Air Fryer Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken Nuggets

Air Fryer Flamin' Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken NuggetsI haven’t done a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos-related post for you guys since back in April when I made Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Breaded Jalapeño Popper Bites so I figured that a new one was long overdue.

Plus, rather than deep frying these Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken Nuggets though I decided to make them in my air fryer, which I think means that they’re healthy right? Eating 25 of these — which is how many the recipe below makes — is probably the equivalent of eating a salad, but don’t quote me on that because I clearly know nothing about eating healthy….

Prior to making these Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken Nuggets I was never a big fan of my air fryer. No matter what I made it just never came out very crispy. Then — after owning it for more than six months — I finally decided to read the instruction manual, which recommended spraying your food with cooking spray prior to frying it in the air fryer. I tried it with these and it worked like a charm! I’m also pretty sure I was using the air fryer’s pre-heat option incorrectly this entire time as well, which also probably didn’t help things.

I’m guessing that any health benefits you get from air frying these instead of deep frying them are lost by using all that cooking spray, and my chicken nuggets still weren’t quite as crispy as they would have been had I just deep fried them instead, but at least my kitchen didn’t smell like deep fryer oil!

If you want your Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken Nuggets as crispy as possible you can flip them half way through the air frying process, but as long as you spray them with cooking spray and don’t overload the air fryer basket they get pretty crispy even without flipping them.

If you’re looking for a good air fryer I own a NuWave Brio 6 quart air fryer, which now that I actually know how to use it works really well. Or if you don’t need one that’s quite so big NuWav’s 3 quart Brio air fryer costs about $50 less, which brings it down to under $100, which is a pretty great deal. Both of them come with a recipe booklet that covers everything from appetizers to entrees to desserts as well. Or, you can just keep checking back here for air fryer recipes because I’ve got a couple more on the way!

 

Air Fryer Flamin' Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken Nuggets

Air Fryer Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Nick @ DudeFoods.com

Sure, you may have had chicken nuggets before, but you've never had chicken nuggets like these!

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Course Appetizer
Cuisine American

Servings 25 chicken nuggets

Ingredients

  

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 bag (8 1/2 ounces) Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

Instructions

 

  • Preheat your air fryer to 400°F.
  • Cut chicken breast into 1 inch cubes.
  • Set up a dredging station with three bowls — flour in the first one, eggs and milk in the second one and crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in the third one.
  • Coat each piece of chicken in flour, submerge in egg wash and cover in crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Repeat this step a second time if necessary.
  • Arrange chicken nuggets in a single layer in your air fryer, spray with cooking spray and cook for 8 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165°F. Depending on the size of your air fryer you might need to fry them in two or more batches.
  • If you want them as crispy as possible you can flip them half way through the frying process, but as long as you spray them with cooking spray and don’t overload the air fryer basket by placing them in a single layer they get pretty crispy even without flipping them.
  • Let the nuggets cool and serve with ranch or your preferred dipping sauce.

 

 

8 Comments on Air Fryer Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Breaded Chicken Nuggets

  1. Jocelyn
    August 12, 2019 at 8:12 pm (5 years ago)

    This is seriously the most unique recipe online! Love how genius this is!

    Reply
  2. Robin Daumit
    August 13, 2019 at 8:42 am (5 years ago)

    This is a BRILLIANT recipe!! Definitely making this!

    Reply
  3. Dorothy Reinhold
    August 13, 2019 at 6:03 pm (5 years ago)

    My crew would eat multiple bags a day if I would let them! I am going to be a dinner superhero!

    Reply
  4. Liren
    August 14, 2019 at 3:43 pm (5 years ago)

    This is super creative and makes me want to get an air fryer!

    Reply
  5. Toni
    August 15, 2019 at 8:24 pm (5 years ago)

    I love this! Such a great appetizer idea!

    Reply
  6. Daquandaronshonda
    June 5, 2020 at 4:30 am (4 years ago)

    Perioddttt bitcccchhh , me and my momma made dis yesterday and that Shiit was BUSSSINNN , but we added a whole lotta seasoning because we ain’t white 😂 you dig what tf I’m sayinggg

    Reply
  7. Anastazia
    October 12, 2020 at 5:13 pm (3 years ago)

    5 stars
    SHII LOOKS BOOOB

    Reply
  8. Allisa J Smith
    October 29, 2021 at 9:55 am (2 years ago)

    I make similar to this. But use ranch instead of eggs and milk. I also use cheeto puffs so they break down better.

    Reply

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