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Easy Chicken Nuggets

March 29, 2012

How often do you pull a box of frozen chicken nuggets from the freezer for lunch or dinner? Once a week? Twice? If your kid really loves them, I'd wager it might be even more than that. I get it. Chicken nuggets are convenient and kids will eat them. But what ingredients make up your favorite brand? Are they made from things you want your little ones eating?

These chicken nuggets are unbelievably easy to make, absolutely delicious and made from ingredients you can pronounce. The best part is that you can make a huge batch and keep them in the freezer for future meals, so not only do they save on the expense of boxed nuggets but also the time it takes to go to the grocery to buy them. What could be more simple, economical, nutritious and yummy than that?

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Easy Chicken Nuggets  (24 Nuggets)

  • Prep Time:15 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes,
  • Total Time: 30 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken breasts, boneless & skinless cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup old fashioned oats (also known as 5 minute oats)
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
  2. 2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor until chicken is finely chopped and ingredients are combined.
  3. 3. Place the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl or on a plate and stir to combine.
  4. 4. With moistened hands, roll 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture between your palms and flatten it into a “nugget” shape.
  5. 5. Gently press nuggets into bread crumbs to evenly coat them.*
  6. 6. Place nuggets on a cooling rack. Place cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet.
  7. 7. Lightly spray nuggets with cooking spray.
  8. 8. Bake for 15 minutes and serve.**
  10. * To freeze, place nuggets on a sheet tray after this step and freeze for one hour. Place nuggets in labeled freezer bags for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, follow the directions starting with step #6.
  11. ** If you want your nuggets to be golden brown, place under the broiler for 2 minutes after cooking.
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Comments






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  1. Kiki

    August 23, 2012 at 3:16 pm

    Reply

    We did this with ground chicken form the butcher and also chicken breast in the food processor at home. Everyone chowed down the food processor version, but not the pre ground. It was much too dense. I highly recommend taking the time with the food processor. It really made a difference!

  2. Lora D.

    August 22, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    Reply

    Thank you! My children absolutely love this recipe. Do you think this recipe would also work with fish?

  3. Rebecca

    August 19, 2012 at 11:18 pm

    Reply

    Made theses tonight the flavor is incredible!! I had a problem the Pablo bread crumbs would not brown the the oven and I way way way over cooked them because I was waiting for them to brown. Is there a better way to get brown color on them??? Thanks! Love ALL the recipes here!!

    • catherine

      August 20, 2012 at 12:03 pm

      Reply

      Did you spray them with oil before baking them? That is how I got mine in the photo to brown. Some other readers have toasted the bread crumbs first before breading the chicken and that gets them brown and toasty without having to cook them longer!

  4. Pingback: 50 Reflux Friendly Recipes for Kids

  5. Lissy

    August 10, 2012 at 5:24 pm

    Reply

    Again with the food processer!
    Haha anything i can use to substitue it? (preferably hand mixer or blender :) )

    • Ashli

      October 17, 2012 at 6:28 pm

      Reply

      i used a “magic bullet” to mix ingredients and that worked great.

  6. Pingback: How to Class Up a Chicken Nugget Dinner « A Common Sea

  7. Layla

    August 7, 2012 at 10:30 am

    Reply

    Wanted to know if there were any other substitutes for the parmesan? Unfortunately, I dont like the taste of the non dairy cheeses. Wasnt sure if there wld be anything to help it bind without the cheese. Thank u!

    • catherine

      August 7, 2012 at 11:43 am

      Reply

      You can leave it out altogether if you don’t want to use it. It adds flavor which is why I have it in there. The breadcrumbs are what really holds the nuggets together! You could also try nutritional yeast.

  8. Nicki

    August 5, 2012 at 3:19 pm

    Reply

    Would it work to bake these and then freeze them for later? Then defrost them when ready to eat?

  9. Gary

    July 31, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    Reply

    Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe!
    I made it tonight and both the kids loved it.
    Out goes the store bought ones.. IN come’s these weelicious nuggets.

  10. Sue

    July 24, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    Reply

    These were so easy! I scooped the chicken mix out of the bowl with a cookie scoop (which got me thinking), so after I pressed them in the panko & parm and flattened them out a bit, I cut them into shapes with small cookie cutters! Super cute!

  11. Casey

    July 21, 2012 at 11:55 am

    Reply

    These are so great! I just made a batch for my kids (3yo and 15mo). They both gobbled them up. I got a nice big batch from 1.5 lbs of chicken. The best part was that it only took me an hour to make them. This recipes a keeper for sure!

  12. Rach

    July 11, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    Reply

    Thank you for a great recipe!! As a pregnant lady craving the evil nuggets of McDonald’s (yes, I have seen the pink ooze chicken parts picture going around…) these have been wonderful to have on hand. I liked them so much that my mom and I experimented with hiding veggies in them for my super-picky nephew and it was a smashing success! We decided on cauliflower for the color and it’s ability to blend with other food items. We separately processed about 1/3 to 1/2 of a head raw (minus the larger stalk), added it to the mixture, processed it a little more and it was great. As an added bonus, the cauliflower seems to stretch the number of nuggets out more, so we typically get anywhere from 35-45 nuggets per batch. Again, thanks for the recipes – I look forward to trying them out on my own little bean who arrives this October :-)

  13. Lynnae

    May 28, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    Reply

    Thank you so much for posting this!! I was just thinking today the “stuff” that is in chicken nuggets and how I wish my kids would like real chicken nuggets I can make but they don’t. This sounds perfect!!! I’m super stoked to try these! Again, thank you!!

  14. Asmaa moussa

    May 24, 2012 at 2:53 am

    Reply

    Thank you.. I have another question plz

    My son is still 14 months, lots of these recipes here are great but not yet for him, do u have a special category for younger toddlers??

  15. Asmaa moussa

    May 22, 2012 at 8:10 am

    Reply

    Wow, That is the best nuggets I’ve ever tasted… I didn’t add onion powder or oats because they weren’t available here. I also used grated cheddar but the result was perfect. So easy recipe.. I also added a zucchini to the mixture to get my baby eat it.

    I totally love it so much, thank you million times.

    I just have one question. I didn’t understand how to freeze them. Should I do it after quoting with crumbs or before that step

    • catherine

      May 22, 2012 at 11:22 am

      Reply

      Freeze after coating in bread crumbs!

  16. Michele

    May 17, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    Reply

    Also “disgusting” is just a rude word to use about someone’s recipe, regardless of what precedes it.

  17. Michele

    May 17, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    Reply

    Elizabeth, I thought the same thing! I have to cook steel cut oats OVER NIGHT in order for them to cook properly, lol. I’m going to try this recipe for the first time today but I have to use instant oats because it’s all I’ve got…hopefully it’ll work out.

    • Kelsey

      May 19, 2012 at 12:46 am

      Reply

      Catherine commented on this earlier… she said instant oats will cook too quickly and will become mushy. Better make a run to the grocery store!

      Btw I’m excited to try this recipe!

  18. Elizabeth

    May 16, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    Reply

    Fantastic! So similar to fast food yet so different. I’m going to make a double batch tomorrow. Thanks again for the great recipe.
    I am still chuckling that there seems to be confusion between steel cut and 5 minute oats. Not being mean, but come on!

  19. Jennifer Love

    May 10, 2012 at 8:08 pm

    Reply

    These were wonderful! I made a few changes. We used chicken thighs instead of breasts (took a little longer to cook, but that’s okay.) I used finely minced onion instead of onion powder (didn’t have any!) I didn’t have any parsley so I added some fresh basil and tossed in some cayenne pepper (yes, my 18 month old likes spicy!) Used seasoned bread crumbs instead of panko (didn’t have any panko in the cabinet like I thought!) Omitted the salt. Great taste and texture! So they were great! A real keeper. Thanks!

  20. Ericha

    April 20, 2012 at 11:19 pm

    Reply

    Just wanted you to know this was my first Weelicious recipe to try and it came out excellent! Yea!

  21. lish875

    April 18, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    Reply

    My family, including my 12 month old, loved this recipe!! Will definitely make again! :)

  22. oferte antalya

    April 17, 2012 at 2:57 am

    Reply

    I`ve tried this recipe and i`m really impressed, it has a very good taste. My both child tried it and they like it a lot. Thanks a lot for sharing.

  23. Tiffany

    April 15, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    Reply

    I tried the suggestion to toast the panko (before putting it on the chicken) at 250 and even after 10 minutes it wasn’t browning at all. It did brown up under the broiler, but then all the browned panko fell off when we picked them up to eat.

    The panko was a little rough on the mouth, too crunch for me, though that also could be due to my attempts at browning it. My 2 yr old chowed down 4 whole nuggets.

    I also thought a small ice cream scoop would have been handy to keep a hand clean instead of hand-rolling them. You could release a scoop of it into the panko, cover with panko then gently press down into a nugget shape.

  24. Ellen

    April 10, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    Reply

    I like to also add veggie puree to the mix since my 13 month old is not liking veggies right now. I’ll even make some nuggets that are ONLY veggies- spinach, carrots, brocc, celery, potato, etc.

  25. Brandi

    April 6, 2012 at 8:46 pm

    Reply

    Ohmygoodness! I have been hoping to find a recipe like this. I had brain stormed ideas but I’m not much of an experienced cook and was too afraid to test my own recipe. I cannot wait to try this. I feel too guilty feeding my son the store bought chicken nuggets.

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