Homemade Chicken Nuggets

They’re a favorite dish for kids and adults alike and are famously served in the millions at fast food chains all around the world. Yes, the hearty Chicken Nugget is an incredibly popular bite of deliciousness with its crunchy textured coating and fluffy flavored Chicken filling. However, the consistency and healthiness of fast-food Nuggets is questionable, so why not try your hand at making them yourself? Our Homemade Chicken Nuggets taste simply amazing, and are a much healthier option than store bought versions, making them a fantastic treat for the kids

How to make Homemade Chicken Nuggets

There’s a few different ways you can prepare Homemade Chicken Nuggets, and they really come down to two things: Are the Chicken pieces ground or whole, and what kind of coating you should use. For our recipe we’re using a smooth, blitzed Chicken and coating the Nuggets in a crispy and tasty Panko Breadcrumb

Blitzing the Chicken instead of using whole pieces

We’re trying to replicate the classic Chicken Nugget that we are all familiar with from fast food restaurants. Those Chicken pieces are always ground up in a food processor instead of using whole pieces. In our opinion if you are using whole pieces of Chicken that is Popcorn Chicken, and not a Nugget

Look, we love Popcorn Chicken, it tastes amazing. In fact, we’ve even got a recipe for amazing Popcorn Chicken here. However, they’re not Chicken Nuggets! For a true Nugget you need to use Ground Chicken

Now, you can purchase Ground Chicken if you like, but I much prefer blitzing the Chicken pieces myself. Blitzing will achieve a much smoother texture that is denser than Ground Chicken, which means you’ll have a meatier Chicken Nugget

You can use Chicken Breast or Thighs for this recipe

Each will produce a different texture and flavor. For a healthier option (which we opted for) we recommend using Chicken Breast. For a less healthy, but tastier option, opt for the Thighs. This is true in any Chicken dish, you’ll get more flavor out of the Thighs, but they are a little fattier

You can add a load of seasoning to the Chicken Breast once it’s been blitzed in the food processor. This is a great way to infuse flavor into the Chicken, so regardless of whether you use Breast or Thighs it’s going to taste great

We use a combination of Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt, and Pepper for our recipe. The flavors are great, and you can even add some of the same seasoning to the Flour breading when we coat the Homemade Chicken Nuggets right before frying

Form the Ground Chicken Meat into Nugget shapes then coat in the breading

You can shape the Nuggets however you like, but I’d suggest opting for that oval-like shape that is typical of a Chicken Nugget. It’s not going to change the flavor, but it’s nice to have the dish resemble the familiarity of a Chicken Nugget all the same. Use about a golf-ball sized amount of Chicken and then form it into its famous rectangular shape

The Chicken meat is then coated in a classic breading of Flour (first), Egg Wash (second), and finally Panko Breadcrumbs. You’ll need 3 separate bowls for each of the breading ingredients. We like to use Panko Breadcrumbs as they produce an amazingly crunchy texture. They also taste great!

Frying the Nuggets

You can either shallot fry or deep fry the Nuggets for our recipe. I much prefer deep frying because it ensures an even coat through, and it’ll cook faster. There’s no impact to the amount of fat that ends up in the Nugget, so I much prefer deep frying

Fill a sturdy pot with enough Oil that the Nuggets will comfortably be submerged. I like using a regular saucepan as you won’t need to use as much Oil. Place it over medium high heat and bring it to 320F – 350F (check using a thermometer)

Once you’re at the right temperature, carefully drop the Nuggets into the Oil and cook them for about 4 minutes. You don’t need to stir them much as they’ll cook evenly given they’re completely submerged in the Oil. I’d suggest batch cooking the Nuggets, so the Oil temperature doesn’t drop too much when they’re added to the Oil

Once cooked, remove them carefully from the oil using a spider strainer and set the Nuggets aside on a wire rack and immediately season with Salt. This will ensure the Salt sticks to them, and ensures the coating is well seasoned. They’re now ready to serve with your favorite dipping sauce

Homemade Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large Chicken Breast
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• ½ tsp. Pepper
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1 ½ cups of Panko Breadcrumbs
• 8 cups of Frying Oil (eg Vegetable or Canola Oil)
  
  

Equipment needed: Food Processor

Instructions

1. Cut the Chicken into chunks and then place them into a food processor. Blitz for 20 seconds and then add the Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, 1 tsp. of Salt, and ½ tsp. of Pepper. Blitz for 30 seconds on high until smooth and the seasoning has been fully incorporated
2. Create a breading station by filling three bowls. The first with AP Flour (you can also add the same seasoning we added to the Chicken), the second with whisked Eggs, and the last with Panko Breadcrumbs
3. Form the Chicken mixture into individual Nuggets. Grab about a golf-ball size piece of Chicken and form them into familiar Chicken Nugget rectangular shapes. Coat the Chicken in Flour, then Egg Wash, and finally the Breadcrumbs
4. Fill a study Pot or Saucepan with enough Frying Oil so the Nuggets will be fully submerged then place over medium high heat until the Oil temperature is between 320F – 350F
5. Carefully add your Chicken Nuggets to the Oil and fry for 4 minutes until golden-brown and cooked on the inside (160F). Batch cook the Chicken to avoid the Oil dropping in heat
6. Once cooked, remove the Nuggets using a spider strainer. Drain off excess Oil then place on a wire rack and season with some more Salt. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce
   
   

Recipe Notes

• This recipe will produce about 8 Chicken Nuggets
• You can replace the Chicken Thigh with Breast (or a combination of both) if you like
  
  

You can’t beat these amazing Homemade Chicken Nuggets. They are packed full of flavor and are a much healthier option than anything you can buy from those fast-food places. The Panko Breadcrumbs give the Nuggets a wonderfully crispy coating, and they taste so good

For more delicious fried treats, check out these delicious recipes of ours:

• Panko Calamari Rings
• Corn Ribs
• Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings
• Drinking Bacon
  
  

Happy Cooking!