These Panko Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Sauce are crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. This recipe makes a healthy, flavor-packed meal that the whole family will love! Learn how to make homemade crispy oven-baked chicken nuggets with this quick and easy recipe.
Panko Baked Chicken Nuggets: A Crowd-Pleasing Recipe
Chicken nuggets are loved by both children and adults alike. They make a comforting meal or appetizer and are sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. Although you could order nuggets at a fast-food restaurant or buy a bag of them frozen, they are so much tastier and healthier if you make them yourself. These panko chicken nuggets are baked rather than deep-fried, so they can be enjoyed guilt-free.
This recipe uses a 3-step breading method to seal in moisture and give the nuggets a good crunch, without the added fat from deep-frying. Bite-sized chicken breast pieces are first coated in flour, then egg, and finally in a breadcrumb-Parmesan cheese mixture before being baked to perfection. The secret to their crispiness is first toasting the breadcrumbs in the oven for a few minutes before coating the chicken pieces in them.
The perfect accompaniment to chicken nuggets are, of course, a tasty dipping sauce. Honey mustard has always been my dipping sauce of choice. Thankfully, it is so simple and fast to make at home. Just mix equal parts honey, Dijon mustard, and mayo for the best honey mustard sauce ever!
Where to Get the Best Chicken
If you can, you should only buy organic, humanely-raised chicken, because it is more healthy and ethical than conventional meat. For the best organic chicken and other meats, I recommend using a company called ButcherBox.
If you would like to learn more about ButcherBox and other excellent online meat delivery services, I wrote a post called: The Top Healthy and Organic Meat Delivery Companies. In that article, I go over many grass-fed and organic meat delivery services (including ButcherBox) that send healthy meat straight to your doorstep.
For this Baked Chicken Nuggets recipe, I recommend:
Here are a couple of pantry essentials that I suggest using to make this recipe. All of these ingredients can be ordered online from Thrive Market, which is an online retailer that sells healthy, organic food at wholesale prices. I like to think of it like Amazon (online retailer) meets Costco (wholesale prices) meets Whole Foods (all wholesome, junk-free foods).
- Avocado Oil Mayo – Using mayonnaise made with 100% Pure Avocado Oil makes the honey mustard sauce so much healthier. Conventional mayo is made with chemically processed, unhealthy oils like soybean and canola oil. So, always opt for one that is made with cleaner ingredients!
- Raw Honey – Not all packaged honey is created equal, so I recommend using one that is 100% pure, raw, and unfiltered for optimal health benefits.
If you’re interested in purchasing any of the above items, you’ll need to get a Thrive Market membership. However, if you’re a reader of my website, you will get a limited-time bonus when you sign up:
Click here to get an exclusive free gift when you join Thrive Market!
More Kid-Friendly Recipes
Looking for more picky eater-approved recipes? Here are some of my favorites on the blog:
- Chicken Alfredo Bake with Jar Sauce
- Creamy Homemade Mac n’ Cheese
- One-Pot Vegetarian Burrito Bowl
- The Best Creamy Tomato Soup
- Easy Unsweetened Applesauce
If you make this Panko Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Sauce recipe, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating ★ below, because I love hearing from you! ♡
Panko Baked Chicken Nuggets (with Honey Mustard Sauce!)
Ingredients
For the Chicken Nuggets:
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Spread breadcrumbs out evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer breadcrumbs to a small bowl and stir in Parmesan cheese, thyme, and garlic powder. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the flour to a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs in another bowl.
- One at a time, dredge chicken in the flour to coat. Next, dip the chicken pieces in the beaten eggs and then coat the chicken with the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange pieces on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center, flipping over once halfway through cooking time.
- To prepare sauce, whisk together mustard, mayonnaise, and honey in a small bowl. Serve chicken nuggets warm with dipping sauce.
Notes
- If you can, I highly recommend using organic, pasture-raised chicken in this recipe for maximum health benefits.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months.
Nutrition
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OMG these look so crunchy and absolutely delicious! And that honey mustard sauce? I could definitely eat it with a spoon. YUM!
Thanks so much Kelsie! ♡ Have a great weekend!! 🙂
These are awesome! I just made them and my kids practically inhaled them. I loved the sauce too. Thanks!! 🙂
Hi Janelle! That’s great! Thanks so much! 🙂
i was snobbyyyyy as a kid and only liked those really long chicken tenders, and refused to touch chicken nuggets. now that i sufficiently become sane enough to like and enjoy and crave chicken nuggets, these sound delicious! and since they’re baked and i know exactly what’s in them (i’m very scared to see that mcdonald’s list), i can have a whole heap of them, right? (;
Hey Heather! Ooo I used to love those chicken tenders (I called them strips!) and I still do. Haha, yes tenders are pretty much the same as nuggets, so I am glad you like them too now! And YES, since they aren’t deep-fried and you know exactly what they are made of, you can totally have a whole heap of them! That’s what I do whenever I eat them! 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by! ♡