Are you looking for an easy way to make delicious frozen dino nuggets? Then look no further than the air fryer! Air fryers are great kitchen appliances that can help you cook food quickly and deliciously, meaning when your kids are screaming (literally) for those Dino Nuggets you can get them on the table in double quick speed 🙂 As a bonus, the air fryer method uses less oil than traditional frying methods, making them a healthier alternative. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how to make frozen dino nuggets in the air fryer the best way possible!
Before getting started with your dino nuggets, it’s important to understand how an air fryer works. Essentially, it uses hot air circulation to cook food in a fraction of the time required with conventional methods such as deep-frying or baking. Therefore, you need to be careful not to overcrowd or overstack your air fryer, or you will be blocking the very air that should be cooking your nuggets! Give your nuggets amble space!
Be aware that air frying frozen nuggets doesn’t require any additional fat or oil, like some other cooking methods do. This is especially the case when cooking frozen dino nuggets, as they will already have oil (or other ingredients) that will help them brown nicely. So don’t be tempted to spray any more oil on them!
What Dino Nuggets Do I Use?
A lot of people go for the Tyson Dino Nuggets, but I personally prefer the Perdue version, which has a much better set of ingredients to put in a child’s stomach. They use proper American raised chicken and have much fewer preservatives and filler ingredients than the other main frozen food brands that sell dino nuggets! You can check them out on the Perdue website.
How to Air Fry Frozen Chicken Dino Nuggets?
Without further ado, here is the best way to cook frozen Dino Nuggets in your air fryer!
As Chicken Dino Nuggets are frozen food, they will come with accompanying cooking instructions specific to them. Below I have put a generic cooking time for the recipe, but you should look at your packaging to work out the exact temperature and timing for yourself.
As air fryer cooking instructions are not that common, I have devised a simple method for calculating based on oven instructions (which are always available). I would take the cooking temperature and time from the instruction for a fan assisted oven and do the same in my air fryer, but only cook for around 60-65% of the time given. In my experience, this gives great results every time. I have found that even when air fryer instructions are given on frozen food packaging, they are not always accurate, leading to overly browned or even burned food. So I would double check using the calculation above anyway!
Step 1: Preheat Your Air Fryer (optional)
Many people believe that preheating an air fryer is important to ensure even cooking. If that is you, then the first step should be to preheat your air fryer before adding any food. To do this, set the temperature of your air fryer according to its instructions and press “start” or “preheat” button (depending on what type of air fryer you have). Once preheated, leave the lid open until Step 3.
Personally, I don’t think air fryers need to be preheated. I explain why in a separate article on the subject 🙂
Step 2: Add Dino Nuggets into Basket
Next, take out as many dino nuggets as desired from their packaging and place them into the basket of your air fryer one at a time (you can use tongs if needed). Don’t overcrowd the basket; instead, allow enough space between each piece so they don’t stick together or block that all important hot air flow whilst cooking. Additionally, try not to overlap or stack pieces on top of each other – this could result in uneven baking/frying times for the very same reasons!
Step 3: Cook Dino Nuggets
Once all of your nuggets are inside the basket, close the lid or door securely, then select appropriate settings based on what type of model you have (either manual timer/temperature setting or specific preset programs). For a manual program, start by cooking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) for about 8-10 minutes depending on how crispy you like them. As long as your nuggets are placed on a perforated surface (such as a wire rack) there is no need to turn or flip them during cooking.
Step 4: Finally Serve & Enjoy!
Watch out, those nuggets will be hot! Use a pair of tongs to carefully lift them out of the air fryer’s cooking compartment. Now that everything is cooked through, it’s time to serve up these delicious frozen dino nugget creations!
My serving suggestion would be to plate up alongside some dipping sauces such as ketchup, honey mustard sauce etc…and dig in! These tasty treats go great with almost anything, whether it be salads or sides dishes like mashed potatoes – whatever tickles your fancy really works here since they’re already fully cooked through thanks to our little handy helper –the trusty ol’ Air Fryer!
In conclusion, making frozen dino nuggets in the air fryer is super easy and a great way to prepare a quick meal. With a few simple steps, you can have delicious nuggets that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Just make sure to preheat your air fryer before adding your ingredient, flipping them halfway through cooking time for even browning, and don’t overcrowd the basket. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you Reheat Dino Nuggets in an Air Fryer?
Yes, you can! In fact, an air fryer is my preferred way to reheat such food as it won’t dry it out as much as a microwave will. Simply place the dino nuggets back in the air fryer and blast for 3-4 minutes at 350F or 180C. You won’t do it any other way, trust me 🙂
Is it Healthier to Cook Dino Nuggets in an Air Fryer?
Frozen chicken dino nuggets are usually oven cooked, so it isn’t really any healthier to cook them in an air fryer. It would, however, be much healthier than deep frying them in oil.
Why Should I Cook Dino Nuggets in an Air Fryer?
If you are wondering why you shouldn’t just put your dino nuggets in your traditional oven rather than an air fryer, then I have two major reasons why you should choose the air fryer instead. Firstly, it is a lot faster to air fry nuggets than oven cook. Also, an air fryer uses much less energy than a big traditional oven, especially if you are cooking smaller amounts.
Can I cook Dino Nuggets in an Air Fryer Oven?
Yes, you can. An air fryer oven works in the same way as a traditional bucket style air fryer, so you follow the same method explained above and it should work well. Some lesser quality air fryer ovens may not have quite the cooking intensity of a traditional air fryer, so you might have to increase cook times slightly depending on your particular model.
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