Name: Knock-Off Chick-Fil-A Nuggets
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces; 1 cup Milk; 1 cup Dill Pickle Juice; 1 cup Oat Flour, or All-Purpose; ½ cup Plain Bread Crumbs; 2 tbsp Powdered Sugar; 2 tsp Sea Salt; 1 tsp Smoked Paprika; ½ tsp Onion Powder; Cooking Spray; 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter; 1 ½ cups Frank’s Hot Sauce; 3 tbsp White Vinegar; 1 tsp Celery Salt; ½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce; ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper; ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper; ¼ tsp Garlic Powder; 1 cup Catalina Dressing; 6 tbsp Honey; 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar; 1 cup Cole Slaw Dressing; ½ cup Mayo; ¼ cup Honey BBQ Sauce; 1 tbsp Honey; ½ tbsp Dijon Mustard; ½ tbsp Yellow Mustard; Juice of Half a Lemon

If you are lucky enough to live in the South, you know the glories of Chick-Fil-A. They make everything delicous and serve it up with so much grace, you feel like you’re at your grandma’s house.

Recently, I discovered the joys of mobile ordering. You pull up the app, place a detailed order, all the way down to which sauces you want and how many and pay right there online. Then you just breeze through the drive through line and grab your grub. This is very convenient – and very dangerous.

Indulging in this habit can be very expensive and not terribly healthy. So, I thought I would try my hand at making an at-home version.

Plenty of other people have had this same thought, so I went to Pinterest for help. It turns out there are some “secret” ingredients that make Chick-Fil-A chicken so good.

It starts with the marinade. You marinate the chicken pieces in milk and – get this – PICKLE JUICE. For real! Sounds strange, I know, but it really works. The acid in the juice helps to tenderize the chicken and adds a delightful briney flavor note.

The other surprising ingredient comes in the breading. The recipe I used says to use oat flour, or you can use all-purpose flour. I had oat flour from a cake I attempted a few months ago. If you choose to use oat flour, you can find it in stores or online here. You can also blend up some oatmeal in your food processor. But the most surprising ingredient in the breading is powdered sugar. I have to confess, I almost didn’t put it in because I was afraid it would make the chicken too sweet, but I trusted my fellow foodies and went with it. It adds another dimension without being overpowering.

I used a recipe from www.hungryhappens.com. I didn’t change any of the ingredients, but I did cook my chicken using convection. I did that to get more even browning and then I could put 2 pans in at once on different racks. I switch the pans positions when I flip the chicken halfway through cooking. If you have an air fryer, these would be fabulous cooked that way.

This recipe tells you to spray the chicken generously with cooking spray before baking. This moistens the breading and helps the chicken to brown better. Generally speaking, I think this is still healthier than dropping them into oil for frying.

The end result is really pretty darn close. These nuggets can certainly satisfy your craving. But let’s be honest, many of us go to Chick-Fil-A for the sauces. If you don’t have one of those kitchen drawers full of leftover sauce packets and sporks, you can make homemade sauces that are also pretty darn close to the real thing.

We are big fans of spicy sauces, and my oldest daughter was craving wings, so I made a Buffalo sauce first. I got a recipe from http://www.honeyandbirch.com for an easy and delicious sauce. Essentially, Buffalo sauce is melted butter and hot sauce, with some other seasonings thrown in. What’s not to like?? It takes about 10 minutes to whip up and a little longer to cool down. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups of sauce, so you can have some leftover for other dipping needs.

We also love Chick-Fil-A sauce. It’s really delicious with their waffle fries – just sayin’. I found a homemade version of this and their Polynesian sauce on http://www.sweettoeat.com.

The Chick-Fil-A sauce is a mixture of BBQ sauce, mayo and cole slaw dressing, with a couple other things thrown in there for good measure. The end result of this sauce can vary wildly based on the kind of BBQ sauce you use and the dressing as well. It’s best to taste as you mix, and add as you go to get the the blend of flavors you prefer.

The Polynesian sauce is a tangy red sauce I never even knew existed until I heard about it in the Brad Paisley song, “High Life.” If you have not heard this song, you need to give it a listen because it is hilarious. Anyway, the base of the sauce is Catalina dressing and you mix in honey and apple cider vinegar. It is similar to a sweet and sour sauce and kids love it.

Polynesian, Buffalo & Chick-Fil-A Sauces

Bottom line – yes, it’s a heck of a lot easier to just go to Chick-Fil-A. But if you are trying to cut back on eating out or just want to see how close you can come to making the real thing in your own kitchen, these recipes are a great place to start.

I know there are many other sauce variations out there, so if you experiment with more varieties, please share with me. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy trying these recipes – It was “my pleasure.”

AuthorMelissa JoyDifficultyIntermediate

Yields8 Servings

Prep Time45 minsCook Time20 minsTotal Time1 hr 5 mins

Nuggets:

4 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup Milk

1 cup Dill Pickle Juice

1 cup Oat Flour, or All-Purpose

½ cup Plain Bread Crumbs

2 tbsp Powdered Sugar

2 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

½ tsp Onion Powder

Cooking Spray

Buffalo Sauce:

2 Sticks Unsalted Butter

1 ½ cups Frank’s Hot Sauce

3 tbsp White Vinegar

1 tsp Celery Salt

½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce

½ tsp Cayenne Pepper

½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

¼ tsp Garlic Powder

Polynesian Sauce:

1 cup Catalina Dressing

6 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Chick-Fil-A Sauce:

1 cup Cole Slaw Dressing

½ cup Mayo

¼ cup Honey BBQ Sauce

1 tbsp Honey

½ tbsp Dijon Mustard

½ tbsp Yellow Mustard

Juice of Half a Lemon

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces, removing any undesirable bits.

In a large plastic container or zip top bag, add the chicken, pickle juice and milk. Place in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour.

While you wait for your chicken to marinate, you can make your sauces.

Buffalo Sauce:
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Once melted, add all other ingredients and whisk. Bring to a simmer, whisking often. Allow to cool before storing.

Polynesian Sauce and Chick-Fil-A Sauce:
Mix all ingredients and store in the fridge to blend flavors.

Mix the oat flour, bread crumbs, sugar and spices in a shallow bowl or plate.

Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Preheat the oven to 400º. If you have an oven that can do convection, preheat it to 375º.

Use tongs to coat the chicken pieces one at a time and place on the baking sheets, leaving room between each piece.

Generously spray the chicken with cooking spray and place the baking sheets in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, flip and spray again with cooking spray, then cook for 8-10 more minutes or until golden brown.

Ingredients