The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
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
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- One Pot Spaghetti
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- Baked Potato Soup
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- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
-
- One Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese
-
- BEST Tomato Soup
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- Chicken Noodle Casserole
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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.
Can I make this with wild caught fish? I’d like to try fish sticks. I was thinking of grinding up perch. The filets are too small to cut in strips and make into sticks.
It should work fine as long as the consistency holds up! If it’s a similar consistency to ground chicken then definitely! I would try to remove as much excess moisture as you can. 🙂
Loved these! Came out perfect!
Yayyy! I’m so happy to hear that Carla. My daughter is obsessed with these! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😃
Very good recipe, but unfortunately the steps for shaping the nuggets are entirely wrong. After you’ve mixed the chicken, what you need to do is transfer your meat glob onto a cutting board or clean counter, and then flatten the blob into a sheet about as tall as half the width of your thumb. Now that you’ve got a meat sheet, take your dinosaur shaped cookie cutters out of their drawer and cut the sheet into dinosaur shaped nuggets. Remove the excess, loosely roll that into a ball, flatten, and repeat the cutting process again until you’ve used up all the meat. You can use other cookie cutter shapes in a pinch, but just know they won’t taste as good. Once you’ve formed your nuggets, follow the rest of the recipe steps as listed.
Hi Star!! I love this, haha, I will definitely have to invest in a dinosaur cookie cutter! 😉 Good call!!
Using frozen ground chicken is a little messy, but I did the steps. I formed the nuggets on the baking sheet, brushed the top with egg and sprinkled the breading on top and brushed with butter. Then I flipped them over and repeated the process. I made a double recipe and EVERYONE enjoyed them. No leftovers. Thank you so much for this!
You’re very welcome Marcia!😍 I’m so happy everyone enjoyed them. I love being able to make these fresh for my daughter instead of using packaged nuggets! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
When you bake these from frozen, would you still remove them from the oven, and brush them with the melted butter after half the cooking time? I just made a double batch and froze them for easy lunch options! Very excited to try them out!
I would, to add a nice golden touch!
Delicious! They came out so juicy and flavorful. I put some in the freezer for later ☺️
I’m so happy to hear that Anna! They make a great freezer food!😋 Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
this was amazing. now i don’t have to go to McDonald anymore for my cravings 😉
I’m so happy you liked these Lola! Definitely nice to be able to make them homemade! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😃
This looks fabulous! Thank you. We help out with the 4 grandkids (all 8 and under) and I just can’t convince myself to buy the frozen ones at the grocery store. Don’t like processed food but that seems to be all kids want. Lol. Just one question: have you tried preparing these completely, freezing, and then rehearing like you find at the grocery store? My daughter needs quick meals and won’t be interested in these if they are raw. They both just don’t have time to cook when they get in from work…
Hey Denise! Yes, you can definitely do that- here are the instructions for that:
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.
Amazing recipe!!!!
Thanks so much!😃 I’ve actually got a bunch in my freezer. My daughter loves them. Thanks for the review!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been trying to feed my kids with more homemade recipes and these are perfect. They ate them right up and they were really easy to make. Definitely adding this to the dinner schedule!
You’re very welcome Sharon!😀 Like you, I made this recipe for the same reason. I’m on a mission to feed my daughter more homemade recipes. I fell into a trap where I was giving her too many packaged foods full of preservatives. I love making a big batch of these and then freezing them. Makes it so easy to put together dinners for her!😀 Thanks so much for the review!