air fryer chicken nuggets!

for lunch, for a snack, for dinner, for whenever you need them

Hey there! On Tuesdays I share easy lunch recipes* for paid subscribers.

To me, *lunch recipes are especially simple to make and simple to clean-up (of course you can make the recipe for any mealtime that you’d like!).

I always include a number of helpful notes for paid subscribers (i.e. ways to make vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free versions of the recipe and other fun notes/ideas).

Want today’s recipe? And access to all of the recipes I’ve shared??? Become a paid subscriber today! xoxoxox

Hey friends,

Longtime readers know how much I love my air fryer — remember this ode to it I wrote way back in 2022?

I’ve had the same air fryer for nearly 5 years now and continue to use it multiply times every single week. Just this morning I heated up a slice of leftover pizza in it to have for a second breakfast (living!). This past weekend, I used it to roast some perfect early fall broccolini from Long Season Farm.

And while I think a frozen chicken nugget crisped up in an air fryer is a perfect food, lately I’ve had the Shake ‘N Bake chicken of my childhood on my mind. I thought it’d be fun to figure out an air fryer chicken nugget that could be made by simply shaking pieces of chicken in a bag with seasoned flour (and some other secret ingredients). And not just for nostalgia’s sake. Also because shaking the chicken to coat it saves us from the messy, laborious process of dredging chicken through flour, then egg, and then breadcrumbs. I am, after all, always looking for the simplest route to something delicious.

So may I introduce you to these SHAKE-AND-BAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN NUGGETS:

Don’t they look good? Don’t sleep on the special sauce.

To make them, I cut up some chicken, let it sit in a little pickle brine while I get the flour mixture ingredients set up in a paper bag and stir together a quick “special sauce.” The brine helps add a little flavor and tenderizes the chicken (plus you use something which normally would get thrown away) and the special sauce includes some chopped pickles, making the pickle jar a real two-for-one jar in this meal.

After shaking the chicken with the flour mixture, I lay it in my air fryer basket, give it a good spritz of cooking spray and let the pieces air fry until browned and crisp.

Heaven!

chicken getting shaken in a paper bag / in the air fryer! / on the plate!

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Want to make these nuggets with me? With your kids? Or have your kids learn how to make them?? Join me on Nov. 9th for my online cooking class: KIDS COOKING HOUR!

• A portion of proceeds will be going to The Radical Monarchs.

• Sliding scale starting at $25 up to whatever you want.

• ➡️ ➡️ ➡️ SIGNUP RIGHT HERE!! ⬅️ ⬅️ ⬅️

You can find all of my fall classes, my online video library with 125+ classes, and all your FAQs about my classes RIGHT HERE.

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Below, for paid subscribers:

• Complete recipes for the nuggets and dipping sauce (“Special Sauce”) including key ingredients for crispy nuggets and flavorful sauce

• A list of variations/ideas:

  • NO AIR FRYER?

  • PREFER DARK MEAT?

  • GLUTEN-FREE?

  • VEGETARIAN?

  • VEGAN?

  • WANT THESE TO BE SPICY?

  • WHAT ABOUT SAUCIER? LIKE STICKY BBQ OR HONEY MUSTARD? BUFFALO?

  • LOOKING FOR IDEAS OF WHAT TO SERVE THESE WITH?

• All of the above in a PDF

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SHAKE-AND-BAKE AIR FRYER CHICKEN NUGGETS / makes ~ dozen nuggets

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts