7 Best Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets Ranked

Best frozen chicken nuggets in Singapore

On days I’m too tired to cook, frozen anything—nuggets, fries, dumplings and more—are a godsend. Frozen chicken nuggets, especially, are super easy to whip up as they don’t require thawing, so you can throw them into the air fryer directly from the freezer! A mere 10 minutes later, all there is left to do is enjoy these crispy, savoury golden nuggets. In this article, I’ve taken on the task of ranking the seven best air fryer frozen chicken nuggets, most of which are readily found in major supermarkets and on RedMart. Read on to see which brands are worth spending on!

The criteria

Here are the three categories I’ve come up with to help in my grading process. Do note that what I consider to be a good chicken nugget might not be the same for you; taste is still subjective, after all.

First and foremost, the taste. I’ll be looking at the flavour of the nugget as a whole, taking into consideration how well-seasoned the batter and meat are.

Next, the texture of the batter should be crispy, while the meat should be tender. There should be a good ratio between the chicken and batter.

Lastly, the value. I’ll compare the price of each packet, relative to the weight you get.

Each batch is air-fried based on the instructions on the package; for brands without instructions, we went with 200 degrees celsius for 10 to 12 minutes.

7. Farmland ($4.34, 400g)

Disclaimer: these Farmland nuggets were not terrible. They were, in fact, the largest nuggets out of all the brands we tried. But they also turned out to be the thinnest of the lot, and I much prefer my nuggets thick and chonky for a meatier bite, so these weren’t my cup of tea.

The batter was not as crispy as I’d liked it to be. While well-seasoned, the meat tasted rather boring, like it was flavoured only with salt and pepper. Nonetheless, this is still an option worth considering if you’re not keen on committing to a big bag since each packet is only 400g.

Taste: 2.5/5
Texture: 2.5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Total: 56.6%

6. Freezepak ($10.90, 1kg)

I was excited to try Freezepak as the brand appears to be manufactured by the popular Thai snack company, CP. While the flavour of these chicken nuggets was decent, the texture was weird. It turned mushy almost immediately and the skin was not crispy enough despite air-frying for a few minutes longer. The nuggets leaned greasy, too.

Thankfully, the meat within was well-seasoned and tender. Value-wise, Freezepak didn’t fare too shabby either, priced at $10.90 for a big 1kg bag.

Taste: 3.5/5
Texture: 2/5
Value: 3.5/5
Total: 60%

5. Farmpride ($5.30, 500g)

Farmpride‘s chicken nuggets scored in the taste department, though they were a tad too salty. Yet, the sticking point I had with these nuggets wasn’t the flavour—the skin was on the thicker side and did not turn out as crispy as I’d wished.

The colour of the nuggets was interestingly on the paler end, even though I’d fried them for longer than what the packaging had stated. Flavour-wise, these tasted fairly similar to the ones at McDonald’s, which was a nice surprise. I’d recommend having these with ketchup, so the sweetness of the dip balances out the salty notes.

Taste: 3.5/5
Texture: 2.5/3
Value: 3.5/5
Total: 63.3%

4. Bibik’s Choice ($8.90, 1kg)

Priced at $8.90 for a 1kg packet, Bibik’s Choice was one of the cheapest brands on this list. I found these nuggets satisfyingly crispy—perhaps due to their “tempura” coating, as stated in the packaging—but the flavour was somewhat lacking.

The chicken was a tad firmer than I’d liked, but I appreciated how it tasted like the real thing instead of overly tenderised meat. If you want crispy and cheap nuggets, you won’t go wrong with Bibik’s Choice.

Taste: 2.5/5
Texture: 3/5
Value: 4.5/5
Total: 66.6%

3. FairPrice ($7.05, 850g)

Tying in fourth place with Bibik’s Choice is FairPrice‘s frozen chicken nuggets, which were the cheapest on the list ($8.26/kg). I was surprised by how crispy the house-brand nuggets were—they’re also “coated with tempura”, according to the package.

These were slightly thinner than the others, but crispy and tasty nonetheless. The skin was a little thick, but that could be because of its tempura batter. For some reason, I found these nuggets reminiscent of the ones I’d have at my primary school canteen during recess break. Nostalgia factor aside, the flavour was just okay and I would have preferred them a little more seasoned.

Taste: 2.5/5
Texture: 3/5
Value: 4.5/5
Total: 66.6%

2. Tyson ($5, 400g)

Tyson‘s nuggets came out thick and puffy, with a clear separation between the batter and meat. The skin was thin and crispy, but not overly so, while the meat had just the right amount of tenderness. Flavour-wise, this rendition had that classic chicken nugget taste—well-seasoned but not too salty.

Personally, I’d like the batter to be a tad crispier, but that’s a small gripe. Also, these nuggets worked out to $12.50 for 1kg, which was the most expensive on the list. Nonetheless, I’d recommend Tyson if you want something simple yet consistently delicious.

Taste: 4.5/5
Texture: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Total: 76.6%

1. DoDo ($9.80, 1kg)

DoDo was a dark horse in this lineup. To be honest, I did not have high hopes for this brand as I was expecting the other well-known names to perform better. These nuggets turn out to be a hot favourite, not just between my photographer and me, but also among my colleagues.

What set them apart from the others was the batter coating—uneven with crispy ridges, so you get some textural variation.

These were also some of the tastiest nuggets I’ve tried. They had a unique flavour with a discernible peppery note: according to the ingredient list, a mix of spices was used, including garlic, onion, and celery powders.

It was hard to decide if I’d liked DoDo or Tyson better. I found them quite different: DoDo was tastier and crispier, but Tyson was the closest to McDonald’s nuggets, which were my golden standard. In the end, I crowned DoDo as the best frozen chicken nugget brand as it excelled across all categories.

Taste: 4.5/5
Texture: 4.5/5
Value: 4/5
Total: 86.6%