Keto Chicken Nuggets
Keto Chicken Nuggets have only 5 ingredients and take about 5 minutes to prepare. They freeze well, travel well, and taste delicious!
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There is just something about chicken nuggets. Maybe it’s the fun of eating with your hands or just the yum factor of dipping in a condiment but they really are a comfort food. I’m happy to eat them for lunch along with my kids when I have some of these low carb chicken nuggets waiting in the freezer.
Most of the chicken nugget recipes I’ve come across use small pieces of raw chicken and just bread them. Those are good, but I like the soft texture that is inside conventional chicken nuggets. That is what I wanted to mimic in this keto chicken nuggets recipe.
It is as simple as mixing, scooping, and flattening. It really takes about 5 minutes to make a whole batch. This easy recipe is low carb, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
For a complete keto diet meal the entire family will love, make a batch of my Broccoli Nuggets too!
Ingredients
- Cooked chicken – Any type of cooked chicken works in this recipe.
- Cream cheese – Cream cheese gives the nuggets a soft texture.
- Almond flour – Almond flour helps the nuggets hold together.
- Egg – Egg is the binder in this recipe.
- Garlic salt – You can use garlic powder plus salt if you don’t have garlic salt.
How to Make Keto Chicken Nuggets
Step One: Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined. You must use warm chicken, or it will not shred easily.
Step Two: Form into balls with a cookie scoop or your hands.
Step Three: Press into nuggets on the tray. You can make any shape you want.
Step Four: Bake until firm in the preheated oven. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Top Tip💡
The trick is warming the chicken before adding it to the mixer so it shreds into tiny pieces with no effort. With a big bowl and a decent mixer, you can even shred the chicken and mix in the other ingredients all at the same time. Just make sure the chicken is very warm and the cream cheese is soft.
Variations
- Meat – Try making these with another type of shredded meat, like pork.
- Vegetables – This recipe works well subbing in a vegetable for some or all of the chicken.
- Seasonings – These have a mild flavor to be kid-friendly. Feel free to kick up the spices for your own palate.
- Pork rinds – Feel free to swap in crushed pork rinds for the almond flour.
- Air fryer – Cook in an air fryer basket lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner for 8-10 minutes at 400.
- Coating – Coat the nuggets in almond flour or crushed pork rinds before cooking for a breadcrumb-like exterior.
Storage
Store the keto-friendly chicken nuggets in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze these for 3-4 months. I prefer to freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet and then transfer to a storage bag so they don’t stick together.
Common Questions
Yup! I’ve roasted whole chickens just to save the meat for this recipe but it also works great with leftover chicken meat or rotisserie chicken.
Keto Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp garlic salt
Instructions
- Shred chicken with an electric mixer. This works best with a combination of dark and white meat (or just dark meat) that is still warm. If you are using leftover chicken warm it up a bit first. Once the chicken is shredded add in the rest of the ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Drop scoops onto a greased baking sheet (or use parchment paper to line it) and flatten into a nugget shape.
- Bake at 350 for 12-14 min until slightly golden and firm.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally posted on Dec 31, 2015. Revised and republished on September 16, 2025.
I haven’t tried this yet but will soon! I get the best ideas for meals from this site! The nice thing is they are simple, healthy and won’t break my budget. I love cooking Keto and keeping the carbs as low as possible. When I have a lot of something and want fo use it this is one of my favorite sites. Can’t wait to make some healthy , easy, keto friendly chicken nuggets!
Hi. I made these for a friends daughter, she’s 9, and she loved them. I did too. With both of us being diabetics, I am always on the look out for chicken recipes. The first time I made them I made exactly like the recipe said. The second time, I added a little powered ranch dressing in the almond flour. Those were really good too. But what really made me the Special One to the girl was I used a dinosaur cookie cutter and molded them. She said she felt ” just like her normal friends.” They bring the chicken nuggets that are frozen and are shaped like dinosaurs. Not only delicious but when you can make someone feel normal, that is a win all around. Thanks again. I love your recipes and have and use many of them on a regular basis.
Looking good!
This is the second time I have made them. the first time was with canned chicken and the second with cooked chicken. both time I could not get them to a firm consistency but they were still very awesome. my son kept eating them before I could get them in the oven. I did roll second batch in pork rinds it makes them more crunchy. and I doubled the recipe this time. thanknyou for your recipes I haven’t run across a bad one yet. I also made the no bake cookie dough cheesecake each step tasted awesome can’t wait to try it all together. love love live your recipes…I am making the granola bars next can’t wait to see how they turn out.
Just made these 3 nights ago. I used canned chicken (what I had on hand) and used a flax egg as I am allergic to eggs. I rolled mine in crushed pork rinds. We enjoyed them.
Can you use backing blend instead of almond flour?
Yes
Looking forward to trying this, I bet my grandkids will love it!
Thanks to Lady J who shared about using canned chicken… I was wondering about exactly that. Now I’ll be able to try them out, easily!
YUMMMM!!! These are so quick and easy to make and very tasty. I wasn’t feeling like making a big dinner and just wanted something like a light snack. These fit the bill perfectly! I made them with canned chicken as it was all I had on hand and they came out great. I paired them with a honey mustard sauce. There are so many options you can use with these nuggets for seasonings, etc. Thank you so much for sharing = )
My daughter is allergic to almonds so ai can’t use almond flour. What else could J use and how much???
An equal amount of sunflower seed flour or half the amount of coconut flour.
Delicious! They took 35 minutes to cook in my oven – I got 27 nuggets out of the recipe, maybe I made them too big. They do need a sauce. Sugar free ketchup and ranch both work well.
I think I’ll experiment with the seasonings on these. A little Italian seasoning would add a lot, I bet. Or, maybe add a little onion powder and some fresh paprika for a chicken paprikash flavor. Or just some lemon pepper seasoning. I think there’s a lot you could do with this.
Wow thank you these are delicious. I popped mine into the air fryer for 5 min after baking and they’re delicious!
Could you use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Yes, but you need much less. I’d try 1 tablespoon.
This is a great recipe! I added a lot more seasoning though. Also, on 350 it took about 40 minutes. Way longer than stated. Goes good with Hughes honey mustard.
Is there a dipping sauce you might recommend
My homemade maple mustard sauce is good with these. Or my kids like them with ranch, bbq sauce, or ketchup. Sugar free bbq and ketchup is available in most health stores.