Homemade Chicken Nuggets Recipe

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This great recipe for homemade Chicken Nuggets is sure to be a winner at your house! Easy to make, simple ingredients and you can freeze it for quick meals!

This great recipe for homemade Chicken Nuggets is sure to be a winner at your house! Easy to make, simple ingredients and you can freeze it for quick meals! #chickennuggets #homemadechickennuggets #freezermeal #freezerfriendly #glutenfree

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I’m not sure what it is about chicken nuggets, but they seem to be loved by children everywhere. Unfortunately, I don’t love the ingredient list or the cost of prepackaged chicken nuggets. But I do like how simple they are to heat up on a busy day so I decided to make up my own version, without any yucky stuff, that can be frozen and enjoyed just as easily as the storebought ones.

This recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken and can easily be made gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs. We all love these chicken nuggets at our house!

–Read more about How to Cook a Whole Chicken Easily and What to Do With It

Freezing Chicken Nuggets

The recipe is easy to make and these also freeze well so you can make a double batch and freeze what you don’t eat. One batch makes around 25 chicken nuggets depending on how big you make them. You can also use this recipe to form large round breaded chicken patties for sandwiches.

To freeze, make the recipe below and allow them to cool. Once cooled, place them in a freezer bag or container. When you are ready to enjoy them, just take them out of the freezer and reheat!

Chicken Nugget Recipe

What you need:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tablespoon of mayonnaise (Make your own Homemade Mayo)
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 cups of cooked chicken
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup of bread crumbs*
  • salt

If you don’t already have some bread crumbs, you can easily make them. Just stick some old bread (regular or gluten free) in the oven and bake it until it’s crispy. Then run it through a blender or food processor until you have fine crumbs. You can leave them plain or add a bit of garlic and onion salt to flavor.

How to make leftover chicken nugget recipe:

Start your chicken nuggets by putting the cooked chicken and the onion in the food processor until the chicken is shredded (but not paste). Then add the mayo and egg and cheese to the processor and blend until mixed together. Form the mixture into small shapes and coat with the bread crumbs.

Bake the homemade chicken nuggets at 400F for 18 or so minutes, turning halfway. Since you are using cooked chicken, you just need them to bake long enough to cook the egg and to stick together.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
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Homemade Chicken Nuggets

These homemade chicken nuggets are sure to be a hit with the whole family.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Creator Merissa

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise (Can be Homemade Mayonnaise)
  • Small Onion
  • 2 cup cooked Chicken
  • 1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 cup Bread Crumbs
  • Salt (To season)

Instructions

  1. Start your chicken nuggets by putting the cooked chicken and the onion in the food processor until the chicken is shredded (but not paste). Then add the mayo and egg and cheese to the processor and blend until mixed together. Form the mixture into small shapes and coat with the bread crumbs.
  2. Bake the homemade chicken nuggets at 400F for 18 or so minutes, turning halfway. Just long enough to cook the egg and to stick together.

I serve mine with this Homemade BBQ Sauce recipe. I’ve also made this Chicken Nugget dip to go with them before as well.

Here are some more easy dinner ideas that your family will love:

Have you ever tried to make your own homemade chicken nuggets?

This Homemade Chicken Nuggets Recipe was originally published on Little House Living in January 2018. It has been updated as of January 2020.

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63 Comments

  1. Hi! My four year old is addicted to Chicken Nuggets but I absolutely refuse to go to fast food for her to get them. I can’t wait to try this recipe for her. One question – the cooked chicken, what kind do you use (boiled, baked, grilled?). Thanks!

  2. We’ve made the apple turnovers with crescent rolls and apple slices coated in a cinnamon/sugar mixture. Then pour a half can of Mt. Dew soda on top and sprinkle with more cinnamon/sugar! Then bake. It’s crazy good.

  3. Hi Merissa!
    Tried the cheeseburger pie…it was great!
    Got a recipe I made up 🙂 That I think you will enjoy.
    Brown 1 lb. hamburger,1 onion,finely chopped ,1/2 gr pepper finely chopped.Add 1 pkg. taco seasoning,do NOT add water.Stir until mixed.Crumble a couple of hands full of Fritos in a lightly greased 8 or 9 inch dish.Into hamburg mix add 3/4 C. salsa stir to mix.Top fritos with hamburg mixture.Spread 1 cup cheese on top.Finish off with either Jiffy Cornbread mix(my favorite) or more crumbled Fritos.Bake @ 400F. for apprx. 45 min,
    Hope you like this!
    Peg Bisard

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  7. They were so good that only 1/2 the batch made it to the freezer. Even dh liked it :). Since I had used smoked chicken that I had deboned it tasted like barbecue when I dipped it into ketchup.

    Thanks for the recipe. This will go on a favorites list.

  8. Those look tasty! I love homemade chicken nuggets or strips. But your recipe with the addition of cheese sounds intriguing. I am going to have to give that a try! I bet my kids will love it!

    Thanks for linking your recipe up at Whip it up Wednesday too!

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  10. Hi
    Thanks so much for sharing this and all your other recipes and wonderful ideas. I made these tonight for my very picky daughter and she loved them. She also recently got diagnosed with Celiac disease, so i just replaced bread crumbs with GF rice krispies. Worked out wonderfully.

  11. I don’t have a food processor and was wondering if I could blend it up in my Blendtec? Looks yummy and now I want an apple pie!

    1. As long as your Blendtec has like a pulse setting I think you should be fine. You just don’t want to make kitty food out of it by blending too much! LOL!

  12. Yes, I made these last night in our oven. My daughter luvs & there not deep fried in oil ! 🙂

  13. No..I haven’t made those yet. On a similar subject..I saw how they made Tator Tots..I now know why my hands are so greasy when I eat the ready made ones..YUK..How about a recipe for those?

  14. No..I haven’t made those yet. On a similar subject..I saw how they made Tator Tots..I now know why my hands are so greasy when I eat the ready made ones..YUK..How about a recipe for those?

  15. Ooo I actually have a recipe similar to tator tots. I will put it on my list to post:)

  16. Ooo I actually have a recipe similar to tator tots. I will put it on my list to post:)

  17. What is he allergic to in the mayo Shelley? We actually use vegan mayonnaise since I can’t have too many eggs.

  18. I’ve been looking for a recipe for homemade chicken nuggets so I’m thrilled you shared this easy recipe!!!!

  19. Sounds good! Wanna make me some today??? I’m going to be too busy canning cider to make a good lunch… Wait, I never make a good lunch! LOL

  20. These are delicious! I baked mine at 425 degrees on a metal rack coated with oil so they got a bit crispy. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  21. What a great way to use up any leftover chicken. Do you think this would work for turkey? Thank you for the great ideas!

  22. Thank you for this recipe – I cooked a roast chicken the other day and was wondering how to use the rest of the meat – so I will try this as it sounds delicious!

  23. Hello, I just wanted to take a moment to say Thank you for all of theses posts-of recipes ideas and resources and this website. I am not sure how I found it but I love it! I have been inspired, and very pleased with what I have tried and a bit overwhelmed by what I want to try next.
    Thanks again, Genesis.

  24. Thank you for all your wonderful posts! I was wondering if you (or anyone!) have ever used an alternative flour?….rice? oat? We can’t have wheat in our house, but I think these look so tasty!

  25. we just butchered some roosters,im thinking this would be perfect for those tougher ,older birds.we cook them off in a slow cooker till the meat falls off but its still stringy,there always great for soup if you cut it up (chicken corn soup and chicken chili)but since you run it through the food processor,it makes it perfect,i like the ideas of patties to and knowing whats in them,thanks for the ideas.have a blessed day.

  26. Thank you so much for all the great recipes!!! Is there a reason why this one calls for cheddar cheese? Could I mozzarella instead?

  27. Hi I really want to make the homemade nuggets using left over chicken but wondered if you could confirm the weights and measurements for the UK please?

  28. OMG I’m doing this with all our leftover chicken from now on! Was looking for a quick dinner solution and came across this. We didn’t quite have 2 cups of leftover chicken so I mixed in about 1/2 cup tofu to make up for it. This of course immediately turned the chicken / onion mixture to paste which you said not to do, so I was a bit worried. I also forgot to add the cheese.

    Anyway – my picky eaters are all very happily scarfing it down as we speak! It turned out pretty good and next time I plan to use all chicken and not forget the cheese. I hate buying chicken nuggets but they love them so much. Glad to have this healthy alternative!

  29. I have to check this out! Thank you. Healthy food is important to me. Glad I have someone who likes to feed her family well sending these blogs to me. Especially, because we have food sensitivities.

    Thanks also for showing how stay at home moms have great value in this world. We can have a lot of creativity, fun, and connection with our families. It is great to connect with all these wonderful frugal, creative ideas that you present through your blog!

  30. I made these last night and we all loved them! I tweaked them to make them egg/gluten free, which was easy. Excited to make them again! Delicious!!

  31. I made your Homemade Chicken nuggets using cooked chicken. Didn’t add cheese but some cooked rice and seasoning. Turn out great. Did let cool enough and freeze them. Turn out great. Thank you for the recipe.

  32. I have several in my family who don’t like cheese. Is the cheese in this recipe an optional addition?

  33. I love this recipe idea for quick and easy lunches for the kids! We haven’t eaten chicken nuggets in years after learning the ingredients weren’t the best.