Make a big batch of these healthy chicken nuggets for dinner or lunches for kids! They're gluten free (no bread crumbs!) and full of protein and healthy carbs. This simple recipe is great for clean eating and meal prep too.
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Ingredient Notes
- Ground chicken: it's full of protein and the base of this recipe.
- Sweet potato: this is the secret healthy ingredient that binds the nuggets together! You can' even taste it but it makes these healthy chicken nuggets paleo and whole30.
- Tapioca flour (or arrowroot starch): this is a ground powder similar to cornstarch that helps find everything. It's easy to find in the baking aisle with the rest of the flour:
- Spices: onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
Can Chicken Nuggets Be Healthy?
Homemade chicken nuggets can be really healthy and I love that you know exactly what's going into them. This recipe calls for 3 simple ingredients so you know they're good for you.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets
- Combine all of your ingredients in the bowl of a food processor for about 1 minute or until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out the mixture and place them 1/2 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use your hands to form them into nugget shapes—you should end up with about 20 nuggets.
- Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. That's it! Serve with ketchup or favorite condiment. I love them with this healthy honey mustard.
Pro tip: Dip your fingertips in a little bit of water while you mold them to help keep them from sticking.
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More baked chicken recipes:
- Rice crispy chicken tenders
- Sheet pan chicken fajitas
- Crispy honey sriracha baked chicken wings
- One pan greek chicken
- Sheet pan paleo breaded baked chicken
Recipe
Healthy homemade chicken nuggets
Make a big batch of these healthy homemade chicken nuggets for dinner or lunches for kids! They're gluten free (no bread crumbs!) and full of protein and healthy carbs. This simple recipe is great for clean eating and meal prep.
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Servings: 4 people
Calories: 244kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2 cups finely grated sweet potatoes (1 medium-large sweet potato)
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or arrowroot starch)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, parchment paper or a silpat mat. Set aside.
- Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Blend on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the mixture is combined and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out the mixture and place 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to form the mixture into chicken nugget shapes. You should have about 21 chicken nuggets. The mixture will be wet and sticky. If desired, coat your hands in a bit of tapioca flour as you go to help from sticking.
- Bake chicken nuggets in preheated oven for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Broil for 2-3 minutes at the end for crispy edges if desired.
- Cool slightly and serve with your favorite sauce like sugar-free ketchup, BBQ sauce, honey mustard or sriracha.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.6g | Protein: 33.4g | Fat: 8.5g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 108mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @What_MollyMade or tag #whatmollymade!
Chinazor says
Super! I love those pictures...so tempting.
I love chicken nuggets but i use corn flour instead of tapioca flour. Could that be a reason mine is so sticky and difficult to mold?
Holly says
These are amazing! So easy and delicious! So excited to have found this recipe! Thank you Molly x
Cheri says
I followed the recipe exactly as written. I made one batch with sweet potatoes and one batch with russet potatoes. They both cooked perfectly and turned out the robbery consistency I would expect that was similar to a McDonalds chicken nugget.
But the taste was horrendous. A very strange aftertaste and I’ve had many recipes made with tapioca flour and the other spices. Neither one of us could finish them and they went into the bin.
Molly Thompson says
Hey Cheri! This is really interesting. They've always turned out tender and perfect for us. We've made these several times. We have a video on our youtube to show you exactly how we make them and what the texture is like. The ingredients are really simple and the spices are standard so they shouldn't have a funny after taste! Maybe some of your spices are expired?
Han says
This recipe is so delicious! Thank you so much! Even my picky son enjoys these. The only unhealthy substitution i did was replace the tapioca flour with regular flour and cornstarch.
Ann says
Better than I was expecting, although a bit heavy on the spices I think. At least I can say they weren't bland, lol. Next time I'm going to use less garlic & onion powder. I didn't think it was exactly rubbery, though it was spongy and chewy since it's ground up chicken, of course you're going to get that texture. Good healthy alternative if you're craving fast food nuggies!