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This recipe makes a batch of homemade Chicken Nuggets with parmesan breadcrumbs. They’re oven baked for light, crispy, succulent nuggets that are totally moreish.
Now this is all-out indulgence in the simplest of ways…
Homemade Chicken Nuggets are NOT just for children (but you definitely won’t get any complaints from them either!)
I love to make a batch of these tender, tasty, golden bite-sized nuggets when it’s time for a treat but I don’t want to go down the takeaway route.
This recipe is relatively straightforward and budget-friendly – chicken breasts, Greek yoghurt, breadcrumbs, parmesan, and then seasoned with paprika, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
We’re also adding two delicious dips to try out – Honey and Mustard and Sweet Chilli Mayo, but you can go for whichever is your favourite.
Serve these with…
Why you’ll love this Chicken Nuggets recipe
⭐️ Oven-baked but still super crunchy coating
⭐️ Healthy, tender bites of juicy chicken
⭐️ Family meal or impressive buffet dish
How we came up with this recipe
There’s nothing better than a homemade take on the fast food classics – especially when it involves succulent chicken breast with a cheesy coating – so I decided to create a recipe that involves a few simple shortcuts, but also meant there’s zero guilt in opting for exactly the kind of food our kids always want.
Serving up Chicken Nuggets for dinner after school can get a bad rap, but NOT SO if you’re making them fresh.
I know, I know, sometimes we just need simplicity. But I’m here to tell you that making your own homemade nuggets is much easier than you might think, and we can even make up a batch so we have some in the freezer for those time-starved evenings!
The whole family can enjoy them for dinner, or you can add them to picnics or packed lunches, or even as part of a buffet or platter when friends come round too, because they go so well with loads of little side dishes and everyone always loves them dipped in sauce.
Chicken Nuggets Ingredients Notes
- Chicken breasts – These should be skinless and boneless. I cut them into bite-sized pieces with scissors
- Greek yoghurt – If you can get it, I do think thick Greek yoghurt works best for this as it acts like glue for the breadcrumbs. If you only have natural yoghurt, you can try it but they won’t stick quite as well and you may need to reduce the amount you use a little
- Panko breadcrumbs – I use Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) as they are SO crunchy and lush. Regular breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs will work fine too
- Paprika – You can substitute this for smoked paprika, chilli flakes, a reduced amount of cayenne pepper, or anything similar to give the chicken nuggets a little kick and colour
- Oil – Vegetable, sunflower or olive oil is fine. This step is important as it makes the nuggets crispy. If you had a spray bottle of oil this would be AMAZING for doing this
- Other coating ingredients – Grated parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Honey & Mustard dip – Greek yoghurt, runny honey and wholegrain mustard
- Sweet Chilli Mayo – Mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce
Cutting the nuggets into shape
Slice your chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes to create the nugget chunks. This photo shows roughly what they should look like. (You could use scissors for this job instead of a knife if you prefer.)
How to make Chicken Nuggets
1. Put the chicken pieces into a large bowl with the Greek yoghurt and coat well.
2. In another bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan, paprika, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
3. Roll each piece of yoghurt coated chicken into the breadcrumbs mixture and coat well.
4. Place each piece onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper, drizzle with oil and bake for 20 minutes on 220C until golden.
5. OR cook in an airfryer, making sure they are not overcrowded. Check them after 15 minutes.
6. While they are baking, make each of the sauces by mixing the ingredients for each one together in a small bowl.
An Alternative (and easier) Way to coat the chicken
This is one of my favourite cooking hacks and I do it all the time for things like this…
1. Put the chicken pieces into a Tupperware dish with the Greek yoghurt and put the lid on firmly. Shake well until fully coated.
2. Pop in the rest of the breadcrumb ingredients and repeat. Fully coated chicken in seconds… and clean hands!
Substitutions
- Flavouring – You can use this recipe as a guide, but really you can flavour/spice up your chicken nugget coating however you like. So add more chilli or cayenne pepper for a little more heat, or if you like yours plain, just add the salt and pepper
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep the nuggets in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat fully before serving or eat cold.
Cook a batch for the freezer
Once they’ve cooled down, freeze them flat and separate on a baking sheet for an 1-2 hour, then pop them in a labelled freezer bag once solid.
Then you can defrost however many you need at a later date. Such a great batch cook win!
Top tipS
Cook in an airfryer
These do cook really well in an air fryer.
The nuggets will take less time when cooking this way, so check on them after 15 minutes.
How to fry them instead
I like these golden chicken nuggets oven baked as it saves a lot of mess and oil, but they would also be good shallow fried too if that’s your preference.
Ways to eat them
As well as a simple midweek family dinner, you could also serve these in a wrap with salad for lunch or as a party snack with lots of side dishes.
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FAQs
It depends on how big you chop them up! We’re using 4 chicken breasts for this recipe, which generally serves 4 people, but this may be different if you’re cooking for little ones. Use your judgement on quantities.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken breasts, Skinless and boneless
- 50 g Greek yoghurt, See notes
- 50 g Panko breadcrumbs, See notes
- 30 g Grated parmesan
- 2 tsp Paprika, See notes
- 2 tsp Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil, See notes
For the Honey and Mustard dip:
- 75 g Greek yoghurt
- 3 tsp Runny honey
- 1 tsp Wholegrain mustard
For the Sweet Chilli Mayo:
- 100 g Mayonnaise
- 5 tsp Sweet chilli sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C.
- Cut the chicken breasts into even, bitesized chunks (I use scissors).
- Put into a large bowl with the greek yoghurt and coat well.
- In another bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan, paprika, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
- Roll each piece of yoghurt coated chicken into the breadcrumbs mixture and coat well.
To Cook in the Oven:
- Place each piece onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper (don't overcrowd them. You may need two baking trays).
- Give each nugget a little drizzle of oil. (You can also use an oil spray, which would work brilliantly).
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until crispy and golden all over (they may take a little longer depending on your oven).
- While they are baking, make each of the sauces by mixing the ingredients for each one together in a small bowl.
To Cook in the Air Fryer:
- Carefully place the nuggets into the air fryer basket, be careful not to overfill the air fryer basket, depending on the size of your air fryer this may mean you need to cook in more than one batch.
- Air Fry for 15 minutes at 200c.
- If you want them to be really crispy you may want to cook them for a little longer but check at 15 minutes. Use a thermapen thermometer to be sure they are cooked properly.
- While they are cooking, make each of the sauces by mixing the ingredients for each one together in a small bowl.
To Serve:
- Serve with the dips.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very flavourful and so crunchy. My family loves them. I always was against buying industrial chicken nuggets, but my son loves them. Now we can finally have them a little more often. Homemade and with quality ingredients. Amazing recipe!
Weekly favourite for the whole family!! So easy and delicious!! The dips are the perfect accompaniment, I will be making these for years and years 😋
These are gorgeous!
Just tried this one with my kids-went down an absolute treat, really yummy and feels much more healthy than buying chicken nuggets. Thank you for another cracker!!
Tasty way to have chicken in breadcrumbs, the greek yoghurt works a treat in sticking it together.
Really tasty, straightforward to make, quantities spot-on. Definitely a keeper.
So tasty! So easy to make as well and feels like you’re having a treat!