Even before we started eating real food I always thought that homemade chicken nuggets tasted much better than what 
you can get at most restaurants and grocery stores. And the best part is…you can freeze the leftovers! So if you are in a rush simply pull a few pre-made nuggets out of the freezer and microwave them for 30 – 60 seconds for a quick and guilt-free dinner. In our house this is the kind of “kids’ meal” that is so good the whole family eats it together.
This recipe is also fairly easy once you have the breadcrumbs made. I find that I need whole-wheat breadcrumbs on hand for all sorts of reasons so be sure to make those in advance on a rainy day and store them in the freezer as well. That way they are there and ready when you need them. To freeze the leftover chicken nuggets make sure they are cooked first then layer them between sheets of wax paper in a Tupperware or other freezer-safe container. Enjoy!
- 1 lb local or organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 egg
- 1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cooking oil
- Chop the chicken into small chunks and sprinkle them with salt and pepper (if desired).
- Lightly beat the egg in a shallow bowl.
- In another shallow bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, cheese, paprika, and garlic powder with a fork.
- Now you are ready to bread the chicken. There is a simple technique that will make this part very easy. Make one of your hands the “wet hand” and the other one the “dry hand”. With your wet hand toss some of the chicken chunks into the egg mixture until they are coated on all sides. Then with your wet hand drop them on top of the bread crumb mixture. With your dry hand sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top of the chicken and then flip them over a few times until the pieces are coated. Put the coated pieces on a plate while you work on the rest of the chicken.
- Heat a thin layer of oil in a large sauté pan (a non-stick pan is recommended) over medium-low heat.
- Cook the chicken nuggets for several minutes on each side until they are golden brown. You want the nuggets to be cooked all the way through by the time they get brown on the outside. Cut one down the middle to make sure it is fully cooked.
- Transfer the nuggets to a plate lined with paper towels to help drain off any excess oil.
- Serve with organic ketchup or homemade honey mustard sauce (equal parts honey, mustard, and mayo).
And don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!
This is a good recipe but might I suggest a different technique which may please the toddler and younger kids out there. Don’t just bread chicken chunks, many kids won’t eat that, especially those who are used to store bought nuggets. What I do is put the uncooked chicken in the food processor and then make tiny patties (into nugget shapes) out of them and then bread those and cook/bake. Even picky eaters will gobble them with the texture they know and love.
[...] Skewers (holla for pineapples being on sale last week), brown rice, broccoli Friday – Chicken Nuggets and french fries Saturday – Whole wheat homemade macaroni and cheese with spinach added (my [...]
I want to freeze these weeks ahead of time for easy lunches. Could you tell me what method you use to reheat? Thanks so much!! Your site is amazing! Your recipes are amazing!!! We are faithful followers!! Feeding a family of 9 on real food has been easy with your help!!!
–Sara
Hi Sara. Glad you love the blog! My preference is to put the portion I need in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven before packing lunch. ~Amy
I make a more lightly breaded version of nuggets. I make homemade ‘shake & bake’ —mix whole wheat flour, cornmeal,& sugar together with seasonings and herbs. I use a cereal box liner bag (great way to recycle these) and drop the chicken pieces in and shake. I bake them on an oiled pan. I spray nuggets with olive oil before baking. I make a lot at one time. When they cool, put them into plastic snack bags (which I wash and reuse). Each bag holds about a serving. I put the little bags into a large freezer bag. I always label and date the large bags so I know what it is. These are great for a quick snack, lunch, or dinner. Reheat in the microwave, or eat cold in the summer.
Love making my own ‘fast food’.
Gail,
Would love to know the portions/spices you use for your breading mix. I would love to try this chicken nugget recipe but bread crumbs(or the bread used to make) have too much salt and I’m on a sodium restricted diet. Thanks!
Hi Catherine. I might be a little confused by your question but here are the recipe ingredients:
1 lb local or organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking oil
Hope that helps. You can always adapt it for your own needs. ~Amy
I am brand new at this whole food thing, we are adapting well, conidering i have a 20 month old and a 7 year old, but we live in a small town….where might we even begin to look for ‘good’ chicken?
Hi Crystal. Start here: http://www.eatwild.com/ and see what is available in your area. Most grocery stores offer organic free range options, as well. Goodluck. ~Amy
This recipe looks great. Just wondering if anyone has tried baking these? If so at what temp and how long?
Hi Jeannette. Try and let us know how they turn out! ~Amy
I sprayed them with organic olive oil and baked for 20 minutes on 375 they were just as tasty!
I can’t wait to try these as I’ve been looking for a healthy version for my family. I want to bake them too and re-read some comments and reading different temperatures. Can you recommend an ideal cooking temp and length of time?
HI Jaimie. I’m not finding a consensus on time and temp. Seems to be 400-425 for 18-25 minutes. You might have to experiment a bit. Good luck. ~Amy
I’m going to try these tonight! My favorite dipping sauce for chicken nuggets is something I just found…go ahead with your mayo, mustard, and honey mixture, but I like to add either blackberries or raspberries to the mix! It sounds crazy, but it tastes SO good!
Made these for the first time using the suggestion to chop the meat in the food processor prior to breading to more closely approximate the processed nuggets that (sadly) my children’s palates want. My super-picky son grabbed a second nugget while proclaiming, “These are better than McDonald’s!” Warms my heart! Thanks for the great recipe! I actually used chicken thighs instead of breasts because that’s what I had on hand. Worked great! Crockpot chicken is almost ready for tonight. I love this website! Thanks!
I have a recipe similar to this, but whenever I bread something I usually dredge the chicken or fish in plain yogurt before adding the breadcrumbs. The seasonings can be added to the yogurt, too. I made beer-breaded oven-fried catfish this way last week.
What type of oil is used for these?
Hi Amanda. You can use the unrefined oil of your choice: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/14/mini-pledge-week-10-no-refined-oils/ and http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/07/how-to-cook-with-coconut-oil/. An oil with a higher smoke point works best with a hot skillet. Hope that helps. ~Amy
Just made these for the second time. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! Decided to freeze the leftovers to eat at a later date, which is torture because they are so good as leftovers!
These are delicious! My 3 year old daughter and 1 year old twin boys couldn’t get enough. I ended up baking them at 350 for about 20 mins and added some whole wheat panko breadcrumbs to the mix for an extra crunch. (not sure if these are acceptable as “real” food) I paired this with the alfredo pasta and some frozen veggies for lunch!
I am making these tonight and was not sure what oil you use? Coconut or olive? Thanks!
Hi Natalie. Coconut oil is a good choice because it has a higher smoke point and it adds a bit of healthy fat. ~Amy
I am new to Real Food, but am trying to move in that direction. A friend sent me this recipe. I just tried these tonight with my two very picky daughters and the consensus is that they are DELICIOUS! One daughter said they were definitely better than Chick Fil A and the other said they were good, but needed more salt. I froze what was leftover and will definitely be making these again.
Oh, I am so encouraged! I have tried multiple homemade chicken nugget recipes in the past, and by the end of the meal, they have always remained uneaten on my kids’ plates. Tonight, I followed your recipe and my kids gobbled them up!!!!! (My boys also loved making the breadcrumbs!) We are slowly changing our diet little by little. This recipe gets us one step closer!
I made these for dinner last night and they were great! It was my first time frying something so it was super exciting when I didn’t burn the house down lol! I used organic sprouted whole wheat bread for the breadcrumbs and accidentally left out the spices (oops) so I can only imagine how awesome they are with those added! I look forward to making them again, the RIGHT way lol
Thank you!
[...] to cook and eat foods that do so. Replace items like frozen chicken nuggets with homemade nuggets, here and here are great recipes our family enjoys. Make homemade french fries in place of the ones you [...]
I made these for lunch with homemade sweet potato fries and your honey mustard recipe. They were AMAZING! The flavor was awesome, and the chicken stayed very tender. My two-year-old and husband loved them. Unfortunately, they were so good there weren’t any left to freeze, so next time I’ll make a double batch.
[...] 100 Days of Real Food Chicken Nuggets [...]
I just made these for my son who loves chicken nuggets! I am happy with the way they turned out I just made a bunch to put in the freezer for during the week!! So much better for him then the other kind! We are slowly switching over to real food… Love your website. Thank you for all the great post so far!! <3