Chicken Nuggets for Babies

These chicken nuggets for babies are truly homemade chicken nuggets the whole family can enjoy. These are fun finger foods you won’t feel guilty feeding your little one because they are loaded with lots of vegetables, but shh don’t spill the secret. You may also like these other recipes Chick fil a grilled chicken nuggets or Air fryer Chicken tenderloins.

I’ll be completely honest, when it came time for my little one to start solid foods, I was completely terrified. I knew she was ready because she would stare longingly at my plate of food. However even though she was ready, I certainly was not. Given this was my first biological child, I didn’t know where to start. The only thing I did know is that whatever I fed her, I wanted it to be healthy given that’s truly the lifestyle my family lives.

HISTORY OF CHICKEN NUGGETS

Before we dive into this awesome recipe, I started wondering who invented these now famous fast food menu item. The nugget was invented by Robert C. Baker in a laboratory at Cornell University in New York in the early 1960s. He was a food scientist who is often called the “George Washington Carver of chicken.” Baker created the nugget after discovering a way to keep ground meat together without skin, along with batter that wouldn’t shrink when frozen or expand when fried. 

These simple “chicken sticks” became so popular in upstate New York that Robert refused to patent the idea and instead mailed the recipe to over 200 restaurants nationwide. That coupled with Americans looking for ways to eat more chicken, enter the infamous Golden Arches which is often credited with creating these tasty bites.

You can read more about the history of the chicken nugget and how it came to be an American favorite.

WHY CHICKEN NUGGETS FOR BABIES

I love a good chicken nugget every now and then and I figured this was the perfect finger food for us to start our baby led weaning journey. This chicken nuggets for babies recipe is super easy to make and are so good even for picky eaters. They pack a lot of key nutrient like vitamin a, c and tons of fiber. A super quick lunch that is a nutritious meal by themselves or paired with another healthy side dish.

These little bite sized pieces are perfect for little hands and mouths to get lots of practice. Practice holding the nugget in their hand and also biting and “chewing” or more accurately at this stage gumming the food. Alternatively, they can be broken up into little pieces if you’re still feeling skittish about your baby self feeding.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

Ingredients for these healthy chicken nuggets are pretty simple and can be easily swapped out if you don’t have one of the items on hand. You can find all of these items at your local grocery store.

Here is your grocery shopping list:

• Ground chicken
• Onion
• Zucchini
• Carrots
• Red Bell pepper
• Green bell pepper

The good thing is given these are all pretty common food items, you may likely already have these in your refrigerator or pantry. Be sure to inventory what you already have on hand prior to heading out to the grocery store. You may find that you can save yourself a trip!

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN NUGGETS RECIPE

In a food processor add the zucchini, carrots, onion, red and green bell pepper and process into small pieces and until the mixture is really fine. Once done, set aside.

In a large bowl, add your ground chicken and add the processed vegetable mixture. Next season with black pepper, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix with your hands to thoroughly combine all of the chicken and vegetables.

Next set up a simple breading station using some small bowls. In one small bowl add some bread crumbs. You can use plain bread crumbs, seasoned bread crumbs or even panko breadcrumbs works really well too. Take about 1 tbsp of the meat mixture and form into nugget shapes and then dip in the bread crumb mixture and set aside. Repeat this process until all the nuggets are formed and breaded.

Once all the chicken nuggets are breaded, place them in the air fryer and spray the top with spray Pam. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through flipping once halfway through the cooking process. Cook until the crust is golden brown.

Alternatively you can choose to cook these in a traditional oven on a baking sheet. Place all the nuggets on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake on 375 degrees for approx. 10-15 minutes or until the nuggets are cooked through and are golden brown. Once they are done, remove from the oven and set on a wire rimmed baking tray to cool.

Once done, take the fresh chicken nuggets and allow to cool until ready to serve.

ALTERNATIVE SWAPS FOR THIS GREAT RECIPE

There are a few swaps you can use for this recipe if you’d like. These suggestions below will obviously alter the taste of the nuggets but still be equally delicious.

• Fresh ground chicken breast – Instead of ground chicken swap for ground fresh chicken breast. Place the chicken breast in a food processor and pulse until finely ground
• Chicken thighs – Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. The chicken thighs can be placed in a food processor and pulsed until finely ground. Note chicken thighs have a higher fat content than chicken breast so will make the nuggets juicier.
• Parmesan cheese – Add parmesan cheese to the bread mixture for added flavor and texture.
• Make it fun – Use a cookie cutter to form fun shapes out of the meat mixture, dinosaurs, hearts or even star shapes.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH BABY FRIENDLY RECIPE

The options are truly endless for what you can serve with these chicken nuggets for babies. They are great by themselves but if you want to make them a complete meal you can serve a side of some mashed potatoes, favorite vegetable or even homemade french fries.

What would chicken nuggets be without a great dipping sauce? Try a variety of dips with these nuggets like honey mustard, bbq or even Polynesian sauce.

HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE CHICKEN NUGGETS

Storing these nuggets are a breeze. You can choose to place them in an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Alternatively, if making a larger batch, you can freeze these as well. Be sure to wrap them in saran wrap first and then wrap in aluminum foil before place in a ziplock storage bag. These will freeze for up to 6 months.

If you try this recipe, leave me a few comments down below. Also, feel free to stay in touch with me via my social channels I love chatting with you all. You can connect with me via Instagram, YouTube or Pinterest.