Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets with O-Live & Co.

I am so excited to share my recipe for Southern style gluten free chicken nuggets made in the oven using O-Live & Co Everyday olive oil.

This post is sponsored by O-Live & Co. All thoughts and ideas are originally mine. 

A healthy alternative

Everyone loves chicken nuggets. I feel like I can say that confidently.

That said, not everyone loves what chicken nuggets do to our bodies. 

All too often, nuggets are made with miscellaneous chicken parts (yuck!) and deep fried in oil that’s been sitting for hours, if not days. 

That’s why O-Live & Co and I wanted to team up to share a healthier alternative for America’s favorite nugget.

Their Everyday Olive Oil is perfect for using in sauces, baking with, or drizzling over dishes as a finish.

Today we’re coating these chicken nuggets in a simple mix of gluten free flour, egg, and gluten free bread crumbs. 

To really capture that Southern flavor we all love in our fried chicken, we’re seasoning at every step with lots of smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and freshly cracked pepper. 

Plus we’re using some pickle juice in the honey mustard dipping sauce for an additional kick! 

Cutting your chicken

When I first started testing this recipe, my mind was swirling with ideas about how to prep the chicken. 

There are endless options here. You can use breasts or thighs. You can cut the chicken with a knife, or puree it in a food processor. 

Because we are baking these gluten free chicken nuggets and not frying them, we want as much of that juicy chicken flavor retained as possible.

For that reason, I opted to use thighs instead of breasts, as they tend to be on the juicier side. 

Next, I decided to air on the side of cutting the nuggets with a knife, in the interest of simplicity and not getting another kitchen gadget dirty! 

The result? Perfectly juicy nuggets, baked in the oven, with O-Live & Co. olive oil and no deep fryer!

Dipping sauce success

No gluten free chicken nuggets are complete without one very important element. The dipping sauce. 

Today we’re making a simple honey mustard sauce that will knock your socks off. This dipping sauce is made from a mix of honey, mustard, pickle juice, freshly cracked pepper, salt and olive oil. 

No crazy highly processed ingredients. Just some basics that come together pretty magically. 

First, you're going to mix the salt, pepper, mustard, honey and pickle juice. Basically everything except the olive oil. This is important because you want the rest of the ingredients consistently mixed before you drizzle in the oil.

Next, grab a whisk or spoon and mix while drizzling in the oil. You won't need a lot, but the oil will help create a beautifully smooth consistency in your dipping sauce.

Finally, grab a spoon (or a nugget) and taste test. You can adjust your salt and pepper as needed here.

And just like that, you've made gluten free chicken nuggets with a killer sauce!

Happy cooking!

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