Frankly, I hoped this would be a failure. I thought I could just fry some chicken, and ignore the fact that the fast-food gods have already perfected a nugget that is juicy and pillow like, with a fabric coated sweet and savory breading that clings to the nugget like it’s going into battle. At any rate, after many attempts (and one batch I would rather not talk about, involving oversalted pickle juice and a little fit), this recipe landed right in the target zone I was aiming for.
There is more than one secret, and it’s a bit of a conspiracy! Along with the quick pickle juice brine, there is some powdered sugar in the breading, and a special flour-starch blend that fries up crispy without the bready coating! You may even find yourself doing things like keeping pickle brine in the fridge “for nuggets.” Not the worst habit to pick up!
Contents
The Quick Rundown
- What you’re making: bite-size, pressure-cooker-adjacent (but not required) copycat Chick-fil-A style nuggets: juicy chicken, lightly sweet-savory crust, clean crunch.
- Why it works: pickle-juice brine seasons the meat deeply; powdered sugar nudges the signature flavor; cornstarch plus flour creates a delicate, crackly shell.
- Time: 15 minutes active + 30 minutes brine (or up to 4 hours) + 10–12 minutes frying in batches.
- Flavor profile: salty, peppery, faintly sweet, with a tangy undertone (not “pickle-y,” just bright).
- Key tips: keep the oil at 350°F; don’t over-brine; press the coating onto the chicken; fry in small batches and rest on a rack, not paper towels.
- Best sauce move: serve with classic Chick-fil-A sauce, honey mustard, or a simple mix of mayo + BBQ + a dab of mustard.
Ingredients
The parts that make up the nuggets consist of the chicken, the brine, and the breading. If you have ever made fried chicken that was good, but didn’t quite have that ‘crave’ factor, it was likely because the chicken seasoning was overdone on the outside of the chicken, or the crust was too doughy and thick. We are solving both of those issues.
Master Ratio (Easy To Scale)
- Chicken: 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (or thighs), cut into 1-inch nugget pieces
- Brine: 1/2 cup dill pickle juice + 1/2 cup buttermilk
- Coating: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup cornstarch
- Seasoning: 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt + 1 teaspoon paprika + 1/2 teaspoon black pepper + 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder + 1/2 teaspoon onion powder + 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
- Frying: peanut oil or canola oil, enough for 1 1/2–2 inches depth
**Scaling example:** If you are doing a party batch, use 3 lbs of chicken, 1 1/2 cups of pickle juice, 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, and triple the coating/seasoning. Don’t crowd the pot, and keep the same frying temperature, but because of the number of batches you will have to increase the time.
Ingredient Choices That Change Flavor
You may also steer the nuggets to be “closest to the original” or “my house version.” I typically select breasts for that quintessential lean bite, but thighs make for an unbelievably good nugget: juicier, more forgiving, and a touch richer.
For Serving (Optional but Not Really Optional)
- Chick-fil-A style sauce shortcut: 1/4 cup mayo + 1 1/2 tbsp BBQ sauce + 1 tbsp honey + 1 tsp yellow mustard + 1 tsp lemon juice
- Pickles: dill chips or sandwich slices (cold pickles next to hot nuggets is the whole point)
- Finishing salt: flaky salt, just a pinch right after frying
Instructions
1) When cutting the chicken, have confidence in your skills. Try to aim for slices of chicken that are about one inch thick. Having uniform pieces will allow for more uniform cooking. If one nugget is twice the size of the others, it will be the raw one in the middle when the rest are done. (Ask me how I know.)
2) Brine: quick, impactful, and non-negotiable. In a bowl, combine the pickle juice with the buttermilk. Add the chicken pieces, and toss to coat. Chill and cover for 30 minutes (this is the optimum time). You can do it for 2 or even 4 hours, but that’s not advised. The texture may become too “cured” and the tang may increase too much.
3) Coating Preparation and Workspace Arrangement Get yourself a shallow container (a pie dish will suffice) and combine some all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, paprika, black pepper, and garlic, onion, and powdered sugar. Mix everything together. For the fried nuggets, place a wire rack on the sheet pan. This is not particular. This is how you ensure crunch does not turn limp.
**4)** Set the temperature of the oil to 350°F. The oil in a large heavy saucepan or a Dutch oven should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep. Heat to 350°F and maintain that temperature. If you do not have a thermometer, try to see if a tiny pinch of flour sizzles immediately (not slow, not too aggressive). A thermometer is easier and less dramatic.
5) Coating the nuggets: First, remove the chicken from the brine and let any excess liquid drip (do not wipe it dry). Next, take a handful of pieces, and use a pressing motion to coat them with the seasoned flour mixture. Remove any excess flour and place it on a separate plate. Repeat for the rest of the chicken pieces. Finally, allow the coated pieces to rest for 3-5 minutes so that the oil has time to reach the optimum temperature. This brief resting period will help the crust adhere better during frying.
6) When frying chicken pieces, please be patient and do it in batches. When the oil is at the ideal temperature (350°F) and is ready, add 8-10 pieces (depending on the size of your pot) and fry for 3–4 minutes. Turn the chicken once or twice until they reach a perfect golden color, and ensure the internal temperature (after frying) is at 160–165°F. Then let the chicken cool on a wire rack. For each subsequent chicken piece, ensure the oil is at the right temperature (which may require you to wait a bit longer).
**7) Completing the dish and serving instructions:** Coating should be done to the nuggets while still warm. You may also add a light sprinkle of flaky salt if desired. Serve immediately with the sauce and pickles. If you are doing fries as well, place the nuggets in an oven to keep warm (set to 200°F on a rack) until you finish frying.
Variations Worth Trying
- Spicy copycat nuggets: add 1/2–1 teaspoon cayenne to the coating and 1 teaspoon hot sauce to the brine.
- Extra-crispy “sandwich-style” crust: replace 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar-free pancake mix (yes, really) for a slightly puffier crust.
- Gluten-free: use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend plus cornstarch; keep the fry temp steady to avoid gritty coating.
- Air fryer finish: shallow-fry nuggets for 2 minutes to set crust, then air fry at 400°F for 6–8 minutes, shaking once.
- Thigh nugget deluxe: use boneless skinless thighs and add a pinch of MSG (optional) to the coating for extra savory “fast-food” depth.
On the Table Together
- Classic tray: nuggets + waffle fries + dill pickles + Chick-fil-A style sauce.
- Salad situation: pile nuggets over a crunchy romaine salad with honey mustard vinaigrette and croutons.
- Wrap it up: tuck nuggets into a flour tortilla with shredded lettuce and a drizzle of sauce (a lazy “nugget wrap” that tastes better than it should).
- Kid (and adult) snack plate: nuggets, apple slices, carrot sticks, and a little ramekin of sauce: low effort, high morale.
- Brunch move: serve with biscuits and honey (sweet + salty + fried is basically a holiday).
Trouble Spots and Tips
- My coating fell off: you likely had too much brine clinging (let it drip) or you skipped the 3–5 minute rest after coating. Also, don’t stir aggressively right after dropping into oil: give it 20 seconds to set.
- Nuggets are pale and greasy: oil temp too low. Bring it back to 350°F and fry smaller batches.
- Nuggets are dark but undercooked: oil temp too high. Lower the heat and use a thermometer; also cut pieces smaller and more uniform.
- They taste “too pickly”: brined too long or used very strong brine. Stick to 30 minutes; consider cutting pickle juice with more buttermilk.
- Crust is thick and bready: too much flour clinging. Shake off excess, and don’t double-dredge for this style.
- Seasoning tastes flat: add a touch more salt to the coating, or finish with flaky salt right after frying. Salt timing matters.
- Want a cleaner fast-food crunch: swap 2 tablespoons of flour for 2 tablespoons rice flour.
Storage and Leftovers
Since these nuggets are fried, the nutrition will depend mainly on serving size and how much oil sticks to the breading. Thigh meat is more delicious and richer than breast meat which is more lean. If you are watching your sodium, note that both the pickle brine and the seasoned coating contain sodium: cut the salt down, and do a finishing pinch only if it’s absolutely necessary.
Coole nuggets will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days. To reheat, use a wire rack in the oven at 400°F for 8-12 minutes or an air fryer at 380-400°F for 4-7 minutes. They should be heated all the way through and be crisp. I mean, microwaving the nuggets to soften them is not great and will not help the quality of the nuggets. For storage less than 2 months, cooked nuggets can be frozen on a sheet pan and then moved to a bag. To reheat, wait until the nuggets are hot and the oil is sizzling.
How It’s Gone for Me
Weeknight reality check: One Tuesday, I began these at 5:40, and while I was brining, I was tussling with my homework and trying to ignore the puppy who was in the process of excavating the pickle jar. We started eating food off a serving tray at 6:20, like the sophisticated raccoons that we are, and continued to enjoy our warm chicken nuggets. The 30 minute brining step is probably the only extra `step` that is worth the time in practice, as you can do other things at the same time.
Party batch lesson: For game night, I thought it would be faster to throw in double the amount of nuggets into the pot. The coating got soggy and, right on cue, everyone grabbed for more sauce trying to play it off like they didn’t notice. For the second batch, I made the adjustments (smaller batches and waiting for the oil to return to 350°F), then all of a sudden, people were “just talking” in the kitchen and hanging out. That’s how you know you really hit it out of the park.
Your Game Plan
- Cut chicken into uniform 1-inch pieces.
- Brine in pickle juice + buttermilk for 30 minutes (up to 2–4 hours max).
- Mix flour + cornstarch + spices + powdered sugar in a shallow dish.
- Heat oil to 350°F and keep it there.
- Dredge chicken, press coating on, and rest 3–5 minutes.
- Fry in small batches 3–4 minutes to 160–165°F internal.
- Drain on a wire rack; salt lightly while hot.
- Serve immediately with sauce and cold pickles.
Words You’ll See Above
- Brine: a salty (and sometimes acidic) soak that seasons and helps the chicken stay juicy.
- Dredge: coating wet food in dry flour/starch mixture before frying.
- Wire rack draining: resting fried food on a rack so steam escapes and the crust stays crisp.
- Carryover cooking: heat continues cooking the chicken briefly after it leaves the oil; pull at 160°F if you’re cautious and let it coast to 165°F.
- Oil temperature recovery: the time it takes oil to climb back to frying temp after you add food; crowding slows recovery and causes greasiness.
Your Questions, Answered
Do these taste the same as Chick-fil-A nuggets?
Exactly? No, unless you have their apparatus and supply chain hoarded in your pantry. They have the flavor cues of a light crust, some sort of confectioner’s sugar, and a piquant, salty note. In my kitchen, they help me forget about the drive-thru enough for the itching to go away.
Would omitting the pickle juice be effective?
Yes, but it will also lose some of its signature brightness. If you dislike the flavor of pickles, you can use a gentler brine: half pickle juice and half water. Alternatively, you can replace it with 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and lemon juice for a different flavor.
What oil is best for frying these nuggets?
Peanut oil is the best option due to its high smoke point and neutral flavor. You can also use vegetable oil or canola oil. I do not use olive oil because it has an undesirable taste and is not good for high-heat cooking.
Can I bake them instead of frying? Yes, you can bake them instead of frying, but they won’t be as crispy as the fried version. You can still get a good result, though. To do this, evenly coat the nuggets with oil, spray some oil on them, and bake them on a rack at 425°F for 14-18 minutes, flipping them halfway. Instead of copycat nuggets, expect “crispy baked chicken bites.”
How can I ensure a large group remains satisfied with their nuggets while they wait? You can set your oven to 200° with a wire rack over a sheet pan. Cover it loosely as steam is bad. If you have larger quantities, stagger trays and complete the frying in batches.
Is powdered sugar necessary? For “copycat” goals, yes, just one teaspoon. It doesn’t make them sweet, it just smooths over the rough edges. It also adds a slight, strange fast food sweetness to it that is hard to explain.
Closing Thoughts
These nuggets may look like a simple dish, but they are not only easy to prepare, but also taste good. To prepare them, all you need to do is season some chicken. The combination of crispy coating and juicy chicken is so good that it’s the reason I keep a jar of pickle juice in my pantry. When you prepare a batch of these nuggets, and have some one come over, you will see the transformation of ‘I will only take a couple’ to someone standing at the counter and sink and eating them all.
