Homemade Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken

This easy recipe for Homemade Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken without breadcrumbs is the best way to enjoy popcorn chicken. The ingredients are healthy and gluten free as well as suitable for keto or Whole30 diets. You can even air fry frozen popcorn chicken quickly for a crispy outside and tender and juicy inside. Use with air fryer or Ninja Foodi!

Move over KFC popcorn chicken!  You can make popcorn chicken in your air fryer instead that is a much healthier version and tastes crispy and juicy and can be dipped in so many fun sauces.

🥑Keto Popcorn Chicken

Is Popcorn Chicken Keto? This one is! This recipe makes popcorn chicken that is keto and low carb friendly!  The secret to keto friendly breading is using a mix of crushed pork rinds also known as pork panko, nutritional yeast, milled flax seed, garlic powder, salt and pepper!

🍞Keto Breadcrumbs Recipe

• 2 oz Plain Pork Rinds, crushed into a fine crumb/powder consistency 
• 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tbsp Milled Flax Seed
• 2 tsp Avocado Oil
• ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
• ¼ tsp Sea Salt
• ⅛ tsp Black Pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until fully combined.

Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. 

Pork Panko can be purchased HERE

📖How To Make Homemade Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken

1️⃣ In a medium sized bowl, combine crushed pork rinds, nutritional yeast, milled flax seed, garlic pepper, salt and pepper.

2️⃣ Pat one chicken breast dry with a paper towel and cut into bite sized pieces.  Toss in 2 tsp avocado oil until all pieces are coated.

3️⃣ Toss coated chicken pieces in breading mixture until each piece is fully coated.

4️⃣ Grease the bottom of your air fryer basket and add breaded popcorn chicken pieces in a single layer.

5️⃣ Air fry at 400 degrees for 15 minutes tossing half way through.

6️⃣ Remove from air fryer with tongs and serve hot with a dipping sauce. 

🧊Frozen Popcorn Chicken In Air Fryer

Don’t want to make your own popcorn chicken from scratch? Try making frozen popcorn chicken in your air fryer. You can purchase frozen popcorn chicken from brands like:

• Tyson
• Banquet
• Great Value
• Perdue
• Weaver

⏲Best Time & Temperature For Air Fryer Frozen Popcorn Chicken

As a general rule, air fry frozen popcorn chicken at 375 in 10 minute intervals until it is cooked through and desired crispiness is reached.  To achieve this, you should toss halfway through. 

🥗Paleo & Whole30 Popcorn Chicken

If you’d like to make airfryer popcorn chicken Whole30 compliant, simply replace the pork rind crumbs for 1/3 cup almond flour. This may make them a bit more dry but they are still delicious!

🔥Oven Baked Instructions 

You can make this recipe for keto popcorn chicken in your oven if you don’t have an air fryer!

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
2. Place breaded popcorn chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes flipping halfway through.
4. Since the oven won’t have hot air circulating like the air fryer, they may not be as crispy.  You can fix this by putting them under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. 

🍗What’s The Difference Between Popcorn Chicken and Chicken Nuggets?

For the most part, chicken nuggets are made with a mixture of emulsified chicken meat that could contain all parts of the chicken as well as preservatives and chemicals to bind it together and keep it a white color.

Popcorn chicken is made from actual chicken breast with no fillers and is cut up into small popcorn sized bites making them a perfect snack or appetizer. 

💭Can I Put Aluminum Foil Or Parchment Paper In My Air Fryer?

You can if you’d like an easier clean up. However, the air fryer is made to circulate the air around all parts of the food including the bottom. If you use parchment or aluminum foil it may change the cooking time and texture as air is unable to circulate everywhere around the food.

Serve Your Popcorn Chicken with these Dipping Sauces:

• Keto Honey Mustard
• Habanero Ranch
• Paleo & Whole30 Thousand Island Dressing
• Paleo & Whole30 BBQ Sauce