Chick-fil-A Chicken Nuggets Nutrition Facts Report

Chick-fil-A Nuggets are made with seasoned and breaded boneless chicken breast meat that is pressure cooked in refined peanut oil. Chicken nuggets are also available in a lower-calorie grilled option.

There are 250 calories, 11 grams fat, 11 grams of total carbs, and 27 grams of protein in an 8-piece order of Chick-fil-A fried chicken nuggets.

Review this guide for the nutritional information, ingredients, and allergens in chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A.

Read through to the last section for a data table that compares the nutrition facts of chicken nuggets from various popular fast food restaurants.

Chicken Nuggets Nutritional Information

Chick-fil-A Nuggets and Grilled Nuggets are available in various order sizes: 8 pieces, 12 pieces, or 30 pieces. A 5-piece option is available at select locations.

Nutrition facts in this report, unless otherwise stated, are based on a single order of 8 nuggets, excluding dipping sauce.

Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets with summary of macronutrients.

Calories

Total calories varies by type of chicken and the number of nuggets in each serving.

Grilled chicken nuggets have approximately half the calories as the traditional Chick-fil-A fried option. Here is a table summarizing the total calories by type of chicken and order size.

Total Calories by Order Size

Order Size	Chick-fil-A Style	Grilled
1 Piece	32	16
5 Pieces	160	80
8 Pieces	250	130
12 Pieces	380	200
30 Pieces	950	510

Time to Burn Calories

An average adult would need to run at a moderate pace for approximately 20 minutes to burn off the calories from an 8-piece order of fried nuggets (or 16 grilled chicken nuggets).

Here is a list of approximate times required to burn 250 calories, by type of exercise.

FITNESS TIME TO BURN 250 CALORIES

Approximately 8 fried nuggets or 16 grilled nuggets.

Run 20 minutes
Walk 1 hour 20 minutes
Swim 35 minutes

Estimate based on moderate level of activity by an adult with average BMI.

Calories by macronutrient are significantly different when comparing the two types of fast food chicken nuggets.

Dietary fat and protein each contribute approximately 40% of calories when the chicken is breaded and fried.

By comparison, protein makes up over 75% of total calories in the grilled nuggets.

Review the table below to select the best menu option for your diet.

% Calories from Fat, Carbs, Protein

Chick-fil-A Fried Nuggets

40% FAT

17% OTHER CARBS

43% PROTEIN

Chick-fil-A Grilled Nuggets

20% FAT

3% OTHER CARBS

77% PROTEIN

Calories by macronutrient are rounded estimates based on nutrition facts information provided by Chick-fil-A. Calories may vary by location or due to choice of dipping sauce.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

There are 32 calories in a single Chick-fil-A nugget and 16 calories in a grilled nugget.

Chick-fil-A grilled chicken nuggets with summary of macronutrients.

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving (% Daily Value)

Red indicates %DV is high.

8 Nuggets	Fried	Grilled
Calories	250	130
Total Fat	11g (14%)	3g (4%)
Saturated Fat	2.5g (13%)	0.5g (3%)
Trans Fat	0g	0g
Cholesterol	85mg (28%)	85mg (28%)
Sodium	1210mg (53%)	440mg (19%)
Carbohydrates	11g (4%)	1g (<1%)
Dietary Fiber	0g (0%)	0g (0%)
Total Sugars	1g	0g
Protein	27g	25g

%DV based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calorie needs vary and your %DV may be higher or lower. Provided for informational purposes only. Consult with your physician for dietary or healthcare advice.

Zero trans fat
Grilled chicken is low in total fat and low in saturated fat
High in dietary cholesterol
High in sodium
Zero dietary fiber

Dietary Fats

A single serving of eight fried nuggets contains 11 grams of total fats, including 2.5 grams of saturated fat.

The 2.5 grams of saturated fat contributes approximately 20 calories per serving, 13% of the recommended daily limit (based on a 2,000 calorie diet).

For a meal with less saturated fat, choose the grilled chicken option.An 8-piece order of grilled nuggets has 3 grams total fat and less than one gram of saturated fat.

Amount of Fat and Daily Value

8 Pieces	Fried	Grilled
Total Fat	11g	3g
Daily Limit	78g	78g
Daily Value	14%	4%

Saturated Fat	2.5g	0.5g
Daily Limit	20g	20g
Daily Value	13%	3%

Daily Limit per U.S. FDA general nutrition guidance for adults. Daily Value based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans (published by the US Department of Health and Human Services) recommend limiting calories from saturated fat to less than 10% of total calories.

Summary of Fat in Chicken Nuggets

For a lower fat meal, order the grilled chicken nuggets
Grilled nuggets contain about 70% less total fat than the fried option
Zero trans fatty acids in either option

Note: Saturated fats are found in baked goods, animal fats, and vegetable shortening, among other food items. The FDA recommends choosing foods lower in saturated fat.

Sodium

The amount of sodium in Chick-fil-A nuggets is high. There are 1,210 milligrams of sodium in an 8-piece order of fried chicken nuggets.

For a lower sodium meal, order the grilled chicken option, which has 64% less sodium.

Dietary Cholesterol

In addition, the amount of dietary cholesterol is high. Eight pieces of either type of chicken has 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 28% of the recommended limit for an entire day.

Serving of Chick-fil-A nuggets with text listing ingredients.

Chicken Nuggets Ingredients and Allergens

Chick-fil-A nuggets contain MSG.
Fried nuggets are not 100% dairy-free. The ingredients include nonfat dry milk.

Here is the list of ingredients in Chick-fil-A fried chicken nuggets and grilled chicken nuggets.

Ingredients

Fried Chicken Nuggets

Boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, enriched bleached flour, fully refined peanut oil (dimethylpolysiloxane added), sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, pasteurized nonfat dry milk, leavening, spices, water, soybean oil, paprika, and pasteurized egg.

Grilled Chicken Nuggets

Boneless, skinless chicken breast meat containing up to 17% solution of water, seasoning, chicken flavor, modified corn starch, dried vinegar, apple cider vinegar, water, soybean oil, sugar, cane molasses, salt, spices, chicken fat, dehydrated onion, yeast extract, corn maltodextrin, lemon peel, dehydrated garlic, red bell pepper, paprika, parsley, xanthan gum, natural flavor (including smoke) and calcium disodium EDTA, and high oleic canola oil with dimethylpolysiloxane

Enriched Bleached Flour includes malted barley flour, niacin, iron thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is silicone-based polymer used to prevent foaming when frying the nuggets in hot oil.
Sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, and monocalcium phosphate are used for leavening.
Seasoning in the solution used for the grilled nuggets contains yeast extract, onion powder, sea salt, garlic powder, sugar, salt, corn maltodextrin, gum arabic, natural flavor, lemon juice concentrate, and vinegar solids
Grilled nuggets contains chicken flavor made with chicken breast meat, chicken stock, salt, maltodextrin

Allergens

Chick-fil-A Nuggets are made with egg, milk, and wheat.

Check the full list of allergens in Chick-fil-A menu items.

Fast Food Chicken Nuggets

Here is a quick comparison of the nutrition facts for popular fast food chicken nuggets.

<< Swipe table right to left for more nutrition facts

Restaurant	Menu Item	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein	Sodium
Arby's	Chicken Tenders (3pc)	370	18g	28g	23g	1190mg
Burger King	Chicken Nuggets (4pc)	190	12g	11g	9g	490mg
Chick-fil-A	Chicken Nuggets (8pc)	250	11g	11g	27g	1210mg
Jack in the Box	Chicken Strips (3pc)	470	23g	32g	33g	1760mg
McDonald's	Chicken McNuggets (6pc)	250	15g	15g	14g	500mg
Wendy's	Crispy Nuggets (4pc)	170	2.5g	9g	9g	360mg
Wendy's	Spicy Chicken Nuggets (4pc)	190	12g	9g	10g	480mg
Wendy's	Tenders (3pc)	420	3.5g	22g	33g	1050mg
Shake Shack	Chicken Bites (6pc)	300	19g	15g	17g	780mg
Steak 'n Shake	Chicken Fingers (3pc)	420	24g	32g	23g	990mg

Three fast food chicken strips — Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips

Nutrition facts, prices, and ingredients are based on available information as of the date of publication. Restaurants and food manufacturers may change recipes or formulations without notice. Check package labels and ask the product manufacturer or restaurant for the most up-to-date information. Unless otherwise stated, %DV is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. All reports and reviews published on this site are for informational purposes only. NutritionandIngredients.com does not provide healthcare advice or dietary recommendations. Always consult your licensed physician for any healthcare or dietary advice.

Nutrition facts, ingredients, food product image source: Chick-fil-A. Original designs by Nutrition & Ingredients for research and commentary related to fast food reviews.