Copycat Chick Fil A Grilled Nuggets Recipe

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Chick Fil A Grilled Nuggets is the copycat recipe to make anytime you’re craving fast food. Pair this nuggets recipe with our Homemade Chick-Fil-A Sauce and you’ll have the perfect copycat Chick-fil-A meal at home.

chick-fil-a grilled nuggets on a plate with chickfila sauce

Chick-Fil-A is best known for its delicious fried chicken sandwiches, grilled chicken sandwiches and tasty sides.

And if you happen to be watching what you eat or happen to be on a low-carb health journey, Chick-fil-A has great menu options for that too. My favorite? Chick fil a Grilled nuggets paired with a side salad or fruit cup.

The issue is, I tend to crave these on Sunday when Chick-fil-A is closed which is why I decided to create this copycat chick fil a grilled nuggets recipe so I can enjoy it at home, whenever!

I am sure that this grilled chicken nuggets recipe is going to be a huge hit in your household! It uses simple ingredients and it is the real deal (tastes just like the real thing)!

copycat chick-fil-a grilled nuggets on a plate

Does Chick-fil-A soak their chicken in pickle juice?

I am sure you’re wondering if Chick-fil-A soaks their chicken in pickle juice and that answer is, it is complicated. Over the years, many former Chick-fil-A employees have confirmed that this is the secret behind the delicious tender chicken at Chick-fil-A. However, Chick-fil-A has yet to confirm this and others have denied this to be true. Overall, I’ve always personally thought there is a slight pickle juice taste to their chicken including their grilled nuggets so, I made this recipe to mimic that taste.

Want more Copycat Chick fil a recipes? Try our Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Minis, Copycat Chick-fil-A Peppermint Shake, Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets, and Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade.

copycat chick-fil-a grilled nuggets on a plate with waffle fries and chick fil a sauce

What You Need To Make Chick-Fil-A Grilled Nuggets

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
  • Dill pickle juice
  • Milk
  • Powdered Sugar (yes, really!)
  • Salt – Sea salt works great
  • Black Pepper
  • Garlic Powder or Garlic Salt
  • Paprika
  • Seasoned Salt
  • Stovetop Pan
  • Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil – Can also use soybean oil or peanut oil

You’ll also want your favorite dipping sauce such as bbq sauce, ranch sauce, Polynesian sauce, etc.

copycat chick-fil-a grilled nuggets on a plate

How to Make Chick-Fil-A Grilled Nuggets At Home

First, start by cutting up your boneless skinless chicken breasts. You want to make sure they are bite-sized. Also, this is a good time to remove any chicken fat and discard it.

Next, take your chicken and place it into a large baggie or bowl along with the pickle juice and milk. Allow to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes although overnight is ideal.

raw chicken in a bowl marinating to make chick fil a grilled nuggets

Next, remove your chicken from the mixture and lay onto paper towels. Pat dry. Drain the excess milk and pickle juice.

raw chicken pieces on a paper towel

Next, heat your large skillet to medium-high and drizzle in a little oil.

Now, add your powdered sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and seasoned salt into a bowl with the chicken. Combine.

raw seasoned chicken pieces in a large bowl

Now, throw your chicken into the heated pan in a single layer and cook about 8-10 minutes while constantly tossing to cook evenly. Depending on your stove, you may need more time to cook to ensure it’s cooked thoroughly.

The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F.

grilled nugget piece on a fork

Once cooked, remove from heat and serve up with some homemade honey mustard sauce. You can of course, use up all those extra sauce packets you have lying around!

copycat chick-fil-a grilled nuggets on a plate

That’s it! We hope you enjoy these and hope this recipe provides a quick fix to those Chick-Fil-A cravings on Sunday!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container and reheat in the microwave or air fryer. Enjoy!

copycat chick-fil-a grilled nuggets on a plate

Things to note:

  • Some people do not like the pickle taste so you can either use less pickle juice or remove that ingredient all together. As someone who loves pickles, I like the pickle taste.
  • Make sure you cook these on about medium heat so they cook all the way through without burning. Chicken needs to reach 165 °F (73.9 °C) to be cooked thoroughly.

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Grilled Nuggets

4.59 from 796 votes
Brittanie
A Copycat recipe for Chick-Fil-A Grilled Nuggets so you can enjoy these on Sunday too!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Pound Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into small pieces
  • Cup Dill Pickle Juice can use less for less pickle taste
  • ¼ Cup Milk
  • 2 tsp Powdered Sugar
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • ¼ tsp Garlic Powder or Garlic Salt
  • ¼ tsp Paprika
  • ¼ tsp Seasoned Salt
  • A Drizzle of Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil

Instructions
 

  • First, start by cutting up your boneless skinless chicken breasts. You want to make sure they are bite-sized. Also, this is a good time to remove any fat from the chicken and discard it.
  • Next, take your chicken and place it into a large baggie or bowl along with the pickle juice and milk. Allow to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes although overnight is ideal.
  • Next, remove your chicken from the mixture and lay onto paper towels. Pat dry. Drain the excess milk and pickle juice.
  • Next, heat your saucepan to medium-high and drizzle in some olive oil or sunflower oil.
  • Now, add your powdered sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and seasoned salt into a bowl with the chicken. Combine.
  • Now, throw your chicken into the heated pan and cook about 8-10 minutes while constantly tossing to cook evenly. Depending on your stove, you may need more time to cook to ensure it’s cooked throughly.
  • Once cooked, remove from heat and serve up with some homemade honey mustard sauce. You can of course, use up all those extra sauce packets you have lying around!

Notes

You can also use this recipe to grill the nuggets too!
This recipe makes about 24 nuggets depending on how large you cut them, so we made the serving size to be about 6 nuggets a person.

NUTRITION

Serving: 1 | Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 1957mg | Sugar: 7g

Nutrition information is a rough estimate only; actual values will vary based on the exact ingredients used and amount of recipe prepared.

Keyword chick-fil-a grilled nuggets recipe, chick-fil-a recipes, copycat recipes, grilled nuggets
Course Easy Recipes
Did you try this recipe?Mention @simplisticallyliving or tag #simplisticallyliving!
4.59 from 796 votes (789 ratings without comment)

84 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I can’t believe how much these taste like the chick-fil-a grilled nuggets! Just as tender and flavor is exact!! 10/10 recommend!

  2. Made these today on a charcoal grill and they were amazing. I used boneless, skinless thighs, marinated for 30 minutes, which I kept whole. I could not believe how juicy and tender they were. I will be going to make more this week.

  3. Tastes exactly like them!!

  4. Loved the recipe with tweaks. I completely excluded the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cut down the season salt. The pickle juice combined with the season salt I did use made it the perfect level of salt.

  5. So delicious and easy! I use chicken tenderloins and cut each in half. We LOVE it!

  6. So so good! I used boneless skinless thighs because that’s what I had. Tastes just like Chick-Fil-A chicken. My daughter asked what kind of witchcraft did I do to make it taste just like it. She loved the pickle taste! Will definitely be making this again. Fantastic recipe! Thank you!!

    1. Oh yay! Thank you so much for sharing. So glad you and your daughter loved the recipe!

  7. Made these tonight for supper, delicious! Cooked them up in my air fryer, will definitely make again. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!

    1. I am so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing! <3

  8. Delicious!
    I did cut the salt down a tad as I’m not into salty foods. A tip – cook them on your charcoal grill!
    Super easy to make and super worth the time!

  9. I used oat milk for allergy reasons and it worked great. I made the copycat grilled nuggets, they were very good and although I’ve been on a boycott from the brand, they are as I remembered

  10. Chris Komis says:

    Due to time constraints I marinated for maybe 10 min with pickle juice and water ( dairy free). I did do them in air fryer for suggested 370 degrees for 15 min. I did spray them with avocado oil spray. They turned out delicious and not salty at all.

  11. This was way too salty for us, even with less pickle juice. If you are going to try this, I would say to add a lot less salt than is listed for the mixture.

  12. What milk do you use. I’m doing low carb so I wasn’t sure.

  13. 3 stars
    The seasoning is great! I omitted the paprika because chick fil a grilled nuggets don’t have any paprika in them at all. I used Claussen pickle juice and it was too strong. I tried again using Vlassic dill pickle juice and it still was too pickle flavored, so I don’t think that’s the secret. But I will try it again using just the seasoning (minus paprika).

  14. Rustie Navarre says:

    Will these keep in a slow cooker on warm after cooking? Thinking about doing them for a potluck next week

    1. I haven’t tried them in a slow cooker. However, as long as they are just on warm I am sure they will be fine. They may be a little drier than normal but overall should still taste great 🙂

    2. @Rustie Navarre,
      I would consider cooking just under the time recommended so they don’t dry out in the slow cooker. I do this for hamburgers and then freeze them. Makes for a great warmed up meal.

  15. Can’t wait to make these again with less pickle juice! They were so similar to CFA and definitely the most tender chicken I’ve made at home. Just too much Pickle Juice that made them too salty and overwhelmingly “pickle-y”,even from someone who loves pickles, but it is an AMAZING recipe that I’m saving forever! Thank you!

  16. J D Smith says:

    Made these in our Ninja grill and they were great!

  17. We just used this recipe for the first time and love it! When we use our lose it app we’ve noticed a big difference in calories than what you posted. Any chance I could get a calorie breakdown of you’re recipe? It’s driving my wife crazy haha. Thanks for the recipe.

    1. Hi Scotty! So, the recipe plugin we use estimates the calories simply because ingredients vary so much as well as servings do. Unless you’re using the exact products I am, I couldn’t guarantee the calories. I would suggest using your method of tracking based on your ingredients for a more accurate caloric intake. 🙂

  18. I made theses and cooked them on the George Foreman. They turned out great! I just think I would use a little less pickle juice next time. Thanks for the recipe!

  19. I made these tonight and they were horrible. Sorry. Just not good flavor at all. I made the recipe EXACTLY as printed. I have made copy cat chicken with the pickle juice and they were delicious. But this recipe is not for me at all.

    1. Hi Vanessa, I appreciate your honesty. I’ve made these several times for my family and I and we love them. I also have yet to hear anyone that hasn’t liked them. I am so sorry it wasn’t for you though and hope you find something else here to your liking 🙂

  20. I would think I could use butter in the pan instead of oil? I don’t use bottled oils in recipes.

  21. Jeslyn Hughes says:

    Would substituting regular sugar work? I get texture may be off, but what about taste?

    1. I haven’t tried it with regular sugar. I would think it may taste similar but could entirely throw off the texture and give the chicken a more gritty texture.

    2. @Jeslyn Hughes,

      You can make your own powdered sugar by blitzing regular sugar and a bit of cornstarch. I actually think the cornstarch plays an important role in keeping the chicken tender.

    3. @Jeslyn Hughes, I’ve subbed allulose for the sugar and they are delicious

  22. Thanks for the recipe❤️ Amazing

  23. Of course I didn’t read ahead and my chicken is marinating in pickle juice, milk and all the seasonings. 🤦🏻‍♀️

    I’ll let everyone know how it turns out!

    1. @Sheila, I did the same thing! I hope they are still yummy!

  24. 5 stars
    These were so good

  25. Shauna Mether says:

    Could there be any way to cook these in an air fryer?

    1. I am sure there is. I haven’t personally made them in the air fryer but I think that is something I will certainly give a try.

    2. @Shauna Mether, yes for 15 min at 370 and they are amazing!

  26. I made these chick fil a grilled nuggets with thin sliced chicken breast from the store because that’s what my husband got lol LITERALLY AMAZING! I will be making these way more! I always want these nuggets for breakfast and have to wait forever, now I’ll eat them at home before work! DELICIOUS! AMAZING! PERFECT

    1. Ahhh thank you for sharing. I am so glad you liked them!!

  27. Mine came out pretty salty, not sure what I did wrong but it was still good. Next time I may cut the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Thanks for this recipe!!!

    1. Hmm I am sorry that happened. If you find it too salty, you can certainly cut down the salt 🙂

    2. @Terry, I agree. I just made this today and it was far too salty. I was so excited to try it, too.

      1. You can always use less pickle juice or salt. Just like with any recipe, you can adjust to your liking 🙂

  28. Vicky Harbison says:

    Wow!!!! Delicious!
    I made this and they were amazing!!!!
    Thank you so much for this recipe!!!

  29. VickyRenee says:

    5 stars
    I made this and it was amazing!
    Thank you for the recipe!!.

  30. Hello!
    Could you mix the powdered sugar and seasonings in a ziplock bag and toss the chicken pieces in it? Kind of like shake and bake?

    1. @Brittanie,
      Thank you!

  31. Desaree m says:

    Any substitute for the powdered sugar? I can’t have it while doing keto. 😫

    1. Hi Desaree, I don’t have a substitute simply because the powdered sugar is pretty necessary for the overall taste and texture. I’ve never made it any other way. I did search for a substitute for powdered sugar that is Keto friendly and came across this: https://amzn.to/3pPnSXz I am not sure how well it will turn out or how it will taste but it might be worth giving a try. Of course, if you do try it, come back and let me know how it is 🙂

    2. Cheryl Hoerner says:

      @Brittanie, I use monk fruit “sugar” which has erythritol in it as well by Lanko and I put in in a little blender or smoothie maker to turn it into powdered sugar if I don’t have any. Works perfect and I think Lanko makes a powedered sugar as well.

    3. @Desaree m,
      Swerve confectioners sugar in place of traditional powder sugar, is AMAZING! Same texture, taste, etc but Keto friendly. I do not like the taste of any other artificial sweeteners, but all Swerve sugars are such a God send!!!

    4. @Cassy, yes!! I made this today using Swerve granular sugar because that was all I had but they were SO GOOD!! I sent the recipe basically to all my contacts 😆

  32. Any alternative to milk? We have dairy allergies.

    1. I haven’t tried it without milk but you could try it with almond milk I am sure. It may just have a little bit of a different taste to it.

    2. Try the Ripple brand dairy free pea based milk. It’s really great for baking when a recipe calls for milk. We have a dairy allergy in our home too. And ripple is the best.

  33. Maybe silly question, but where do you buy just Pickled Juice? Hate to buy pickles just for juice. Thanks:) looking forward to making this for my 3/1 year olds

    1. Hi Lexi, not a silly question at all! They do certainly make just pickle juice. I was able to find this gallon on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33sFoJf while it is a lot, it has great reviews and seems like it’d last you a while!

    2. Chester William Hamilton says:

      @Brittanie, picklingbis also mostly vinager anyway. I use half apple cider half white a little salt and little sugar and some dill and pepper boil it then use. ( cool it first ).

  34. 5 stars
    I love pickles – when I was a kid, I’d drink the juice from the jar. I was the only one in the family that thought that was a great idea!

    Super good chicken….I use skinless boneless thighs. I’m a dark meat girl….and I grilled the meat. Otherwise, after quadrupling the recipe : ) I followed the recipe closely. Thanks!

  35. This right here…could LITERALLY save lives! So delicious – thank you so much for sharing.

  36. Followed the recipe exactly and the chicken tastes like pickles – really strong pickles. Disappointed.

  37. 5 stars
    So good

  38. 5 stars
    Thanks so much for this recipe! It is so fast and easy and very delicious.

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