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I have been on a long quest to find a great chicken nugget recipe that resembled either the old McDonald’s or KFC chicken nuggets my son used to love before we switched to keto. I’d tried lots of different methods in the past using almond meal and pork rinds and while all were nice, none were like those old chicken nuggets in texture and look. Then when I did the Lemon Chicken and Fried Pork Chops recipes for my Asian cookbook, ‘Fresh Fragrant Keto’, I knew I had found a coating that would work perfectly to resemble a crispy batter on the nuggets.
These KFC Keto Fried Chicken Nuggets resemble and have the taste of that crispy batter, but I added spices that would make it resemble KFC nuggets in flavour to create a Keto Chicken Nugget recipe that is very reminiscent of both kinds of chicken nuggets.
Crispy batter like McDonald’s but spicy seasoning like KFC. When we look at these KFC Keto Fried Chicken Nuggets and eat them, we are reminded straight away of those old chicken nuggets. Except these KFC Keto Fried Chicken Nuggets are grain free, sugar free and cooked without seed oils. You also don’t get that heavy bloated feeling you get with high carb processed nuggets, but these Keto Fried Chicken Nuggets still taste great.
KFC Keto Fried Chicken Nuggets are incredibly quick and easy to make, but look and taste really impressive. Sometimes simplicity is what yields the best flavours and results. I’ve used protein powder as the coating here which when fried turns into a golden crispy batter coating.
Other subs like almond meal and pork rinds just won’t cook and crisp the same, but if you want to sub them in you certainly can. Just make sure to note the carb count as coating with almond meal can really add on the carbs and don’t expect to get a similar result as with the protein powder!
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- KFC Keto Fried Chicken
- Bacon Chicken Tenders with Sweet Mustard Dipping Sauce
- Air Fryer Salami Chips
- Salami Egg Muffins
- Fathead Sausage Rolls
- Fathead Vegemite and Cheese Scrolls
- Fathead Pizza Pinwheels
- Spinach and Feta Pastries
- Fathead Mini Empanadas
- Spicy Sesame Pork Balls
- Stuffed Mini Peppers
KFC Keto Fried Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken breast
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- salt
- pepper
- Fat for frying such as lard or tallow I used at least 500g/1.1lbs
- optional sugar free tomato sauce
Instructions
- Cut chicken breast into nugget size pieces.
- Combine protein powder with spices and mix until well combined. Heat your frying fat in a wok or large pot over medium heat.
- Dip pieces of chicken into your egg wash and then coat well in the protein powder mix.
- Carefully lower coated chicken nuggets into your frying fat. Don’t overcrowd your wok/pot or the chicken nuggets may cook unevenly.
- Make sure to occasionally rotate the nuggets in the fat to ensure they colour evenly. Once coating has turned golden brown, remove and set aside on paper towels to drain.
- Continue with remaining chicken, frying in batches until all chicken nuggets are finished. Make sure to skim the fat after each batch of nuggets to remove any ‘bits’. Otherwise they will burn and stick to your last batches of nuggets and make them look discoloured. You can also change the fat part way through if you prefer.
- Serve nuggets with your favourite sugar free tomato sauce.
This looks amazing! We will be trying this soon. We will also be checking out your keto friendly Asian recipes. Why are you using a non-nut oil to fry in? Nut allergy? Thank you for this receipe!
Thanks so much for your comment! I’m happy to use nut oils like extra virgin macadamia, but these are incredibly expensive, way too expensive for frying and have a low smoke point. I prefer to stick to using them for dressing vegetables and salads. As for some cheaper nut oils traditionally used for frying such as peanut oil, these are highly inflammatory to the body and should be avoided altogether. The tallow or lard is the easiest and cheapest frying fat to use, but coconut oil with a neutral taste would be the next best option as like tallow and lard it has a high smoke point and is suitable for frying at higher temperatures. Hope that helps, thanks again for your comment! 🙂
We made these for my daughter who has been going through cancer treatment for recurrent brain cancer. She loves McDonalds chicken nuggets and is so excited to now have such a yummy option that is also super healthy for her. Thank you! We have been hunting for a recipe for a while. This one won, hands down. She loves them.
Oh Karen, I’m so sorry to hear your daughter is sick, but also so happy that my recipe helped her to get a little of that McDonald’s nuggets taste that she was missing and can enjoy! Thank you so much for your comment xxx