Baked Chicken Nuggets~
I’ve been using this recipe since a vacation to Arkansas eons ago. It was the first vacation where we utilized the new fangled VCR in our mini-van. It was a lifesaver except for the fact we had to listen to Barney videos over and over again. I think we overdosed on The Wizard of Oz, too. My mother-in-law and I spent the quiet evenings browsing through the stacks of cooking magazines in our rental cabin on the lake…these chicken nuggets evolved from the notes I took from one of those recipes. I usually buy a box of seasoned croutons (with an extra on hand in case the chicken breasts are large), smash them up with a rolling pin and add about half the volume of Parmesan compared with the crumbs. So don’t worry too much about exact measurements.
Besides the occasional hot dog, it’s the only meat my daughter ever eats (not that I truly consider hot dogs meat!). Not exactly health food, but a few steps above what you would find in a fast food restaurant. Bill and I like these, too~
Baked Chicken Nuggets~
2 cups crushed seasoned croutons
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/2-1 teaspoon basil
1/2-1 teaspoon thyme
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400º. Cover large baking sheet with foil (or just lightly grease baking sheet).
Combine crushed croutons, Parmesan, basil and thyme in large zip lock bag. Dip chicken pieces in melted butter, then crouton mix. Place on large baking sheet.
Bake 20-25 minutes, till lightly browned.
Linked to Savory Sunday~
34 Comments on “Baked Chicken Nuggets~”
Thanks for the “tip” Lizzy!
Before I’ll forget, printing out your super yummy and light, not greasy chicken nugget recipe.
My sweet granddaughters would “adore” these, and they love crunchy chicken, and also love Parmesan cheese.
You are a “blessing” my sweet friend.
Thanks for sharing:DDD
xoxo
Lizzy, these look so light and fluffy! Yum :o)
Yum! The breading for this sounds delicious! I love recipes like this that are tried and true. We can never have enough chicken recipes at our house so I can’t wait to try this!
I’ll bet hubs would LOVE these. His birthday is coming up!
I like the baked idea because sometimes I crave McNuggets but know that they’re not good for me because of the frying. Great post!
great ideas, this sounds delicious!
I haven’t had chicken nuggets in forever. These look fantastic!!
I agree this chicken dish looks really delicious! I know my sons would love this very much as they eat chicken a lot!
I like using seasoned croutons to coat the chicken. Lots of flavor and the croutons I always have in my cupboard can do double duty. Baking them is even better.
I love that these are baked and still look fried and oh so good! Bookmarked!
My kids would love these! I like it because it’s simple and I have always have these ingredients on hand.
These look delicious! No wonder your daughter is in love with them. I love that they are baked. Now I can enjoy them guilt-free! =)
What a smart idea to use already flavored croutons! It must be crunchy outside and my son will love this coating of chicken!! We usually have leftover croutons too, so I should mix up and make these nuggets. Thanks Lizzy for the great idea!
Love your baked chicken nuggets Lizzy, look amazing! gloria
These sound wonderful! I think you mentioned these to me when I made chicken nuggets a couple months ago! Glad to see you posted about them, can’t wait to try them!
baked = good, great and easy recipe.
hey, I like this a lot, bet it would be a great coating for ‘tators and fish bites too… and a whole lot better than frying…
Wow …..soo delicious and easy!
I love chicken nuggets! I always am trying different chicken finger recipes to bake in the oven, but I’ve never used croutons before! Sounds delicious!
This is such a cool recipe Lizzy. I never would’ve thought to crush up croutons to use as a breading. Love that!!
Adore it!
wow!! this recipe is super cool!!! another great way of having chicken 🙂
That’s uncanny…I’ve JUST finished watching that season 9 episode of Barefoot Contessa where she makes parmesan chicken breasts for Mel Brooks 🙂
Love the idea of croutons! I have made nuggets in a similiar way, but I drizzle fresh lemon with butter before serving. I get away with it by calling it “Bite Size Chicken Milanesa!”
Love your recipe. I too have a daughter who only eats hotdogs and chicken nuggets. I have four kids, raised them the exact same way (kinda) and only one picky eater! It’s frustrating, but you have to get creative. This is great, thanks!
Aimee
This is such a great idea. I love that croutons are actually the breading for these tasty looking nuggets!
Great idea to use croutons for breadrcumbs, I love how simple this is!
Wonderful! Such a great alternative to those frozen ones. These are fresh and you have control over what you’re putting into your family’s bodies…which is always nice. No chicken paste formed into patties here…no these are fresh and perfect! Great recipe, Liz!
“A few steps” is quite the understatement, Liz! I haven’t had a fast food ‘nugget’ after watching Jamie Oliver make some in the first season of his show. Yours look delicious and when frying is done right is the food does not absorb that much fat.
My selective eater would love this recipe. He too eats very little meat but chicken nuggets are a for sure win. Yummy!
My youngest son (who is really not so young) would not complain about eating chicken nuggets at every meal. He does most of his own cooking, so I’ll share this recipe with him- he’ll love it! 🙂
Love this recipe….I really haven’t had chicken nuggets since Jackie was a lil’ kid. This looks like a good recipe. Great idea about the croutons I’ve done it before.
I cringe when you mentioned “Barney”……I can still hear that song in my head sometimes. 🙁
erica/Teacup
Crushed croutons? What a brillant idea! Bet its chunkier like panko but flavored… I have to try this with cheddar and herb… I can’t wait thanks for this fabulous idea! You are so creative my dear… bet everyone loved them! Mommy Mccnuggets! lol
What a simple and easy way to make these!