Admit it. You love eating McDonald's chicken nuggets. They are crispy and salty and dipping them in barbecue or sweet and sour sauce makes them even more irresistible. Wouldn't it be great if you could recreate healthier nuggets at home and, get this, only use three ingredients?
A long time ago I was watching an episode of Nigella Kitchen or Nigella Something and I remember her making homemade nuggets by dipping the chicken in buttermilk and coating them with bread crumbs. But I wanted to make my nuggets a little healthier and luckily the answer was already in my fridge, Greek yogurt. Besides being rich in protein and calcium, yogurt has naturally occurring bacteria that aid in digestion. It's a super food.
One little trick to making these nuggets really outstanding is to properly season them. Salt is important, but for this recipe, use more pepper than you normally would. It really kicks up the flavor. And you can use chicken breast if you prefer, but I think thighs have more flavor.
Healthy Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
6 small boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into nuggets
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs, more if needed
salt and pepper (okay, so technically there is more than 3 ingredients in this recipe)
Method:
Generously season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Mix together chicken with Greek yogurt in a bowl. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for an hour. Remove from fridge and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, add the panko bread crumbs. Coat the chicken pieces with the bread crumbs and place on the baking sheet.
Bake immediately for 20 minutes. Rotate chicken pieces and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and is golden brown.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and a vinegary salad.
Happy cooking!
Wow, I love a great dish with minimal ingredients. The Greek yogurt was a fabulous idea...yum.
Posted by: Lizzy | 03/04/2011 at 05:56 AM
Oh man, those look so good! What a great idea to make them that healthy and they look crunchy and delicious too! I would definitely try these
Posted by: RavieNomNoms | 03/04/2011 at 07:39 AM
Love nuggets. Love nuggets even more when they are healthy!
Posted by: Claire | 03/04/2011 at 08:00 AM
This is an excellent alternative to the usual buttermilk batter... I will definitely keep this in mind. Thank you for sharing your tip!
Posted by: Kate @ Diethood.com | 03/04/2011 at 08:32 AM
What a great recipe. My BF loves making little chicken nuggets but Im not sure he's ever let them soak in anything. I also like the note to kick up the pepper a bit. Thanks :)
Posted by: Kita | 03/06/2011 at 02:09 PM
Oh yeah, the pepper makes a huge difference in flavor.
Posted by: Alina | 03/08/2011 at 04:34 AM
You're welcome, Kate.
Posted by: Alina | 03/08/2011 at 04:35 AM
Thanks!
Posted by: Alina | 03/08/2011 at 04:35 AM
What a great idea! I love to take favorites and make them healthy!
Posted by: Britne @ Shabott's Habits | 03/09/2011 at 07:42 AM
I need to try this. I normally just dip in egg then bread crumbs.
Posted by: Carol | 07/23/2011 at 04:16 PM