Homemade McDonald’s Copycat Chicken Nuggets – Mcnuggets
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This Homemade Copycat McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets recipe tastes JUST LIKE the real ones – but made in your kitchen. Learn how to make these crispy little fun nuggets from home right now!
Homemade Chicken Nuggets – Copycat McDonald’s Recipe
| Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Total Time: 30 Minutes Servings: 30 Nuggets |
Who needs the convenience of a drive-through when you can create your own delicious chicken nuggets right at home?
Weeknights are busy around our house, and while stopping by our favorite drive-throughs seems easiest, I cringe. Why? Well, they aren’t the healthiest. And I kid you not when I tell you this, my kids can not recall the last time they set foot inside a McDonald’s.
They will, however, tell you when the last time I made these chicken nuggets. We have such a fun dinner when nuggets hit our monthly meal plan. Each kid loves to create their own sauce. It is a condiment fiasco. But making memories is 100% worth it all. Even if some of our sauce ideas become duds.
So you are probably thinking: Are these chicken nuggets hard to make?
The quick answer is “No”. But they do require just a little bit of your time. The convenience of this meal starts with purchasing pre-ground chicken. If you don’t have any on hand and do have some chicken breast not to worry.
How to make ground chicken for nuggets
First, prepare a baking sheet. Covering with foil. Then cut your chicken breast into manageable sizes. I prefer 1-inch squares if I have the time. This makes freeze time faster.
After your chicken is cut, place it on a prepared sheet and freeze for roughly 30 minutes. Once partially frozen, remove from freezer.
Placing chunks into a food processor or blender. Working in batches of about 10 at a time. Chop using the pulse button until your chicken no longer resembles pieces but is now ground chicken. There you have it! You will need about 2 pounds of ground chicken for this recipe.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Ground Chicken
This homemade chicken nugget recipe is not complicated but does require a little bit of prep work.
Ingredients Needed
- 2 lbs. of ground chicken
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1 cup of cornstarch
- 1 cup of water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of onion powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper
- 1 cup of flour
How to Make Homemade Copycat McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets
First, in a food processor or mixer, blend the chicken with one egg and salt. Blend until the chicken resembles a paste.
Now you are ready for the next step, which does take the brunt of your time.
Next, form the chicken into tablespoon-sized nuggets. This does take a little of your time especially if your kiddos are looking for the replica of McDonald’s chicken nuggets.
Once formed, and you are happy with the look, dredge each nugget in cornstarch to fully coat. Then set aside.
Now you are ready for the second part. In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, seasonings, egg, and water.
Mix well until a smooth batter forms. This will be your outside batter for your copycat nuggets.
In a saucepan or deep skillet, bring oil to 350°. Now prepare each nugget for frying. Using a fork, place one formed nugget on top and dip it into the batter.
Gently lift the fork with coated nuggets and allow the excess batter to drip off. These nuggets are crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.
When ready, place battered nuggets into fry. Cooking to fry for 3 minutes until nuggets are floating. Once they begin to float, remove them and place them on a paper towel to let them rest.
Return nuggets to the oil for 2 more minutes to double fry. Once all nuggets have been doubled-fried, allow them to cool for a few minutes before eating.
You can serve your McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets with honey mustard, barbecue sauce, ranch, buffalo, hot mustard, or other dipping sauce.
Homemade Copycat McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets Recipe
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Homemade Copycat McDonald's Chicken Nuggets
This Homemade Copycat McDonald's Chicken Nuggets recipe tastes JUST LIKE the real ones – but made in your kitchen. Learn how to make these crispy little fun nuggets from home right now!
Ingredients
- • 2 lbs. of ground chicken
- • 2 eggs
- • 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- • 1 cup of cornstarch
- • 1 cup of water
- • 1 1/2 tablespoons of onion powder
- • 1 1/2 tablespoons of garlic powder
- • 1 tablespoon of paprika
- • 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper
- • 1 cup of flour
Instructions
- In a food processor or mixer, blend the chicken, 1 egg, and salt until the chicken resembles a paste.
- Form the chicken into tablespoon-sized nuggets. Dredge the nuggets in cornstarch to fully coat. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, seasonings, egg, and water. Mix well until a smooth batter forms.
- Place a nugget on a fork to dip into the batter. Let excess batter drip off.
- In a saucepan or deep skillet, bring oil to 350° and place battered nuggets into fry. Fry for 3 minutes until nuggets are floating and remove to a paper towel to let rest. Return nuggets to oil for 2 more minutes to double fry.
- Allow nuggets to cool before eating.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
5Amount Per Serving: Calories: 485Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 224mgSodium: 564mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 40g
If you made this recipe, we would love to hear all about it. We get so excited when we learn that you have chosen to make one of our recipes featured on Inspiring Savings.
Please leave us a comment below.
Other Great Family Meal Ideas
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Easy Homemade Corn Dog Batter Mix
Southern Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Eating out is easy, and it usually tastes delicious, but it’s expensive. Making this meal at home will save you money. Add this recipe to your weekly meal plan.
Hi- I need some help- What size food processor? I don’t have one and there are lots of different sizes on the market. Also, wondering how freezing the chicken nuggets before putting the food processor helps? Thank you!
Hi Kate, Great questions. First, I own an 8-cup food processor. I love it. And I am sure you will find and read the reviews while shopping for the best one. Mine is probably 18 years old now. LOL Second, to freeze, I would suggest freezing on a cookie sheet after you dip them in the cornstarch. Place them individually and separated on the cookie sheet. Once frozen, you can place them together in an airtight container. Then too cook later, do not thaw, go directly to the breading coating. You will have to adjust your cooking time, since you are going from freezer to oven. Keep an eye on them. Hopes this help!!
Hi. Can this recipe be cooked in the air fryer?
Thanks!
Absolutely! Pre-heat to 390 degrees for 4 minutes. Then cook for 8 minutes. Please let me know how they turn out. As a double check make sure the internal temp of the chicken nuggets is 165.
Made them for dinner. They looked impressive and the outer crust is really good. Unfortunately, it tastes just like a bland chicken meatball that even the good crust couldn’t save. At least I learned how to make a crispy breading.
Hi Felicia, Thank you for leaving us a comment. I am happy to read the crispy breading came out fantastic. I am sorry to hear the taste was not up to par. While I tried to mimic McDonald’s nuggets, I wasn’t able to get the same taste fully. Considering McDonald’s includes ingredients that are not good for you. I hope you experiment and figure out some seasoning options that your family will love. And if you find a blend, please return and let us know with a comment.
My thoughts as a former cook would be to definitely try again. Use a little more salt and seasoning in the chicken mixture(maybe cook a small piece of the mixture on a skillet to test the seasoning before breading) and if you are using store bought ground chicken, look for one that has a bit more of a fat ratio or make your own with more chicken thigh than breast meat. I’m doing the same as a fairly new father, cheers!
Help!
In trying to prep when I can throughout my day, I accidentally added 2 Eggs to the batter. Am I doomed?
OH NO, BRI!!!! Not to worry. If the nugget “filling” seems a little loose in texture, add in plain bread crumbs. I would not add in any more than a few tablespoons. Otherwise, you will end up with a very dry chicken nugget. Please let me know what you decided to do.
Oh I have to try these for my kids! They would be so excited!
WOW! You really are a good copycat. Well done. Though I am a vegetarian my non-veg eating friends would absolutely love your recipe.
This is awesome that we can make it at home and enjoy Mcdonald nuggets and something we make t. Thank you for sharing for sharing it!
This is awesome! Everyone loves MacDonald’s nuggets. My kids always order them but now I cake it at home for them.
I’ve been trying a lot of copycat recipes like this. They’re always fun to make and when you make it taste close to the original, it’s a joyful feeling
This looks yummy! The kids always want me to drive to Mcdonalds for nuggets, but I’ll just make one for them at home 🙂
That’s great. I’m so happy that I have found it, I will to cook it for my daughter for sure. Thanks a lot for recipe.
Is there a way you can freeze these? I’m excited to try these but I’d like to make a batch Just to keep in hand.
Hey Sarah, Absolutely… You can do it two different ways. After your last dip into the batter, you can place them on parchment paper and freeze them individually on a tray (RAW). Once frozen, move to a bag and fry from their frozen state. OR… you can make them from beginning to end.. and the same thing, freeze individually on tray. Once they are frozen move to a freezer safe bag and reheat heat on the oven when needed.
FANTASTIC! I love McDonald’s chicken nuggets, so I cannot wait to make these!
Enjoy!!! They are delish!
I’m so glad I found this! My girls LOVEEEEE McDonald’s chicken nuggets. I love that I can make them at home now.
Hi there! Can these be baked? I realize it won’t be the same as McDonald’s but my toddler won’t know the difference and I really want to try this receipe but would love to bake it instead!
Hey Jennifer, You absolutely can. You will have to bake for 15 minutes at 375.. I would flip at the halfway mark. You just won’t get the overall crunch factor. BUT you are right, you toddler will probably not even notice. Good Luck and please let me know how it comes out for you.