Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets

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3.9 of 5 (85)

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 197.5

Total Fat: 7.7 g
Cholesterol: 46.8 mg
Sodium: 149.5 mg
Total Carbs: 11.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
Protein: 21.2 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets calories by ingredient

Introduction

Instead of reaching for fried chicken or frozen chicken nuggets, turn to these spicy, crunchy ones instead. Instead of reaching for fried chicken or frozen chicken nuggets, turn to these spicy, crunchy ones instead.

Minutes to Prepare: 60

Minutes to Cook: 25

Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

Marinade:

1 pound chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes

3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeds removed

1 clove garlic

juice of two limes (about 1/2 cup)

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 egg whites

Crust:

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pinch salt

Tips

Dunk them in your condiment of choice, serve with baked potato wedges on game day or chop them up and place them atop a salad. They're quite versatile!

These grown-up chicken tenders are easy to make, and they freeze well.

If you really want to pack in the heat, leave in the seeds in the peppers. I did this the first time I made the recipe, and no one in my family could eat them--they were just too hot.

Directions

Prepare marinade by pureeing the garlic, peppers, lime juice and vinegar in a food processor or blender.

Place chicken in a glass pie plate or dish and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for one hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Roughly chop the almonds and sunflower seeds by hand or pulse in a food processor.

Combine the nuts, bread crumbs, pepper, and salt in a small bowl.

Set up a breading station: place the flour on one plate, the egg whites on a second, and the nut topping on third.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with foil or parchment paper.

Use your left hand to dip the chicken into the flour, then switch to your right hand to dip it into the egg wash, and use your left hand for the nut topping.

This method keeps your hands from getting clumps of breading all over them.

Place the chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Approximately 6 nuggets per serving (Assuming 36 nuggets total.)

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Member Ratings For This Recipe

OPTIMIST123

Incredible!

28 of 37 people found this review helpful

16 oz divided by 6 = 2.5 oz. prepare that much chicken and weigh. Write that weight down and that is a serving. That was hard. Not. Chef megs recipe are good. the prep time is long because of the marinating takes about an hour, but I don't think you have to watch it. - 5/31/12
VANESSASPATZ

21 of 26 people found this review helpful

To the people discussing portion size, doesn't the bottom of the recipe say 6 pieces is a serving? Am I confused or is that what you are referring to? Or if you have 1 lb. of chicken as the recipe calls for and the recipe offers 6 servings... Can't you just "weigh" for 2.5 oz yourself? - 8/31/12
CD12507210

21 of 28 people found this review helpful

I haven't tried this particular recipe but I make one similar with Panko. I line a pan with foil for easy clean up but I put a metal rack on top of the pan and place the chicken on it. It cooks evenly and crispy on both sides. Delish! - 6/26/12
SILLYCOX

O.K.

20 of 21 people found this review helpful

The nuggets were crunchy and the coating was good but there was WAY too much lime juice - I would recommend cutting the lime juice in 1/2 - 1/4/12
PATTY350

19 of 21 people found this review helpful

i cooked this recipe. it's mouth-watering. You can actually keep the chicken(before baking) in the freezer packed in the ziplock bag and bake it just before meal to save time. - 8/22/12
DACLARK17

O.K.

16 of 107 people found this review helpful

I continue to have issues with Chef Meg recipes. It would be better to weight the size of the nuggets, so the cook can gauge the actual portion for better portion control. This is another example of poor development. How can she be a world class chef is she can't figure out portion size. - 1/2/12
JOYCECAIN

Incredible!

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

I loved this recipe, but only used 1 hot pepper. Like nothing I have had in a long time. Thanks - 5/11/12
BUNNYSKI

Good

12 of 16 people found this review helpful

I took out the peppers, cayenne & sunflower seeds because I don't care for them, and used 1/4 cup of lemon juice since that was all I had. Flavor was great. The nut topping was different and tasty. But the bottoms were soggy and stuck to the pan. I'll try turning up the oven to 375-400 next time. - 2/11/12
REVELL2003

Very Good

11 of 27 people found this review helpful

I don't eat grains, so I sub crushed (a few seconds in the food processor) pork rinds for panko, in recipes like this. Works like a charm! - 3/8/12
CD13099273

Incredible!

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Different , nice flavor - I used lemon instead lime , becuase that's what I had on hand. I omitted the salt and added finely chopped chives to the coding for that salt taste. Why is it that people continue to get confused about portions? Its not that hard , research , the portions , I like Meg! - 1/2/13
CHESAKAT41

7 of 11 people found this review helpful

Bennagirl - How can you figure 1 lb of chicken breast is 36 portions? If each portion is 1 oz that is 16 pieces. 1 oz is a pretty small piece - considering most portions size for meat is 3 ozs. I think your figures are wrong! - 5/11/12
I_AM_EEVIE

Bad

7 of 31 people found this review helpful

Too many nuts for me. Marinating aside, I also do not like to make things that take longer to prepare than cook. Quick and simple is the key to my busy household. Sorry, not a fan of the nutty taste. - 1/2/12
CD11440613

Incredible!

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

These are absolutely delicious. My complaint is that there just wasn't enough flour or nut coating to coat all the chicken, and I only used 14 oz chicken (cut into 24 pieces). I had to basically double the flour and add extra panko, and adjust the nutritional info. SO good though, will make again! - 4/26/12
NEWHOMEOWNER

Very Good

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

SOOO delicious - they came out very crispy but I used regualr eggs so I don't know if that made a difference. It was a lot of work breading all those nuggets - next time I will make it just with whole thin-sliced cutlets. - 1/7/13
EVWINGS

Incredible!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Love tiny pieces of anything! Used lemon because on hand, we use panko a lot, we also omitted salt and cayenne. Will make a lot as we loved them. There are K's of recipes, if you don't like Meg's use someone elses. Be Positive!!!! - 1/6/13
SUGARSMOM2

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

my grandson makes this for the family . about a couple of times a month . . he does a great job and his brothers love this . - 8/31/12
MAMAJULIA

4 of 12 people found this review helpful

I think some of my family would like this, me no. I go to the meat market where they have marinated chicken already so I am going to buy that and just add the breading. oh yeah and they will cut my chicken for me. I weigh my portions so I know how much I am eating. - 1/16/12
GOELLE

Incredible!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

I thought it was easy to make, had a good spicy taste, and is something the kids loved too. For the picky eater, I drizzled a little Agave on top. - 1/3/12
PATRICIAANN46

Incredible!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

This was very good. I used Pine nuts in place of the Sunflower seeds only because I had them on hand. - 1/5/13
CD12140270

Very Good

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

I had catfish nuggets in the freezer, so used those - also switched out the chile-adobo for jalapenos. It turned out great! - 9/28/12
CUDDYMEG

Very Good

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I think next time I will marinate in something other than the chipotle in Adobo sauce. It is a strong flavour and one of which I am not too fond; perhaps next time I will try jalapeno. Otherwise it was delicious. - 6/26/12
LMERRISON

Bad

3 of 20 people found this review helpful

Too long to prepare and cook and ingredients not readily available in UK supermarkets - 1/2/12
LEANJEAN6

Very Good

3 of 6 people found this review helpful

These are different--taste good too- - 1/2/12
LAINGMOM

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

For the first time ever all 4 of my children loved a recipe. I did some of the chicken pieces just in panko but they all liked the nutty topping. And I left the seeds in. Delicious. - 1/10/13
CANDACE28

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

This is a great\! - 1/2/12
CD7023171

O.K.

2 of 20 people found this review helpful

too fiddley - 1/2/12
LISAR333

Incredible!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fantastic! I like a larger serving size and I only had to make 2 servings, so I cut the ingredients in half. It was a perfect amount and still not bad nutrition wise. I left the seeds in since my son and I like things spicy, and it was perfect with ranch on the side. YUMMY!! - 11/5/12
CD254086

yums - 5/10/21
CD17663415

Incredible!

yummy - 5/10/21
KITTYHAWK1949

Incredible!

boys love these and much healthier than McD. - 4/27/21
PATRICIAAK

:) - 4/20/21
MILPAM3

Not a fan of spicy food, I would substitute buttermilk and garlic powder for the marinade. - 4/12/21
EOWYN2424

Incredible!

yum - 2/25/21
CD26508743

Good - 12/15/20
JANIEWWJD

I love nuggets!!! - 10/22/20
BONNIE1552

Lots of work but looks great. - 10/11/20
JUDY1676

Sounds good - 9/23/20
CORVETTECOWBOY

Good

Looks good - 8/14/20
WILDKAT781

great - 8/4/20
SHERYE

Can't wait to try this recipe, need to get some groceries to make this :) - 8/4/20
CKEYES1

No chipotle peppers for me - 8/3/20
DAIRMEN

Substituted the panko with pork rinds and turned out great. - 8/3/20
JULIJULINN

Durn good. - 8/3/20
GOFORGIN

Incredible!

Ok - 8/3/20
CHERYLHURT

Great flavor. Serves 2 - 8/1/20
LAURALLANCE

Incredible!

I love the crunchiness of the crust - the chopped almonds and sunflower seeds add a wonderful flavor to the chicken nuggets. - 7/14/20
MUSTANGMOM6

Great recipe - 5/2/20
EVIE4NOW

Good

I did the nut/seed crust and wasn't impressed. Changed it to all panko and it was much better. - 11/24/19
PICKIE98

Good

Nut allergy here, so used more seeds - 11/1/19
POSEY440

Good

Great - 10/17/19
KACEYSW

Incredible!

These were really tasty! I used coconut and casava flour for these are I cannot eat gluten! - 8/19/19
NASFKAB

Great
- 8/6/19
TERMITEMOM

Long time to prep, but looks worth it. On my list of things to try! Thank you. - 8/3/19
MRPEABODY

Thank you - 8/3/19
SNOOPYPAL2019

I make something similar to this. But, I use kitchen tongs or a fork instead of your hands when breading the chicken pieces. Much easier than switching hands all the time. - 8/3/19
NANASUEH

yummy - 8/3/19
FISHGUT3

thanks - 8/3/19
CECTARR

Thanks - 7/20/19
LIBR@RYL@DY

Incredible!

yum - 4/26/19
DEE107

looks good - 3/7/19
REGILIEH

Incredible!

good - 2/15/19
ROBBIEY

I have tried something similar. It is hard to get the right texture for my taste. Either they are too hard or to soft for my taste. - 11/9/18
ROSSYFLOSSY

Very Good

Kid pleaser! - 11/3/18
GEORGE815

Nice recipe - 11/1/18
PLATINUM755

Very Good

I like spicy but not too hot so no chiptotle peppers, I used a dash of crushed red peppers. I also reduced the amount of lime juice. I was pleased with the taste and the crunchiness that resulted. - 8/15/18
HOTPINKCAMARO49

Yummy Chicken Nuggets! - 8/3/18
JANTHEBLONDE

Incredible!

I love this Crispy Baked Chicken Nugget Recipe! Yummy! - 8/3/18
HOLLYM48

Incredible!

I love this Crispy Baked Chicken Nugget Recipe! Yummy! - 8/3/18
ALEXTHEHUN

Tasty and easy enough. - 8/3/18
DRLMAZ

yummy - 8/3/18
RYCGIRL

very good - 8/3/18
SIMPLY_JAE

Very Good

Really good - 8/3/18
BILLTHOMSON

Incredible!

These were fantastic, I just added really diced up jalapeños (I love spicy food) - 8/3/18
NELLJONES

I prefer dark meat, it holds up better to the dry heat of the oven. - 8/3/18
TWEETYKC00

Not bad, I do like chicken nuggets. - 8/2/18
DMEYER4

Incredible!

very good - 7/19/18
RAZZOOZLE

Good

good - 7/13/18
ANHELIC

Wow, I love crispy chicken nuggets. I plan on making these instead of going out and purchase them. They sound awesome and without frying like store bought ones. - 6/8/18
ARTJAC

NICE - 5/6/18
CD1987279

Love that chicken - 5/6/18
KATHYJO56

Good

The sauce was good, but not the crust - 4/17/18
BONDMANUS2002

Absolutely - 3/23/18
ALEPEQUIJADA

Great! - 3/23/18
NEPTUNE1939

Very Good

yummy - 3/12/18
AMBER461

Thanks for sharing. - 2/19/18
ELRIDDICK

Very Good

Thanks for sharing - 1/30/18
1HAPPYSPIRIT

I used this recipe but prepared it in my air fryer. Very good! - 1/12/18
SISTERPRETTY

crispy and yummy.... - 12/23/17
BIKE4HEALTH

Grandkid favorite - 12/15/17
PLCHAPPELL

Great recipe - 11/26/17
JIACOLO

I will definitely be making these - 11/16/17
AJB121299

nice - 11/16/17
AKROXIE

Very Good

Really liked the taste though bit spicy. As other members said, directions weren't clear about what to do with chicken once taken out of marinade. Putting directly into flour, then egg & nut, resulted into a sticky mess after the first few. Next time will drain the marinade off the chicken. - 10/4/17
CD12168630

Delicious! - 8/5/17
WHITEANGEL4

Incredible!

We made these last week and Hubby liked so will make agIN - 8/4/17
JVANAM

O.K.

I am an optimist.
It does not seem too much use being anything else.
- Winston Churchill - 8/4/17
JERZRN

Might try this. - 8/4/17
TOMATOCAFEGAL

Very Good

HUM!!!!! THEY ARE OK. - 8/4/17
CJS1MOMMY

Very Good

Love nuggets - 8/4/17
REDROBIN47

This looks very good. I will be trying it in the near future. - 8/3/17