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McDonalds Copycat Chicken Nuggets & Fries (In the Airfryer + Macro-Friendly)

These McDonalds Chicken Nuggets & Fries are the ultimate fakeaway meal — super easy, macro-friendly, and full of nostalgic fast food flavour. We’re skipping the deep-frying and using real chicken, a crispy protein coating, and an airfryer to get the crunch.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Course: Main Course
Calories: 490
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken McNuggets
  • 325 g chicken breast chopped
  • 1/2 tbsp yellow mustard or sub for mustard powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
Coating Mix
  • 30 g flour
  • 15 g soy or whey protein crispies sub for flour
  • 1/2 tsp mustard powder
  • 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tbsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp celery salt
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp granulated sweetener
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • olive oil spray
Egg wash
  • dash of water
Fries
  • 500 g potatoes, cut into thin fries
  • 1 tsp olive oil or spray
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Method
 

Nuggets
  1. Add chopped chicken breast into a food processor along with yellow mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Process until a sticky paste forms. Shape into 16 equal sized nuggets (roughly 20g per nugget). Place on a lined baking tray and freeze for 15-30 minutes.
  2. Mix flour, soy protein crispies, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, sweetener, celery salt, salt, and pepper in the same food processor.
  3. Set up two dipping stations- one into an egg wash (1/2 an egg mixed with a dash of water) and the flour mix.
  4. Dip each nugget into the flour mix, then into the egg wash, then back into the flour mix.
  5. Place nuggets in an airfryer basket. Spray lightly with oil and airfry at 200°C for 8–10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Fries
  1. Peel and chop the potatoes into thin fry shapes, soak in cold water for 15-30 minutes (optional). Microwave the fries in water for 5-8 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
  2. Toss cut potatoes in oil and salt. Airfry at 200°C for 10 minutes, shaking halfway through, until crispy and golden.
  3. Serve hot with my lower calorie Sweet and Sour Sauce or a dipping sauce of your choice.

Nutrition

Calories: 490kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 49gFat: 7g

Notes

*This recipe makes 16 nuggets, each serve has 8 nuggets.
*You can prep the nuggets in advance and freeze uncooked for up to 2 months. Cook straight from frozen — just add 2–3 minutes to the airfryer time.
*I like to add the cooked nuggets back into the airfyer in the last 2 minutes of the fries cook time to crisp up again and make sure every component is crunchy and warm when served together.
*If you don't want to use egg you can sub the egg wash with 10g corn starch mixed with 1-2 tbsp water.
Low Calorie Sweet & Sour Sauce recipe: Sweet & Sour 
Crisps: Whey or Soy Protein 
Zero Calorie Sweetener: natvia
 
Macros for the whole batch of nuggets (16):
Calories: 560 
Carbs: 27g
Protein: 89g
Fat: 11g

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