How To Cook Frozen Chicken Nuggets In The Air Fryer

Cooking frozen chicken nuggets in the air fryer is the absolute best way to prepare chicken nuggets. Air frying is the fastest way to get perfect nuggets – crisp on the outside and tender on the inside – without heating up the whole kitchen. Everyone loves yummy chicken nuggets but with this air fryer recipe, you can skip the fast food drive-thru and make these at home with all the flavor you love, and none of the guilt.

What goes better with chicken nuggets than fries? Nothing! You can easily make fries in the air fryer too. Here are the cooking times for Ore-Ida Fries, Crinkle Cut Fries, Tater Tots, and Curly Fries, all made in the air fryer in minutes.

Table of Contents

Are Chicken Nuggets Healthy?

Whether chicken nuggets are a healthy option for you or not really depends on your own dietary needs. But using the air fryer to cook chicken nuggets is a good option for you if you want the yummy flavor of nuggets without having them deep fried.

Air frying cuts back on the fat and calories that come with deep frying your foods.

You can also look at the bag of nuggets you buy to assess the calorie and fat content. Some chicken nuggets are made with ingredients that are lower quality, so you can look for all-white meat nuggets that don’t contain fillers, hormones, antibiotics, or preservatives if those things are important to you.

Do I air fry chicken nuggets from frozen?

Yes, you can cook these air fryer chicken nuggets from frozen. Just place them on the tray, air fry them, and you’re done! It’s really simple. See complete instructions below.

Air Fryer Chicken Nugget Ingredients

20 pieces frozen chicken nuggets

Bag of gluten free frozen chicken nuggets

How to Make

STEP ONE: Place the frozen chicken nuggets onto the baking tray. Add the number of chicken nuggets you are cooking to the air fry tray.

STEP TWO: Preheat the air fryer and cook. Set the air fryer to 400°F. It only takes a couple of minutes to preheat. Place the rack into the air fryer and air fry for 5 minutes. Flip using tongs. Air fry for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

frozen chicken nuggets on a wire air fryer tray

person using tongs to flip over chicken nuggets in the air fryer

Tips and Recipe Notes

Chicken nuggets are best served with sauce! Try honey mustard, BBQ, sweet and sour, ranch, ketchup, salsa, or any of your favorite sauces.
Don’t crowd your air fryer. To get that perfect crispy outside, you’ll want to make sure there’s space around each nugget so they can cook evenly.
These cook quickly! Much quicker than the oven, so set a timer and keep a close eye on these.

How to Store Leftover Chicken Nuggets

Leftover nuggets can easily be saved for later. Just put them in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

I don’t recommend refreezing frozen nuggets. Eat up what you can, and refrigerate the leftovers for the next few days.

To reheat, you can microwave them in 30-second bursts, or reheat in the air fryer at 350 for 5-7 minutes, or until hot through.

FAQs

Are frozen chicken nuggets fully cooked?

Yes, usually frozen chicken nuggets are already fully cooked. You’re just warming them up again.

Will Tyson Chicken Nuggets Work in the Air Fryer?

Yup! They sure will! Any kind of chicken nugget we’ve tried works in the air fryer – even gluten-free nuggets.

My nuggets are soggy. What went wrong?

If your nuggets still seem soggy, they just weren’t cooked for long enough. Every air fryer is different, so you may have to adjust your cooking time slightly. Put your nuggets back into the air fryer for an extra 3-5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, and remove them when they’re golden brown, and the outside feels crispy.

person dipping a chicken nugget in ketchup

Rate Recipe