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    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    Healthy Chicken Nuggets

    Updated: June 11, 2022 | Published on: August 5, 2021 - Molly Thompson6 Comments

    Dairy Free RecipesDF
    Gluten Free RecipesGF
    Paleo RecipesP
    Whole30 RecipesW
    Jump to Recipe

    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.

    healthy chicken nugget with a small bowl of ketchup
    Jump to:
    • Ingredient Notes
    • Can Chicken Nuggets Be Healthy?
    • How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets
    • Prefer to watch instead of read?
    • Recipe

    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.

    plate of homemade healthy chicken nuggets with a bowl of ketchup

    How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.

    how to make healthy chicken nuggets in the food processor

    Prefer to watch instead of read?

     If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!

    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 chicken nugget dipped into a small bowl of ketchup

    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.
    4 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner, Lunch
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 244kcal
    Author: Molly Thompson
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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!

    More Healthy Dinners

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chinazor says

      January 22, 2020 at 4:38 am

      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?

      Reply
    2. Holly says

      November 07, 2021 at 2:25 pm

      5 stars
      These are amazing! So easy and delicious! So excited to have found this recipe! Thank you Molly x

      Reply
    3. Cheri says

      February 22, 2022 at 9:11 pm

      1 star
      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.

      Reply
      • Molly Thompson says

        March 05, 2022 at 11:10 am

        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?

        Reply
    4. Han says

      September 01, 2022 at 8:26 pm

      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.

      Reply
    5. Ann says

      September 06, 2022 at 7:18 pm

      4 stars
      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!

      Reply

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    molly thompson from what molly made

    I'm Molly! I'm so grateful you're here. My hope is that my recipes bless your home and your bodies. I want my website to be a tool to help you feel your best and nourish you with recipes you (and your family) look forward to making!

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