A Healthy Super Bowl Snack: Gluten-Free Chick-Fil-A Nuggets
28 Jan
Just in time for the Super Bowl, this recipe brought to you by The Domestic Man, is perfect for any Super Bowl get-togethers you might have this weekend!
Even if you’re not a football fan, this is an awesome recipe to try out as it is a fantastic (and healthier) imitation of Chick-Fil-A’s chicken nuggets! It is gluten-free, and almost completely paleo (you need about 2 tbsp of buttermilk and cream, but you end up dumping most of it out anyway).

Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup dill pickle juice
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp buttermilk or cream (I used organic heavy cream)
- 1/4 cup tapioca or potato or arrowroot starch (I went with Bob’s Red Mill Potato Starch)
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp each salt & black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 dash ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or lard for frying
Instructions
1. Cut the boneless skinless chicken breasts in to little chunks (about 1 inch).
2. Throw the chicken pieces in to a ziplog bag and add the 1/4 cup of pickle juice. Marinate it in the fridge for an hour. (I was pretty surprised by this step! I’ve never marinated anything in pickle juice before, and turns out this really gave the nuggets a yummy taste!)
3. After an hour, take out your marinated chicken and pour out any excess pickle juice from the bag.
4. Beat the egg and the buttermilk/cream together and add it to the bag. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.
5. After 5 minutes, open the bag to let out excess liquids again. (There might not be much of it at this point.)
6. Grab your dry ingredients (potato starch, paprika
, cayenne pepper, garlic powder
, salt, pepper) and stir them all together in a bowl.
7. Heat up your cooking oil of choice at medium fire, and while you wait for that to heat up, go to the next step.
8. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the bag, and start mixing it all together evenly. I did this for a couple of minutes because I really wanted to make sure it was super consistent. I basically massaged the chicken pieces from outside the bag.
9. Start frying your chicken pieces! Try not to crowd them in the skillet. It takes a few minutes on both sides to cook thoroughly. You’ll know when it’s ready when it’s a golden brown color on both sides.
10. When the nuggets are ready, place it on a plate with a dry paper towels on it to help suck out some of that grease.
Now pick a sauce (The Domestic Man has a Paleo Barbecue Sauce recipe for this), and it is time to show off your cooking skills to your Super Bowl party guests! Or… eat it all yourself! That’s what I’m doing with this batch anyway ;)
Related Posts:
- Easy Spice Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters (ohsnapletseat.com)
- Coconut Chicken Nuggets with Paleo “BBQ” Sauce (multiplydelicious.com)
- Paleo Chicken Nuggets (health-bent.com)
- Paleo “Breaded” Chicken Nuggets, A Kid-friendly or Game Day Favorite (paleoeffect.com)













Love it! I’m seriously jonesing for my own recipe now, thanks to your great pics :)
It’s a great recipe, Russ! I’m glad I picked this one to try out and share with my readers!
Wow. Those look so tasty
This is great stuff! I just made these and tasted them and they were absolutely delicious! I served them with some avocado slices as a side :D
Keep up the good work over here and come check out my blog: http://www.cloudywithachanceofsprinkles.com/
These look delicious. Can’t wait to try them out at home. :D