Need an idea to plan easy meals? Baked Chicken Nuggets the Healthy Way are boneless and skinless chicken nuggets lightly coated in extra-virgin olive oil and breadcrumbs, then baked until crispy golden brown.  These baked chicken nuggets are juicy, tender, and delicious!  Make ahead and freeze them for future weeknight meals.

 

Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets…

• Baked chicken nuggets always make a fun finger-food. 

• Simple recipe, easy to prep, and baked instead of fried.

• The outside is crispy, while each nugget is moist and juicy on the inside.  They turn out delicious every time!

• Perfect to serve them with ketchup, or with our mom’s quick marinara sauce for dipping.  So…very…Delicious!

• Serve these nuggets for lunch, dinner, or even as an appetizer.

No need to buy frozen packaged nuggets when you can make these in a matter of minutes.  So much healthier when you make them yourself.

No fillers, no preservatives or chemicals, no extra fat, and no frying.  🙂

Plus, these baked chicken nuggets make great meal prep for kids going back to school or busy weeknight meals.

For this recipe,  I decided to take my package of chicken breasts and turn them into chicken nuggets for dinner.  This recipe requires only two easy steps!

The first step, cut chicken breasts into small pieces, preferably nugget sizes.

And the second step is to dip each one into olive oil and then into our delicious breadcrumb mixture and place them onto a baking pan.

Then bake.

What You Need for Baked Chicken Nuggets:

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• plain breadcrumbs
• grated pecorino cheese
• garlic powder
• dried parsley
• extra-virgin olive oil
• olive oil cooking spray

 

Your Family Will Love These Baked Chicken Nuggets!  

Serve them with a healthy side or two like our delicious Oven Fried Sweet Potatoes, or our Oven-Baked Parsnip Fries, or with a large green salad and make dinner fun and simple!

All kids will love them and even adults will too!  So make a huge batch, because they will disappear quickly!

ENJOY!!

 

Ingredients Needed for Baked Chicken Nuggets the Healthy Way: (*full recipe card below!)

• 2  chicken breasts- cut into 2-inch pieces

• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese

• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

• 1 tsp. dried parsley

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Optional: black pepper

• olive oil cooking spray

Easy-To-Follow DIRECTIONS…

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking oil.

2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 or 2-inch pieces. Use one tray or bowl to pour the olive oil into it for dipping.
In a second tray, combine breadcrumbs with cheese, parsley, and garlic powder.  Dip all the chicken pieces at once into the olive oil,  toss them using kitchen tongs, and then toss them into the breadcrumbs.

3. Place chicken nuggets onto the baking sheet. Lightly spray them with olive oil cooking spray on top, to keep them moist while baking.

 

4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove and Serve!
Serves: 2 to 4

Can we use other parts of the Chicken?

Yes, you can. This recipe will work best with chicken breasts, chicken tenderloins and even chicken cutlets.

Notes and TIPS for Success!

• Make ahead!   If planning to make them dinner, you can easily prepare the nuggets early in the morning, refrigerate them, then bake just before serving.
• Or double this recipe,  freeze them in ziplock bags!
• Then bake them when you need a quick dinner during busy weeknights. 
• Or bake them and freeze, so you can easily reheat them.
• No need for any salt, because the pecorino cheese gives enough flavor to these nuggets.
• It’s best to use good quality olive oil with this recipe.  Extra virgin olive oil is best to use.  The oil will not only keep the nuggets moist while baking, but it will give them so much more flavor.

Don’t forget to PIN and SAVE!

More Delicious Chicken Recipes! 

• Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Garlic & Thyme
• Roasted Spicy Maple Chicken Wings
• OVEN-Fried Chicken Fingers with Sriracha Dipping Sauce
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Chicken Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry
• Chicken Rollatini with Ham Cheese and Spinach

Are you cooking with us?  If you try this easy chicken recipe, let us know and leave a comment! Have fun and snap a photo and hashtag it on Instagram and on Pinterest, be sure to tag us @2sistersrecipes.  

We’d love to see what you cook!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Baking! 🙂

xo Anna and Liz