Baked Chicken Nuggets

These baked chicken nuggets are super amazing. They are sooo easy to make, taste incredibly delicious and are a fantastic healthy alternative to the fried chicken nuggets we probably all know. I just love how crunchy and flavorful these chicken nuggets are without having to fry them. Some spices and a few little extra tricks in the kitchen just go a loooong way to make healthy and tasty versions of those foods we all love. And these homemade chicken nuggets are no exception! They simply are delish.

Ingredients for healthy chicken nuggets

I am sure you want to know now what ingredients you will need to make these tasty and healthy chicken nuggets. Here are the ingredients to make these crunchy chicken nuggets:

• chicken breast
• panko breadcrumbs
• eggs
• spices (paprika powder, thyme, rosemary, salt)
• olive or avocado oil spray

And that’s it! You only need these ingredients to make these yummy chicken bites.

How to make baked chicken nuggets

You probably already guessed by the name of the recipe what method we are using to make these delicious and crunchy chicken nuggets: we are baking them in the oven. And let me tell you one thing: there probably is nothing easier than preparing these chicken nuggets! So, let’s get into how you can make these little bites of pure happiness.

First, preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). While the oven is heating up, take care of the chicken nuggets. All you have to do is cut them into medium-sized pieces that are not too large or small. Next, you take two bowls. In the first bowl, you beat the eggs. In the second bowl, you prepare the breadcrumbs for coating the chicken pieces. You simply do this by adding the panko breadcrumbs and the spices to the bowl and mixing them.

Now comes the fun part: creating the delicious little chicken nuggets. You simply take one chicken piece, put it into the egg bowl until it is evenly coated, and then you do the same in the panko breadcrumb bowl. Place the coated chicken nugget on a baking sheet and just repeat for all chicken pieces. When you are finished, the chicken nuggets just need one more special treatment before they are ready for the oven. Take your oil spray and evenly coat them with the spray from all sides. When you are done, bake them in the oven for approximately 15 minutes and you can finally serve the healthy chicken nuggets you prepared!

When it comes to the time in the oven, just make sure you do not bake them for too long! Chicken can become very dry in the oven, so adjust the time depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Larger pieces usually need a bit longer. Just check during the baking time by cutting one chicken nugget to see if they are cooked through in case you are unsure.

Are chicken nuggets healthy?

These chicken nuggets are a lot healthier than most restaurant versions for a few reasons. The most obvious one: we don’t fry them. Frying foods is just one of the unhealthiest ways to prepare them. To make these chicken nuggets a lot healthier, we simply go for baking them in the oven. It saves you a ton of calories, but still makes these chicken nuggets super delicious and so tender. No need to drown our lovely chicken bites in unhealthy oils!

And yes, all of my crunchy-food-lovers will definitely love these chicken nuggets! Instead of overloading them with oil, we simply coat them evenly with olive or avocado oil spray to do the job. This brings me to my second point: you can choose an oil that has several nutritional benefits! Since not all oils are created equal, you definitely want to choose one that has as many health benefits as possible. For this recipe, you definitely want to go for olive oil or avocado oil.

Lastly, making homemade chicken nuggets allows you to choose how the meat you buy was raised. This is always a huge point to me and one of the reasons why I just love to prepare my meals myself whenever possible.

How to serve

My favorite way to eat these chicken nuggets is to enjoy them with a huge bowl of salad! It just makes the perfect lunch. Other ideas might be to serve them as finger food with delicious sauces and dips. The options to combine these chicken nuggets with other foods are endless. Let me know in the comments how you like to enjoy these baked chicken nuggets!

More delicious chicken recipes

• Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
• Best White Bean Chicken Chili
• Thai Peanut Curry with Chicken
• Thai Chicken Salad