Easiest Three Ingredient Chicken Nuggets (2024)

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Hands down the easiest chicken nuggets you will ever make. You only need three ingredients and it comes together in 15 minutes. It is awesome for meal-prepping and a great way to get in a high protein meal!

Holy crap. The response to these three ingredient nuggets have been overwhelming.

I knew you guys loved quick and easy but you guysREALLY love quick and easy.

I made these on Instagram the other day because I had heard of this recipe from Gina who heard about it from Brandy who found it in their macro accountability group.

Apparently in the “macro world” it is all the rage right now because

1. the macros on it are amazing; see nutrition facts below,
2. it is SO incredibly easy to put together.

What is shake ‘n bake?

Haha, when I made these last week, it was the first time I had ever bought shake ‘n bake in my entire life.

I still don’t quite know what it is but I think they’re just breading packets.

I hear the crunchy pretzel one is the best because of the flavor and also the macro count.

Do you have to use shake ‘n bake?

I mean, I guess technically you could just use breadcrumbs but I think shake ‘n bake has some sort of flavoring in their packets.

Do you have to use crunchy pretzel flavor?

No! The first time I made these, I used the regular chicken flavor because I couldn’t find the crunchy pretzel.

How do you form the nuggets?

After I mix everything together, I use a two tablespoon cookie scoop (or known as a medium cookie scoop) to scoop out the filling onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Then once they’re all scooped out, I gently press them down with my hands then form them into kind of like egg shapes.

So they resemble nuggets.

You don’thave to do it this way but I think they look better!

Do you add anything special to the chicken mix?

I like putting a lot of spices in my food so I added onion salt, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

You don’t have to if you don’t want to but I definitely encourage some sort of seasoning, like salt and pepper, at the minimum.

You could also put fresh herbs in if you want!

Can you use a different kind of meat?

You can! Any ground meat is great but I would stay more on the lean side like with ground turkey or ground chicken.

This hardly had any oils/fat come out and soak the breading but I imagine if you used higher fat protein like ground beef in 80/20 or ground pork, you could have more oil seep out.

What do you serve the chicken nuggets with?

We served it with roasted parmesan carrots!

We put the carrots in first because they cook at the same temperature but just for longer.

Once the carrots are almost done cooking, we slide in the baking sheet with the nuggets to let them all finish cooking together.

Do they freeze well?

Yes. I haven’t done it myself but I hear of a lot of people who have meal prepped this that have froze them with success.

How would you freeze them?

I would personally just form the nuggets and then put them into a plastic bag and put them in the freezer to bake later.

I only suggest this because I feel if you bake them, freeze them, then re-bake/re-heat, they could get a little dry because there isn’t much fat with these.

Tips to make successful chicken nuggets

These are kind of foolproof as they are and that’s what I think everyone loves about them but some general tips:

• Don’t overmix the mixture. Just mix it with your hands enough that everything is incorporated.
• Season, season, season.
• Don’t bake them too long! They’ll dry out.
• Use a leaner cut of ground meat.

How did you get yours nicely browned on top?

The broiler for about 2 minutes — watch them carefully!

Can you make these in the air fryer?

YES! I just did this recently.

I put it in the air fryer for 390 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 minutes and they were completely cooked through and 100% crispy on the outside!

If you love how easy this recipe is, you’ll love these easy recipes too

• Easiest three cheese mac ‘n cheese
• Honey ginger garlic shrimp stir fry
• Easy egg cup muffins
• Easy 20-minute chicken teriyaki and broccoli
• Freaking easy chocolate cake