Ingredients for homemade chicken nuggets
These homemade chicken nuggets are much tastier than frozen or fast food and here’s why: they’re made with actual pieces of chicken breast (kind of more like chicken tenders). They’re baked not fried, but still crispy and irresistibly seasoned. Here’s what you’ll need: Homemade nuggets are a huge hit with our kids (no surprise), but adults absolutely inhale these too! They’re family friendly, great for topping a Caesar salad or power bowls. If you add a homemade dipping sauce like honey mustard or ranch, they are next-level! Serving vegetarian or vegan eaters too? Add our Veggie Nuggets!
Chicken breast: Buy organic chicken if at all possible. Look for boneless skinless chicken breasts, or cutlets if possible. Panko: These light and airy Japanese breadcrumbs are what make the crispy golden crust. Look for gluten-free panko if desired. Olive oil: A touch of healthy fat helps crisp up the nuggets without deep-frying. Spices: Garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, cumin, and chili powder create a flavor explosion, while salt enhances every bite. Eggs: Here the eggs act act as a binder, holding the panko and seasonings onto the chicken.
How to make this chicken nuggets recipe
The key to crispy baked chicken nuggets is an oven safe baking rack, if you have one. This lifts the bottom surface of the nuggets off of the baking sheet, allowing it to get crispy instead of soggy while it bakes. Here are the basic steps for the recipe: 💡Why buy organic chicken? We recommend buying organic since it’s the high-quality meat that is raised sustainably without chemicals. Organic standards require that the chickens have access to the outdoors and cannot be given antibiotics or growth hormones (happy chickens!).
Sauces for homemade chicken nuggets
Once you’ve got your homemade chicken nuggets, of course you’ll want a dipping sauce! I’m personally not a huge fan of ketchup, though I know more of the world is. However, we do have a homemade ketchup that I think is pretty delicious. Here are a few sauces for serving with these chicken nuggets:
Ketchup is the standard, but we like to think outside the box. (For a fun twist, stir in a pinch of curry powder to make curry ketchup.) Honey mustard is simple to make at home with just a few ingredients. Homemade ranch dressing or Caesar dressing are creamy dips perfect for dipping chicken. BBQ sauce or white BBQ sauce are a zingy and fun ideas. Special sauce is a sauce with ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard that’s full of savory flavor. Yum yum sauce is another creamy sauce that’s just as tasty as its name.
Other serving ideas
Chicken nuggets are great on their own as a meal for kids: we like adding carrot sticks and serving with ranch for dipping everything. (Why restaurants don’t do this, I’m not sure!) For the adults, we like adding chicken nuggets to salads and grain bowls. Here are some ideas: If you’ve been around since the early days, this recipe might surprise you! But these days chicken is in the dinnertime repertoire. Want a plant-based solution? Try our breaded tofu, or our friend Jessica has a great vegan chicken nuggets recipe. For gluten-free, look for gluten-free panko.
Add to a Caesar salad to make chicken Caesar Use them in bowl meals like power bowls, hummus bowls, rice bowls, or replace the salmon in this salmon crunch bowl with spicy mayo Use leftovers in chicken tacos, topped with lime crema
More chicken dinners
This homemade chicken nuggets recipe is a rock-star recipe in our house! Here are some of our other favorite family friendly chicken dinners:
Go for chicken tacos or chicken enchiladas. Try simple baked chicken breast, lemon garlic chicken, Parmesan crusted chicken, or blackened chicken. Go for crowd-pleasers like chicken and rice, Tuscan chicken or chicken piccata. Make thighs like baked chicken thighs or pan fried chicken thighs. Fire up the grill for grilled chicken or grilled chicken thighs.
Frequently asked questions
5 from 1 review **Sauce ideas include ketchup, honey mustard, homemade ranch dressing, Caesar dressing, special sauce, or yum yum sauce. Other serving ideas: Add to a Caesar salad to make chicken Caesar. Use nuggets in bowl meals like power bowls, hummus bowls, rice bowls, or replace the salmon in this salmon crunch bowl with spicy mayo. Use leftovers in chicken tacos topped with lime crema.
