How To Reheat McDonald's Nuggets For A Straight Out Of The Box Taste
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Sometimes, when folks order a freshly-cooked burger from McDonald's with a side of fries and Chicken McNuggets, they realize halfway through the meal that their eyes were bigger than their stomachs. The crispy pieces of all-white-meat poultry make for a scrumptious snack if restored to their previous state of grandeur, but not all reheating techniques accomplish that result. There are few things worse than anticipating crispy, tender McNuggets and seeing tragically soggy shells of their prior deliciousness. Unfortunately, if you reheat them incorrectly, that is exactly what you will end up with.
McDonald's may not have invented the chicken nugget, but it could be argued the chain perfected them in fast food form. If you want your treasured bites to look and taste as flawless as they did when you bought them, then you really need the oven. Preheat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and place your nuggets on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. The key is to give the nuggets enough room so the heat circulates around them and they reheat evenly.
In 10 to 15 minutes, your chicken should be restored to its former glory. Still, when you are craving a late-night snack, 10 minutes or longer can seem like an eternity. There is a faster way to reheat McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, but there is a hitch.
Other methods of reheating nuggets that work
If you simply can't wait for the oven to breathe new life into your chicken nuggets, an air fryer can do the job faster — we like the efficiency of the COSORI Air Fryer 9-in-1 model. Instead of 10 minutes or more, you only have to wait three or four minutes before the nuggets start to look like they did out of the box. However, you shouldn't dump a 20-piece order into the basket. Just as you want to space them out for the oven, an air fryer works best when air can circulate around whatever is inside. If you have an appetite and want to reheat a sizeable batch of nuggets, practicing patience with the oven is the way to go.
Another method you can try is using a non-stick skillet – we recommend the SENSARTE Nonstick Ceramic Saute Pan. Add a touch of oil to the pan and reheat the nuggets using your stove's medium setting, flipping them after roughly two minutes. In another two minutes, they should be hot and crispy.
The main drawback to using a skillet is you have to babysit them — missing out on the set-it-and-forget-it advantage the oven and air fryer offers. Still, if it helps you avoid using the microwave, it is worth it. In the same way you shouldn't microwave leftover pizza, reheating McDonald's Chicken McNuggets in the microwave can leave you with a spongy, depressed husk of a meal.