Home » DIY Freezer Friendly Chicken Nuggets

DIY Freezer Friendly Chicken Nuggets

by Kristen

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Chicken Nuggets have the rep for one of the worst foods that kids can eat.  This Chicken Nugget thing is in its second generation.  As an 80-90’s child, I have an obsession with chicken nuggets myself.   Since I was married in 2006, my husband and I have always been serious about saving for our ” nest egg.”  I could never bring myself to buy the expensive frozen chicken nuggets.  I still have made them homemade.  They are so much better!  And so much healthier!

Making Homemade Chicken nuggets isn’t hard, but they do take more time then the store-bought ones.   Sometimes I find that when I am trying to put together the homemade nuggets, that a toddler is tugging at my leg, or throwing all the Tupperware on the floor, or demanding dinner NOW 🙂

Since I have another baby due in December, I am attempting to get some freezer meals done.  I am spending nap time a few days a week doubling and tripling recipes and freezing the excess food.  I think this will be nice.  It is not that much work, and I feel that my family will waste less food if we freeze what we don’t eat.

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Since we have decided to put away some freezer meals in the freezer to save for the winter, my husband purchased a whole bunch of chicken for less than $2.00 per pound.  Today, I decided to make 4 lbs of chicken nuggets.  My family will eat 1 lb per meal.  That means I am making tonight’s dinner plus putting away three batches of nuggets for additional dinners.

Freezer Friendly Chicken Nuggets 

4 lbs of Chicken, cut into nugget pieces

Five eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup of flour

Two cups of blended Cornflakes cereal. With paprika added.

1) Set up your dipping station Instead of using breadcrumbs, I pulverize Cornflake cereal in the blender.  I find them to be crispier than breadcrumbs.  I also have five eggs in a bowl and flour.

2) Cut your chicken into sized nugget pieces.  AND NO they will not look like McDonald’s nuggets:) 

I dipped and cooked my nuggets in 2 lb batches.  You never know how long nap time will last in my house.

3) Coat each piece of chicken in flour.  Followed by the Egg.  Followed by the Cornflake Breadcrumbs. 

4) Bake at 350 f for 20-25 minutes 

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5) Let the nuggets cool. It is essential to let the nuggets cool before putting them in your freezer bag.nugget7.jpg

6) Once the nuggets have cooled.  Portion them out based on how many your family would eat at a meal and place them in freezer bags.  Freezing foods will save foods for an extended period; however, it is best to use freezer foods within three months to prevent freezer burn and to keep the taste of the food.

DO NOT FREEZE FOOD THAT IS STILL HOT. – this can contaminate the food you are freezing.   Make sure it has been cooled before freezing.

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These are easy to heat back up.  You can heat them in the microwave, or thaw them out in the oven for just a few minutes when you are ready to eat them.

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I snuck a taste of one today!  I must say, Homemade is soooo better!  I wish everyone realized it!   A little extra time today is going to make my life easier come December when I have TWO boys to take care of!

And for the record,  I don’t mean to complain when I say that a toddler is always ” Tugging” at my leg.  I am soooo lucky that have a little man who ” Tugs at my leg,” bangs on the bathroom door, and throws Tupperware all over the floor:)  I couldn’t imagine life without it!

Homemade Freezer Nuggets

 

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48 comments

Megs July 26, 2021 - 4:04 pm

Can you fry these?

 
hapdcp November 11, 2020 - 4:37 pm

I like the cornflake suggestion! One trick I have found to make a more tender chicken nugget filling is to quickly smash each piece of chicken with a meat mallet. It also helps give it a nice flat nugget shape.

 
Paula April 21, 2020 - 11:04 pm

So good! Most of the comments were questions so I wanted to comment about how tasty these were – and easy!!! Big hit for the family, thank you!

 
debbi March 29, 2018 - 7:34 pm

should i defrost BEFOR heating in the microwave?

 
Kristen March 29, 2018 - 9:53 pm

nope. when you eat them, you can just warm them up in the microwave. just like already cooked store bought.

 
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[…] foods that you can microwave as soon as you get home, whatever it is that you like. This is a really good recipe for making your own nuggets that you can freeze, and they’re pretty cheap and definitely healthier than the fast food […]

 
Jen November 15, 2017 - 7:25 am

Definately crunchy however lacking in flavour as I only added regular paprika. Ive frozen them so I’d like to see how they turn out in air fryer

 
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CATHYNUGENT July 5, 2016 - 9:36 am

caN the nuggets be cooked from frozen or should they be thawed first

 
Kristen July 6, 2016 - 12:20 am

the finished nugget can be cooked from frozen. Mic them, they just take a minute or two.

 
vcjt410 March 12, 2016 - 12:32 am

can you use wheat flour and have the same result?

 
Kristen March 12, 2016 - 3:32 pm

Probably

 
Glenda March 11, 2016 - 2:34 pm

Thanks for your chicken nugget recipe I certainly will try them I have a granddaughter that absolutely loves chicken Glenda nuggets and now I can keep some on hand that are healthy for her

 
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jodi February 4, 2016 - 7:02 pm

My kids loooooooove Chicken nuggets, and I just hate how expensive and unhealthy they are! This recipe is great, and i’ll be making these as soon as i can get some cornflakes from the store! thnks!

 
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Samantha November 17, 2015 - 3:50 am

Cannot wait to try this! My son loves nuggets, but I’ve unhappily been buying him store bought frozen ones. I honestly have hated feeding him those, but have always assumed making my own would mean making a batch each time he was ready to eat, costing way too much money. So thrilled to make a bunch and freeze them. QUESTION if I may… my toddler will be the only one eating the nuggets, can I still store them all in one freezer bag and open the bag, take out however many he will eat, then close it while keeping the nuggets fresh? Or should I portion them out and place a few in a bunch of separate bags? Also, bags would be better than tupperware for freezing? Thanks so much for this.

 
Kristen November 17, 2015 - 3:54 am

yes! I just heat up a few at a time all the time!

 
Lema July 29, 2015 - 7:42 pm

Do you think I could brine the chicken first? Or would that affect the baking/crispiness of the breading? Thanks!

 
Kristen July 30, 2015 - 1:31 am

I’m really not sure. I don’t know much about brining chicken. ( sorry!)

 
Ashley June 22, 2015 - 10:46 am

Hi, i made my own nuggets tonight and they are definitely much nicer, i opted for normal bread crumbs though and they still turned out really nice. i love the texture of the chicken chunk instead of the minced horrible texture of the store bought ones,
I made a huge batch for a few dinners too 🙂

 
Kristen June 22, 2015 - 1:08 pm

SO glad this worked out for you! Enjoy!

 
Kat May 18, 2015 - 2:32 am

How long do you microwave them for? I’m making freezer meals for a pregnant friend and she’s nugget obsessed! Want to have directions written down for her.

 
Kristen May 18, 2015 - 2:48 am

2 ish minutes

 
Rachael May 16, 2015 - 10:06 pm

i have make these but I but the chicken in the food processor first to make it like ground chicken then make them into nugget pieces before coating them. The kids think they taste like mcDonalds nuggets.

 
Kristen May 17, 2015 - 12:49 am

I think I saw that method on a Jamie Oliver show once. I should try it sometime! 🙂

 
Nicky August 22, 2017 - 12:06 pm

Please can u share ur recipe with me because my kid are obsessed with mcdonalds chicken

 
Michelle South March 6, 2015 - 4:13 am

To reheat, what temp should the oven be set to and at what temperature?

 
Kristen March 6, 2015 - 5:14 am

I would actually use a microwave if you have one. I would be concerned that baking them twice would make them too dry. But if you need to re hear them in the oven i would bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes.

 
Ihjaz Ahmad November 29, 2014 - 6:11 am

Oh my goodness, this looks delicious! I’m definitely making this! thanks for sharing! A healthier option for a family favorite.

 
Sherry Zeiss November 20, 2014 - 1:17 pm

How much paprika do you use?

 
Kristen November 20, 2014 - 4:00 pm

I eyeball it. 1-2 teaspoons usually.

 
Gareth April 24, 2014 - 9:15 pm

Can I use frozen chicken pieces, thawed then coated. Deep fried, cooled then freeze them?

 
Kristen April 25, 2014 - 6:13 pm

I assume you can. It would just be like the fried chicken you would buy in your freezer section.

 
Joey March 12, 2014 - 6:48 pm

What temp is oven and how long do I leave them in?

 
Lauren March 12, 2014 - 3:34 am

Do you use chicken breasts or tenderloins? Or does it matter? Thanks!

 
Kristen March 12, 2014 - 1:13 pm

Doesn’t Matter at all. Buy whats on sale, make them in to any shaped nugget or tender you like 🙂

 
Eileen Hendrickson March 2, 2014 - 5:56 pm

Hi, I’m making these chicken nuggets right now, the first batch I took out of the oven do not look like yours. The cornflake crumbs have a dry look to them, almost similar to what they looked like before I cooked them, not how your pics look…any ideas or suggestions?

 
Kristen March 2, 2014 - 6:04 pm

I would make sure that they are soaking in the egg mixture long enough. If that doesn’t help. I would try drizzling some olive oil on them before baking. OR add some olive oil to your egg mixture.

Hope this helps.

 
Kiskisa September 5, 2016 - 1:51 am

When you pulverized the corn flakes you could mix them with a tablespoon or two of butter or Evoo before coating you nuggets with them.

 
Melissa March 1, 2014 - 11:09 pm

My husband wants to know if they are crispy. There are some brands on nuggets he wont eat bc they dont cook up crispy like he likes them. Id rather make this, but I dont want them to go to waste if they dont crisp up.

 
Kristen March 1, 2014 - 11:22 pm

Yes. they are crispy. So crispy, that it is better to reheat them in the microwave instead of the oven.

 
Sam January 18, 2014 - 1:21 pm

What temperature and for how long do you re heat these in the oven?

 
Katrina December 30, 2013 - 11:25 pm

You could use panko crumbs instead of corn flakes

 
Jennie October 4, 2013 - 6:46 pm

Great recipe but why not use corn meal instead of cornflakes?

 

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