I make these easy homemade chicken nuggets a lot! My young son loves them, and honestly, so do I! To make things extra easy, I use potato chips for the coating and then bake them in the oven until crispy.
You’ll only need three ingredients for this chicken nugget recipe! Instead of frying them in oil, I bake them in the oven so the cleanup is also stress-free. For more recipes like this one, see our easy popcorn chicken!
I love serving these homemade nuggets with one of our easy homemade sauces, such as this creamy honey mustard sauce, our easy ketchup, or my sweet and tangy BBQ sauce.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: For this recipe, I’ve used both chicken breasts and thighs. Chicken thighs are a bit more tender, but both work well!
- Potato Chips: Use your favorite kind! I love dill pickle or sour cream and onion for extra flavor. I also love that potato chips make this a gluten-free breading (although, I recommend checking the package before using to make sure it is GF certified).
- Egg: This helps the crushed chips stick to the chicken. We’re skipping the fancy breading (with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs), so just a beaten egg will do.
How to Make Chicken Nuggets at Home
To make my potato chip-crusted chicken nuggets, cut your chicken into nugget-sized pieces and dip them into a whisked egg (or egg whites).
Roll the chicken in crushed potato chips until well coated, and bake until crispy. I’ve also included tips for making these in your air fryer in the recipe below!
These homemade chicken nuggets couldn’t be simpler! Serve them with your favorite sauce or a side of fries. Here’s our recipes for crispy baked French fries and our favorite baked sweet potato fries (don’t forget the homemade fry sauce).
Easy Chicken Nuggets
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Forget store-bought, frozen nuggets! This kid (and adult) approved homemade chicken nuggets recipe is so easy, and the secret is that crispy potato chip coating!
You Will Need
1 ¼ pounds (566g) skinless, boneless chicken breast or thighs
5 ounces (141g) favorite potato chips, 3 heaping cups
1 large egg, see notes
Nonstick cooking spray or olive oil
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, foil, or a silicone baking mat. See below for using an air fryer.
2Add the potato chips to a resealable bag, then crush them into bits using a rolling pin. You can also add to a food processor and pulse until crumbled. Add the crushed potato chip crumbles to a wide bowl.
3Beat the egg in a separate bowl.
4Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces (about 24 pieces).
5With one hand, dip a piece of chicken into the beaten egg. Shake any excess egg off to prevent soggy nuggets. Roll the chicken into the crushed potato chips with your other hand or kitchen tongs and place them onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
6Spray the tops of the chicken with nonstick cooking spray or add a drizzle of olive oil.
7Bake for 15 minutes, flip, and then bake until an internal thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 165°F, another 8 to 12 minutes more.
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
1Place the coated chicken nuggets in your air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray them lightly with cooking spray. Air fry at 390°F for 4 minutes. Shake the basket, spray lightly again, then air fry for another 3 to 5 minutes (or until golden brown).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store leftover nuggets in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Or, freeze the cooked, cooled nuggets on a sheet pan for an hour or two until solid. Then, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or air fry at 390°F for 4 to 7 minutes.
- One egg is usually enough. If you run out, whisk a second egg into the bowl.
- For crispier chicken nuggets, insert a wire baking rack into a rimmed baking sheet. Then, bake the nuggets on top of the wire rack. Since air flows around the chicken, there is no need to flip the chicken.
- Recipe inspired by Gimme Some Oven.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed full-fat salted potato chips. For fewer calories and fat, use baked chips.
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Wow! What a delicious and simple recipe, I was craving chicken nuggets and this did the trick! Taste exactly like a nugget, I didn’t have the Italian seasoning and still tasted great… have you ever froze these before and reheated? If so, what temperature?
So glad you loved them! They are easy to freeze. For best results, freeze uncooked nuggets individually on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. Reheat in an oven preheated to 400°F until warmed through and crispy.
I made this tonight for the third time in the past week, it is outrageously delicious and so easy to make! (Also, in the past couple of weeks I made your fry sauce, simple strawberry smoothies, black bean soup, and blueberry muffins, and every single thing was out of this WORLD. (For the fry sauce I subbed pickle juice from the jar because I didn’t have vinegar on hand, and for the muffins I replaced the milk with vanilla caramel flavored coffee creamer – only because I was out of milk – and it all turned out lovely :)). I will never buy soup to-go from a restaurant again, there is no need to. The simplicity of the recipe and quality of the outcome supersedes anything I can find elsewhere, you guys are amazing and I appreciate you sharing your talents for all to enjoy. Instead of just preparing food, you have helped me evolve into a person that can “cook” 🙂
Wow! What a wonderful comment to start our day! 🙂 Thank you so much for coming back to let us know that you love our recipes 🙂
I did three of the potato chips BBQ , Dill pickles, salt & vinegar. I also added cayenne pepper to the chips to give it a little kick . Great recipe idea . Keep it up! Oh by the way I used the air fryer when I make them they turn out out great.
Tips… allergic to eggs – no worry – marinade chicken in a little water, GF corn starch and little salt or your favorite spice blend, add chicken pieces to bag of crushed chip or torlilla, very easy and less handling of raw chicken.Try this ckicken in a ceasar salad, so yummielicious
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I just made this chicken nugget recipe in my air fryer and they are delicious! My daughter has allergies and has gradually become allergic to every chicken nugget we have bought. She is able to eat Organic Kettle Brand Plain and Vinegar and Salt potato chips, so I thought this would work out great for us. I kept the ingredients very simple. First I brined a boneless thigh for about 45 minutes. I then cut it up and dipped the pieces in just egg and rolled in the crushed chips. I cooked them at 370 in the air fryer for nine minutes. They turned out great and she loves them (so do I)! This recipe is a blessing to us!
they are awesome
Oh so easy. Why bother with pricey chicken nuggets when these are so quick, and you control everything about them. The meat is tender and not dry, crunchy and not soggy. It’s so simple that I’m calling it a “how to” not a recipe. This “how to” is a win.
Seems like a good recipe for an air fryer and shorter time
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but flavored potato chips do contain gluten, unless they are certified gluten free, you have to assume always, that they have gluten in them. Read the labels to be certain. Some frozen vegetables contain gluten as well as they are dusted with a light coating of flour before being frozen to prevent them from sticking together.
Hi Wendy, thanks for the tip. We do recommend that readers check the packaging of the chips used.