Why buy frozen when homemade chicken nuggets with ground chicken are easy to make yourself? It is also great to know what is inside those little chicken nuggets. They contain ingredients you can pronounce, are baked rather than fried, and have the same texture you know and love.
This recipe for homemade nuggets is also gluten free! Using rice chex cereal as the breading gives the chicken nuggets a crispy outer coating—just like the fried version. The juicy insides are flavorful and delicious. Perfect for the kids in your family or the kids at heart, use them as a salad topping, a mashed potato bowl topping, or a dip in dairy-free ranch dressing or homemade BBQ sauce.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Only Nine Simple Ingredients
- Baked, Not Deep Fat Fried
- Gluten Free and Low FODMAP
Featured Ingredients
- Ground Chicken - Use ground chicken with both white and dark meat. This makes the chicken juicer than using only white meat.
- Spice Mix
- Paprika, Kosher Salt, and Ground Black Pepper
- Dill Pickle Juice - Adds a bit of flavor and moisture.
- Flour - Use an all purpose flour or a gluten free flour if needed.
- Rice Chex Cereal - I love to use crushed rice chex cereal as the crispy breading. It doesn’t get soggy, easy to find, and inexpensive.
- Eggs - Used for breading the chicken nuggets. It is what the crushed cereal sticks to.
- Avocado Oil Spray - Greases the wire racks and is sprayed on the chicken nuggets to give the breading a crisp exterior.
See the recipe card for the exact measurements and complete instructions. Selected ingredients are based on guidance on current serving sizes measured by the Monash University Food App and FODMAP Friendly App at the time of publishing. As always, follow your gut and modify as needed.
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a small food processor or a zip-top bag and a heavy spoon, crush the rice chex cereal into crumbs. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, add the ground chicken, spices, and pickle juice. Stir well. This is important. Otherwise, the paprika will not look appetizing.
Grab three shallow dishes for the breading station. Pie plates work great. In one dish, add the flour. In the second bowl, add two large eggs and beat with a fork. In the third, add the crushed rice cereal.
Next, prepare the baking sheet. Add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of the sheet. Over the parchment paper, place a wire rack. Spray the wire rack with nonstick cooking spray to help prevent the breading from sticking.
Using a small cookie scoop, press the ground chicken mixture into a chicken nugget shape. Then, place it in the flour and cover it with a thin layer. The second step is to dip it into the eggs.
Do not leave it in the eggs for too long; the raw chicken nugget will fall apart. Next, place the egg-soaked nugget into the rice cereal. Cover completely. Place the coated nuggets on the greased wire rack.
Using a small cookie scoop, press the ground chicken mixture into a chicken nugget shape. Then, place it in the flour and cover it with a thin layer. The second step is to dip it into the eggs. Do not leave it in the eggs for too long; the raw chicken nugget will fall apart. Next, place the egg-soaked nugget into the rice cereal. Cover completely. Place the coated nugget on the greased wire rack.
Once all of the ground chicken mixture is shaped into nuggets and breaded, bake in a preheated 425 degree F oven for fifteen minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Serve immediately.
Tips and Tricks
If the raw nuggets are falling apart, chill the ground chicken-shaped nuggets in the refrigerator for thirty minutes. This will help hold them together during the breading process.
Meal prep a double batch! Once baked, cool and freeze in a zip-top bag or a freezer-friendly container. Reheat in a 425 degrees F oven for 20-30 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached.
Ingredient Swaps
- Chicken - Use a food processor to grind the chicken into a ground consistency. Or cut up one pound of chicken breast into nugget shapes.
- Panko Breadcrumbs - Swap out the cereal for panko breadcrumbs. Use gluten free version if needed.
Variations
Spicy Chicken Nuggets: Add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the ground chicken mixture.
Parmesan Cheese Chicken Nuggets: Add ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese to the cereal crumbs. This will give the ground chicken nuggets a salty, crunchy spin with the breading.
Baked Buffalo Chicken Bites: This recipe uses bite-sized chicken breasts instead of ground chicken and is baked in a homemade buffalo sauce.
Storing and Reheating
Store: Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Reheat: Place leftover chicken nuggets on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes or until warm. The microwave will also heat the nuggets, but the exterior coating will be soggy, although edible.
Frozen: Place cooled leftover nuggets in an airtight container or a zip-top bag. Remove frozen nuggets and bake as many as needed at 425 degrees F until heated through, about 20-30 minutes.
Dipping Sauces
While naked chicken nuggets are good, dipping them into your favorite sauce brings this finger food meal to a whole new level.
- Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing - A wonderful creamy option.
- BBQ Sauce - A great smoky, sweet option.
- Buffalo Sauce - For a spicy buffalo-flavored version like boneless chicken wings.
- Mexi-Ranch - A great collaboration of ranch and salsa!
FAQs
When you make chicken nuggets from scratch, you control the ingredients, the size of the nuggets, and the recipe, which can be modified to fit any dietary needs.
Meal Planning
Serve chicken nuggets with Instant Pot mac and cheese or mashed potatoes. Have leftovers? Chicken nuggets are great in loaded potato bowls! A quick lunch option would be to use them in the Greek egg white wrap. Or just eat them as a quick snack with your favorite dipping sauce!
Additional Kid-Friendly Recipes
Recipe
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Equipment
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice chex cereal crushed
- 16 ounces ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dill pickle juice
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup flour gluten free works too
- avocado spray oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a small food processor or a ziplock bag and a heavy spoon, crush the rice chex cereal into crumbles. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, salt, black pepper, paprika, and dill pickle juice. Mix well. All spices need to be fully incorporated into the ground chicken.
- In three shallow dishes, like pie plates, create a breading station. In one pie plate, add the gluten free flour. In another dish, add two eggs and beat with a fork until combined. In the last dish, add the rice chex cereal crumbles.
- Grab a large baking sheet, place a sheet of parchment paper down. Next place a wire rack on top of the parchment paper. Spray the wire rack with nonstick cooking spray. Otherwise the breading can stick to the wire rack. Using a wire rack will allow the heat to circulate the chicken nuggets. If you do not have a wire rack, flip the chicken nuggets half way between cooking time.
- Next grab a small cookie scoop and shape the ground chicken into a nugget shape. Place in the flour and completely cover the chicken. Next dip the nugget into the eggs. Move quickly so the nugget does not fall apart. Finally place it into the cereal crumbs and completely cover the chicken nugget. Place on the wire rack. Repeat the process until all the chicken shaped and breaded.
- Spray the chicken nuggets with avocado spray to give the tops extra crunch!
- Bake in a preheated 425 degree F oven for 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite dipping sauce, like ranch dressing or BBQ sauce.
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