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…
Save this BBQ Tip
Enter your email, and I’ll send this link directly to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get new BBQ recipes and tips weekly.
Table of Contents
- The first secret ingredient in grilled Chick-Fil-A nuggets is pickle juice
- Brine the chicken
- The second secret ingredient is powdered sugar
- How to grill copycat Chick-Fil-A nuggets
- Chick-Fil-A copycat honey mustard sauce
- How closely does this match the ingredients in actual grilled Chick-Fil-A nuggets?
- More Grilled Chicken Recipes
- Grilled Chick-Fil-A Nuggets Recipe
- Copycat Chick-Fil-A Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce Recipe
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.
PRO TIP: 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.
More Grilled Chicken Recipes
- The Juiciest Grilled Chicken Breasts
- Perfectly Smoked Chicken Wings
- Grilled Whole Chicken – Just 3 Ingredients
Save this BBQ Tip
Enter your email, and I’ll send this link directly to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get new BBQ recipes and tips weekly.
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.
Save this BBQ Tip
Enter your email, and I’ll send this link directly to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get new BBQ recipes and tips weekly.
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.
You could try using Swerve confectioners.
I soaked it in the brine x 30 mins, and then let the seasonings stay on overnight. I made two pounds of chicken so I doubled the recipe. It came it tasting VERY strong and over seasoned! I probably shouldn’t let it sit over night…uugh.
There is no need to let the rub sit overnight. That brine is pretty powerful stuff. After 30 minutes in the marinade, just season and toss on the grill. You can also cut back on the rub, if you prefer. I hope you give the recipe another shot.
I’m following the Keto diet and I’m wondering if the powdered sugar is absolutely necessary to the outcome of the nuggets. Other than that, it’s a very keto-friendly recipe.
It won’t turn out exactly the same, but you can skip the powdered sugar and still end up with some good nuggets.
I’m on keto so i used stevia. They turned out great.
Thanks for the feedback. Others doing keto will be glad to know it worked.
My Keto friends all swear by erythritol granulated and confectioner “sugar”. Now that I’m doing WW, I decided to try it and LOVE it. It is a sugar alcohol (erythritol) but naturally is produced in some fruits and vegetables. The most popular brand is Swerve, but a search on Amazon will turn up more affordable erythritol options.
Thank you so so much for this recipe ! My two year old son will only consistently eat hot dogs and Chick fil A grilled nuggets, and the closest Chick fil A is an hour away! This will be a keeper in this house. I had it wrapped up with cheese lettuce and tomato and chipotle Mayo and it was super delish. I do see what the previous commenter was saying about it being spicy, next time i will double the chicken (leftovers will not last long with this) and keep the seasoning blend the same. Mine was kind of salty and too much celery seed as i did not have celery salt so i substituted celery seed and a little extra salt. Next time I’ll cut that back. But thank you so much , i can finally get my child to eat more meat haha
Thanks so much for sharing. Glad your kiddo enjoyed it.
I made these for lunch but I think I put to much seasoning on them and they were super spicy. My daughter and I didn’t mind, they were super tender and delicious. My boys however didn’t like how spicy they were and passed. Next time I’ll cut back. :)
Glad you enjoyed them. Did you adjust the seasoning blend? There are no spicy seasonings used in the recipe.
The pepper has to be off – way spicy (and I typically like peppered products.)
If I don’t have powdered sugar, will it make a big difference or do I have to make a store run?
You could try regular sugar, but it might make it grainy. Do you have a spice grinder? You could try grinding regular sugar in the spice grinder to make it more fine.
Or maybe heat up the pickle juice to dissolve the regular sugar?
This was awesome, so good and exactly like the restaurant. I was hesitant about the pickle juice and milk marinate, but it turned out excellent. Will definitely cook again. Thanks!!!
Awesome! I’m so glad you liked them.
I worked at Chick-fil-A for a couple of years and there is pickle juice and milk in their brine.
Thanks for sharing.
Not in their grilled nuggets. They are dairy free.
I can’t have dairy, could I substitute the milk for maybe plant milk?
Hi Ashley, I haven’t tried that, but it should absolutely work. Let us know. I’m sure that would be a helpful tips for others. Christie
I have a dumb question…I don’t like dill pickles will the juice from sour pickles work? Maybe brine for 10-15 minutes? What do ya think?
Sure thing. You could even use bread and butter pickles.
I am grilling on my stove top in a Frying pan.
Should I still cut them in bite size pieces because that will take a lot of time to turn each piece over?
Or should I cut them in small Patty size pieces so I can turn each piece easy and then cut them in bite size when they are done cooking?
You can definitely cook them in patties and then cut them later or eat the patty on a sandwich.
Why is the milk needed? I don’t see it listed in the official ingredients list
The milk is part of the brine with the pickle juice. If you omit the milk, the pickle flavor will be too strong.
Doing the milk and pickle juice actually make it almost like butter milk but the pickle juice adds to the flavor as well
I was wondering this as well as the grilled chicken/nuggets from Chick Fil A are dairy free. I have a child with a dairy allergy and I’m wanting to find a good recipe similar to theirs because he inhales their chicken… but I need a dairy free recipe.
You could try diluting the pickle juice with water or chicken broth.
1/4 cup of milk is listed as one of the ingredients.
For the grilled nuggets? No. On their website it says it’s free of dairy. And my son has consumed them with no problem. The original nuggets do have dairy.
Thank you Megan and Faylore. I’m so glad you liked it. I love the idea of grilling tenders for salads.
I had to try this and it turned out great! I had cut my chicken into strips instead of nugget-sized bites, added 5 minutes to the brine time and they were fantastic. Not too salty or too bland.
Definitely going to make these again!
My teenagers inhaled these! I set a timer for the brining phase, but it turned out a little salty; however, I suspect I cut my bites too small since I had to be careful placing them on the grill so they wouldn’t fall through the grate, so I probably should have brined for less than 30 minutes given the size of my chicken bites. I think this recipe would be also be great for grilling chicken breasts or tenderloins for salads and had planned to use the leftovers to try to recreate the Chic-fil-a market salad for my lunch tommorrow, but I didn’t have any leftovers with this recipe. Thanks so much for this great recipe – it is a keeper.
I followed the recipe completely but the finished product had a strong taste of the dill pickle juice. I marinated for 30 minutes using Clausen dill pickle juice. If I tried this again, I’d only use a third of the amount of pickle juice and add more milk.
You stated that you decreased the amount of salt. By how much??
The recipe used to call for 2 tsps salt. I have found that it depends on your pickle juice, too. Some brands are saltier than others.
This recipe is so, SO good!! I am out of garlic powder and celery salt, so I poured a little garlic juice into the bag with the pickle juice and milk. I cooked mine just in a skillet with butter and a little apple cider vinegar (because we had some really tough pieces of chicken) and it is super delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Love them with the Polynesian sauce
I’ve used this recipe at least, 10 times, and it’s always awesome! I use tenders and doubled the amounts, as I feed many. Its identical to cfa.
What percent milk did you use?
I usually use 2%, but you could use whole milk or 1%.
I made these with flaxmilk and whole earth monk fruit stevia and they turned out with great flavor. I baked them at 375 covered for 25min then turned over and covered again for another 25. Came out decent.
My question is can I use more than 1lb chicken for the brine or do I have to double the brine?
I’d like to make that for many recipes. Had this with roasted veggies but likely would be nice on a salad or rice and bean bowl.
Sounds like a nice twist. It will depend on how much more chicken you add. If you use 2 pounds, you might need a little more brine, unless you work in batches and reuse the brine.
There is no way cooking at 375 for 50 min turned out good! Cook lower and shorter time.
The prep time is 40 minutes and the cook time is 10 minutes.
Sounds really good home made..
Love them…but they’re a little salty. Will make it without adding salt to the rub next time. The salt from the brine is plenty for my liking.
I think you’re mistaken. Powdered sugar and pickle juice are used on the FRIED chicken. Grilled chicken is garlic and lemon juice, etc.