How To Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets

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Chick-fil-A nuggets, like all nuggets, are best enjoyed warm — but this doesn’t mean you should discard leftover nuggets that are already cold! Refrigerate leftover Chick-fil-A nuggets to enjoy them later.

How do you reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets? There are a few ways to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets. It is best to reheat leftover nuggets in the oven or in an air fryer. Chick-fil-A nuggets can also be reheated in the microwave or on the stove.

Continue reading to learn about multiple ways to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets and how well each of them works. You will also learn how to reheat frozen Chick-fil-A nuggets, if you can reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets twice, and more!

Can You Refrigerate And Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets?

You can reheat leftover Chick-fil-A nuggets so long as you have stored them properly. Properly reheated Chick-fil-A nuggets feel like fresh ones, with a crispy exterior and soft inside. Pair them with Chick-fil-A sauces for top-level tastiness.

Reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets only if you haven’t left them out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours — after 2 hours, there is a high chance of the food being affected by harmful bacteria.

Additionally, leftover Chick-fil-A nuggets last only 1–2 days in the fridge. Reheat them only if you are sure they are still good for consumption.

What Is The Best Way To Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets?

There are several different ways to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets. We think the best reheating methods for nuggets are the ones that bring back their crispiness while heating them evenly all the way through.

The best way to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets is to use the oven. The air fryer is the second-best method for reheating nuggets. Chick-fil-A nuggets can also be reheated in the microwave and in a skillet.

When reheating Chick-fil-A nuggets, remember that they are already cooked — because the nuggets are quite small, they don’t need to be reheated for too long.

You only need to reheat the nuggets for a few minutes; otherwise, they will overcook, burn, or dry out.

Best Ways To Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets

There are multiple ways to reheat leftover nuggets. Here are some of the most efficient ways to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets while preserving their characteristic crispiness!

1. In The Oven

When it comes to reheating nuggets, the oven is certainly the winner. While it takes a little longer to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets in the oven, the result is certainly worth it since they feel like they are freshly made!

Here’s how to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets in the oven:

Remove the nuggets from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
Arrange the Chick-fil-A nuggets on the baking tray in a single layer. Leave gaps between the nuggets to ensure that all nuggets are evenly heated.
Place the baking tray on the middle rack.
Bake the nuggets for 3–4 minutes, then flip and bake for another 3–4 minutes.

2. In An Air Fryer

If you want results similar to the oven but with a quicker process, use an air fryer to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets.

Here’s how to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets in an air fryer:

Preheat your air fryer to 350°F.
Arrange the Chick-fil-A nuggets in the air fryer basket in a single layer. The nuggets shouldn’t touch each other.
You can spray the nuggets with cooking oil to make them crispier.
Air fry the nuggets for 3–4 minutes, then flip them and air fry them for another 3–4 minutes.

3. In The Microwave

Microwaving Chick-fil-A nuggets is not the best method to reheat them if you want to bring back their crispiness. But it is certainly the best method if you are looking for the quickest way to reheat nuggets.

Here’s how to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets in the microwave:

Remove the nuggets from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature for a few minutes — if the nuggets are too cold, the center may remain cold even after you heat them in the microwave.
Line a microwave-safe plate with a paper towel — the paper towel will absorb the extra moisture from the nuggets and prevent them from becoming too soggy.
Put the nuggets on the plate in a single layer.
Microwave the nuggets on high at 30-second intervals, flipping sporadically — 60 seconds total should be enough to heat the nuggets.

4. In A Skillet

If you want to make the leftover nuggets crispy but don’t have time to preheat your oven or air fryer, use the stovetop method. While this method calls for additional oil, it does make leftover nuggets crispy like freshly fried nuggets.

Here’s how to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets in a skillet:

Pour an inch of oil into a frying pan or a cast iron skillet. You can use any neutral-flavored frying oil you like.
Turn the stove to medium heat and heat the oil to 350°F.
While the oil heats, remove the Chick-fil-A nuggets from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature.
Place the nuggets in the frying oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan with nuggets.
Cook each nugget in oil for about 30 seconds per side.
Remove the nuggets from the pan and put them on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.

How To Reheat Frozen Chick-fil-A Nuggets

Leftover Chick-fil-A nuggets stored in the fridge are good for only 1–2 days. Luckily, you can freeze Chick-fil-A nuggets to extend their shelf life. But how do you reheat frozen Chick-fil-A nuggets?

Depending on the reheating method you will be using, you may or may not need to defrost the Chick-fil-A nuggets.

You don’t need to defrost the nuggets if you will be reheating them in the oven. Simply bake the nuggets a little longer so that they thaw and become hot all the way through.

You can also skip defrosting the Chick-fil-A nuggets if you will be reheating them in the air fryer.

Reheating frozen nuggets in the air fryer takes twice as long as reheating room-temperature nuggets.

Arrange the frozen nuggets in the air fryer basket and cook the nuggets for 12 minutes flipping them halfway through the cooking time.

If you are going to reheat frozen Chick-fil-A nuggets in the microwave or on the stove, it is preferable to defrost them first.

Defrost Chick-fil-A nuggets by transferring them from the freezer into the fridge. As nuggets are quite small, they will take only a few hours to defrost.

Can You Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets Twice?

Just like with any other food, you can reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets multiple times so long as you follow all the rules of reheating and storing food.

With this said, it is not recommended to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets more than once as doing this affects the texture of the nuggets.

Can You Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets In A Deep Fryer?

While deep-frying Chick-fil-A nuggets is not the best method to reheat them, it still works. Here is how to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets in a deep fryer:

Preheat the oil to 400°F. In the meantime, bring the nuggets to room temperature.
Submerge a few nuggets in the frying oil for a brief moment. Keeping the nuggets in the hot oil for 10–12 seconds is enough to reheat them.
- Don’t leave the nuggets in the oil for too long — you want to avoid burning or drying them out. Additionally, the longer you leave nuggets in the oil, the greasier they will become.
- For the best results, reheat only a few nuggets at a time. Overcrowding the deep fryer with nuggets will cause the temperature of the oil to drop and you will have to fry the nuggets longer to get them heated through.
Once you remove the nuggets from the oil, put them on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Can You Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets In A Toaster Oven?

The toaster oven works in a similar way as the oven. If you have one, go ahead and use it to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets:

Preheat the toaster oven to 350°F.
Arrange the nuggets on the baking sheet or tray in a single layer.
Bake the nuggets for 10 minutes, flipping them halfway through the cooking time.

Can You Reheat Chick-fil-A Nuggets On A Grill?

Another oil-free method to reheat Chick-fil-A nuggets is to grill them:

Preheat your indoor grill to medium-high heat.
Put the nuggets on the grill.
Grill for around 5 minutes, flipping them halfway through the cooking time.