These homemade baked chicken nuggets with ground chicken are easy, delicious, and just as good as store-bought. Plus, they’re cheaper and made with just a few wholesome ingredients.
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Why you’ll love these
I’m a Registered Dietitian and I am shamelessly a HUGE chicken nugget fan.
They’re delicious and they’re so versatile! I love serving crispy chicken nuggets as is with ketchup or buffalo ranch sauce (one of my favorite sauces!), serving them chopped up in salad, with regular or sweet potato fries, or even making wraps with them.
I’m not against store-bought frozen chicken nuggets (convenience is nice sometimes!), but these homemade nuggets are just so yummy and easy to make.
Whether you’re trying to save some money or you’re looking for healthy chicken nuggets, I’ve got you covered with these.
They’re baked instead of fried, and made with just a few simple ingredients.
These ground chicken nuggets bake into a perfectly golden brown crispy chicken nugget that you will absolutely love.
Let’s get into what you need for this homemade chicken nugget recipe!
Ingredients
- Ground chicken: These nuggets are made with ground chicken, so the texture from ground meat gives them more of a fast food nugget texture versus a chicken tender texture. You can use 99% or 93% lean chicken breast.
- Breadcrumbs: You can use standard breadcrumbs, panko breadcrumbs, or even make your own by pulsing dried out or toasted bread in a food processor.
- Eggs: You just need a couple of eggs to help bind the breading to the chicken.
- Spices: You’ll need salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder to season both the chicken breast and the breadcrumb mixture.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Start by making your breadcrumb mixture in a large plate or large bowl with low sides. Combine with 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Whisk until combined well.
- In another medium sized bowl, combine ground chicken breast with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Mix well until thoroughly combined.
- Next, beat eggs on a small plate or in a small bowl.
- Set up your stations for making the chicken nuggets. You’ll need your bowl of ground chicken, your bowl of breading, and your beaten egg.
- Using clean hands, form the ground chicken into small nugget shapes. Coat with beaten egg, and then coat with breading mixture.
- Add formed and coated nuggets to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake nuggets in the oven for 20-25 minutes until chicken nuggets are golden brown and completely cooked through. If you use a meat thermometer they should read at least 165 degrees. Note: Baking time may vary depending on if you make bigger/smaller nuggets than shown here.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!
Recipe FAQ
Can I make these in the air fryer?
Yes, you can easily make air fryer chicken nuggets the same way by preheating your air fryer to 400 degrees F and cooking for 10-12 minutes. I recommend spraying your air fryer basket with cooking spray, lining with parchment paper or using a silicone air fryer liner.
How to store
Store in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4 days, or store in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. Making a big batch of these homemade nuggets and freezing them is a great way to “meal prep” and save yourself money.
Variations
- Swap ground chicken for ground turkey and make ground turkey nuggets!
- Instead of using ground chicken, use cubed chicken breast for another simple variation of homemade chicken nuggets.
- Make them veggie chicken nuggets by mixing in cauliflower rice or broccoli rice for a fun way to get more veggies in.
- Make cheesy chicken nuggets by adding shredded cheese to the ground chicken mixture or grated parmesan cheese to the breading.
- Make spicy nuggets by adding cayenne pepper to your breading or ground meat mixture.
More easy chicken recipes you’ll love
Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad (High Protein & Easy!)
Perfectly Cooked Thin Sliced Chicken Breast (Air Fryer Recipe)
Easy Delicious 4-Ingredient Chicken Salad
How to Make Perfect Air Fryer Shredded Chicken
Easy Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl
Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets with Ground Chicken
Ingredients
Ground chicken mixture
- 1 lb ground chicken breast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Breading ingredients
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Start by making your breadcrumb mixture in a large plate or large bowl with low sides. Combine with 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Whisk until combined well.
- In another medium sized bowl, combine ground chicken breast with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Mix well until thoroughly combined.
- Next, beat eggs on a small plate or in a small bowl.
- Set up your stations for making the chicken nuggets. You'll need your bowl of ground chicken, your bowl of breading, and your beaten egg.
- Using clean hands, form the ground chicken into small nugget shapes. Coat with beaten egg, and then coat with breading mixture.
- Add formed and breaded chicken nuggets to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake nuggets in the oven for 20-25 minutes until chicken nuggets are golden brown and completely cooked through. If you use a meat thermometer they should read at least 165 degrees.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauces and enjoy!
2 Responses
This was easy to make and much better than store bought. We will make this again!
So glad you enjoyed these! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂