Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard

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These Baked Chicken Nuggets are coated in a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan, which makes them extra flavorful and crispy! Dunk them in homemade honey mustard or your dipping sauce of choice. You’ll definitely want to leave room for seconds! 

Baked Chicken Nuggets on plate with small bowl of honey mustard sauce

Baked Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Chicken nuggets are the ultimate kid food. Or snacky food for grownups. Or easy impromptu dinner that everyone can agree on. And you can’t go wrong, especially with sweet-and-tangy honey mustard sauce for dipping! 

These homemade chicken nuggets are baked rather than fried. Not only does baking keep them healthier, but there’s also less stovetop babysitting and the nuggets still turn out really nice and crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. You’d never guess they were baked.

Simply place chicken that’s been breaded with a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes. Panko and Parmesan are the two secret weapon ingredients for ensuring perfect crispiness.

Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese-style breadcrumbs, are sold near regular breadcrumbs, and are coarser in texture than regular breadcrumbs. They help add texture and crunch to the nuggets without having to fry them.

The Parmesan adds flavor and crisps up beautifully in the oven. I’ve used Panko-parmesan coatings on everything from chickpeas to edamame, and it’s always a winning combination. My family gobbled these up and said they taste way better than store-bought. Homemade always is! 

Baked Chicken Nuggets on white plate

Baked Chicken Nuggets Ingredients

For the baked chicken nuggets, you’ll need: 

  • Panko breadcrumbs
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper
  • Unsalted butter
  • Boneless skinless chicken thighs

And for the homemade honey mustard dipping sauce, you’ll need: 

  • Honey
  • Yellow mustard
  • Dijon mustard 

How to Make Baked Chicken Nuggets 

To a large, shallow bowl, add the breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine, then set aside. Melt the butter in the microwave. 

Dip chicken in butter, then in crumb mixture, patting to help the coating adhere. Place coated chicken on prepared baking sheet. If you have any crumb mixture leftover after all the chicken has been dunked, sprinkle it atop the uncooked chicken nuggets. 

Bake the chicken nuggets at 400F until chicken is cooked through in the center and the exterior is lightly golden browned.

How to Make Honey Mustard Sauce

To a medium bowl, add the honey and two types of mustards. Whisk to combine, then taste and check for flavor balance, adding more honey or mustard to taste if necessary. 

Baked Chicken Nuggets with honey mustard dipping sauce

Tips for the Best Chicken Nuggets 

This recipe calls for chicken thighs, but breasts may be substituted if that’s what you have on hand. Just make sure the chicken is boneless and skinless, whatever cut you use. 

When making the homemade honey mustard dipping sauce, feel free to use different types of mustards than what I used. A grainy or spicy mustard would taste delicious here as well, or you can use just one type of mustard. 

The honey mustard will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. It tastes good with fries, on burgers, with chops — pretty much anything! Just keep the leftovers in an airtight container and it’ll stay fresh for a while. 

Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard - You'll never guess they're BAKED and not fried!! CRISPY on the outside, tender and juicy inside! Goodbye storebought nuggets because homemade are way BETTER!!

More Healthy Chicken Recipes: 

  • Easy Honey Mustard Chicken — This Honey Mustard Chicken is ready in 20 minutes and features a homemade honey mustard sauce. A great recipe to have on hand for busy weeknights when you want a no-fuss, healthy dinner! 
  • Honey Barbecue Grilled Chicken — Tender, juicy, full of FLAVOR, and a great recipe to jazz up grilled bbq chicken. EASY, healthy, ready in 10 minutes, zero cleanup, perfect for backyard barbecues or easy weeknight dinners!
  • Mandarin Orange Chicken Stir-Fry — An EASY Asian stir fry with tender chicken, juicy oranges, and veggies!! Skip takeout and make this ONE skillet recipe that’s ready in 15 minutes. 
  • Easy 30-Minute Chicken Fajitas — These Easy Chicken Fajitas take just 30 minutes to make and are the perfect weeknight dinner. Friends and family will go crazy for this recipe!
  • 15-Minute Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe — This sweet and sour chicken recipe takes just 15 minutes to make and tastes way better than takeout. Perfect for a weeknight dinner!

These Baked Chicken Nuggets are coated in a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan, which makes them extra flavorful and crispy! Dunk them in homemade honey mustard or your dipping sauce of choice. You'll definitely want to leave room for seconds! 

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5 from 6 votes

Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard

By Averie Sunshine
These Baked Chicken Nuggets are coated in a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan, which makes them extra flavorful and crispy! Dunk them in homemade honey mustard or your dipping sauce of choice.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
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Ingredients  

  • 1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • about 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 to 2-inch pieces*
  • ½ cup honey, or to taste
  • ¼ cup yellow mustard
  • ¼ cup dijon mustard**

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easier cleanup), and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
  • To a large, shallow bowl, add the breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt, pepper, and mix to combine; set aside.
  • To a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 30 seconds on high power.
  • Dip chicken in butter, then in crumb mixture, patting to help the coating adhere. Place coated chicken on prepared baking sheet.
  • Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over chicken.
  • Bake for about 30 to 33 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through in the center and exterior is lightly golden browned. The bottom sides will become browner than the tops. Cooking time will vary based on exact size of chicken pieces, how heavily the coating was applied, oven and climate variances, etc. Bake until done. While chicken bakes, make the honey mustard dipping sauce.
  • To a medium bowl add the honey, mustards, whisk to combine, taste and check for flavor balance, adding more honey or mustard to taste if necessary; set aside until ready to serve with chicken.
  • Nuggets are best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Honey mustard will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

*Boneless skinless chicken breasts may be substituted
**Grainy or spicy brown mustard may be substituted

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 718kcal, Carbohydrates: 70g, Protein: 55g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 237mg, Sodium: 1892mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 38g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. I’m amazed at how crispy and delicious you got these to look out of the oven! We definitley have to try them as an office snack here at HQ when we’re feeling like kids (which, let’s face it, is 90% of the time).

  2. Yes!! When I was a kid, chicken nuggets were my most requested meal – always on my brithday for sure!

    OT, but that first picture below this post has me craving honey mustard BROCCOLI!!

    1. Broccoli is the perfect thing for dipping because the florets just soak up sauce magically!

  3. I haven’t tried panko crumbs–we like homemade chicken nuggets but I do struggle with getting them crispy enough. I avoid store-bought nuggets so a good homemade recipe is very appealing!

  4. Super delicious! I love love honey mustard and making baked chicken nuggets instead of fried is a much better idea :) Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes xx

  5. I love how crispy the bottoms are. If it wasn’t going to be 100 degrees today I’d definitely make this but my oven
    won’t be going on for at least a week…I’ll save this recipe to try when the heat wave breaks…love the honey mustard

  6. Your baked nuggets look more appetizing to me than a restaurant’s. I like the Panko bread crumb texture and I prefer baked over deep fried anyway. Far less mess to clean up!