Best Baked Chicken Nuggets

These homemade chicken nuggets are a better-for-you option that’ll have you skipping the drive-thru. You get a little crunch from the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, and there’s no skimping on flavor with our spice blend. Whip these up for the kids and yourself. Adults love them too!

For more tasty nuggets, try our Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets or our Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets.

Why Our Recipe

Juicy chicken breast and a flavorful breading (with cheese!) makes these nuggets the real deal!
Easy to make and ready to go in only 35 minutes.
These nuggets are baked, so you don’t have to deal with the mess of deep-frying.

Closeup of chicken nugget being dipped in ketchup.

We make these chicken nuggets all the time in my house. While I’m at it, I often make a double batch and freeze some for later for easy dinners. They’re dipped in butter and coated in a flavorful breadcrumb and parmesan mixture. You can also use buttermilk in place of the butter. Buttermilk will give the chicken nuggets more of a fried chicken flavor.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients used to make chicken nuggets.

Chicken Breasts: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are great for this recipe. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
Breadcrumbs: This recipe uses plain breadcrumbs, but you can swap for Italian, Panko, or even crushed crackers.
Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated has a better texture, but pre-grated can work in a pinch.
Melted Butter: Used to coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs

Plain breadcrumbs are used in this recipe because they’re easy to find and affordable, but you can absolutely use your favorite. Panko breadcrumbs are another option, which are larger and provide a crunchier texture. Crushed cereal like cornflakes or even crushed crackers work, too!

Dipping Sauce

We love a good dipping sauce so be sure to check out some of our homemade favorites:

Homemade Ranch: This creamy ranch is made with buttermilk, mayo, lemon, and herbs. It’s so simple, and it is worth it! You won’t want to go back to the store-bought stuff!

Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce: If you know, you know. This sauce is everything you want in a dipping sauce—it’s sweet, tangy, and smoky.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce: This barbecue sauce is sweet, smoky, and has a little kick from the red pepper flakes. Some barbecue sauces are too sweet, but with this one, you get just enough tang and spice.

Crazy Good Comeback Sauce: This sauce is like the older sibling to the Chick-fil-A copycat. She’s a little more spicy from the hot sauce, a little smoky, and not as sugar-sweet.

Chicken nuggets being scooped with a spatula from baking tray.

Freezer Instructions

Prepare the chicken nuggets as directed by breading them and placing them onto a baking sheet. Instead of baking, just pop the baking tray into the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them to a resealable plastic freezer bag.

When you are ready to eat, just pop them back onto a baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree F oven for 30-35 minutes. These chicken nuggets will stay good in the freezer for 1 to 2 months.