Crunchy, Oil-Free, Healthy Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken

Clean and Easy Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken in the Air Fryer

My kids love the popcorn chicken from KFC. We don’t get it that often, so when we do it’s a real treat. But I am not a fan of all the oil.

I wanted to make this popcorn chicken in the air fryer, and we were hooked! Believe it or not, the recipe uses NO OIL! I love making this recipe because it is so much healthier, cheaper, and faster than buying the KFC popcorn chicken. If you love chicken nuggets or juicy chicken tenders, then you are going to love this one too! What makes this recipe stand out is that there is no need to spray oil on the chicken, prior to air frying! The coating will make the air fryer popcorn chicken ULTRA crispy, even without the oil! You can have this recipe ready and cooked in only 20 minutes. Let’s get started!

Ingredients and Supplies Needed to Make Popcorn Chicken in the Air Fryer

Follow along with me in the video to make this amazing popcorn chicken in the air fryer, or continue reading below for the written instructions!

Ingredients:

• Uncooked skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into cubes
• Cornstarch
• Coconut milk
• Pickle juice
• Finely crushed Corn Flakes (gluten-free if preferred)
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Paprika
• Black pepper
• Salt (optional)
• Cayenne pepper (optional)

Supplies:

• Air fryer
• Small bowls
• Large Ziploc bag

Breading for popcorn chicken

This popcorn chicken recipe can be ready in 20 minutes and it is wonderfully crispy.

But for the perfect and best air fryer popcorn chicken, make sure that you generously coat the chicken with each coating, especially the cornflakes. I found that I used about 5 cups of cornflakes in all. You might use more, you might use less. Depending on your needs, you could use regular or gluten-free cornflakes. You can also add any other seasoning you desire. I chose to add ¼ tsp salt, but you can leave out the salt if you want or need to.

Popcorn chicken recipe key ingredient for moisture

With this chicken recipe, use regular coconut milk (not coconut cream) found in the milk section of your local grocery store. Not only does this add amazing flavor, but also keeps the bite-sized pieces plenty juicy.

Favorite dipping sauces to accompany popcorn chicken

1. Honey mustard
2. BBQ sauce
3. Ranch dressing
4. Honey
5. Chick-fil-a sauce

Spices for this air fryer chicken recipe

While you do not NEED to add any seasonings to the bread crumbs of this tasty recipe because the we personally love the combination we’ve created with the coconut milk, feel free to take a few liberties with the amount of the seasonings you use. Plus, if you want to make these spicy chicken you can always add a little paprika, chili powder, or even some hot sauce or buffalo sauce.

How to Make Popcorn Chicken in the Air Fryer

Step 1: Create chicken breading

First, mix together the coconut milk and pickle juice. Then, in a Ziploc bag, finely crush cornflakes together with all the seasoning powders.

Step 2: Coat chicken

After, coat each chicken piece in cornstarch. Then dunk it in the coconut mixture, and roll in the cornflakes. Repeat for each chicken piece and place them evenly in one single layer in the air fryer basket (I had to cook in batches).

Step 3: Air fry chicken

Lastly, cook at 400°F/200°C for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway. Just make sure you cook your chicken to the internal temp of 165˚F/74°C.

Serving suggestions:

You can serve this chicken as a delicious, healthy, high-protein snack, or you can turn this into a meal and serve the bite-sized chicken with tasty sides.

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Final Thoughts

This is such a quick and easy recipe. You don’t need to eat heavy and greasy popcorn chicken anymore! My kids loved this air fryer recipe for dinner and loved dipping the chicken in their favorite sauces. They raved about how delicious it was and I personally loved the powerful flavors. Let me know how this recipe went for you!

Air fryer chicken recipes that are simple and delicious:

• Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken Dinner Recipe
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• How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
• Easy and Crispy Air Fryer Fried Chicken
• One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies for the Air Fryer or Oven
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Air fryer tips and tricks

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• Watch Fabulessly Frugal YouTube Channel for Air Fryer Recipes

Crunchy and Healthy Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken (No Oil)

Looking for the ULTIMATE crunchy air fryer popcorn chicken?! This version calls for ZERO OIL, and plenty juicy while still healthy!

4.64 / 5 ( 11 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Serves: 8

Adjust Servings: 8

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Small bowls
• Ziplock bag

Ingredients

• 1 lb uncooked chicken breasts or tenders cut into 36-40 cubes
• ½-1 cup cornstarch
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• 1½ teaspoons pickle juice
• 4-6 cups finely crushed corn flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp salt optional
• pinch cayenne pepper optional

Instructions

• Mix together coconut milk and pickle juice.
• In a ziploc bag, finely crush cornflakes together with all the seasoning powders.
• Set up a station with a bowl or plate for cornstarch & cornflake mixture, and a bowl for the coconut milk mixture.
• Coat each chicken piece first in cornstarch, then dunk in the coconut mixture, then roll in the corn flakes.
• Repeat for each chicken piece and place them evenly in the air fryer. No need to preheat.
• Air fry at 400 °F for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked to 165 °F. Flip chicken halfway through cooking.

Recipe Notes

Works with regular or gluten free corn flakes.
Omit salt for a slightly healthier version.

Nutrition

Calories: 604kcal | Carbohydrates: 109g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 11g | Sodium: 1021mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g

Recipe Adapted From: Strength and Sunshine

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