Easy Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Make your own Easy Homemade Chicken Nuggets using just a few simple ingredients. It’s a quick and easy dinner the family will love!

These homemade chicken nuggets are coated with panko breadcrumbs and baked until they’re perfectly crispy and crunchy. If you’re looking for a kid friendly meal, this easy recipe is definitely for you!

When my older kids were younger, they used to love chicken nuggets, or crunchy chicken, as they called it. Whether we stopped at a fast food restaurant or bought frozen nuggets from the store, this was their favorite way to eat chicken.

Well, a few years ago, we decided to kick the fast food habit and try to eat healthier meals. But, there’s just something about chicken nuggets that we all love, right?

Luckily, you can still enjoy the taste by making your own version of this classic fast food meal. In fact, we recently stopped by McDonald’s while on vacation, and we honestly liked our own nuggets better!

You can pair these crispy chicken bites with homemade baked French Fries, mashed potatoes or homemade applesauce made in the Instant Pot or slow cooker. Top it off  with a  homemade peach milkshake, and you may never want to go out for fast food again!

How to Make Homemade Baked Chicken Nuggets

The easiest way to make your own crispy baked chicken nuggets or tenders is to have everything ready to go. You’re going to dipping and dunking and shaking, and, not gonna lie — It’s messy!

To bread the chicken, you’ll need:

• Chicken breasts cut into approximately 2-inch pieces
• A bowl of buttermilk
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Spice mixture
• A rimmed baking sheet
• Cooking spray

Dip the chicken pieces into the buttermilk. Kitchen tongs work best, but you can use a fork if  you want.

Next, dip the chicken into the panko breadcrumbs. I like using a large freezer bag and shaking the chicken to coat it. The kiddos can help with this!

Next, arrange the chicken on a prepared baking sheet, and spray with olive oil or cooking spray. Bake for about 10 minutes per side, flipping once, and that’s it!

This recipe for crispy chicken nuggets makes enough for a crowd, but it’s also great for leftovers. Who says you can’t have healthy chicken nuggets?!

How to Make Breadcrumbs Stick without Eggs

I only use buttermilk and the Dijon mustard to make the panko stick to the chicken — no eggs. It’s just a personal preference, but it works! Mayo works, too!

Pin this easy recipe to save it!

Once you get the hang of it, this is really a very easy recipe. The kids love it, and I do too!

Plus, it’s so much better than using frozen nuggets or relying on fast food. Of course, we all need a short cut now and then, but if your kids like chicken nuggets as much as mine do, you can save money and eat healthier by making your own.

Recipe for Easy Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Easy Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Dee

Make your own baked Easy Homemade Chicken Nuggets using just a few simple ingredients. It's a quick and easy dinner the family will love!

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Main

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 184 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 pounds chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 3 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or chili powder

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil
• Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces
• Add breadcrumbs to a bowl or zip top freezer bag. Mix the sea salt, garlic powder, pepper and smoked paprika into breadcrumbs
• Add buttermilk to a bowl, and mix in the Dijon mustard
• Dip chicken into buttermilk, then dip into breadcrumb mixture, making sure each piece is well coated
• Place chicken on prepared baking sheet, and when sheet is filled, lightly spray with olive oil
• Bake for 10 minutes per side, turning once, for 20 minutes total, or until chicken is browned and internal temperature is 165 degrees according to meat thermometer

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 22gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 488mgPotassium: 391mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 45IUVitamin C: 1.1mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 1.2mg

Keyword homemade chicken nuggets

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I  hope you enjoy these healthy homemade chicken nuggets as much as we do!

Recipe was originally posted in in 2014 and updated in 2019