This easy gluten-free chicken nuggets recipe shows you how to make crispy, tender nuggets your whole family will love! These homemade nuggets are flavored with ranch flavors and parmesan cheese, and you can cook them in the air fryer or in your oven. I keep it simple by using simple ingredients. This recipe is ready in minutes, making it perfect for those busy nights, picky eaters, or anytime you’re craving healthier nuggets at home.
If you have a picky eater, you know how tough it can be. It can make mealtime rough because either you are a short-order cook for the picky eater, or you end up with big battles at the dinner table. I have been there, and I created this recipe to help you avoid both of these situations!
I have a picky eater, and she absolutely loves these homemade chicken nuggets. I tested this recipe a few different ways, and I discovered marinating these in ranch dressing is the biggest game changer! I’m excited to hear how your family likes them.
This homemade chicken nugget recipe is gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, oat-free, and soy-free. Make them dairy-free using dairy-free ranch dressing and nutritional yeast flakes.
Encouraging your kids in the kitchen can be a very empowering experience, as they learn to cook. Here are some delicious Gluten-Free Recipes for Kids you can make together. Your family may also love these Chicken Air Fryer Foil Packets because they get to choose their own seasoning and vegetables!
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Chicken Breasts – This recipe can use any boneless or bone-in chicken cut, cut into nugget-sized pieces.
- Gluten-Free Bread Crumbs or Panko – There are several brands, including Ian’s and Alexia. I find it is a lot cheaper to make my own homemade gluten-free bread crumbs.
- Ranch Dressing – Hidden Valley, LiteHouse, and Newman’s Own all offer gluten-free options. Use my Gluten-Free Ranch Dressing to make it from scratch!
- Parmesan Cheese – I like to use grated, not shredded. If you are dairy-free, swap parmesan for nutritional yeast flakes.
- Salt – Use sea salt or kosher salt.
- Cooking Oil – You should spray your nuggets with oil. I don’t recommend olive oil. Use avocado oil or another high-smoking-point oil. Read more about what oils to use in the air fryer.
Tips For Perfect Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets:
- Preheat your air fryer for 3-5 minutes to get your nuggets extra crispy on the outside.
- You can meal prep this for the next day by letting the chicken marinate in the ranch dressing the day before.
- Try to cut your nuggets the same size so they all cook evenly.
A Note From My Kitchen
Gluten-free chicken nuggets were one of the first recipes I set out to re-create when our family went gluten-free. My picky eater was having tantrums because she wanted chicken nuggets all the time, and gluten-free nuggets weren’t available in stores back when we went gluten-free. I wanted something healthier than store-bought, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and easy enough to make on a busy school night. This recipe is the best! You can bake or air fry them, and they freeze well, too. Even picky eaters love these, and no one can tell they’re gluten free!
How To Make Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets (Step by Step)
Step 1: Prep the chicken. Place the raw chicken on a clean cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut your boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1-inch nugget-shaped pieces.
Step 2: Marinate the chicken. Toss the chicken pieces in ranch dressing until they are fully coated. This secret ingredient keeps these nuggets moist on the inside! To keep this recipe egg-free, I use ranch dressing to help the breadcrumbs stick.
Step 3: Let the flavors soak in. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavor soak in. You will be surprised at how much the ranch flavor in these Hidden Valley Ranch chicken nuggets absorbs into the chicken!
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Step 4: Prepare the coating. Add the gluten-free breadcrumbs or panko to a shallow dish and mix in the grated Parmesan cheese.
Step 5: Coat the chicken. Put a piece of chicken into the bread crumbs and toss to coat. Repeat until all of the chicken is coated in the coating mixture.
Step 6: Prepare the air fryer. Spray your air fryer basket with light oil. Arrange nuggets in a single layer without touching. If the nuggets are touching, they can stick together during the cooking process.
Step 7: Cook the nuggets. In the air fryer, cook at 400ºF for 10 minutes. (The cook time will vary based on the nugget size. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.)
🔑 Sandi says: If you’re making a lot of chicken nuggets, cook them in batches instead of piling them on top of each other. In an air fryer, the air needs to circulate around the nuggets so they cook and crisp evenly.
Step 8: Remove the cooked ranch chicken nuggets and repeat until all the chicken pieces are cooked. A meat thermometer can verify that the chicken is done when its internal temperature is 165ºF. Serve hot.
How to Make Oven-Baked Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Follow the same marinating and breading instructions as the air fryer method.
- Arrange nuggets on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Keep them spaced apart.
- Lightly spray the gluten-free chicken nuggets with oil.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until golden, and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Serve With:
- Sriracha sauce for a spicy kick!
- French fries
- Air fryer green beans
- BBQ Sauce or your favorite dipping sauces.
- Sweet potato fries
If you love crispy, you may also want to try my crispy gluten-free air fryer mushrooms recipe.
If you are trying to decide on what air fryer to get, I have a great list of the best air fryers for gluten-free. I include a great pros and cons list for each model. If you love using your air fryer as much as I do, check out all of my Gluten-Free Air Fryer Recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes! Heat 2 tablespoons of light oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry nuggets for 4–6 minutes per side, depending on size, until golden and 165°F inside.
Preheat your air fryer, spray the nuggets with oil, and avoid overcrowding the basket. If baking these in the oven, a light oil mist is key for a golden crisp.
Absolutely! The ooked nuggets can be frozen in a freezer-safe bag for up to 4 months. To re-crisp, they should be reheated in the air fryer at 350°F for 5–8 minutes.
These ranch nuggets will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
More Gluten-Free Chicken Recipes:
If you enjoy making chicken recipes, I have a lot of easy gluten-free chicken recipes that will get a healthy dinner on the table fast.
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- Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie
- Crispy Gluten-Free Fried Chicken
- Roasted Herb Chicken
- Gluten-Free Chicken and Waffles
Love This Recipe?
💬 Did you make this gluten-free chicken nugget recipe? Drop a comment below, and let me know how it turned out! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- If you are baking these in an oven, preheat your oven to 375º F. See the Notes section for oven directions.
- Cut 1 pound chicken breasts into chicken chunks and put into a mixing bowl.
- Pour 1/3 cup ranch dressing over the chicken and mix to coat the chicken evenly.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 15 minutes. You can cover them and put them into the refrigerator overnight if you plan to meal prep these for the next day.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400º F.
- Add 1/3 cup gluten free bread crumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese to a bowl and mix well.
- Put 4-5 chicken chunks into the bread crumb mixture and toss to coat them evenly with bread crumbs.
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil (do not use olive oil!) and add coated chicken to the basket. Make sure to have space between each nugget so air can circulate around each one. This will help make your nuggets crispier.
- Spray the top of the nuggets with oil and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the basket when they are done and check the internal temperature of the largest nuggets to ensure they are 165º F.
- Enjoy!!
Nutrition
Notes
- Ian’s and Alexia both make great gluten free bread crumbs. It is also easy (and cheaper) to make your own gluten free bread crumbs from scratch.
- There are several brands of ranch dressing that are gluten free. I use Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing in this recipe, but LiteHouse and Newman’s Own are also delicious.
- You can use boneless chicken thighs if you have those on-hand. And if you want to get creative, chicken wings!
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
This post was updated from an older March 2021 post with more detailed directions.
Definitely will be making these again. They are so good and so easy. Even my selective eating non-gf husband likes them.
I am so glad everyone loved them. I saw you mention in Facebook that you used crushed crackers. I love this idea!
Made these tonight my son has been missing his spicy fried chicken. I subbed out just over half the breadcrumbs with his favorite spicy cheetos. So good and tender. I used the air fryer in my oven so did 2 big batches. I did forget to spray the bottom of my air fryer rack so had to flip them and broil just a minute to get the bottom crispy. These were a hit! So glad I made extra
Oooh, I love spicy. I can’t wait to try this. Thank you so much, Cyd :-).
My kids love them too, even my picky eater. Thanks for coming back to let me know 🙂
What a great idea to coat the chicken in ranch dressing, it added some great flavor. Made these in the oven and they came out delicious.
I am really glad you loved it! Thank you.
This recipe sounds easy and delicious! I love your GF recipes.
Thank you so much!
I made these for my niece and she absolutely loved them! Thank you so much for the recipe.
I am really glad. And it was so thoughtful of you to make some for her so she could enjoy them.
Can these be made dairy free? Would nutritional yeast be a substitute for parmesan?
Hi Bethany, You can make them dairy free, but I have not tested nutritional yeast in this recipe. If you try it, please let me know how it turned out.
Great recipe for two people!
Have you tried using just the ranch dressing powder?
I have found that I love this on many things. Just wondering if it would work in this recipe. Thanks
I am really glad you enjoyed it, Shelby. I haven’t tested ranch powder. Part of using the regular dressing is the moisture helps to hold the panko coating in place.
I am so glad everyone loved them. They are pretty addictive 🙂
Yummy! I loved having these gluten free chicken nuggets. The Parmesan is a secret ingredient that brings terrific flavor. And so easy to make in the air fryer! Thanks!
I am so glad you all enjoyed them Lisa 🙂
I am so glad you all liked them 🙂