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!).
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!
coconut / 8234 posts
Yay! I’ve been looking for a recipe. My LO is obsessed with chicken nuggets right now.
pomegranate / 3401 posts
Yummy!
pomegranate / 3921 posts
This looks so good! Can’t wait to try.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
yum!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
Need to try this. I tried homemade nuggets ages ago but they didnt come out as well as I had hoped so maybe I need to try a different recipe
honeydew / 7488 posts
My kids love homemade nuggets. I usually use the skinny taste recipe but will have to try these sometime!
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
Love the idea of making these in special shapes
Thanks for the recipe!
grapefruit / 4120 posts
These look great! And I just happen to have ground chicken in the freezer. Score!
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
We have a very similar recipe, sans the oats… I’m going to have to give this one a try! Thanks for the new twist!
pomegranate / 3225 posts
I just made these. Yummmm! Such a great idea!
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
These look so good!!
grapefruit / 4278 posts
I’ll definitely be trying these, E is in a super picky phase but nuggets are always a hit.
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
this sounds like a great recipe! yum!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
I think M would love these. Maybe we’ll try making them together this weekend.
coconut / 8234 posts
Just want to say that I LOVE THIS RECIPE! I make it once a month now and add chopped frozen spinach. My LO loves them!