Homemade chicken nuggets are easy and fast to make in your kitchen—no mystery ingredient in your nuggets. Make them crispy in a convection oven, air fryer, or pan fry.
With a delicious coating of Parmesan cheese and a mix of regular and Panko breadcrumbs to make the texter and flavor you and the kids will love.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken—breasts, thighs, or tenders
Eggs
Breadcrumbs—regular and Panko
Parmesan cheese—grated
Salt and black pepper
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐓Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- ♨️Cooking in an Air Fryer
- ♨️How to pan fry chicken nuggets
- How long to cook chicken nuggets
- Chicken options
- Making your perfect coating
- Kid-Friendly Chicken Recipes
- How to serve
- How to make breadcrumb coating stick better?
- FAQs—storage and reheating leftovers
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment from Sue:
"5 stars. The grandkids loved these they took some to school they smelt lovely even granddad ate it…"
Don't go for the fast-food fried chicken nuggets. You and your family deserve better. These yummy chicken nuggets of juicy chicken and a crispy Parmesan and Panko coating will be a family favorite.
Make them healthy with chicken breasts and egg whites, then oven-baked in a convection oven or air fryer. With only 1 gram of fat per nugget, these homemade chicken nuggets are about as healthy as it gets.
This tasty, simple recipe uses common ingredients, is fast and easy with minimal prep, and cooks quickly
👨🍳How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven.
2. Prep a baking tray—line with foil or parchment paper for clean-up.
3. Pat dry and trim two medium skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound).
3. Whisk egg whites or a whole egg in a shallow pan or bowl. In a second shallow pan, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
5. Coat the chicken chunks in the egg mixture and shake off the excess egg.
6. Coat with the breadcrumb mixture and move to the rack.
7. Give the coated nuggets a light spray of PAM and let them sit for 5 minutes.
8. Bake until 165° in the thickest part and a crispy brown coating—about 12-15 minutes.
9. Serve hot with ketchup, BBQ sauce, or honey mustard in a small bowl. Or a dipping sauce of your choice.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
♨️Cooking in an Air Fryer
- Preheat the air-fryer for a few minutes at 400°.
- The nuggets need to be in a single layer and not overlapping. Total cooking time will be 8-10 minutes, with a flip in the middle.
- Cook to 165° and work in batches.
♨️How to pan fry chicken nuggets
Crispy fried chicken is special, but deep-fried nuggets are harder to do at home. Pan-fried on the stovetop is much easier at home.
- Heat the vegetable oil to 350° in a large skillet over medium-high heat. There needs to be enough oil to half submerge the nugget—about ⅜ inch usually.
- Add the chicken nuggets to the pan and brown on each side for about 4-5 minutes per side until an internal temperature of 165°.
How long to cook chicken nuggets
The exact cooking time will vary by the cooking temperature and thickness of the chicken. All chicken must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165° for safety—see the USDA for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.
You will also want the coating to be golden brown and crispy. If the chicken has reached the final temperature, you can place it under the broiler for a few minutes.
Chicken options
Skinless boneless chicken breasts are perfect for cutting into chicken nuggets, but chicken tenders can be cut into chicken chunks or cooked as whole chicken fingers with this recipe.
Make chicken thigh nuggets with skinless boneless chicken thighs, but should be cooked to 185° to be tender.
Making your perfect coating
- Pick your breadcrumbs
- Panko breadcrumbs alone will make a ruff coating, and most kids are used to smoother coats. A 50/50 mix will make most people happy.
- Add flavor by choosing flavored breadcrumbs. I suggest using Italian or cheese flavors.
- If you need gluten-free chicken nuggets, use gluten-free bread crumbs.
- Use fresh grated Parmesan, if possible, for great flavor. If you need dairy-free, use grated goat Romano cheese and check the ingredients on the breadcrumbs.
- Other seasoning
- Seasoning or spices like basil, garlic powder, onion powder, or Italian mix can be added.
- If you are not serving children, adding ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the breading will give a pleasant spicy kick.
- Use the whole egg, but you can decrease the fat by using two egg whites instead.
Kid-Friendly Chicken Recipes
Kids love chicken and individual servings. Stick with healthy baked chicken with some baked chicken tenders or baked drumsticks. Fire up the grill for grilled chicken legs or chicken tenders. Or even stay on the stovetop for fried chicken tenders.
How to serve
Kids love dipping sauces. You can use ketchup, BBQ sauce, honey mustard, or any dipping recipe they love.
Add side dishes of raw vegetables or baked French fries.
How to make breadcrumb coating stick better?
You can easily do two things to help the coating stick to the chicken nuggets.
First, nothing sticks well to wet meat. So dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels.
Second, after coating the chicken with egg wash and breadcrumb mixture, let it rest for about 5 minutes, giving the egg and breading time to "glue" themselves to the surface better.
FAQs—storage and reheating leftovers
Store airtight for 4 days. But it will be best for the first few days.
To freeze chicken nuggets, place them on a tray in the freezer for a few hours, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 4 months.
Reheating in a hot convection oven or air fryer will restore the crispiness to the surface and is preferred. But a brief reheat in the microwave is fine.
With frozen chicken nuggets, it is best to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, but not absolutely necessary. The breading is more likely to come off if reheated while still frozen.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - about 1 pound, trimmed
- 1 egg - or two egg whites
- 8 tablespoons bread crumbs - any combination of Panko or regular - flavored or not.
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional oven.
- Prep a baking tray—line with foil or parchment paper for clean-up. A rack will make the nuggets crispy all around. And then a good spray of PAM. If you don't have the rack, you will need to flip the nuggets after 8-10 minutes.
- Pat dry and trim two medium skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound). Cut the breasts into chunks of 1 to 1 ½ inches, 6-7 nuggets out of each breast. Pat dry again.
- Whisk one whole egg (or two whites) in a shallow pan or bowl. In a second shallow pan, mix 8 tablespoons bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Put the chicken chunks in the egg mixture and stir to coat. Pick up the nuggets with a fork and shake off the excess egg.
- Move the nuggets individually to the breadcrumb mixture, coat well, and place the breaded chicken on the rack. Instead, you could use a large baggie and shake them in the breading mix.
- Give the coated nuggets a light spray of PAM to prevent them from drying too much in the oven. If you have time, let them sit for 5 minutes before placing them in the oven. It will help the coating adhere better.
- Bake until 165° in the thickest part and a crispy baked coating—about 12-15 minutes.
- Serve hot with ketchup, BBQ sauce, or honey mustard in a small bowl. Or a dipping sauce of your choice.
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Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You may use skinless chicken thighs but need to be cooked to 185° for texture and will take a few minutes longer.
- You may do this without the rack, but you will need to flip the nuggets at 6-7 minutes into cooking.
- You can make the nuggets smaller if you want for little kids.
- Most kids will want a smoother coating. So, more regular breadcrumbs will be smoother. The more Panko, the rougher the coating.
- If you dry the nuggets well before the egg wash and you rest the nuggets before baking after coating, the coating will stick better.
- Season to your taste.
- Good refrigerated for 4 days after cooking and in the freezer for 4 months.
- Good with dipping sauces.
- Nutrition is per nugget and is calculated on 6 nuggets per breast using egg whites and baking. Also, all topping is calculated as used, but obviously it won't be.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published February 9, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
sue says
the grand kids loved these they took some to school they smelt lovely even granddad ate it xxxx
Julia Marple says
Very good, thanks!
Make that a *heaping* 8 tablespoons of bread crumbs, and at least 25 minutes in my conventional oven.
Nicki says
We make a similar recipe for breaded chicken strips and breasts. Since we don’t have kids we get to play with the seasonings more. So far our favorite combo has been smoked salt, black pepper, smoked chipotle, smoked paprika, garlic, and cumin. It goes surprisingly well with the parmasean!
Alex Miller says
How much is a serving?
DrDan says
I redid the wording a little since it wasn't very specific. I'm now using 6 nuggets per breast and nutrition is per nugget.
Bianca says
Could you make these to freeze?
DrDan says
That is a yes, but. I don't like freezing things with uncooked egg. So I wouldn't freeze until I have cooked them to 165. But then I don't think the coating would be very good after freezing and reheating.
Dan
Elizabeth Lang says
I've been making something very close to this for my grandchildren for years and they love them! I also found that you can freeze the finished product and reheat for a quick lunch or dinner (better freshly made but when I leave to go home I tell them it's a kiss from me when they eat them later). They are yummy.
Dr Dan says
A hour in buttermilk would be good if you have it. But these are very tender and are quick and easy.
Christine Mikesell says
Dad, did you try soaking the chicken in milk or anything first? I found a recipe recently that recommended doing that and it was pretty good!
Chris says
Way better than frozen nuggets and only takes the same amount of time. Hard to beat that!