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These picky-kid-approved, healthy Chicken Nuggets made with ground chicken are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Better than fast-food and even have hidden veggies inside!
Best Chicken Nuggets
My sister-in-law and I set out to make a knock-off chicken nugget for my picky niece, and she loved these (and so did the rest of my family!). This homemade chicken nugget recipe uses ground chicken, frozen cauliflower rice (you can’t tell!), and seasoning, coated in breadcrumbs, and cooked in the air fryer or oven. They take a little longer than using chicken chunks but are totally worth it! You can double the batch and freeze the rest, so you have your own healthier, homemade frozen chicken nuggets you can feel good about feeding your kids. More nuggets you may want to try, these Baked Chicken Nuggets and Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets using chunks of white-meat chicken.
Why You Need To Make This Recipe!
- Kid-Friendly: Toddlers and children will love these crispy chicken nuggets!
- Healthier: Making the chicken nuggets from scratch means you control the ingredients. Baked or air fried instead of deep fried!
- Added Veggies: I mixed in some cauliflower rice, and no one could tell.
- Freezer Friendly: You can make them ahead, and freeze for the week!
- Pack The In A Lunch Box: My sister in law has been packng them in her kids’ thermos so they are still warm at lunch.
What are chicken nuggets made of?
- Chicken: For this chicken nugget recipe, I chose 93% ground chicken (a mix of chicken thighs and breast meat) instead of ground chicken breast, which comes out too dry. If you want to use skinless chicken breast, use this recipe instead.
- Cauliflower Rice: Frozen cauliflower rice keeps these lean while adding extra nutrients.
- Seasoning: Salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper
- Egg: Beat one egg in a shallow bowl.
- Breadcrumbs: Coat the nuggets in seasoned breadcrumbs or gluten-free crumbs.
How to Make Chicken Nuggets
- Form the Chicken: Combine the ground chicken, cauliflower rice, and seasoning in a large bowl. Form the mixture into 30 round, flat nuggets weighing about 25 grams each.
- Bread the Nuggets: Crack the egg into a bowl and pour the breadcrumbs into another. Dip the chicken mixture in the egg and then the breadcrumbs.
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets: Place them in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray the tops with oil and air fry for eight to nine minutes at 400°F, flipping halfway and spraying the other sides with oil. Cook until the nuggets are golden and cooked through, and repeat the process with the remaining pieces.
- Baked Chicken Nuggets: If you don’t have an air fryer, bake them in the oven. Place them on a baking sheet sprayed with oil, and spray the chicken with oil. Bake for 10 minutes at 450°F. Flip the nuggets over, spray with more oil, and bake for 6 more minutes until golden brown.
Variations
- Poultry: Swap ground chicken with 93% lean ground turkey.
- Breadcrumbs: Substitute breadcrumbs with seasoned panko breadcrumbs.
- No seasoned breadcrumbs? Add spices, like onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and salt, to your breadcrumbs.
What to Serve with Chicken Nuggets
- Dipping Sauce: Dip these nuggets in your favorite sauce, like ketchup, honey mustard, buffalo sauce, BBQ sauce, or spicy mayo.
- Lunchbox Ideas: Pack them for school lunch with fruit, veggie sticks and your child’s favorite dipping sauce, or put them on a small roll for a chicken sandwich.
- Salad: Adults can serve this with or over a salad with ranch dressing.
- Sides: Serve them with french fries, mac and cheese, or with roasted broccoli or green beans.
How to Freeze Chicken Nuggets
Leftover nuggets last for up to four days in the fridge, but if you want to freeze them, here’s how:
- Bake or air fry the chicken as directed and let them cool.
- Flash freeze them on a sheet pan until solid for an hour or two.
- Transfer to an airtight container.
- To reheat, bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 11 to 15 minutes or 360°F- air fryer for 7 to 8 minutes.
More Chicken Tender Recipes You’ll Love
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Nuggets
- Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken
- Pickle-Brined Baked Chicken Tenders
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
- Tortilla-Encrusted Chicken Tenders
Chicken Nuggets Recipe (Ground Chicken)
These picky-kid-approved, healthy Chicken Nuggets are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. They’re better than ones from a fast-food restaurant and even have hidden veggies inside!
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 6 nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs 93% lean ground chicken, organic preferred (not breast only)
- 2/3 cup frozen cauliflower rice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, or gluten-free seasoned crumbs*
- ketchup, honey mustard, buffalo sauce, BBQ sauce, special sauce, etc., optional for dipping
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the chicken with cauliflower rice, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and mix well. Form into 30 round flat nuggets, about 25 grams each.
- Place egg in a bowl and bread crumbs in another bowl. Dip the nuggets in the egg, then breadcrumbs and set aside.
Baked:
- If baking, place on a sheet pan sprayed with oil. Preheat the oven to 450F and spray the chicken with oil.
- Bake 10 minutes then flip, bake an additional 6 minutes, until golden. Spraying both sides until golden and cooked through.
Air Fryer Method:
- Place the chicken nuggets in a singe layer in batches as needed, spray the tops with oil and air fry 8 to 9 minutes at 400F, flipping halfway spraying both sides with oil, until golden and cooked through.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
Leftover nuggets last for up to four days in the fridge, but if you want to freeze them, here’s how:
-
- Bake or air fry the chicken nuggets as directed and let them cool.
- Flash freeze them on a sheet pan until solid for an hour or two.
- Transfer to an airtight container.
- To reheat, bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 11 to 15 minutes or 360°F- air fryer for 7 to 8 minutes.
- Freeze up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 6 nuggets, Calories: 280 kcal, Carbohydrates: 13 g, Protein: 28 g, Fat: 13 g, Saturated Fat: 3.5 g, Cholesterol: 154.5 mg, Sodium: 670.5 mg, Fiber: 1.5 g, Sugar: 1.5 g
Will definitely be making these again! My picky eaters threw down on these chicken nuggets. These were very good and I got to sneak in a vegetable into it even better!
Perfect!!
A great substitute for the full blown chicken nuggets. I know what’s in them & can customize to my diet.
Everyone devoured them and no mom-guilt bc it wasn’t highly processed fried nuggets. It was heathy ones with hidden veggies.
♥
I made those for my daughter who hates cauliflower and lives on chicken nuggets and she LOVED them! I now prep them weekly and freeze so they’re always on hand. It costs more than buying pre-made, but I love that they’re healthier and have secret veggies!
My great granddaughter is very picky about Chicken Nuggets. She usually takes one bite out of each & that’s it. With these she ate 3 whole so quickly!
Super easy! Delicious!
My family loves this! Thank you for post the recipe.
Brilliant! Made these for my extremely picky 8 year old who refuses to eat vegetables (sensory issues with food). He gobbled them up and was completely unaware there was cauliflower rice in them! Victory!
These chicken nuggets are amazing!!! So moist and delicious and can’t tell at all there’s hidden cauli rice in it. I just had a few to taste test before my 1 and 3 yr old tries it, I think they will devour them! Thanks Gina!!
We enjoyed these. They were easy to make. I did put the chicken/cauli mixture itself in the freezer for a bit first before I coated and formed them which made it much easier to handle. Good taste, but personally I like Gina’s chicken breast nuggets way better.
I do think they are way better tasting than fast food nuggets (as well as there is no weird stuff in the nuggets that make fast food ones yucky), and I will definitely make them again. If that is the consistency you are looking for, these are perfect.
But again, the chicken breast ones (I used tenderloins) were much tastier for me personally!
I baked them since I can’t use my air fryer, but I’d like to try that because that might make a huge difference.
These were easy and my son loves them. Good to know what’s in there. I’ve made them at least four times in the last month. Great for kids lunches.
Surprisingly delicious and no cauliflower was detected. I need to work on crisping, maybe more oil? But otherwise flavorful and a great texture.
These are really tasty! My husband loved them too.
Quick, easy, and delicious. Hubs loved them and requested to add to the dinner rotation.
These are delicious. I’ve been making them and freezing to pull out during the week for a protein with a salad for lunch.
Perfect!
Mikey likes it!! Thank you so much! This is a true miracle. Life changing nuggets. I need more recipes for the pickiest of picky eaters with a nut/seed/shell fish allergy.
Favorite chicken nuggets ever!
Thanks Terri!
These were delicious! The cauliflower rice makes them moist inside which is fantastic. I froze them into portions so I could just take them out and reheat when a craving for nuggets hits.
I made this last night with my picky 11 year old and we all loved it. The only change we made is we mixed 1/2 seasoned bread crumbs with 1/2 panko bread crumbs and they were crunchy and delicious!
These are delicious! A bit too ‘gloopy’ to dip in egg and breadcrumb, but I tossed them in the freezer for about 20 minutes and it made the process a whole lot easier. Delicious with homemade tzatziki to dip in. Thank you for sharing!! Definitely saving this one!
These are really good. The only complaint is that the cauliflower really stinks but I do love that there’s a veggie in there for my son who won’t eat veggies!
Had some rotisserie chicken and chicken breast lunch meat I wanted to use up and also only had almond flour. I put a beaten egg in the mixture to keep it moist. This recipe turned out great. I will now freeze these nuggets to have myself for dinner this week. Excellent if you are have a nugget craving!
Hi! I had this exact question- since I have leftover rotisserie chicken- thanks! Did you have to adjust the cook time?
My notoriously picky 9 year old saw this recipe and asked to make them. I was skeptical because of the cauliflower rice but she ended up loving them! We will definitely make again!
Could you use regular cooked rice?
Perfect! My son ate them up!!!
I was looking for a healthier option of chicken nuggets and I’ve found them! Thank you!
Glad he enjoyed them!
These chicken nuggets are delicious! They are even a hit with my super picky 3 year old. Easy to make and WAY tastier and healthier than store-bought chicken nuggets. Thanks, Skinnytaste!
Aren’t they!!
looking forward to making these. do you have a recommendation for an egg substitute for these?
You can try using a little olive oil to make the breadcrumbs stick.
We actually skipped dipping in the egg before the breadcrumbs because we forgot and they turned out great!
Genuinely shocked these are healthy! By far the best homemade chicken nugget recipe we’ve tried (and we’ve tried a lot).
Made them for my grandson ended up, beating them myself. Super easy to make and so yummy.
So easy and delicious for a quick dinner!
Very good. Had enough left over to freeze for future snacks or lunch.
I made these for dinner along with some homemade honey mustard sauce. Wow so good. Easy steps with great results. Thanks again
I made these for dinner along with some homemade honey mustard sauce. Wow so good. Easy steps with great results. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
I made these today and they are awesome. Very easy to make. Loved by all. We do prefer less sodium in a recipe so we will tweak it a tad to our taste next time.
Absolutely delicious. My toddler is 1 going on 2 in a few months, he absolutely LOVES these. I have been looking for a healthy alternative and these are it! I use 100% ground chicken breast and it does not dry up, I added smoked paprika and have made them with and without the Panko crumbs – I just pan sear them in a small amount of olive oil and they come out beautifully. My husband is obsessed, he polishes them up when feeding our little one and has asked me to make them into wraps for him. Left a review on Pinterest where I found this recipe too – soooooo so good.
Thanks Romi, glad you all enjoy them!
This is a repeat recipe for me, always double it as they go quickly!
These are absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe! I didn’t change a thing and will make these again! I’m thankful I doubled the recipe! knew they would be great based on the fact that every one of your recipes I’ve tried has been so delicious! This was no exception! I’m so happy I found you!
Great!
I messed up on this one. Instead of dipping chicken mixture in egg and breadcrumbs, I mixed it all with the chicken. LoL it was too late to redo so I just shaped them and bake. It ended up being my 6 y.o favorite.
Great! Easier too!!
I can’t wait to make these for the Grandkids. I got some BBQ sauce and dipped these delicious nuggets. These were better than I expected. Love that there is cauliflower rice in them too. The kids will never know veggies are in there by the crunch on the outside and moist delicious center. Winner winner chicken nugget dinner :).
Absolutely!
Excellent! I was very skeptical of this recipe. So easy and delicious! Everyone loved them. I just have to perfect the nugget shape
The flavor is amazing! I finally have another meal that everyone – including my picky kids – can/will eat. And bonus on the hidden veggies! I pretty much followed the recipe as written, except made them into little oval patties, which made about 16 total. I just didn’t have the patience to bread 30 nuggets. They were a little gloopy, but I’ve worked with worse. They lost their shape in the egg dip, but took a better shape after rolling in the breadcrumbs. I shaped them into the ovals on the baking sheet and they held up beautifully. The cook time was exactly the same, as I made them about the same thickness as a nugget. One small recipe deviation: I also messed up and bought all white meat ground chicken. Following someone else’s suggestion, I added a few tablespoons of mayo and they came out perfect and juicy.
Recipe is delicious. Love the benefit of hidden veggies. They cook pretty fast. They do take a sometime to shape and coat so make sure to give yourself a little more time for that part.
These were very easy to make and tasted good! I did defrost my cauliflower rice and wrung out the liquid, I think it helped to keep the mixture not be so gloopy. Will make these again for sure.
Looks fantastic could you substitute cauliflower for cannellini beans? We have food intolerance and cauliflower is out.
I made these for my son who doesn’t eat veggies. I’m always looking for ways to hide veggies and these were perfect. I used a cookie scoop to make sure they were all the same size, then shaped into nuggets. He loved them. I froze the leftovers for his school lunches. I originally tried making them into dino nuggets by using cookie cutters, but it did not work because the chicken was just sticky and wouldn’t stay in the dino shape. Do you have any tips? I tried spraying the cookie cutters but that still didn’t work.
You can firm up the mixture by popping it in the freezer for a short period. Not enough to be fully frozen, but just less gloopy.
Helped me make a great meal and a school project.
skinny taste nuggets> mcnugets
I didn’t have high hopes for such a simple recipe but these were so good. They satisfied my fast food craving and I feel good about the ingredients/calories. My husband says they taste better than his fav drivethru.
Yay! Love to hear that!
While this was yummy I found it really tedious to form and bread every little nugget. In hindsight I’d chill the meat after mixing because it was just gloopy and annoying to handle. It was just a pain and I wouldn’t make them again.
Same. But I liked the flavor, so I’m making them into chicken patties that I air fry.
Oh, this is a great idea! We love the flavor, but it always seems so tedious to make. These would make amazing patties…then chicken honey biscuits in the morning. Mmmmmm.
Oh my! I doubted this recipe – the combination of ingredients seemed off. How could ground chicken(I used ground breast) and cauliflower taste,and give this grandmother the texture, of nuggets? I don’t know how, but this recipe is delicious – definitely a keeper!! Don’t doubt Gina, make this today!!
Made these for the grandchildren. I didn’t have the cauliflower rice so threw some cauli and broccoli in the food processor. Delicious and healthy!
The whole family destroyed these! Delicious!
Just made these tonight – excellent!
I loved this – definitely an easy fast food remake. A perfect lunch option & took no time to prep/make.
I do recommend browning up the breadcrumbs on the stove before dredging the nuggets in them – that got mine to look a bit more “fried”
Overall a great recipe and nuggets were tasty dipped in Bolthouse Ranch 🙂
Big hit with my family! Easy to make, great for lunches.
Yummy
I made these they were very good. I made them with panko crumbs they didn’t get as brown but were crunchier than ones I made with regular bread crumbs. I’d like to know if you spray them with PAM or do you put oil in container then pump it to pressurized it then spray. What oil do you use?
I made this recipe for my husband, 11 year old granddaughter and myself. The nuggets were delicious. My granddaughter told me that they were good. No one could taste the cauliflower and I didn’t tell my granddaughter they were in the nuggets. Great way to add vegetables!
Perfect!
These were delicious! I accidentally bought 97% lean ground chicken breast. I was worried they would be dry so I added a couple tbsps of Mayo to the mix and they were perfect! Messy to shape, but still perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe! Definitely making these again.
Darn! I accidentally bought 97% lean chicken breast. Could I add some oil to the ground meat to keep it from being too dry?
Add some oil but it will still be a bit dry.
The best chicken nuggets I have ever made!
Thanks Beth!
Love this recipe and what’s exciting is the whole family loves it and didn’t recognize that it was cauliflower in there! We did it in the air fryer and had to use ground turkey cause that’s what we had on hand.
Great!!
Excellent recipe! Thank you for adding some veggies that my son can’t see-lol!
Can I use ground chicken breast do have the same flavor
You can but they won’t be juicy, they come out dry.
Hi Gina,
Love your recipes!
Do you cook the frozen cauliflower rice first before mixing it in?
no need!
Haven’t made these yet but am planning on it this weekend. Once cooked, is the cauliflower visible? Can you taste it? Because, kids.
you cant see it or taste it!
These are so simple, yet amazing! Definitely make.
These were so great! I used 93% ground turkey because I couldn’t find 93% ground chicken in my store. I used panko and seasoned them myself. My husband despises turkey and even he was happy with these!
Do you think this would come out good with ground turkey instead of chicken? Only asking because I have a BUNCH of ground turkey, haha!
Sure!
What do you use to “spray the chicken”? Pam cooking spray?
My stomach does not tolerate cauliflower. Could you substitute hearts of palm rice?
Sure!
I accidentally mixed the breadcrumbs and egg in with the chicken. Proceeded to form the nuggets and dip in egg and breadcrumbs. Air fried at 400 for 4 minutes each side. Despite my mistake, they turned out delicious. Moist, tender and seasoned to perfection. Looking forward to making it again without the added egg and breadcrumbs.
What can I substitute for cauliflower rice?
You can omit it too!
For the listed calories and carbs what is the serving size.
6 nuggets.
Gina:
Any tips on making this egg free? My toddler is unfortunately allergic.
You can use a flour and water slurry. Use equal parts water and flour.
Just a question – did you cook the cauliflower rice first?