Paleo Cheesy Pizza Chicken Nuggets are a healthy comfort food that are simple to make, will fill you with veggies, and satisfy you and your kids taste buds! Made with ground chicken, coconut flour, and fresh veggies, these Pizza Chicken Nuggets are also gluten free, grain free, dairy free, Whole 30, AIP friendly, and low carb.
One thing I missed the most when I starting following the Autoimmune Protocol was pizza. So a couple of years ago I created my tomato-free marinara sauce (aka, Nomato Sauce), and AIP Pizza Bites. Now those things are legit if you have an intense pizza craving, or if you want an AIP celebration food for a girl's night.
However, most often my Pizza cravings hit on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, when I'm just not in the mood to pull together a dough and laboriously fold, pinch, cut, and bake each hand-held pizza pocket.
Enter Paleo Pizza Cheesy Chicken Nuggets.
These tasty little bites have the pizza flavors – including cheesy cheese – without the dairy, gluten, nightshades, or carbs.
That's right, these babies are Whole 30 friendly, AIP compliant, dairy free, and low carb! And they still taste incredible.
These Paleo Pizza Cheesy Chicken Nuggets are pretty customizable as well. The ones I photographed here have black olives, parsley, fresh basil, and are stuffed with dairy-free tapioca cheese. They're also delicious with bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, and pepperoni.
Need a replacement for coconut flour? I think another flour that absorbs moisture would work, but would likely change the texture. I'd recommend trying tigernut flour or cassava flour, and be sure to increase the quantity until the nuggets form together and aren't too moist.
If you tolerate dairy, swap the tapioca cheese with mozzarella! So many options.
Let me know what spin on these you take in the comments below!
Paleo Pizza Cheesy Chicken Nuggets (Whole 30, AIP, Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 1/2 batch Tapioca Cheese, optional, but this gives a cheesy flavor and texture without any dairy. This can be swapped with mozzarella if you tolerate dairy.
- up to 1/3 cup coconut flour, total quantity will depend on the moisture in your chicken, see instructions
- 1 Tbsp oil of your choice, I've used bacon grease, avocado oil, and coconut oil
- 1 tsp ground sea salt
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tsp dried parsley, optional
- Optional add ins: sliced fresh basil, AIP, sliced black olives (AIP), nutritional yeast (AIP), diced green and red bell pepper, chopped pepperoni, diced tomato
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Aside from the coconut flour and tapioca cheese, combine all ingredients, seasonings, and optional add ins into a large bowl.
- Start by adding 3 Tbsp coconut flour to the mix, and stir all ingredients to combine.
- Add 1 Tbsp more coconut flour, until your nuggets have a texture that will hold together, but don't seem too dry. This has been around 4-6 Tbsp for me.
- Cut your tapioca cheese into small 1/2 chunks. Form your nuggets around each small bit of cheese, and flatten slightly onto your parchment paper. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt (opt.) for a nice texture.
- Bake for 15 minutes, flip on the baking sheet, then bake into the oven for another 10-15 minutes until nuggets are cooked through and golden brown.
Notes
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Other recipes you might like:
Bacon Chicken Ranch Casserole (AIP, Whole 30, Low Carb)
Sloppy Joes (AIP, Low Carb, Whole 30)
Mashed Cauliflower Breakfast Bowls (AIP, Whole 30, Low Carb)
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