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It’s safe to say chicken nuggets are a favorite of most North American kids. They are found in many restaurant’s “kids menu” and in nearly every freezer. They are also served in most American schools and found, of course, in the boxed lunch section. The ingredients alone will scare any semi-health conscious person.
Why are they so popular? Is it the shapes? I’m not sure but they are simple to make! Â So why buy them ready-made? Our comparison of store-bought vs homemade will have you wondering the same thing.Â
Round 1 : Contents
Our store bought chicken nugget lunch was quite a disappointment! The first thing I noticed was how little food it contained. This is a lunch? 4 processed nuggets, ketchup for dipping sauce, and 2 sandwich cookies. It lacked nutrition and quantity.
The MOMables remake also contains 4 fresh chicken nuggets (homemade-recipe below), dipping sauce (barbecue instead of ketchup), and 2 sandwich cookies. In addition, ours has the fruit & vegetable servings missing from the boxed lunch; crunchy carrot stick “fries” and juicy grapes. Better! The MOMables lunch includes more food groups!
Round 2 : Nutrition
Nutritionally, the chicken nugget portions size is similar… though our homemade ones do have almost 40% more protein – my guess is probably because they contain real chicken and less filler. Our homemade nuggets also have less sodium than the processed and even less depending of your seasonings. With the boxed lunch, you get sodium, preservatives, nitrates…
The cookies I chose for the MOMables lunch do have as much sugar, calories, and fat as those that come with the boxed lunch, but they are made without high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, or preservatives.
Round 3 : Appeal
The boxed lunch may come in a colorful package, but out of the box, it looks lacking, it’s nuggets pale. The MOMables chicken nugget lunch, packed in EasyLunchboxes, gets it’s color from fresh flavorful ingredients rather than packaging.
Which would you rather send your child to school with?
THIS chicken nugget lunch? … Or THAT one?
 The winner, by freshness & appeal… the MOMables lunch!
MOMables menu plans provide you with healthy, fresh meals you can make in 10 minutes or less, but unlike store-bought lunches, they allow flexibility in portioning and choice of sides so you can customize each lunch to suit your family’s tastes and appetites.
MOM Tip : Bake a whole batch of these chicken nuggets ahead of time, then store in the freezer in an airtight bag or container. Warm a serving in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to thaw before packing lunch. Fast & delicious!
Ingredients for about 24 nuggets:
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 tsp Zatarain's Creole Seasoning, divided (optional) sub paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
Directions
- In large bowl, combine chicken, oatmeal, half the grated parmesan (1/8 cup), half the Zatarain's seasoning (or paprika) (1/2 tsp), garlic powder and pepper. Knead dry ingredients into ground chicken.
- Moisten hands to prevent sticking and form 1 tbsp of chicken mixture into a ball. Press into a cookie cutter for shaped nuggets or flatten with fingers for a basic nugget shape.
- In small bowl, combine breadcrumbs with remaining Zatarain's seasoning and grated parmesan.
- Press nuggets into bread crumb mixture and turn over, patting crumbs into surface to coat evenly.
- --At this point you can freeze-- or
- To bake: Preheat oven to 375° F. Arrange nuggets on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Lightly spray nuggets themselves with cooking spray or olive oil for a crispier coating (optional). Bake 15-20 minutes, turning once, and checking - don't overcook! These baked nuggets will not really brown (unless you pan fry in oil) - if browning is desired, place under broiler for a couple of minutes at the end of cooking.
MOM tip:Â These nuggets don’t have to be baked right away; you can freeze the breaded nuggets on a cookie sheet, then transfer them to an airtight bag or container and store them in the freezer until you’re ready to bake as few or as many as you like for up to 3 months. Add about 3-5 minutes to your usual cooking time if baking from frozen.
She does have great meals, huh? We make homemade nuggets here from boneless chicken, but I never thought to try them with GROUND chicken! Saving the recipe!
I absolutely LOVE this!!!! I know what I’m getting at the store tonight. Great job ladies!
Awesome Shannon! great that you are going to plan ahead!!
Oh how neat! This is how I do my homemade chicken nuggets too but with paprika. Next time I’ll add some shapes for more lunch appeal! Thanks for the idea.
I love the idea of using ground chicken! My kids love chicken nuggets….definitely need to make these.
let us know how they like these!
What a great idea…to freeze them and using ground chicken, I could substitute turkey..the possibilities are endless..Thank you for this recipe, definitely a keeper..
I never thought of freezing my own. I so need to do this. The homemade looks so much better than the store bought.
Let us know how they come out! we had some for dinner last night. kids loved them!
I bet you could use the chicken mash like cookie dough and just cut shapes out that way too. Might need a spatula to pick them up though.
And the ground chicken makes them easier for little eaters to chew, which is often why they dislike meat – the chewy, stringy, hard-to-chew texture.
This sound a LOT better than another recipe I tried that involved putting a chicken breast in a food processor. They had the texture of already chewed chicken (yes, I tasted them) – yuck! I’ll be giving these ones a try though!
Tiffany, let us know how these come out for you! :)
I have to try these!!! They look great!!
Made a batch today to have some on hand in the freezer. Delicious!!!
Thanks for the feedback Nicole!!
Can’t wait to try this with my aupair children! They are crazy about chicken nuggets – but I can’t stand the “chicken nuggets” you can by everywhere.
Thanky you for the recipe!
This is one of our most visited and printed recipes to date. The taste is delicious and it’s made with…. (drumroll plz!!) REAL CHICKEN! :) Let us know how your family enjoys them.
I have two questions:
1. Do you bake these before packing them in the lunch box? If so how do they keep warm and from growing bacteria? OR do you bake them first then chill them then send them cold with an ice pack?
2. All of the dry ingredients stay together without falling apart? You don’t need an egg?
Hi Amy, Yes, I bake them before packing them, and my daughter eats them at room temperature at lunch. Lunch IS only 3.5-4 hours later. They are cooked to a safe temperature before they are packed, so I’m confident they are fine for her to eat. If you think about it, food sits out on a platter longer than that at most parties. And as a kid, nobody had ice packs in their lunchboxes… That said, I line in the PNW, where it doesn’t get hot, like, ever :)
If in doubt, or if your kidlet prefers them hot,wrapping them in foil and popping them into an insulated food container might do the trick.
Oops, forgot your 2nd question :) No egg, the grated parmesan melts and binds it!
Oh – terrific idea! I’ve been trying to figure out a binder for meat other than egg. Thanks!
Thank you! :)
Mine turned out super bland and were sticky. There was no way I could have cookie cuttered them.
I’m sorry :( Did you use the Zatarain’s seasoning? If you omit it you really do need to sub another salty & savoury seasoning to taste. And this is the basic recipe, as I make it for my toddler. You might need to tweak the spice and salt amounts for your personal taste.
Pressing them into a cookie cutter isn’t necessary, I just do it for fun. I didn’t have any issues with the meat mixture sticking, but I use very basic shapes. You could also just flatten them into a nugget shape before dredging in the crumbs.
I hope they work out better for you next time!
Any ideas for a cheese substitute? Our daughter has Dairy allergies.
Hi Shannon! the cheese in this recipe acts as a ‘binding’ agent when it melts. if you omit the cheese you might want to substitute 1egg. I haven’t tried them that way -yet-. If you omit the cheese, add a bit more seasoning :)
Hi and thanks for your reply! For more fun my daughter is ALSO allergic to egg. :( do you think her powder egg substitute would work? Thanks so much.
Shannon…My son is allergic to dairy and I made these yesterday. I didn’t use any egg or any other kind of binding agent and it was just fine. The only thing I did differently was add a bit of salt in lieu of parmesean cheese. They held together just fine!
so glad your son liked them Suze!
Hello – came by via the Tues Archive Link-Up. I was thinking when I got to the recipe that it was going to be like a chicken croquette, so now I’m very curious about the oatmeal. I make croquettes fairly frequently, so I’ll be interested to see the textural difference when I get around to trying these. They certainly look yummy … definitely better than THAT one (that cracked me up). Not that I have kids to pack lunches for, but I like your use of what looks like a cupcake liner to hold the carrot sticks too. :)
thank you and welcome! they are “meatier” than traditional croquette recipes. let us know how you enjoy them!
I have never thought about making my own chicken nuggets! My kids love them. And I know what you mean about those grocery store lunch kits. I have never bought one because they are too expensive for the tiny amount of food inside.
I made them two nights ago and they are delicious and super easy! let us know how your kids like them! :)
Can you bake these and THEN freeze them?
I’ve never had them like that but I suggest you make them “thicker” so they don’t dry out when you reheat. :)
ok, thanks!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I just made these and they taste awesome! I cant wait to give them to my son for dinner tonight! He LOVES chicken nuggets and I always cringe when giving him the store bought frozen kind. I can now happily give him his nuggets! Thank you!
Thank you for letting us know Steph! :) Laura
I’d like to try these for my super picky son, but I want to make sure they come out just as good as yours. So, I have a couple of picky questions: 1) What kind of breadcrumbs did you use? panko, homemade, progresso? 2) Were they frozen or unfrozen when you baked them? Thanks for the great idea. They look delicious and I’m looking forward to trying them.
I made these for my daughter today. She is extremely picky, and has some sensory issues, which results in her not wanting to eat spicy, chunky, or complicated dishes. When she tried the chicken nuggets, she said, “YUM! You can make these again.” Thank you!
Julie, this is GREAT news!! What a huge accomplishment! I know first hand how difficult it can be to feed kids with sensory feeding issues. My son will not eat any meat, chicken or fish. Meat is rubbery, chicken is “like a rubber band” and fish is soft and flakey. He’s got a few feeding issues with meat protein (he won’t touch tofu) but I’m making strides here and there. Way to go! Glad you tried something new and it was a success! ;)
I made these an hour ago – I think if your kids really like and want “traditional” chicken nuggets, they would really like them. I have never been a fan of them, so neither of my kids are really used to them – I usually just make tenders dipped in egg white and panko/parm, which they like. To us these have kind of a weird texture and they taste kind of “processed”…I think it is the garlic powder and seasoning, which I almost never use either.
I did divide the chicken into 2 batches, the first I made as nuggets, following the recipe. I took the second half (made according to recipe) and then added sliced scallion, soy sauce, a little honey and some chili and garlic paste to make them kind of oriental. I dredged those in panko, then dry fried them and finished them in the oven. They were a bit more to our taste.
Keep in mind, that if you don’t like the taste of regular nuggets, making a copy with better ingredients won’t really make them into something you like! Take the idea and tweak it to things you like!
Made these today. I was very skeptical but gave it a shot based on the reviews! LOVE THEM!!!!!! I may need to cut back a little on the creole for my 21 month old next batch though. Thanks for sharing and making a believer out of me!!!
We are glad you did! thanks for letting us know!
lol..great comparison :)
This is a great idea! I normally just chunk chicken breast and tenders, bread them and bake those.
But this is a fun alternative!! I love the idea of using the cookie cutters!!
Thanks for sharing. :)
Our pleasure Ashley! Let us know how your kids love them!
I just made a batch, and they’re AWESOME! Next time I’ll make a double recipe so there’ll be more for the freezer. Thanks for the terrific recipe!
Thank you Sharon!
I made chicken nuggets for my daughter last night, and I used a few of your ingredients, but changed it up just a bit. Instead of garlic powder, I threw a couple cloves in my food processor along with half a large organic carrot and minced both. They were fantastic, and SO flavorful. Thanks for the inspiration! Processed nuggets, no more! :)
So glad you made these! I sometimes use 1/2 garlic clove. So clever to add carrots! way to go!!
Oh my goodness – these are SO good!! I made these while freezer cooking with some friends today. While they all did their recipes I made separate GF/DF recipes and this was one of them. I have a chicken sensitivity, so I just used ground turkey. They are amazingly delicious! Thank you for your recipe – I’m sure this will be a new staple in our freezer :-)
Oh, and… My SUPER picky 6-yr-old son tried these today and L-O-V-E-D them! He asked if he could have them for dinner tonight, again tomorrow and then in his lunch on Monday. Home run!!
Fantastic!!
I’m so glad! Sometimes I use ground turkey too! Either way they are worth making in big batches for convenient dinners!
Thank you for such an awesome recipe. The only problem with it is that I want to eat all the nuggets! I used the paprika version since my little one has reflux. The only tweak I made was to use Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs. This recipe came out delicious the very first time, and, best of all, my son ate it. Thank you!!
I’m so glad your son liked them! Yes, sometimes we need to adjust recipes for our kids.. but I am glad conceptually and nutritionally they worked out!
I have tried A LOT of chicken nugget recipes. This one has the best texture I would say. I didn’t use Parmesan or egg and they stuck together fine. Added a little more salt, and subbed garlic powder, onion powder and paprika for seasoning. Great recipe! Thanks for posting.
This are sooooooo good!!! Thanks for the recipe! Making these all the time now!
Is the “ground chicken” raw?? where do you find this at? and do you cook it before making the nuggets?
Abby, the ground chicken is raw.. just like ground turkey or ground beef. You get it at any grocery store by the chicken meat section. If you can’t find it use ground turkey.
What kind of container are you using in the above picture for the sauce? Where did you get it? Thank you! I just came across your site! Love it!
Hi Amber! that was a re-used sauce container from something else. But, you’ll love the mini dippers. go to our Amazon link to find them.