I’ve been searching for a delicious, yet easy chicken nuggets recipe for a long time. Chicken nuggets are a staple childhood food (at least they were for me) and I didn’t want to deny Arik of these delicious little things, but I also didn’t want to serve him some pre-made frozen version. Unfortunately, all the recipes I was finding required me to coat each little nugget in flour, egg, and breading and then fry them in a pan, which as most of you parents know, is pretty impossible to do when you’ve got a hungry toddler hanging out in the kitchen.
Then I found this little gem of a recipe. It requires only 4 ingredients and promised no elaborate breading of the chicken nuggets. I was sold, and tried it out immediately. It truly is a really easy recipe, which all three of us loved. You just simply put the cut up chicken and some red pesto in a bowl and mix. Then you toss that chicken in a freezer bag with crushed cornflakes and shake. Lastly, you place the nuggets on a cookie sheet and bake…so easy, and more importantly, a lot less messy than breading and frying. The other great thing about the recipe, is that you can easily freeze the uncooked breaded nuggets and save them for a busy weeknight.
I personally find, that the red pesto provides enough seasoning for the nuggets (especially since I am cooking for a 21 month old), but if you prefer a little kick to your nuggets you can season the crushed cornflake mixture however you desire. The original recipe calls for breadcrumbs instead of cornflakes. I went ahead and tried regular breadcrumbs, panko breading, and cornflakes and in the end cornflakes were a clear winner with all three of us. I served them with oven-baked potato wedges and green beans….and of course, ketchup.
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into small cubes
- 3 tablespoons red pesto
- 2-3 handfuls cornflakes, crushed into small pieces
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃.
- Place the cubed chicken pieces in a bowl, add the pesto, and mix together until all pieces are covered.
- Pour the oil onto a shallow baking tray, just enough to cover it, and place in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Put the cornflakes in a freezer bag, crush them into small pieces, and add the chicken in small batches. Shake each batch around until each piece is coated with cornflakes.
- Place the chicken nuggets onto the heated greased baking tray so that no pieces are touching each other and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
