Why You’ll Love This these Crispy Homemade Chicken Nuggets
These crispy baked chicken nuggets prove you don’t need a deep fryer to get that perfect golden crunch we all crave.
The simple three-step coating process—flour, milk, breadcrumbs—creates a satisfying texture that rivals any drive-through version, minus the guilt and mystery ingredients.
Plus, with two homemade dipping sauces included, you’ll wonder why you ever settled for plain ketchup when honey mustard and creamy dill options are this easy to whip up.
Ingredients List
You’ll need just a handful of simple ingredients to create these restaurant-quality nuggets right in your own kitchen.
For the Chicken Nuggets:
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lb chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup nonfat milk
- 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
- Olive oil flavored cooking spray
For the Honey Mustard Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
For the Creamy Dill Sauce:
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Health-Smart Ingredient Notes:
- Using nonfat milk and light mayonnaise keeps calories in check without sacrificing flavor
- Plain yogurt in the dill sauce adds protein and probiotics while staying creamy
- Baking instead of frying means you control the oil content
- Boneless thighs can replace chicken breast for extra flavor, though they’ll add a bit more fat
- Fresh herbs always pack more nutritional punch than dried, but dried works just fine when fresh isn’t available
Step by Step Directions
Creating these crispy baked chicken nuggets is a simple process that delivers impressive results in just 30 minutes.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Toss the cut chicken pieces with the flour mixture until evenly coated.
- Pour the nonfat milk into a shallow bowl.
- Dip each floured chicken piece into the milk.
- Pour breadcrumbs into a large bowl and roll each milk-dipped chicken piece in the crumbs until fully coated.
- Arrange the breaded chicken nuggets on the prepared baking sheet.
- Spritz the nuggets with olive oil flavored cooking spray for extra crispiness.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and golden brown.
- While nuggets bake, prepare your choice of sauce by mixing together the respective ingredients and refrigerating until ready to serve.
- Serve hot with ketchup, honey mustard sauce, creamy dill sauce, or any sauce of your choosing.
For restaurants looking to make large batches of chicken nuggets, a commercial deep fryer can provide consistent results and handle higher volumes than home ovens.
Substitutions and Variations
- Dairy alternatives – Use plant-based milk instead of regular milk, and there are plenty of dairy-free yogurt options for the creamy dill sauce.
- Size matters – Cut your chicken smaller for true nugget size, or go bigger for tender-style pieces.
Just adjust the cooking time accordingly since smaller pieces cook faster.
• Air fryer option – These work great in an air fryer at 380°F for about 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
These crispy nuggets practically beg for some tasty sidekicks to round out the meal.
- Classic potato sides – French fries are the obvious choice, but don’t sleep on sweet potato fries, tater tots, or even some crispy roasted potatoes with herbs.
- Fresh and crunchy – A simple coleslaw cuts through all that golden crispiness beautifully, or try some carrot sticks, celery, or apple slices for natural sweetness.
- Comfort food companions – Mac and cheese makes everything better, and a warm dinner roll never hurt anyone’s feelings.
- Veggie balance – Steamed broccoli, green beans, or corn on the cob help you feel like a responsible adult while you’re basically eating fancy chicken nuggets.
- Salad situation – A light garden salad or Caesar salad keeps things from getting too heavy, because to be frank, we’re probably going to eat more nuggets than we planned.
The beauty of chicken nuggets is their versatility – they play well with whatever you’ve got hanging around in your fridge or pantry.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
Making these nuggets foolproof is easier than you think once you know a few insider secrets.
- Don’t skip the parchment paper – Trust me on this one, because those beautiful golden nuggets will stick to your pan faster than you can say “dinner disaster,” and nobody wants to scrape crispy coating off a baking sheet.
- Pat that chicken dry first – Wet chicken means soggy coating, and we’re going for crispy perfection here, so grab some paper towels and show that chicken some love.
- Make your coating station efficient – Set up your flour bowl, milk bowl, and breadcrumb bowl in a line like a little assembly line, because once your hands get messy, you’ll thank yourself for the organization.
- Use one hand for wet, one for dry – Keep your left hand for the milk dipping and your right hand for the flour and breadcrumbs, otherwise you’ll end up with cement-like coating gloves on both hands.
- Don’t overcrowd the baking sheet – Give those nuggets some breathing room, about an inch apart, so the hot air can circulate and work its crispy magic on all sides.
- Flip halfway through if you’re feeling fancy – The recipe doesn’t call for it, but a quick flip at the 10-minute mark gives you even more golden goodness.
- Check for doneness with a thermometer – Chicken should hit 165°F internally, because nobody wants to play chicken roulette with food safety.
The cooking spray is your friend here, so don’t be stingy with it.
Nutritional Facts
These homemade nuggets pack more nutrition than you might expect, plus you control exactly what goes into them.
- Lean protein powerhouse – Each serving delivers about 25-30 grams of high-quality protein from chicken breast, helping build and maintain muscle mass.
- Lower in calories – Baking instead of deep-frying saves you roughly 150-200 calories per serving compared to restaurant versions.
- Reduced sodium control – Homemade means you decide the salt content, typically 60% less sodium than fast-food nuggets.
- No preservatives or fillers – Clean ingredient list means no mysterious chemicals, artificial colors, or processed additives.
- Calcium boost from milk and yogurt – The milk coating and yogurt dipping sauce add bone-strengthening calcium to your meal.
- Heart-healthy preparation – Using cooking spray instead of oil for baking keeps saturated fat content low.
- Customizable for dietary needs – Easy to make gluten-free with alternative flour, or dairy-free by swapping the milk.
- Portion control friendly – Each nugget is roughly 50-60 calories, making it simple to manage your intake.
- Kid-approved nutrition – Sneaks quality protein into picky eaters without the guilt of processed fast food.
The honey-mustard and yogurt dill sauces add flavor without the high-fructose corn syrup found in many commercial dips.
Fun “Did You Know?”
Beyond all those nutritional benefits, chicken nuggets have some pretty fascinating stories behind them.
Did you know that chicken nuggets were actually invented by a food science professor at Cornell University in the 1950s? Robert C. Baker created them to help poultry farmers increase chicken consumption. His original recipe used ground chicken held together with milk and cereal binder.
McDonald’s didn’t introduce Chicken McNuggets until 1983, making them relatively new to fast food.
I find it amazing that what started as an agricultural solution became one of America’s most beloved comfort foods!
