Grain-Free Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets: the American staple of childhood just got a little healthier. And tastier…..if I do say so myself.

Why going for homemade chicken nuggets?
For some reason, most children go gaga over chicken nuggets. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I can speculate that it has something to do with their adorable, bite-sized, dunk-in-whatever-sauce-they-fancy ways.
However, the kind of chicken nuggets you buy at the grocery store or order at restaurants are often full of sodium and additives. Perhaps worst yet is that they make these commercially prepared chicken nuggets with the ground up leftovers from the chicken butchering process….the part that no body else wants.
I don’t know about you, but the last thing that I want to be serving my family is something from the throw-away parts of chicken that have been “seasoned” with preservatives and other chemicals that enhance the flavor, but certainly not the nutritional value of the chicken.
If all you mamas and papas are starting to freak out because your fussy eaters put up force fields around themselves when they see something OTHER than those processed chicken nuggets being served at dinner time, take a deep breath and keep reading.
Oven baked chicken nuggets
Homemade chicken nuggets are ridiciulously easy to make. Not only that, but they freeze beautifully so that you can stock yourself up on rainy Saturday afternoon and have a stash of healthy chicken nuggets to call upon when an emergency dinner is needed.
There are many ways to make homemade chicken nuggets, but they often call for bread crumbs or wheat flour.
With many people opting or needing to omit grains entirely from their diet these days or others who are just trying to scale back on how many they consume (like my family), the universe seemed to be calling to me to create a grain-free (and dairy-free) chicken nugget recipe that was not only healthy, but so tasty that those picky eaters would drop their guard and get on the healthy-chicken-nugget train.
Here is what I came up with. They go GREAT with my Homemade Ketchup, by the way!
Other healthy chicken recipes you are going to enjoy…
- Chicken Spaghetti Squash Nuggets
- Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
- Chicken Piccata Stir-Fry (Paleo, Whole30)
- Instant Pot Garlic Herb Pulled Chicken
Loving these grain-free oven baked chicken nuggets and hungry for more?
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Grain-Free Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless chicken breasts (I strongly recommend buying organic, local, and/or pasture raised if possible)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (check to be sure it is gluten free. Here is a gluten free brand)
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking pan with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- In one small bowl, crack open the egg and beat it.
- In another small bowl, combine the almond meal, nutritional yeast, garlic powder paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir to evenly mix everything.
- Toss a few of the chicken pieces in the egg and then transfer them over to the almond meal “breading” mixture, tossing again to evenly coat them with the pieces pieces and flours. Place on lined baking sheet. Continue this processes until all of the chicken has been “breaded.”
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy warm or store leftovers in fridge for up to 5 days or in freezer for a month.
Notes
- These chicken nuggest go fantastic with my Homemade Ketchup.
- They also freeze beautifully so that you can stock yourself up for an emergency dinner.
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
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Comments
Oh, I love chicken nuggets and these look super simple to make, especially as I don’t have to fry them.
Yes! They are simple as could be and yay for oven baked glory!
what is the purpose of the yeast in the recipe? I’m just curious if it’s ‘needed’ as I’m allergic to yeast.
The nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavor to the nuggets and is totally fine to omit!
Enjoy!
These turned out tasty, however they stayed "powdery". The chicken was cooked perfectlt, but the breading was pretty loose. Any suggestions?
Oh no! The several times I have made them that has never been an issue! Perhaps adding an extra egg so that there is enough of a binding agent!
Healthier chicken nuggets – yes please! I need to try this 🙂
They area household favorite! Hope you enjoy
Is it 1/2 cup of coconut flour? Recipe just says "1/2". 😉
Whoops! Typo! Fixed now and yes, 1/2 a cup!
My son is allergic to tree nuts, including almond and coconut. Any suggestions on an alternative grain free breading?
DO YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON ESTIMATED CALORIES? MY DAUGHTER AND I MADE THESE LAST NIGHT. DELICIOUS! WE ARE BOTH IN A FAMILY NUTRITION RESEARCH STUDY AND HAVE TO TRACK ESTIMATED CALORIES OF EVERYTHING WE CONSUME.
Love this recipe!! My 2 and 4 year old loved them! So did my husband. Followed the recipe exactly except I added an extra egg to dip the nuggets in. Easy and Delicious! I will be making these on a regular basis. Thank you!
I am so glad they were a hit!
Hi Taesha, these look great. Any suggestion on what to use instead of almonds as my daughter’s school is nut-free? Thank you!
You could use oat flour instead!
Good morning :). Can I prep these ahead of time and cook that night?
Thanks!
Jenna
Hmmm. I’ve never tried and would worry that the breading would get soggy or fall off before cooking. I have made them ahead of time and frozen then for future use though, if that helps.
Did you freeze them before or after cooking
I would do after
Like!!
It is amazing how unhealthy those store-bought chicken nuggets are, yet how easy it is to make them healthy at home. Fantastic recipe!