These homemade ground chicken nuggets are super easy to make. They are nice and juicy on the inside and have an ultra-crispy, butter-fried panko bread crumbs shell. Serve them with a lemon and fresh rosemary aioli dipping sauce.
Find more delicious rosemary-flavored dishes, like this quick and easy rosemary cream sauce and this goat cheese cheesecake with rosemary caramel.
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Recipe Highlights:
- This recipe is surprisingly mess-free. That’s because the ground chicken mix has enough texture and stickiness so that you can roll it directly in the panko. The bread crumbs will stick like a charm and there is no need to dredge the nuggets in beaten egg and/or flour.
- The chicken nuggets are delicious and quite fast and easy to make.
Ingredients:
For the aioli:
For the chicken nuggets:
A few ingredient notes:
- Panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs) works great in this recipe and I don’t recommend substituting regular bread crumbs. Panko crumbs are larger than regular bread crumbs and have a flaky shape. When fried, they create a light and extra-crispy shell that’s perfect for chicken nuggets.
- The Parmesan cheese provides enough saltiness in this recipe so you don’t need to add any actual salt to the chicken.
How to make the chicken nuggets (overview with photos):
1. Grind the chicken in the food processor.
2. Mix the ground chicken with Parmesan, rosemary and black pepper.
3. Form the chicken into balls and roll in panko.
4. Flatten the balls into nuggets and fry on both sides in melted butter.
How to store leftovers:
Store any leftover aioli and nuggets in airtight containers in the fridge. Heat the chicken nuggets back up in a 400-degree oven or in an air fryer.
Recipe notes, tips and questions:
The best way to grind chicken is in the food processor. Cut the chicken breast into chunks and pulse them a few times until they are uniformly ground.
If you have a sharp knife, you can cut chicken breast finely enough to produce ground chicken. To do that, cut the chicken into chunks, then transfer them to the freezer for a few minutes to partially freeze them. Take the chicken out of the freezer and slice each chunk as thinly as you can. Then cut each slice into thin strips and then into tiny cubes.
Yes, you can transfer the raw, breaded chicken nuggets into a freezer bag and freeze them. To cook, don’t thaw the nuggets, instead fry the frozen nuggets in the same way you would fry them fresh.
More delicious chicken appetizers:
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Full Printable Recipe
Ground Chicken Nuggets with Lemon Rosemary Aioli
Ingredients
For the lemon rosemary aioli:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon very finely chopped fresh rosemary (you need about 3 inches of a sprig or an equivalent amount for that)
- 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
For the chicken nuggets:
- ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (you need about a 6-inch sprig or an equivalent amount for that)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup panko
- 1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
For the lemon rosemary aioli:
- Whisk all ingredients together. Keep the aioli refrigerated until you're ready to serve it.
For the chicken nuggets:
- Process the chicken chunks in the food processor for a few seconds until uniformly ground.
- In a bowl, mix the chicken with the Parmesan, the rosemary and the pepper.
- Spread the panko onto a plate, then form the chicken into 8 balls and roll them each in the panko until fully coated. Flatten each ball with a spatula or your hands into a disk.
- Melt the butter in a nonstick pan or a cast iron pan. Fry the nuggets on both sides until they're golden-brown and reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (about 6 minutes per side).
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