Homemade Crispy Panko Chicken Nuggets Recipe

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Nuggets are everyone’s favourite childhood snack. Tender, juicy chicken with a flavorful, crispy crust. They are sure to become your favourite too and will be a life saver when you or your kids ask the famous question, older than time itself - “What’s for dinner?”

Break the taboo of crispy chicken being associated with unhealthy, greasy, fast food junk! You may wonder what are Panko chicken nuggets? To start, these nuggets are made with fresh chicken breast and coated with Panko breadcrumbs. These Panko chicken bites are rich in protein and are far healthier than fast food or even frozen chicken nuggets! As I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, getting inspiration after going out to eat to recreate your favourite restaurant or fast food favorites is one of the best ways to get creative in the kitchen! I have phases where I love to have McDonald’s chicken nuggets - or any chicken nuggets, really - but of course all the fried food adds up! I was totally impressed with how these baked chicken nuggets turned out! When they came out of the oven, I promise you if you didn’t know that they were baked you’d reckon they were deep fried! For all the chicken nuggets out there, you definitely must try this Baked Panko Chicken Nuggets recipe as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started for free today by signing up to my free email newsletter, plus you’ll get all of my latest recipes sent straight to your inbox so you never need to ask “What’s for dinner!”

To hear for yourself how crunchy these baked panko nuggets are, be sure to check out the video! It would mean a lot to me if you would please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already, and don’t forget to press the bell button so you’re notified when all of my video recipes are live! Let’s get baking!

Serving Suggestions for This Panko Chicken Nuggets Recipe

These easy homemade chicken nuggets are so versatile, they can be used for snacks with your favourite dip or enjoyed for dinner such as General Tao’s Chicken or a lean green salad, such as my Arugula Salad with Goat’s Cheese and Almonds.

My Favourite Dips Include:

• Barbecue Sauce
• Buffalo Sauce
• Honey Mustard Sauce
• Spicy Mayo
• Garlic Truffle Aioli
• Thai Curry Mayonnaise
• Ranch Sauce

Side Dishes

• Garlic-Butter Sautéed Broccoli
• Creamy Spinach Dip
• Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
• Buttery Garlic-Herb Mashed Potatoes
• Homemade Chick-Fil-A Air Fryer Waffle Fries

Main Dishes

• Lobster Mac and Cheese
• Heart Healthy Chicken & Veggie Pizza
• Classic American Cheeseburger
• Lasagna alla Bolognese

Tools Needed to Make This Baked Panko Chicken Nuggets Recipe

• Mixing bowl
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Chef’s knife
• Cutting board
• Salt crock
• Pepper mill
• Baking sheet
• Wire rack
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients for This Homemade Panko Chicken Nuggets Recipe

All ingredients and their quantities can be found in the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD by scrolling to the bottom of this post or by pressing the “Jump to Recipe” button. The recipe card will also let you scale the recipe based on how many nuggets you want to make. By default, one pound of chicken breast makes 30 nuggets, so feel free to adjust the recipe for how much chicken you have on hand - you’ll know exactly how much spice and breading ingredients you’ll need for the best results!

For the Marinade

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: If you are able to get farm raised or organic chicken breast, they will work best since they are usually more tender and juicier.
• Olive oil spray: Spray some as needed so the spices really stick onto the chicken pieces.
• Garlic powder: A garlicky punch and taste to the chicken nuggets that everyone loves!
• Dried thyme: The subtle, lemony flavor adds fragrance to the baked nuggets.
• Paprika: Adds spice and colour to the chicken nuggets.
• Salt and pepper: Season generously with salt and pepper since both the chicken and the crust elements need seasoning.

For Breading and Serving

• Spices: Thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
• All-Purpose Flour: Dredging the chicken pieces in flour helps create a sticky layer for the breadcrumbs once dipped in the egg. The flour is seasoned to add flavor both inside and outside the crispy crust. As you see in the photo, I have milk presented. If for whatever reason you don’t want to use flour to dip your nuggets when breading, feel free to dip the nuggets milk first before coating with egg and breadcrumbs.
• Eggs: This is our sticking agent, which works with the flour to get on the crispy breadcrumbs.
• Panko Breadcrumbs: These breadcrumbs originate from Japan and make for the crispiest crusts. I would recommend you use this instead of regular bread crumbs if a “big crunch” is what you and your family is after!
• Olive oil spray: This goes in the breadcrumb mixture to help brown the nuggets evenly and give a nice colour.

How to Make the Best Crispy Panko Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Cube the chicken into 1 inch cubes and add to a large bowl. Add the spices for the chicken, thyme, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper. Spray with a generous film of olive oil and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F in convection mode. If not using convection setting, change the temperature to 400 F.

Measure out each of flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs in 3 separate plates or containers.

Season the panko breadcrumbs with the seasoning mix, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme and salt. Mix well.

Dip each piece of chicken in flour, shake off excess, dip in egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Coat well and press lightly with your hands to make sure breadcrumbs are well coated. (Note: To save time you can put a couple of pieces of chicken in the container with the flour, close with a lid and shake to coat multiple pieces at the same time.)

Place the breaded chicken on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil and a wire rack. Spray each side of the nuggets with spray oil and then bake on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Make sure to flip the nuggets halfway along the cooking time for even cooking and browning.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Tips to Master This Panko Chicken Nuggets Recipe

• Cut the chicken pieces in even-sized thickness to ensure that each piece cooks at the same rate.
• Depending on your preference, use flour or milk to coat the chicken before proceeding with eggs and Panko breadcrumbs to bread the nuggets.
• To save time with coating the chicken in flour, simply put a couple of pieces in a container with flour. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously until coated.
• Avoid using the above shaking method for coating the chicken with breadcrumbs since the spices used to season the breadcrumbs will be more likely to stick to the egg coating than the breadcrumbs themselves. This will result in chicken nuggets that are coated with excessive spice and not the right amount of spices and breadcrumbs together, as you can see in the photos below.

• To coat the nuggets with the breadcrumbs, make sure to go one piece at a time, and lightly press on the chicken to ensure the breadcrumbs coat each side evenly while you use this time to shape the chicken pieces into a “nugget” shape.
• While coating the breaded chicken on each side is optional, it is recommended if you are looking for a golden brown “fried” style oven-baked chicken nugget.

Reheating Leftovers

To reheat your chicken nuggets, you can place them on a baking tray and reheat in the oven at 325 F until the nuggets crunchy and warmed through. If you’re impatient, you can definitely reheat the chicken nuggets in the microwave, but there’s a greater risk of the breading to not be as crunchy and to turn a little soggy.

Air fryer works best for the quickest reheating - preheat the air fryer at 300 - 325 F and then reheat the nuggets for 4-8 minutes.

To Prep in Advance

If you do want to make a big batch for a party, then complete all the breading steps and then transfer the breaded chicken pieces to a baking sheet. Cover with 1-2 layers of plastic wrap and then freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a ziplock freezer safe bag.

When it’s time to cook, simply cook from frozen, you would need to increase the cooking time by 5-10 minutes to account for the frozen chicken. Otherwise, let the chicken defrost first naturally in the refrigerator overnight and then proceed with the recipe.