A little while back Mr. H picked up some ground chicken from our neighborhood butcher and was trying to figure out what he could make with it – something that would be fairly simple to put together while also being approachable and easily enjoyed by Miss H. He came across a recipe for homemade chicken nuggets, made a few tweaks to it, and voila! A new Hopscotch household favorite, loved by all ages.

These nuggets are super simple to put together and hold up well in the fridge for a couple of days (if they last that long!).

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Healthy Chicken Nuggets
Momables

**Note: our tweaks to the recipe are in bold**

1 lb ground chicken
¼ cup old-fashioned oats
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tsp Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning, divided (optional) sub paprika (we omit both)
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
¾ cup breadcrumbs
3-4 T olive oil

In large bowl, combine chicken, oatmeal, half the grated parmesan (1/8 cup), half the Zatarain’s seasoning (or paprika) (we omit both and add onion powder), garlic powder and pepper. Knead dry ingredients into ground chicken. Add in 3-4 T of olive oil until mixture has some moisture to it without being too wet.

Moisten hands to prevent sticking and form 1 tbsp of chicken mixture into a ball. Press into a cookie cutter for shaped nuggets or flatten with fingers for a basic nugget shape.

In small bowl, combine breadcrumbs with remaining Zatarain’s seasoning (or omit seasoning) and grated parmesan.

Press nuggets into bread crumb mixture and turn over, patting crumbs into surface to coat evenly.

(At this point you can freeze the nuggets or continue on to bake.)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Arrange nuggets on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper (we use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper). Lightly spray nuggets themselves with cooking spray or olive oil for a crispier coating (optional) (we do not spray the nuggets because we opt to add the olive oil into the mixture). Bake 15-20 minutes, turning once, and checking – don’t overcook! These baked nuggets will not really brown (unless you pan fry in oil) – if browning is desired, place under broiler for a couple of minutes at the end of cooking.

Enjoy!