Primal Chicken Nuggets
Maybe it’s the kid in me but I love me some chicken nuggets. I make them often and then freeze them on a tray and bag the extras so we can avoid the commercial processed frozen nuggets in the store. I used to use breadcrumbs or whatever leftover crushed crackers I could find.
But now I had to come up with a new coating in order to make them stay as crunchy and crispy as I like and still taste good. So I futzed around and found a nice mixture that works well. And instead of a beaten egg coating, I use a mixture of mayonnaise, honey, and mustard. Mayonnaise is basically eggs and vinegar and I find that the nice thick coating makes an excellent “glue” for the breading and makes the nuggets extra crispy and delicious!
If you don’t use mayo, feel free to just use a beaten egg wash.
Primal Chicken Nuggets
What you need:
- 3-4 chicken breasts, diced into chunks
- 1/2 c. mayo
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp yellow or dijon mustard
Breading:
- 1/3 c. sesame seeds (optional but I LOVE the crunch!)
- 3/4 c. almond flour
- 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- pinch of salt
What you do:
- Mix the mayo, mustard, and honey in a bowl and put in the chicken chunks and coat.
- Mix the breading ingredients on a large plate
- Remove the nuggets from the mayo mix and roll in breading
- Lay on foiled cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 for approx 30-40 minutes (time varies depending on size of nuggets) until brown, crispy, and cooked through.
Optional honey mustard dipping sauce:
1/4 c. mayo
2 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp honey
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Oh dear lord these look freakin' awesome! I need more cook ahead recipes!
Awesome! Thanks =D
Brilliant! I'm thinking my boys would LOVE these. Also a good substitute for boneless wings if I change up the seasonings a little, maybe.
DEEEEElish! What did you serve with them?
Just some veggies with melted cheese. I was lazy tonight. LOL I can imagine these would be awesome with homemade sweet potato fries though!
These look great! Looking forward to trying them.
These look awesome! I'm pretty sure they would be pretty good non-primal too. Can't wait to try them!
I'm really hoping my kids will eat these, but really I just want to make them for me!
My son would go NUTS over these! Hey, when you're reheating them from the freezer, what temp do you use & how long does it take? I think I want to make enough of these this weekend to be able to have them again later in the week. :-)
Thanks!
Tara – I'd freeze them raw, like above on a cookie sheet. Then bag them and cook as needed. I mean you CAN cook them and then freeze them but you run the risk of drying them out by cooking them twice.
If you do cook them and freeze the extras, reheat on high, around 375 for 5 minutes maybe – until no longer frozen.
These are definitely being added to my meal plan next week! I have made coconut chicken nuggets that are pretty good but these sound absolutely delicious! I wonder how they are cold? Maybe I can put them in my daughter's lunch box. Hmmm. Definitely going to try that. Thanks for the yummy recipe :-)
Jennifer – I LOVE them cold. But I'm a weirdo and don't eat reheated meat so I've always eaten leftover meat cold.
I made these for my kids as an afternoon snack … they loved them! Dipped them in ketchup and scarfed them right down. Thanks for the recipe.
Oh my goodness those look scrumptious. I need to make some. Like now.
They look amazing!!! I just found your site through Primal Toad and have added you to my links. Looking forward to some more yummy recipes!!!
I love your idea for breading, but I wanted to suggest a different way of getting it to stick and is what I always do for my homemade chicken fingers.
You'll need three shallow bowls- the first has milk OR lemon juice in it; the second has the breading; the third has a few eggs which have been whipped up a bit with a fork. Take your meat and swish it through the liquid, then roll it in the breading and then toss it in the eggs, using a fork to roll it over. Transfer it to a baking sheet and bake as normal. My family loves these.
I FINALLY made these tonight :) In the over now. I was wondering what you thought of switching the mayo out with plain (organic) yogurt? I tend to do that with all mayo recipes.
I did it for the dip tonight but not for the ‘glue’.
Who needs a Paula Deen cookbook when you can have an Andreanna one?? :) Love your recipes – they always send me to the kitchen inspired.
Wow, what a great compliment, thanks!!! I don’t see why you couldn’t use yogurt. I’m just a mayo girl. I love the flavor it gives some recipes. Plus, have you ever had homemade? OMG, I have to stop myself from eating it with a spoon.
Come back and let me know how they came out!
I love this idea! I have been trying to find a good, crunchy breading substitute for chicken nuggets–I am going to have to give this a try!
I was browsing paleo/primal recipes for chicken nuggets, and while many use almond flour, I love your honey mustard mayo wash to keep the “breading” on! I thought it would add some nice flavor and boy did it. They were great! Hubby and I dipped ours in hot wing sauce and butter and the kiddo ate hers plain. For a snack later, though, I ate the leftovers plain and cold and they were fabulous! I’m excited for a boneless wing base now (I’ll just melt put butter and hott sauce over them just before done and broil them next time) and a great nugget recipe for any time!
These look amazing. So glad to stumble upon your blog.
I made these a few weeks ago and loved them, and will be doing them again tonight. I even made a vegetarian version for my brother, using mushrooms, and he loved them as well. Pics are on my blog:
http://pamelagoesprimal.com/post/4138236935/almond-breaded-chicken-nuggets
http://pamelagoesprimal.com/post/4138354944/almond-breaded-mushroom-nuggets
Thanks for the great recipe!