If you love spicy foods, you’re gonna love these air fryer chicken nuggets. They use my spin on a Nashville Hot Chicken spice blend and a tiny bit of olive oil to make little juicy and tender flavor bombs.
And since the entire recipe has 75 grams of protein with just 390 calories and 0 grams of carbs, you’ll have plenty of room for fries, tots, and other goodies. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
This is a super easy recipe so instead of my typical recipe walkthrough, I’ll cover ingredient modifications, tips, and tricks below. And as always, you’ll find the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1: Bring the Heat
Ingredients
- 12 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, diced
- 1/2 Tbsp (8g) Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Tbsp (12g) Brown Sugar*
Instructions
- Use a paper towel to pat dry the diced chicken breast before adding to a bowl and tossing with the olive oil.
- Mix the spices and brown sugar in a small bowl before adding to the chicken. Toss until evenly coated.
- Add the chicken to an air fryer basket in an even layer. Cook at 400ºF for 8-10 minutes**. Let the chicken nuggets rest for 3-4 minutes after frying before serving.
Notes
*I used Swerve Brown, an erythritol-based zero-calorie sugar substitute. The nutrition information does not include any carbs from brown sugar. If you use the real deal, each serving will have around 3g of carbs.
**I used a 6.5-quart Ninja Foodi for air frying. Cook time may vary slightly between different air fryers. If you're baking your chicken nuggets, add the seasoned chicken to a baking sheet (use a baking sheet lined with a wire rack if you have it) and bake at 400ºF for a similar time frame.
The entire recipe has 2 WW SmartPoints (blue plan).