The best ever Baked Chicken Nuggets!

As a high needs child, Munna has a ferocious appetite. He nursed ever so frequently as a baby which has translated into him wanting to munch on something every quarter of an our or so. This always leaves me in a fix!

I have my reservations for pre-packed, frozen foods so always on the look out for recipes which I can use as quick and easy meals for Munna or as snacks for the family.

I was beyond delighted when I came across this super easy recipe. Nuggets are always a hit with the little ones so I thought I did give them a go.

Here’s how I made them  with some tweaks to the original recipe :).

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup coarsely ground breadcrumbs (I made my own as stated below)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• Salt to taste
• 3 large organic eggs
• 1/2 cup organic unbleached flour
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil dressing
• black and white pepper for seasoning
• Some extra oil for brushing the baking tray
• Garlic mayo for serving

(I like to use organic ingredients wherever I can)

 

Method:

1.  For breadcrumbs I took some leftover slices of bread and coarsely ground them with hands and spread them on a baking tray. I baked them at 350 degrees for about 6 minutes till they turned a good golden brown. If you have a gas oven, I suggest you keep checking on them and turn them every minute or so, so that they are heated evenly. We use this bread.
2. Take the bread crumbs out of the oven and allow them to cool completely before adding Parmesan. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil dressing for some extra flavor and taste ;). Mix well. The oil is necessary or the nuggets will come out too dry.
3. Place flour and eggs in separate dishes with eggs slightly beaten of course.
4. Cut the chicken into cubes. I marinated the chicken with salt, white and black pepper with a slight dash of tamari  sauce. You’ll need to be careful with the salt as Parmesan has quiet a bit of salt in it. The bit I did different here is I steamed the chicken for a bit just so it slightly changed color just to be sure that the meat gets cooked well in the end.
5. Place a wire rack on a large baking tray. Coat the chicken pieces one by one in flour first, roll them in egg making sure to let the excess drip off before rolling them in bread crumbs. Place them on the wire rack.
6. Place in the oven. I baked them at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes turning them half way through.

Serve with your favorite dip or sauce. I would have loved guacamole but since we were out of avocados, I made a garlic mayo dip instead. I must say they were an instant hit with Baba and Munna! My intention was to make a big batch and freeze half of them as a quick meal for Munna but very few actually found their way to the freezer :(.

I will be sharing the recipe for olive oil dressing and the garlic mayo dip later till then try these out and let me know how they turned out for you :).

Some quick notes:

• The heat adjustment on the oven can vary according to the type and company of the oven so it’s  going to be a judgement call on your part :). Since we have a gas oven, it tends to heat and bake unevenly so I check on the stuff frequently and keep changing the side of the tray so everything bakes evenly.
• They freeze very well. Let them completely cool off before keeping them in freezer. I stored them in a ziploc bag. To reheat you can either use a microwave oven or slightly grease a grilling pan and heat over that.