Get my Cookbooks! Homemade Chicken Nuggets
These homemade Chicken Nuggets are made with ground chicken and panko breadcrumbs. They can be oven baked, fried, or cooked in the air fryer. Your kids will love to eat these and can even help you make them!
Serve these nuggets with Buttered Noodles, Potato Wedges, French Fries, or Broccoli Mac and Cheese!
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
If my daughter asks for Chicken Nuggets for dinner one more time, I think she is going to turn into one. 👀 So needless to say, I much prefer to make homemade chicken nuggets from real chicken. I like to buy my own organic free range chicken and grind it myself in the food processor, but you can also purchase ground chicken at the store and skip that step!
These are made with an easy panade (a simple mixture of milk and bread), which keeps the meat nice and juicy (vs. heavy and dense). When meat cooks, the proteins expand and contract and in doing so, moisture escapes. The starch in the panade turns to a gel when cooked and lubricates the fibers in the meat as it cooks.
I like to brush these nuggets with a little bit of butter to get them extra golden and flavorful, but a light coating of cooking spray will also work!
Let’s get into everything you need to know so that you can make these in bulk and freeze them for easy chicken nugget dinners for you and the kids! (I love freezer food.)
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Combine the bread, milk, garlic salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. (This is called a panade and it keeps the chicken juicy/prevents it from becoming dense when it cooks.)
Add the ground chicken to a large bowl and use your hands to gently incorporate the panade. Don’t overmix.
Use a Tablespoon to scoop up the chicken and form nugget shapes.
Brush whisked egg over the nuggets and coat in breadcrumb mixture.
Bake at 375° for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush each side with melted butter. Bake for 8 more minutes. Let them rest for a few minutes prior to serving.
To Fry in a Skillet
- Heat 1 inch of vegetable or canola oil in a dutch oven to 350 degrees.
- Fry the chicken in batches on each side until golden, 2-3 minutes per side.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan or the edges won’t get crispy. Use kitchen tongs to remove and set on a wire cooling rack.
Air Fryer Method
- Brush the top and bottom of the nuggets with 3 TBS butter or spray with canola oil.
- Air fry at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Flip them halfway through.
To Bake From Frozen
- If you plan on freezing, flash freeze the unbaked nuggets on a plate in the freezer for an hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Pro Tips
- You can make your own ground chicken by placing cubes of chicken breasts in a food processor and pulsing to the right consistency. (You’ll need about 2 small chicken breasts for a pound.) Boneless chicken thighs can also be used.
- Crushed Cornflakes can be used instead of breadcrumbs if desired. They are more golden in color so the butter is not as necessary for color but can still be added for taste.
Storage
Refrigerating Leftovers: These are best if enjoyed fresh from the oven, however you can refrigerate them for up to 3 days and reheat in a 350° oven.
Freezing: Flash freeze the unbaked nuggets on a plate in the freezer for an hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. See section above for instructions on baking from frozen.
Try These Next
-
- One Pot Spaghetti
-
- Baked Potato Soup
-
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
-
- One Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese
-
- BEST Tomato Soup
-
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
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Tried This Recipe?
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Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken, see notes
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 slice bread, or 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- ¾ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg, whisked
- 3 Tablespoons melted butter, or canola oil spray
Breading
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add the bread to a bowl and pour the milk on top. Let it absorb for 2-3 minutes. (Note: If using breadcrumbs instead of bread, you my need to add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk.) Add the garlic salt and black pepper. Use your hands to combine. This is called a panade and it keeps the chicken nuggets juicy. (vs. hard and dense.)
- Add the ground chicken to a large bowl and add the panade. Use your hands to mix until just combined, don’t overmix. Take a tablespoon and scoop out the chicken. Form into nuggets and set aside.
- Combine the breading mix on a large plate and set aside.
- Brush each side of the nuggets with the whisked egg. Transfer them to the breading plate and generously coat each one until completely covered. Place on a baking sheet.
- Brush half of the melted butter on the top of the nuggets, this helps them turn a nice golden brown. You can also use canola oil spray but they won’t get quite as golden. If some nuggets are darker than others, place the darker ones in the middle of the baking sheet and the lighter ones along the edge.
- Bake for 7 minutes and remove from the oven.
- Brush each side with more melted butter and bake for 8 more minutes. (You can use canola oil spray if preferred but they won’t get quite as golden.)
- Remove and let them rest for a few minutes prior to serving.
Notes
Crushed Cornflakes can be used instead of breadcrumbs if desired. They are more golden in color so the butter is not as necessary for color but can still be added for taste.
The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Air Fryer Method:
Brush the top and bottom of the nuggets with 3 TBS butter or spray with canola oil. Air fry at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Flip them halfway through.
To Freeze: If you plan on freezing, flash freeze the unbaked nuggets on a plate in the freezer for an hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
To Bake From Frozen: Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Great recipe! They came out really good. The only issue that I had with them was about them being a little bit too sticky, would adding more bread crumbs work to make them less sticky?
And a side question, if you have tried this or if you think it will work, if I used raw shredded shrimp, ground up in a food processor, do you think this would work the same?
Hi Jay, is it possible that you may have overmixed the meat mixture? This can cause it to be more sticky. Using chilled chicken usually helps as well, but not chicken that was recently frozen/thawed and therefore excessively wet. More breadcrumbs may help! I haven’t tried this with ground shrimp 🙂