Baked Crispy Chicken Nuggets
These are the best Chicken Nuggets you will make at home. They are healthy because they are baked, not fried, juicy, and perfectly crispy on the outside. The chicken pieces are seasoned inside and out. I am going to tell you not one but two little tricks that will give you these perfect little golden crispy nuggets without drying the chicken.
Chicken Nuggets -Baked Not Fried
Crispy Chicken Nuggets—kids or adults, everyone loves these. These are made from scratch and baked, so they are a healthier version. Tender pieces of chicken with a crispy bread coating taste delicious when dipped in honey mustard sauce or ketchup. There can’t be better finger food for the kids or to feed a crowd.
It is always easy to pick a packet of nuggets from the frozen section, but trust me I have never fancied those packaged nuggets. The store-bought nuggets are tasteless and bland, and don’t get me started about the artificial additives it has. My daughter loves them and often asks to pack them in her lunchbox. These homemade baked nuggets are so good, I usually prep a big batch to freeze.
I have settled on the below method after trying a few recipes out there.
- This is the most common dredging technique. Dip chicken breast in egg, followed by flour, coat breadcrumbs, and bake. In this method, I found the flour coating remained raw while the chicken was cooked. Also, setting up a dredging station and doing 3 coats is messy.
- Another method I tried was marinating chicken in buttermilk brine and then coating it with flour. The chicken turned out to be really juicy, but it wasn’t crispy at all.
- Here is what worked – Brining chicken in a seasoned buttermilk brine. Then add egg and flour to make a thick coating for the chicken. Then coat with the breadcrumb mixture and bake.
Ingredients
- Chicken– Boneless chicken breast, cut into 1.5 inch cubes.
- Buttermilk– Tenderises the chicken
- Buttermilk Seasoning– Dijon mustard, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Oil- to fry breadcrumbs
- Egg
- Breadcrumb- I prefer using a mix of panko and regular breadcrumbs. Panko beuace of its large crumb size doesn’t stick uniformly to chicken, so a mix of both creates a uniform thick coating.
- Breadcrumb seasoning- It a blend of Garlic powder, onion powder, cayane pepper, paprika, salt, thyme and oregano.
How To Make Crispy Chicken Nuggets that’s not dry
I have tried several recipes before this. And this one gave me chicken nuggets that are very close to fried ones.
Chicken Breast– Chicken breast is the best cut for this recipe. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You don’t have to hold a scale and cut into equal-sized pieces. Just make sure all the pieces are of the same size for even cooking.
Buttermilk Brine– Seasoned with dijon mustard, salt, pepper and paprika, Buttermilk brine makes sure the Chicken is tenderized and doesn’t get dry after baking. You can brine the chicken minimum 30 minutes up to 4 hours.
Toasting Breadcrumbs- Toasting breadcrumbs before coating chicken is a real game-changer. Toast breadcrumbs in oil until light golden brown in colour. You can do this either on the stovetop or in the oven.
Egg– Fried Chicken recipe calls for dipping chicken in flour then egg and followed by breadcrumb coating. I hate this entire process of dipping in multiple bowls, after a few rounds the entire thing becomes a mess. And I always end up with a lot of waste. So I combined 2 steps and added flour and egg to the buttermilk brine. It creates a thick coating for chickens and the dry breadcrumb coating sticks well. So no multiple bowl dipping business.
Season Breadcrumb – Season toasted breadcrumb with spices
Frequently Asked Questions
I am always team chicken thigh but for this recipe chicken breast works the best. Post brining, the chicken nuggets will almost melt in your mouth. Chicken thighs are more like
For a gluten-free version, you can use gluten-free breadcrumbs and corn starch.
Air frying is a great alternative. I love how crispy these Chicken wings turn out every time I make them. So air frying the coated chicken nuggets works too. It should take roughly about 10-12 minutes in the air fryer.
Serving suggestion
Good old ketchup, Honey Mustard Sauce or BBQ Sauce is a perfect pairing. You can also serve these with SWEET CHILLI SAUCE or Creamy AVOCADO DIP for a change.
Serve any light salad like this Lettuce salad, Coleslaw ( give this apple cranberry slaw a try for a change) on the side for a perfect meal. Good old classic Baked Mac and cheese ( or this Buffalo Chicken Mac and cheese for extra spice kick) is a comfort food pairing.
Baked Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 pound Boneless Chicken Breast
For Buttermilk Brine
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 egg (to be added later)
- ⅓ cup Flour
For Breadcrumb Coating
- 1 cup Regular Breadcrumbs (
- 1 cup Panko Breadcrumb
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Dried Thyme ref note 1
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Cut chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Try to keep all the pieces of the same size, for even cooking.
- In a bowl add buttermilk, salt, pepper, paprika and dijon mustard. Whisk it well. Add chicken pieces and mix it well. Cover and let it marinate for at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. Add breadcrumbs and toast it until it is crispy and nicely browned. Keep stirring it to prevent it from burning.
- When the breadcrumbs cooled down a little bit, add all the spices, flower. Mix well and keep aside until use.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 Degree Celcius). Set a large wire rack on a baking sheet.
- Take the marinated chicken out of the refrigerator. Let it sit on the kitchen counter and come close to room temperature.
- Add beaten egg and flour to the marinated chicken and mix everything.
- Spread breadcrumb mixture in a tray.
- Take a few pieces of chicken at a time and arrange it in a single layer.
- Using a fork toss chicken pieces and coat well with breadcrumb mixture. ( Watch video after the recipe to see how to coat chicken pieces without making your hands dirty)
- Arrange the coated chicken pieces on the prepared wired rack, spaced little apart.
- Bake for 12 minutes until it is crispy, cooked through and inside temp reaches 165 degrees F.
- Optional – Once the nuggets are baked and still hot, I sometimes sprinkle a little Old Bay seasoning.
Video
Notes
- Replace thyme with dried Oregano or parsley. Or you could also use Italian seasoning.
This recipe was under a heading of best weight watcher snacks. Can you tell me how many points per serving please
How many WW points are a serving of these?
What can I substitute the buttermilk with? I’m dairyfree. Really want to make these for my boyfriend and I.
You could substitute with 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice. I haven’t tried this substitution but upon some research this is best sub I found. Please let me know if you give this sub a try. I would love to know the outcome.
Family loved these with home made fries. Thank you
Glad to know you all like it, Cgerl