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This is one of the most viewed recipes on my website because it’s easy, healthy and oh so delicious.
To start, grab some boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders and dice them into even size pieces. Then, we can get to the secrets…
The first secret ingredient in grilled Chick-Fil-A nuggets is pickle juice
Simply, use the juice straight out of the jar from your favorite type of pickles. I recommend going with dill pickle juice, but if you prefer sweet or bread and butter pickles, go for it.
Be mindful that not all pickles and hence not all pickle juice is the same. Some have way more sodium than others. Check the label on the jar to make sure you don’t pick one that’s too salty.
Here is some info from the nutrition labels of some popular brands. This level of sodium is per ounce.
Heinz dill chips = 60 mg
Wickles Original Pickles = 150 mg
Vlasic dill spears = 220 mg
Mt Olive dill spears = 240 mg
Mt Olive dill chips = 290 mg
Claussen dill spears = 330 mg
Vlasic stackers = 410 mg
Brine the chicken
To create the brine, you’re going to combine the pickle juice with some milk. You can use whole or low-fat, depending on your diet. If you use a milk alternative like almond milk, just make sure it’s not flavored or sweetened.
Place the chicken nuggets in a bowl or zip top bag and pour the juice and milk right on top. Give it a gentle stir. The brine is the secret to making the nuggets extra juicy.
I don’t recommend marinating the nuggets for longer than 30 minutes, because too much brine time can make them too salty.
The second secret ingredient is powdered sugar
After the chicken brines for 30 minutes in the pickle juice and milk, you’ll rub it with the powdered sugar and other seasonings.
Adding the sugar to the dry rub helps create a nice crust on the nuggets and balances out the seasonings.
Don’t try this recipe with granulated or brown sugar. It won’t be the same.
Powdered sugar is usually combined with corn starch. That’s the component that gives the nuggets their nice texture.
When I first created this recipe in 2015, the rub was a little different. I included it in the recipe notes, if you’re interested.
Now, that I have my own award-winning Chicken Rub from Spiceology, I just mix two teaspoons of it with the powdered sugar.
How to grill copycat Chick-Fil-A nuggets
You can make these on any type of grill. I usually use a gas grill, because it’s such a quick cook, but you could also use a charcoal grill, pellet grill or even an indoor grill. Just heat the grill to high or about 400F degrees.
For juicy nuggets, you only need to grill them about 3 minutes per side.
Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165F degrees.
Chick-Fil-A copycat honey mustard sauce
If you’re like me, you can’t have the nuggets without the sauce, so I’ve included my copycat version of Chick-Fil-A’s honey mustard dipping sauce below.
It uses mayo, two types of mustard, and of course honey. The touch of vinegar gives it the added pop. You could also use hot honey or add a dash of hot sauce, if you like a little heat.
How closely does this match the ingredients in actual grilled Chick-Fil-A nuggets?
This is a question I get asked a lot. So here you go. Below is the ingredients list straight from their website:
Chicken (boneless skinless chicken breast, water, apple cider vinegar, soybean oil, modified corn starch, salt, yeast extract, sugar, chicken breast meat, chicken broth, dehydrated onion, dehydrated garlic, sea salt, cane molasses, spices, chicken fat, natural flavor [including smoke], lemon peel, red bell pepper, paprika, lemon juice concentrate, parsley and vinegar solids, xanthan gum, and calcium disodium EDTA [to protect quality]).
The chicken breasts is an obvious match.
The water, vinegar, salt, onion, garlic, pepper and herbs are ingredients you’ll find in pickle juice, so that’s a close match.
They don’t list milk, so my brine recipe differs in that manner. If you have a dairy intolerance or just don’t want to use milk, you could follow their ingredients list more closely and substitute the milk with oil and chicken broth.
I like the milk, because it helps break down the chicken to make it tender, and based on the reviews this recipe gets, a lot of other people like it, too.
Lastly, you can see they list a variety of herbs, spices, sugar and cornstarch. That’s where powdered sugar rub comes in.
So there you go. Give the recipe a shot, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Grilled Chick-Fil-A Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup dill pickle juice
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tsp powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Christie Vanover's Chicken Rub
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place in a bowl with pickle juice and milk. Marinate for 30 minutes.
- Remove from marinade and pat dry.
- In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and Chicken Rub. Sprinkle all over chicken.
- Heat grill to high. Grill chicken for 3 minutes per side until cooked through.
- Serve with honey mustard dipping sauce.
Video
Notes
- 2 tsps powdered sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Copycat Chick-Fil-A Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a small bowl and chill.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious but spicy. Do you think I could rinse the extra brine off before adding the spices?
Sure.
First time in my life seeing tsps. That’s so stupid. No need to pluralize more than one tsp. 🙄
Wow you took the time out of your day to make fun of my typo and call me stupid. Multiple people initially complained this recipe was too salty, so I reduced the salt content down to 1 tsp. I simply forgot to change tsps to tsp when I made that edit. While I edit this post, may I suggest you edit your look on life and try to be a little more kind to people.
Made it exactly as-is, multiple times, it’s amazing. My kids love it just as much and we pair it with homemade honey mustard. Seriously simple.
I like to cook them on skewers to keep it simple for flipping. Just make sure the grates are oiled otherwise the sugar will make them stick.
Homerun recipe!
Thanks so much Brad!!
Everyone who has this copycat recipe uses milk. The Chic-Fil-A website states there are no milk allergens in their nuggets, and my son, who has severe milk allergies but loves Chic-Fil-A chicken nuggets is testament to the fact that there is no milk in Chic-Fil-A chicken nuggets. I don’t think your recipe needs milk.
These nuggets are life changing! The flavor is on point and they fit perfectly with our dietary needs. We have made three batches in a little over a week. It’s nice to have these on hand for wraps, salads, rice/veggie bows or as an entree. I’ve shared this recipe with my WW meeting, the WW online forum and friends and family. Thank you for a great recipe.
Thank you Kim. I’m so glad you like them, and I really appreciate that you’ve shared it.
Christie Vanover thank you for posting this recipe for us it looks good .