chicken hence I did that. But if you use chunks then it’s just fried chicken 😀
Omg. I love these so much! I used husk and grated parmasean cheese as my coating (blended together in a processor) … mmmmm so good! Making it again today and doubling the batch!! My Keto kids loved them with sugar free ketchup! Thank you!!
I have been craving some fried food. I used to love a nice basket of fried shrimp and French fries occasionally and have missed it on keto. This was just what I needed. I’m going to try making it with shrimp too. We made more raw nuggets than we needed so the uncooked nuggets are in the freezer for another day. Thanks!
Can’t wait to try them! Do you reckon they can be fried in the air-fryer as well? Should I apply oil first? Cheers! 🙂
I’m sure you can. Not sure how the air fryer works but I know people have made these in them.
Hi Sahil, do you thinks this work well with Air Fryer? Thanks in advance.
Yes I do believe it does.
What is the texture of the psyllium husk you use? Is it considered whole or powdered? Being in the US, I’ve never seen the Telephone Brand you link to. I want to make sure I get the right type, because this recipe sounds amazing, and it will be fantastic to have a crispy keto coating which does not use pork rinds.
The telephone brand is the right one. It’s definitely not a powder form like baking powder would be but it’s not a huge full grain like I’ve seen some brands. Hence I link and recommend the Telephone brand in particular. It’s best to just order online.
Hi. Im from Malaysia and thank God for your website. I can include curries into my diet. Love your videos. Just wondering- may I use left over keto bread and turn it into breadcrumbs? Would it be ok?
These were amazing! I don’t know why it never occurred to me to dice up the chicken to make ‘real’ chicken nuggets! Used the old bay and it got dispersed evenly through the chicken for perfect flavoring. Paired with copycat keto chick filet sauce.
>You can alternatively free them too
Not sure how far they’ll make it.
Would it be ok to use urbanplatters bombay bay seasoning costing much less, 160rs vs old bay which is priced at 3500rs or so on Amazon? Urbanplatter writes that it’s seasoning is inspired by old bay
https://amzn.eu/d/3SIKuzm
Yeah absolutely! You can even just use salt and pepper or you can add garlic and onion powder, you can add Indian masala, you can basically season the meat however you like.