Homemade Chicken Nuggets
some new tweaks to a favorite CROWD PLEASING recipe.
First off, a big HELLO to a bunch new readers this week. I’m so glad you’re here! Here’s what you’ll find here in a nutshell: a very unedited, off the cuff reporting of what I’m making for my family each week. I’m feeding two small boys, a husband and by day I’m a food stylist & recipe developer. My hope is that you find mealtime inspiration here and you take away some tips and tricks to make cooking for your family more do-able. Many of the recipes each week (not all!) are only visible to paid subscribers. A paid subscription is $5/month or $40/year and helps fund the groceries and time needed to bring you this content each week. A paid subscription gives you access to all past recipes and newsletters as well.
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
I make these all time and they are a big hit with everyone in my house. The best part is they freeze beautifully. So I’ll make a big batch, freeze most of them and reheat them as I need them. Instant dinner for the kids, but honestly also my husband and I. I posted this recipe last year and many of you loved it. Here you’ll find the same recipe with some new wording that I think you’ll find even more helpful. These nuggets do have nuts in them, in the form of almond flour. It cuts down on the refined carbs and gives a really light texture to the inside- a bit of added protein as well! If you don’t do nuts, please leave me a comment and I’ll happily respond and give you some ideas on replacing them. I love making these in my air fryer because the texture is perfect and they cook super quickly. No worries if you don’t have one, I’m giving you two other cooking methods. The recipe for these is at the bottom of this email and is visible to paid subscribers.
Watch the reel of me making them HERE
What I’m Loving This Week:
Cabi Foods Umami Soy Sauce: This brand (which is brand new!) sent me a sampling of their products. They make Japanese staples like miso and soy sauce but with a little flavor twist. Their soy sauce is flavored with dashi, which is the delicious base of many Japanese dishes. It’s a deeply savory stock made with seaweed and bonito flakes (a product made from dried tuna). All the products were great but this Umami Dashi Soy Sauce blew me away. So much so that I sent it to my clients as my holiday gift. Drizzled on a soft boiled egg, (maybe with some chili crisp) it’s a revelation for breakfast. I haven’t tried this YET but I would love to get some high quality fish, slice it thin, drizzle with this and maybe some lemon juice and thinly sliced jalapeno for a seriously good crudo. If you’re looking to buy your kitchen a savory treat, check this out.
Walnuts: I’m very into walnuts right now. A big bag of them landed in my Costco cart last month and during the same time I was reminded of how good they are for you. Walnuts have certain essential vitamins and compounds that are very hard to find in other foods. I’m putting them in my morning smoothie, toasting them in butter for salads, and chopping finely over bowls of yogurt and honey. (anyone who is familiar with Greek food, don’t freak out, I’m here in the parenthesis, explaining that I did NOT come up with that yogurt, walnut, honey combo.)
Cooking method: You can cook these in an air fryer (my favorite option), pan fry them or bake them in the oven. For oven baking, I recommend you line a baking sheet with foil and spray the nuggets with cooking spray. I like to use a spray olive or avocado oil. For the air fryer you don’t necessarily need any additional oil but a light spritz of a cooking spray makes the nuggets extra crunchy. For pan frying you’ll need about ¼ - ½ cup oil. This can be a neutral oil (canola, avocado or vegetable) or olive oil or a mix of the two.
Makes about 24-26 nuggets
1 pound ground chicken