If you are in the mood for popcorn chicken, skip the fast food lines and make this keto popcorn chicken recipe which you can make in the air fryer. The low carb, gluten free breading makes the chicken pieces nice and crunchy especially when air fried. This recipe only needs 5 ingredients and each serving has just 0.9g net carbs.
You might also like these keto chicken nuggets in the air fryer!
Popcorn chicken is right up my alley. I like the ratio of breading to chicken – that is, more breading than chicken. So I thought I’d give it a try and I was not disappointed, nor was my family.
This keto popcorn chicken recipe works great in the Air Fryer. The gluten free, keto breading gets nice and crispy and it takes little time. And I used a tip from those Chik-Fil-A copycat recipes and marinated it in pickle juice! This makes the chicken nice and juicy.
So next time you are craving fried chicken or other fast food eats, try this delicious low carb fried chicken recipe! Bonus is that you only need 5 ingredients for these bite sized pieces of deliciousness!
Ingredients I used.
The 5 ingredients I used to make this keto fried chicken are: chicken breasts, pickle juice, mayonnaise, pork rinds and parmesan cheese. That’s it folks.
What is the Chik-Fil-A copycat recipe secret ingredient?
The Chik-Fil-A secret ingredient is rumored to be pickle juice. The thought is that if you marinate the chicken in pickle juice it is the same as brining it. And that helps keep the chicken juicy as well as adding another layer of flavor.
So if you have some dill pickles in your fridge, pour a little of the juice in a baggie with the pieces of chickens and let it brine or marinate for a few hours.
Let’s make some air fryer keto popcorn chicken!
This is a really simple keto recipe and does not take much time. You do have to marninate the chicken though so you might want to do that in the morning if you are making this for dinner.
- First thing in the morning, chop the chicken into bite size pieces and place them in a ziplock bag with 1 cup of pickle juice to brine or marinate them. Try to use dill pick juice and not sweet pickles due to carb counts.
- When it’s time for dinner, crush the pork rinds in a food processor and then mix with the parmesan cheese. This is your breading. Place the pork rinds mixture into a shallow bowl.
- Place the mayonnaise and a teaspoon or two of water in another shallow bowl and mix well.
- Take the chicken out of the pickle juice and place them on paper towels to dry them. Then add a few pieces in the mayonnaise and mix around with a fork.
- Next place them in the breading and roll around to coat them well.
- Spray the basket of your air fryer and place the breaded pieces in a single layer. Cook for 20 minutes in a 400°F air fryer until nice and crispy.
About this keto breading.
Some people like to use almond flour or coconut flour for keto breading but for really crispy chicken in the air fryer I prefer pork rinds.
I have found that when breading chicken or pork that a mayonnaise and pork rind combination makes a wonderful crunchy keto breading.
You simply crush the pork rinds to look like bread crumbs and mix it with parmesan cheese. Then you use the mayo instead of egg to make the breading stick to the chicken.
However if you don’t want to crush your own pork rinds, you can try these pork panko crumbs. And while I love the parmesan, you don’t really have to use it.
You can also add some seasonings to the pork rinds and parmesan. Try some Old Bay seasoning, taco spices, garlic powder, onion powder, or whatever you want. Today we are keeping it simple though.
Keto side dish recipes to serve with this popcorn chicken.
I personally like to eat a creamy salad or slaw with fried chicken, so I would suggest this creamy cilantro lime coleslaw or creamy southwest keto coleslaw. Another good creamy salad is this cucumber ranch & bacon salad. Check out all of my keto side dish recipes for more ideas.
Keto dipping sauces to try.
For this recipe, my favorite dipping sauce is this honey mustard dipping sauce however I have an avocado lime dipping sauce that is very popular. Or you can try these other low carb sauces: jalapeno aioli, buffalo aioli or tomato bacon jam all of which go great with fried foods.
I hope you enjoy this keto fast food recipe. Low carb popcorn chicken is one of my favorites and I hope you give it a try. Bonus is that it’s very family friendly too.
The nutrtion information for 1 serving is:
544 calories / 28.7g fat / 0.9g carbs / 69.9g protein = 0.9g net carbs
Low Carb Popcorn Chicken Recipe in the Air Fryer
This Air Fryer low carb popcorn chicken recipe is so delicious and easy you won't need fast food anymore! It's gltuen free, crispy and crunchy and tastes deliciosu with a dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 cup pickle juice (from a jar of dill pickles)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 3 ¼ oz bag of pork rinds, crushed into crumbs
Instructions
- The night before or first thing in the morning, marinate your chicken. Cut up the chicken breasts into small pieces and place them in a ziplock bag with 1 cup of pickle juice. Try to use dill pick juice due to carb counts.
- When it's time for dinner, crush the pork rinds in a food processor and then mix with the parmesan cheese. This is your breading. Place it in a shallow bowl.
- Place the mayonnaise and a teaspoon or two of water in another shallow bowl and mix well.
- Take the chicken out of the pickle just and place them on paper towels to dry them. Then add a few to the mayonnaise and mix around with a fork.
- Next place them in the breading and roll around to coat them well.
- Spray the basket of your air fryer and place the breaded chicken pieces in it.
- Cook for 20 minutes in a 400°F air fryer until nice and crispy.
- Try them with this honey mustard dipping sauce or any dip of your choice.
Notes
The nutrtion information for 1 serving is:
544 calories / 28.7g fat / 0.9g carbs / 69.9g protein = 0.9g net carbs
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 544
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