Air fryer chicken nuggetsshaped from seasoned ground chicken
Homemade nuggets made from processed chicken breast, shaped, coated with Parmesan and cooked in the air fryer until golden.
These are true formed nuggets rather than breaded chicken chunks: chilled breast is pulsed into a sticky mixture with egg, flour and Parmesan, rested, portioned and shaped before coating. The brief chill makes the mixture easier to handle, while even thickness and an uncrowded basket promote uniform cooking.
Ingredients
Chicken mixture
Mixture and coating
Finishing
Preparation
Process the chicken mixture
Pulse the chilled chicken cubes until finely chopped and beginning to bind, without turning them into a smooth purée. Add 1 egg, 20 g flour and 30 g Parmesan; pulse just until sticky and even.
8 minutesChill and shape
Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Lightly oil your hands, divide into 12 equal portions and form flat oval nuggets of similar thickness.
28 minutesCoat the nuggets
Place the remaining 50 g flour, the other beaten egg and the remaining 50 g finely grated Parmesan in separate dishes. Coat each formed nugget in that order, pressing gently.
10 minutesPreheat and brush
Preheat the air fryer to 190 °C for 5 minutes. Brush both sides lightly with oil and arrange the nuggets without overlapping.
5 minutesCook and check the center
Air-fry for 10 to 12 minutes per batch, turning halfway. Remove only when the thickest nugget reaches 74 °C at its center; cook in two batches if needed.
24 minutes
Substitutions
A similarly hard aged cheese may replace Parmesan, but saltiness and browning will change. Ground chicken may replace processed breast if it is kept cold.
Storage
Refrigerate cooked nuggets in a covered container within two hours. Reheat in the air fryer until piping hot.
Approximate shelf life: Up to 3 days refrigerated.
Nutrition values are estimates and may vary by brand, substitution and actual yield.
