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These Cheesy Oven Fried Keto Chicken Nuggets are made without grains, low carb, nut free, and baked not fried, served with a zesty, creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce!
Oven Fried Chicken Nuggets
Oven fried is basically the same as baked, but doesn’t it sound much better? When you don’t want the hassle of frying, you bake, but you still can get the same effect in your oven and less mess as well. These delicious oven fried keto chicken nuggets will make even your kids think that you went through the drive-through!
How to Make Keto Chicken Nuggets
Making a healthier, low carb chicken nugget that will pass the inspection of children is a hard task in and of itself. Using swaps for the traditional flour and/or nut flours that many keto chefs use is also another challenging accommodation to be made. My youngest son has a tree nut and peanut allergy so using almond flour is completely out of the question. This often gets me into a very creative mode when I’m working on a recipe that requires a delicious coating, especially a kid friendly one! Ground flaxseed in combination with grated parmesan and spices and we had magic happen! The kids were impressed and to be honest, so was I! They loved these nuggets!
Although I have no training from a Culinary school I do come from a home of talented cooks. What has inspired me most is watching cooking shows like Rachel Ray, Nigella, and even The Pioneer Woman ( a homeschooling momma like me!) who also had no formal training, yet are quite successful. My plan is to one day go back to school for a degree in Culinary & Nutrition at Johnson & Whales in my hometown of RI. But until then I will continue to be inspired by others who have gone before me that have paved the way and the reputation for all home cooks.
Tools to Make Keto Chicken Nuggets
Food Processor– My Cuisinart food processor has been a staple in my keto kitchen for years, and even before I was keto, I used it regularly. This is the easiest and quickest way to get the chicken ground up fast and smooth. The goal is a nice texture, exactly what the kids know and love about fast food nuggets! You can make it happen at home with a good food processor.
Baking Sheet Pans– I love the handles on these Rachel Ray sheet pans! Multiple sizes for all your baking and cooking needs!
Cookie Scooper– You don’t need these to make the perfect sized chicken nugget, but they do make them nice and uniform so the kids will have no idea!
Meal Plan Membership
Our membership is simple. You can subscribe for a month to try it out or you can subscribe for a yearly membership. Each Friday you will get a meal plan that comes to your email. You’ll have that early in order to go food shopping before the meal plan begins on Sunday. You will be able to view and print the meal plan and the shopping list. If you don’t like a meal, simply delete it and swap it with another meal you like. The shopping list will automatically adjust. It’s the best software available out there for a customizable menu plan. Not many other low carb or keto meal plans allow you the option to remove, add, start with a blank menu and create your own if you so wish.
Right now our meal plan membership is 25% OFF!! Use Coupon Code NY2020 at Check Out! Learn More here!
Oven Fried Keto Chicken Nuggets
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Keto Cheesy Chicken Nuggets with Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 2.5 pound chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- 2 red bell peppers
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
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Place your chicken breasts, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and cayenne into a food processor and pulse until the meat is ground well.
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Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and stir in the cheese. Set aside.
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Grease a baking sheet.
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
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In a shallow bowl combine the flaxseed, Parmesan, salt and parsley.
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Form a tablespoon size ball of the chicken mixture, it will be sticky.
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Drop it into the flax and Parm mixture.
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Roll it around to coat it all over and flatten it to form an oval shape.
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Continue with the rest and place onto the baking pan. Should make 48 nuggets.
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Bake nuggets for 15 minutes then flip them over and bake another 10 minutes.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper sauce
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Place the peppers on a gas grill on medium high heat. Once one side gets blackened turn to another side until it's all charred.
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Place peppers in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 15-20 minutes.
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Once cooled, scrape off the skin and stem and seeds and place into a blender with the rest of the ingredients.
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Keep refrigerated until ready to serve with nuggets.
Recipe Notes
Net Carbs: 3g
This recipe was first published in February 2015 and updated with video in December 2019.
I don’t know what sounds better, the chicken or the sauce! Mmmmmmm
I could seriously feel good about serving those nuggets to my boys. The sauce is all mine, though!
I am loving the sauce on this one.
Any sub for the flax? I read it is high in phytoestrogens and am trying to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.
bread crumbs but then it wouldn’t be grain free.
What about crushed pork rinds? That might work in place of flaxmeal.
What about almond flour or hazelnut flour? I was going to say coconut flour, but I’m not sure how it would bake.
I cant’ use any nut flours as my youngest has a tree nut allergy but I do think either would work. I would not recommend coconut flour here.
Those are probably the best chicken nuggets in existence!
The sauce sounds so good! This contest is fun!!! I can’t wait to see how it shakes out!
I think this is a recipe the whole family will love! Looks delicious – and good luck in the challenge!
I love that you want to go to Culinary school! And a fine one at that! 🙂 Love this recipe and that you used flax seed! I love using it instead of traditional breading too, to save on carbs 🙂
These look so good Brenda!! My kids would devour them. And that sauce…that is all me!! YUM.
My boys are a bit obsessed with Chopped. About once a month they ask my husband and I to pick out some ingredients so they can battle each other. It’s always fun to see what they come up with! These nuggets sound fantastic and I’m thinking that sauce would be good over almost anything.
These chicken nuggets look amazing, perfect for an after school snack! I love that sauce too, yummy!
That’s a great goal to have! And these nuggets look magical. Chicken nuggets are one of my favorites but the ingredients are scary. Not these, though. 🙂
Oh, I really like this combination! I think I’d polish the whole plate off myself!
Who doesn’t love chicken nuggets, and I love your red pepper sauce. The whole plate looks delicious. I’ve linked to your recipe on my healthy recipe roundup over on my blog this weekend, and can’t wait to give it a try.
thanks!
Can u tell me what the nutrition information for just the Chicken Nuggets? They look wonderful!
I am so happy to have found your site! My husband is gluten free, my son is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, and coconut, and three months ago I eliminated added sugar from my diet. Coming up with new recipes has been a challenge. What brand of flax seed and alternative flours do you use? Most of the alternative flours that I have seen in the grocery store are processed in facilities that also process tree nuts. Thanks for your help.
That challenging for sure! Too bad you can’t use coconut flour which although my son has a tree nut allergy the doctor says he is ok to use and we’ve been using it with no issues for him. I typically use Bob’s Red Mill for most of my gluten free flours, coconut flour and flaxseed meal.
Hey Brenda how long do you think the sauce will keep in fridge?
Thanks
up to 3 days
Have you ever tried freezing the sauce? Do you think it will freeze okay?
Okay, I am only 1 person age 79, do not need 48 nuggets, maybe onley 6 for myself and 8 mfor my 4mcats mas mthey insist on having what I am having. does this magic plan of yours re do recipes by 1/2 or 1/4? don’t want to end up eating same thing for a week.
I am in the same situation. I was thinking that the nugggets I don’t need right away I could freeze. The sauce might not freeze well but I wasn’t interested in that anyway.
Yes in the meal planner you are actually able to select the servings you want and it cuts down the recipes for you as well as adjusts the shopping list.
Can ground pork rinds be used instead of the flax seed?
Yes I think that would work.
Silly question. Why do the nuggets look different on your website than the one you posted to FaceBook? They look way better on Facebook. Thank you for a yummy looking nugget. Can’t wait to try this.
The video was just made and the lighting is different and these are my photos which I took back when the recipe was first published on my blog back in 2015. lighting not as good.
Silly question…but can you just use ground chicken breast from the meat dept and add the spices? Would it still be 2.5lbs? Thanks!
You probably could though I’ve not tried it, I would say use the same amount.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I tried it tonight and it was a huge hit! My two little kids loved it. The sauce is amazing too. Can you pre made the chicken nuggets and freeze them in the freezer? Thank you!
Yes absolutely! So glad you and the kids liked them!
In this and many other recipes there is not the option to change the ingredients into metric system…… Is there something to about that??
how much cheese is 2 cups on the internet says 1 cup is between 112 gram and 235 gram…………
sorry but this is an example of what happening all the time. I have to take a guess of what the weight is. Flaxseed is the same. 90-110 grams a cup
Hi from the Netherlands! I’ve just made these and they turn out fantastic. Great flavor. Crunchy. Thank you so much! Michèle ?
I made these with ground turkey instead of chicken breast because I recently dropped my vintage Cuisinart food processor base, completely destroying it. ?
They were easy and delicious! What a fantastic recipe. They are not fussy to make At all, unlike many gluten-free/ paleo nuggets.
Just the kind of recipe this busy mom needs. I’m really looking forward to trying with chicken after I replace my food processor. Thank you so much.
Thanks for sharing Corey!
For the jacket ofthe niggets you can use grind pork rinds. Here in my country you can buy fried pork rinds. They look like these recipe , so yummy https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/homemade-chicharrones-pork-rinds-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
If you want to replace an ingredient for the coating you can, though I have not tested it with other things.
Can these be frozen and reheated?
Yes and you can reheat in the air fryer too.
I do not have a food processor or grill, can I use blender and burn peppers on the stove burner ?
Yes I think that would work, may have to do a couple batches since a blender doesn’t have as much space as a food processor.
I made the recipe exactly as stated and the nuggets were delicious! Thank you very much for posting this recipe.
Just found your blog and tried this recipe! So good!
This sounds absolutely wonderful – and I WOULD like to try it – but, as usual, KETO doesn’t care about anything but carbs, apparently. 148 grams of cholesterol for just a tiny few nuggets? Seriously? And that’s healthy????? Really? Not for me and I’m sure there are a LOT of us who just can’t do that.
read up about keto, our bodys need cholesterol especially our brains
You recipe writing is not good. First off, cut to the chase so I don’t read a 5 page story. Second, dont just say seasonings because now the parm and flax are in my nuggets instead of on them. Thanks. Ruined all my ingredients.
I’ve edited the first sentence to clarify seasonings. For the record, reading all the instructions once through might have helped you as instruction number 2 says stir in the cheese which is after all the seasonings and instruction number 5 says to combine the Parmesan and flaxseed.
Wow! Just wow!
Brenda, I commend your patience 🙂
Have you ever made these in an air fryer instead of the oven?
Yes I have. 400 degrees for about 10 minutes then flip and another 10.
These were way better fried in a pan with evoo. They were delicious!
How long did you fry them in a pan, at what temp?
I substituted almond flour for the flaxseed…Delicious. Guessing that in the creamy red pepper sauce that 75 mayonnaise is 3/4 of a cup?
yes
Can you tell me the nutritional information on just the nuggets, please.
You’ll have to add in the ingredients into an app for just the nuggets.
Amazing!! Thanks so much for this. I tried it with the pork rinds instead of the flax and cut out the salt (for the breading portion of the recipe). i used about 1.5 pounds of chicken and made 32 nuggets (made 6 today and froze the rest). I’m a ketchup with my nuggets type gal but will definitely make the sauce another time.
These were excellent. Crowd pleaser all around – me, hubby and 5yo daughter (who doesn’t love breaded items – but these were light and crispy). I made just one change which was to reduce the amount of cheddar to about 1 1/2 cup – but other than that made per recipe and they’re awesome. We will make again for sure!!!
Amazing recipe for Ketos Chicken nuggets. Wasy to prepare and my family loved them. Keep it up. Thank you
I can’t wait to try these! When you freeze do you pre cook in the oven and then reheat the already cooked nuggets or freeze the raw mix? Thanks 🙂
I usually bake, cool then freeze.
Have you ever tried freezing the sauce? Do you think it will freeze okay?
I’ve not tried sorry!
How did you keep your hands so clean? I know you said the chicken was sticky, but I could barely roll the balls because it was sticking to my hands. Any tips?
I drop in the ball, sprinkle on the pork rind mixture, tap and roll it around.
Could I use tomato’s instead of bell pepper? I don’t like the bell pepper taste.
Hi I am new. I saw the recipe for the nuggets without cheese, however, I am not a fan of pork rinds. I like this recipe, but I don’t want to use the cheese. I don’t see a reason for the cheese. Can I just omit the cheese?
You could but I think they would be fairly dry without the cheese.
These are seriously amazing! I dipped them in sugar free Baby Rays. My husband raved about them! Thank you for such a great recipe!
Could I use ground chicken instead of the chicken breast? I don’t have a food processor.
Yes that works.
Does the chicken have to be raw? Can you use leftover cooked chicken?
I haven’t tried it with cooked chicken but I would guess that you just wouldn’t cook it very long since it’s already cooked, don’t want it to be dry.