Baked Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets
These Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets are easy to make, super delicious, and are a veggie-loaded twist on a classic finger food! Done in under 30 minutes, they are perfect for lunch, dinner, or for stocking up your freezer!
I love a good veggie-loaded nugget. They are the perfect kid-friendly vessel for vegetables and protein. Plus, finger food is just stinking fun to eat! These particular Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets come to you thanks to the request of a reader. And they might be my new favorite nugget!
The reader was dazzled to find a company making frozen chicken nuggets with cauliflower baked right into them. Her kids loved them and she loved how they gobbled them up. Yay for veggie-loaded convenience foods (gosh, we all need them)! Yay for kids eating veggies and protein! But, maybe there was a way to make something just as enticing at home? She asked if I was up for the task of making a homemade version with less additives that would still dazzle her kids and could be used to stock up her freezer.
Challenge accepted! And accomplished!
These Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets are totally fun, delicious and come together in about 30 minutes (start to finish!). They are totally perfect to make as a fun dinner, lunch, or to stock your freezer with for the days when you just can’t think about what to cook your family or yourself. These nuggets are rocking a whole cup of veggies, so even if no other plants make it onto the dinner plate…veggies will be eaten!
Bonus: They are naturally dairy-free, but can easily be made gluten free with gluten free bread crumbs! Easy peasy.
Let’s make dinner together. Just you and me….
Baked Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 cup riced cauliflower, fresh or thawed frozen
- 1 pound ground chicken (I used dark meat), or ground turkey
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs, use gluten free breadcrumbs if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ degrees and lightly grease a large baking sheet.
- Combine riced cauliflower, ground chicken/turkey, salt, and spices your food processor. Pulse until well combined.You can absolutely do this in a bowl instead of your food processor, but I find that blending the cauliflower and chicken together helps the veggies to melt into the nuggets more and have the texture of a typical chicken nugget.
- Using a small cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon, portion out the mixture and use your hands to form each portion into a nugget shape. I find that having slightly wet hands helps the mixture from sticking to me. Place the nuggets on a plate until you work through the batch.
- After washing your hands, crack the eggs into a small bowl and whisk them. Pour the breadcrumbs into another small bowl.
- Dip formed nuggets into the eggs first and then into the breadcrumbs to coat all over. The eggs help the breadcrumbs to stick to the nugget.
- Place the breaded nuggets on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-16 minutes or until cooked through, flipping nuggets at the 10 minute mark.
- Enjoy warm with your favorite dipping sauce or let cool completely before storing in an air tight container in your fridge for 3 days or in your freezer for up to a month.
So easy!! And so good!! Who knew chicken nuggets were so easy to make?! The tip about having wet hands was perfect too.
Right? So simple. Glad you enjoyed them, Jessie!
I loved this recipe! It’s so simple and quick to make.
I made mine with a frozen store bought mix of riced cauliflower and sweet potato, and my son didn’t mind the speckled orange in the middle.
I’ll definitely make them again!
I love that you added sweet potato! So glad it was a hit!
Great recipe! Nutritious AND delicious! Also seems foolproof. I was distracted by my almost 3 yr old and added both eggs to the chicken and cauli mix. (I used a frozen cauli and broccoli mix I had) And I used crushed saltines because I didn’t have panko breadcrumbs. They came out so yummy despite my mistake. 👍🏻👍🏻 Two hardy thumbs up.
So glad you enjoyed them so much!
Lovely recipe. I just made a big batch, hoping finger’s crossed, my son loves it.
I’m crossing my fingers for you! My daughter adores them, so I have hope!
These are awesome!!! The taste and texture is spot on. Kids and adults gobbled them up – definitely adding to my regular rotation – a feel good, simple recipe that feels like a treat dinner.
Love this so much, Lauren! So glad this was a success that made everyone feel good!
We made these tonight for dinner! We cooked them in the air frier for 15 minutes and they were crunchy and delicious!! Thanks for another great recipe!!
So awesome to hear, Leighann! Thanks for taking the time to share!
These came together SO quickly and I already had everything I needed My family loved them and no one detected the riced cauliflower. Super moist and flavorful. Another win from Taesha! Thank you! ❤️
So happy to hear that, Jen! Thanks for taking the time to share!
Can I make them without eggs? Flax egg perhaps?
I don’t know if flax eggs would work to hold the breadcrumbs onto the nugget but it might work. I know a common sub for an egg in this situation is milk or heavy cream. If that is an option, I’d start there!
I made these nuggets for my toddler primarily, but after trying them, he will definitely have to share! I made these with gluten free Panko and they are so delicious! I haven’t been able to enjoy chicken nuggets for so long without feeling sick. It made me so happy to make these and enjoy them. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so delighted these nuggets brought you so much joy, Suzanne! Truly makes my morning a little brighter to hear. Thank you for taking the time to share!
YUM! Doubled this recipe and made it for three teen boys. I conveniently didn’t tell the one who hates cauliflower what was actually in it and, after he’d eaten a plateful and declared them delish, we revealed the ingredients 🙂 I riced the cauliflower in a food processor but mixed in the chicken and spices by hand (adding a bit more of each spice). I also pan fried them first for extra crispiness, then baked. Definitely a keeper – thanks, Taesha!
Wooohooo! Those teenagers are hard to win over and so glad this one did for your crew!
These nuggets satisfy the nugget craving with panko-crunchy coating, Baked (healthier) not fried. A little time-consuming, but not difficult. Well worth the time, just delicious! I upped the amount of seasonings for my family’s tastes.
So glad you loved them, Leslie! If you ever want to make a double batch for the ease of reheat-and-eat nuggets, these freeze great in my experience!
We loved these nuggets! I used the food processor to rice my cauliflower before mixing things up. We have a lot left over to try another one of your recipes tomorrow! The panko helped these to turn out nice and crispy (we did brush the tops with oil during the last few minutes of cooking) and the spices were perfectly balanced. A big hit with my kids!
I’m so glad to hear they were a hit—especially with the kids! Love that you used the food processor to rice your own cauliflower and brushed the tops with oil for that extra crisp. Sounds like you nailed it! Can’t wait to hear which recipe you try next!
We loved this recipe! Balanced flavors, great texture and crunch. A big hit for the whole family. We did brush with oil in the last few minutes of baking to give a bit of extra crisp/browning. Who knows if we needed too. Love that these came together so quickly and that we have extra riced cauliflower for later this week!
Can you actually make these in an air fryer (as opposed to just reheating them)? The weather had been a little too hot for the oven.
I have made them in the air fryer with success