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.
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.
My Rating
Really that good.
👨🍳How to Make the Nuggets
What chicken to use?
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.
Making the 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.
How to Make Bread Coating Stick
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.
Cooking in the Oven
Preheat the oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven. You can use higher or low if you need to for other dishes, and the cooking time will change accordingly.
A baking sheet with parchment paper or a wire rack works best. Give it a good spray of cooking spray.
Bake for about 15 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165°—check several nuggets, especially the bigger ones and the nuggets closer to the center of the tray.
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 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.
❄️How to Store Leftovers
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.
Store airtight for 3-4 days. But it will be best the first few days.
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.
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This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven.
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.
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.
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.
Put the chicken in the egg mixture and stir to coat. Pick up the nuggets with a fork and shake off excess egg.
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.
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.
Bake until golden brown and the thickest is 165° temperature—about 15 minutes.
Serve hot with ketchup, bbq sauce, or honey mustard in a small bowl. Or a dipping sauce of your choice.
📖Recipe
HealthyHomemade Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Put the chicken in the egg mixture and stir to coat. Pick up the nuggets with a fork and shake off excess egg.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake until golden brown and the thickest is 165° temperature—about 15 minutes.
- Serve hot with ketchup, bbq sauce, or honey mustard in a small bowl. Or a dipping sauce of your choice.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You may use skinless chicken thighs but need to be cooked to 185° for texture and will take a few minutes longer.
- You may do this without the rack, but you will need to flip the nuggets at 8-10 minutes into cooking.
- You can make the nuggets smaller if you want for little kids.
- Most kids will want a smoother coating. So more regular breadcrumbs will be smoother. The more Panko, the rougher the coating.
- If you dry the nuggets well before the egg wash and you rest the nuggets before baking after coating, the coating will stick better
- Season to your taste.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days after cooking and in the freezer for 3-4 months.
- Good with dipping sauces.
- 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
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Originally Published February 9, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Julia Marple
Very good, thanks!
Make that a *heaping* 8 tablespoons of bread crumbs, and at least 25 minutes in my conventional oven.
Nicki
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!
Alex Miller
How much is a serving?
DrDan
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.
Bianca
Could you make these to freeze?
DrDan
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
Elizabeth Lang
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.
Dr Dan
A hour in buttermilk would be good if you have it. But these are very tender and are quick and easy.
Christine Mikesell
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!
Chris
Way better than frozen nuggets and only takes the same amount of time. Hard to beat that!