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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chicken Recipes

    Healthy Homemade Chicken Nuggets

    Feb 19, 2022 · Modified: Dec 15, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 11 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.60 from 15 votes

    Homemade chicken nuggets are easy and quick to make in your kitchen—no mystery ingredient in your nuggets. Baking will keep them healthy, and from start to finish, you are done in 25 minutes.

    plate full of golden chicken nuggets square

    Jump To:
    • 👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
    • 🐓Ingredients
    • ♨️Alternate cooking methods
    • FAQs
    • 📖Kid-Friendly Chicken Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📝Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    These crispy and golden nuggets of juicy chicken will be a family favorite with a great parmesan taste.

    I wanted a healthy kiddie meal the whole family will love that you could do over and over. I wanted a simple recipe that used ingredients always on hand, had minimal prep, and finished quickly. For the kids, I wanted great taste.

    With only 1 gram of fat per nugget, these homemade chicken nuggets are about as healthy as it gets.

    Don't go for the fast-food fried version of this popular finger food. You and your family deserve better.

    👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

    1. Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven and prep a baking tray with a rack.
    2. Cut the breasts into nuggets of 1 to 1 ½ inches,
    3. In separate pans, mix an egg wash and a coating of bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and seasoning.
    4. Dry the nuggets, coat with an egg wash, then bread coating. Move to the prepared pan to rest.
    5. Give the nuggets a light spray of PAM to prevent drying. Rest for 5 minutes.
    6. Bake until golden brown and the thickest is 165° temperature—about 15 minutes.
    7. Serve hot with ketchup, bbq sauce, or honey mustard in a small bowl. Or a dipping sauce of your choice.

    🐓Ingredients

    Chicken

    Skinless boneless chicken breasts are perfect for cutting into chicken nuggets, but chicken tenders can also be cut into nuggets or cooked whole with this recipe.

    Skinless boneless chicken thighs will also work well but should be cooked to 185° to be tender.

    Coating

    Most recipes suggest Panko breadcrumbs, but I find that a little ruff, and most commercial versions will be smoother.

    Consider what texture the kids will prefer when choosing. A mixture of Panko with standard breadcrumbs will let you decide on the texture. I suggest a combination using ¼ to ½ Panko to standard breadcrumbs.

    The majority of the seasoning of chicken nuggets comes from the Parmesan cheese and flavor in the breadcrumbs you use—I suggest Italian or cheese flavor.

    Other seasoning or spices like basil, garlic powder, onion powder, or Italian mix can be added.

    If you are not serving children, adding ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the breading will give a pleasant spicy taste.

    ♨️Alternate cooking methods

    Cooking on the stovetop

    Frying on the stovetop is a good but less healthy cooking method for chicken nuggets.

    Heat the vegetable oil to 350° in a large skillet over medium-high heat. There needs to be enough oil to half submerge the nugget—about ⅜ inch usually.

    Add the chicken nuggets to the pan and brown on each side for about 4 minutes per side until an internal temperature of 165°.

    Cooking in an Air Fryer

    Preheat the air-fryer for a few minutes at 400°. The nuggets need to be in a single layer and not overlapping. Total cooking time will be 8-10 minutes, with a flip in the middle. Again cook to 165° and work in batches.

    FAQs

    How to make bread coating stick better?

    You can easily do two things to help the coating stick to the chicken nuggets.

    First, nothing sticks well to wet meat. So dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels.

    Second, after coating with egg wash and flour containing breading, let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes giving time for the egg and flour to "glue" itself to the surface better.

    How to freeze leftover chicken nuggets.

    To freeze chicken nuggets, place them on a tray in the freezer for a few hours, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.

    How to store leftover chicken nuggets in the refrigerator.

    Store airtight for 3-4 days. But it will be best the first few days.

    How to reheat homemade chicken nuggets.

    Reheating in a hot oven will restore some crispiness to the surface and is preferred. But a brief reheat in the microwave is fine.

    If frozen, it is generally best to thaw overnight in the refrigerator but not absolutely necessary. The breading is more likely to come off if reheated still frozen.

    📖Kid-Friendly Chicken Recipes

    Oven Baked Chicken Legs — Quick and Easy

    Grilled Chicken Drumsticks - Quick and Easy

    Easy Grilled Chicken Strips

    Spicy Baked Chicken Strips

    Grilled Chicken Tenders

    Crispy Chicken Tenders

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    101's Best Recipes, Chicken Breast Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Easy Dinner Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Low Fat Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    raw chicken breasts with breading ingredients

    Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven.

    spraying baking rack with PAM

    Prep a baking tray. Line with foil or parchment paper for clean-up. A rack will make the nuggets crispy all around. And then a good spray of PAM. If you don't have the rack, you will need to flip the nuggets after 8-10 minutes.

    raw chicken cut into nugget size pieces

    Pat dry and trim two medium skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound). Cut the breasts into nuggets of 1 to 1 ½ inches, 6-7 nuggets out of each breast. Pat dry again.

    whipping raw egg with a fork

    Whisk two egg whites or one whole egg in a shallow pan or bowl. In a second shallow pan, mix 8 tablespoons bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

    coating raw chicken with egg wash

    Put the chicken in the egg mixture and stir to coat. Pick up the nuggets with a fork and shake off excess egg.

    coating the nugget with breading

    Move the nuggets individually to the bread crumb mixture, coat well, and place them on the rack.  Instead, you could use a large baggie here and shake them in the bread crumbs.

    spraying breaded nuggets with PAM

    Give the coated nuggets a light spray of PAM to prevent them from drying too much in the oven. If you have time, let them sit for 5 minutes before placing them in the oven. It will help the coating adhere better.

    close up of cooked chicken nuggets on baking tray

    Bake until golden brown and the thickest is 165° temperature—about 15 minutes.

    plate full of golden chicken nuggets

    Serve hot with ketchup, bbq sauce, or honey mustard in a small bowl. Or a dipping sauce of your choice.

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    📝Recipe

    plate full of golden chicken nuggets square

    HealthyHomemade Chicken Nuggets

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Homemade chicken nuggets are easy and quick to make in your kitchen—no mystery ingredient in your nuggets. Baking will keep them healthy, and from start to finish, you are done in 25 minutes.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.60 from 15 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 12 nuggets

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - about 1 pound, trimmed
    • 2 egg whites - or 1 whole egg
    • 8 tablespoons bread crumbs - any combination of Panko or regular - flavored or not.
    • 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper
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    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven.
      raw chicken breasts with breading ingredients
    • Prep a baking tray. Line with foil or parchment paper for clean-up. A rack will make the nuggets crispy all around. And then a good spray of PAM. If you don't have the rack, you will need to flip the nuggets after 8-10 minutes.
      spraying baking rack with PAM
    • Pat dry and trim two medium skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound). Cut the breasts into nuggets of 1 to 1 ½ inches, 6-7 nuggets out of each breast. Pat dry again.
      raw chicken cut into nugget size pieces
    • Whisk two egg whites or one whole egg in a shallow pan or bowl. In a second shallow pan, mix 8 tablespoons bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
      whipping raw egg with a fork
    • Put the chicken in the egg mixture and stir to coat. Pick up the nuggets with a fork and shake off excess egg.
      coating raw chicken with egg wash
    • Move the nuggets individually to the bread crumb mixture, coat well, and place them on the rack.  Instead, you could use a large baggie here and shake them in the bread crumbs.
      coating the nugget with breading
    • Give the coated nuggets a light spray of PAM to prevent them from drying too much in the oven. If you have time, let them sit for 5 minutes before placing them in the oven. It will help the coating adhere better.
      spraying breaded nuggets with PAM
    • Bake until golden brown and the thickest is 165° temperature—about 15 minutes.
      close up of cooked chicken nuggets on baking tray
    • Serve hot with ketchup, bbq sauce, or honey mustard in a small bowl. Or a dipping sauce of your choice.
      plate full of golden chicken nuggets
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. You may use skinless chicken thighs but need to be cooked to 185° for texture and will take a few minutes longer.
    2. You may do this without the rack, but you will need to flip the nuggets at 8-10 minutes into cooking.
    3. You can make the nuggets smaller if you want for little kids.
    4. Most kids will want a smoother coating. So more regular breadcrumbs will be smoother. The more Panko, the rougher the coating.
    5. If you dry the nuggets well before the egg wash and you rest the nuggets before baking after coating, the coating will stick better
    6. Season to your taste.
    7. Good refrigerated for 3-4 days after cooking and in the freezer for 3-4 months. 
    8. Good with dipping sauces.
    9. Nutrition is per nugget and is calculated on 6 nuggets per breast. Also, all topping is calculated as used, but obviously it won't be.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    HealthyHomemade Chicken Nuggets
    Amount Per Serving (1 nugget)
    Calories 54 Calories from Fat 9
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 1g2%
    Saturated Fat 1g5%
    Cholesterol 13mg4%
    Sodium 189mg8%
    Potassium 91mg3%
    Carbohydrates 5g2%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 6g12%
    Vitamin A 15IU0%
    Vitamin C 0.2mg0%
    Calcium 22mg2%
    Iron 0.4mg2%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally Published February 9, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

    Molly eating a stick

    More Chicken Recipes

    • Grilled Whole Chicken without Spatchcocking
    • Super Moist Grilled Reversed Seared Chicken Breast with Marinade
    • Extra Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
    • Baked Split Chicken Breasts (Bone-in)

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    1. sue

      October 27, 2022 at 6:00 am

      5 stars
      the grand kids loved these they took some to school they smelt lovely even granddad ate it xxxx

      Reply
    2. Julia Marple

      August 25, 2022 at 4:27 pm

      5 stars
      Very good, thanks!
      Make that a *heaping* 8 tablespoons of bread crumbs, and at least 25 minutes in my conventional oven.

      Reply
    3. Nicki

      September 09, 2018 at 2:07 pm

      We make a similar recipe for breaded chicken strips and breasts. Since we don’t have kids we get to play with the seasonings more. So far our favorite combo has been smoked salt, black pepper, smoked chipotle, smoked paprika, garlic, and cumin. It goes surprisingly well with the parmasean!

      Reply
    4. Alex Miller

      May 02, 2018 at 1:58 pm

      How much is a serving?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 02, 2018 at 2:09 pm

        I redid the wording a little since it wasn't very specific. I'm now using 6 nuggets per breast and nutrition is per nugget.

    5. Bianca

      August 13, 2017 at 3:26 pm

      Could you make these to freeze?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        August 13, 2017 at 8:07 pm

        That is a yes, but. I don't like freezing things with uncooked egg. So I wouldn't freeze until I have cooked them to 165. But then I don't think the coating would be very good after freezing and reheating.
        Dan

    6. Elizabeth Lang

      July 15, 2014 at 6:59 pm

      I've been making something very close to this for my grandchildren for years and they love them! I also found that you can freeze the finished product and reheat for a quick lunch or dinner (better freshly made but when I leave to go home I tell them it's a kiss from me when they eat them later). They are yummy.

      Reply
    7. Dr Dan

      February 12, 2013 at 8:20 pm

      A hour in buttermilk would be good if you have it. But these are very tender and are quick and easy.

      Reply
    8. Christine Mikesell

      February 12, 2013 at 1:45 pm

      Dad, did you try soaking the chicken in milk or anything first? I found a recipe recently that recommended doing that and it was pretty good!

      Reply
    9. Chris

      February 10, 2013 at 5:23 pm

      Way better than frozen nuggets and only takes the same amount of time. Hard to beat that!

      Reply

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