Homemade Chicken Nuggets Recipe

A plate full of homemade fried chicken nuggets with one cut open bite in a dipping sauce.

5 from 2 votes

Homemade Chicken Nuggets Recipe

These Homemade Chicken Nuggets are a decades-perfected recipe that’s loved by all ages! They’re super flavorful and crispy, but still so easy to make for a weeknight dinner. You can serve these customizable homemade nuggets to anyone and I can guarantee they’ll fall in love!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: nuggets

Calories: 73kcal

Author: Farrukh Aziz

Ingredients

For chicken mixture

1.1 pound boneless chicken cut in small bite size pieces
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1½ teaspoon dried oregano crushed
1 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika for more flavor
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or as per you like
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons melted butter

For coating

½ cup plain flour or as needed
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs beaten
1½ cup panko bread crumbs or as needed
3 tablespoons oil for deep frying

Instructions

Add bite-sized 1.1 pound boneless chicken, to a chopper or food processor and pulse 2-3 times until it resembles coarse mince.
Then, add 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1½ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper and process until combined. you may find a few coarse minced meat, that's fine.
Transfer the chicken mixture to a clean bowl, add 3 tablespoons melted butter and mix.
Take approximately 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture and slightly press it with your fingers to form a nugget. Do not worry about the shape.
Shape the remaining mixture into nuggets, place them on a lined sheet pan, and pop them into the freezer for 30 minutes.
Season ½ cup plain flour with ⅛ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and mix.
Coat each chicken nugget well with flour, then dip into the egg and finally coat with panko breadcrumbs.
Repeat the same for all the nuggets. At this stage you can fry them directly, I usually refrigerate them for 30 minutes and then deep fry them.
NOTE: If you plan to freeze the nuggets for later use, spread them onto a parchment-lined sheet pan such that they do not stick to each other. Pop into the freezer and freeze for 2-3 hours. Once the nuggets are frozen, gather them all, place them in a ziplock bag, and freeze.
Heat enough oil in a deep pan or a pot. Once the oil is hot, carefully slide in the nuggets. Deep fry on medium-high heat for 6-7 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
Remove them using a slotted spoon. Fry the remaining nuggets similarly.
Serve them hot and crisp with ketchup or dip of your choice.

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