I’m a big, big fan of comfort food. Especially when it can be prepared with healthy, minimally processed ingredients and without a ton of fuss.
These Weeknight Paleo Chicken Nuggets are just that – nutritious and simple as can be. Keep in mind, you can adapt this recipe and make it more difficult if you wish. If you have more time, perhaps on the weekend and you want to make your nuggets more even, you can always spend more time slicing them and using a mallet to make sure they are all the same thickness. Having said that, this recipe is just as tasty for those of us in a rush. If you’re not too concerned with perfection, then follow the recipe exactly as is!
For the honey mustard dressing, I like to prepare a batch or two of this ahead of time to have on hand OR prepare it while the nuggets are baking. Remember, it’s important to use a high quality mayo without vegetable oil. You are welcome to make your own but if you’re in a pinch, I highly recommend Primal Kitchen Foods mayo.
- Chicken nuggets:
- 2-3 chicken breasts, about 1.5 lb
- 1¼ cup blanched almond flour
- ½ cup cassava flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 eggs
- Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
- ½ cup mayo (this is the brand I like)
- 2 teaspoons stone ground mustard (this one is my favorite)
- 2 teaspoons raw honey
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Slice chicken in evenly into 1-inch squares. Trim off any excess fat and set aside.
- In a large zip lock bag, combine almond flour, cassava flour and all dry ingredients.
- Seal bag and shake until well combined.
- In a small bowl, crack both eggs and mix well.
- Dip chicken nuggets into egg mixture a few at a time, making sure they are coated liberally before dropping into the zip lock with dry ingredients.
- Once all chicken nuggets are added to the bag, seal bag and shake until all chicken is coated well.
- You may need to open the bag a couple of times to check, which is fine. Just make sure each piece is covered in the batter.
- Once fully covered, place nuggets on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. You may need two of these. Nuggets can be close but make sure they don't touch.
- Place into the oven and cook for 20 minutes total, flipping halfway or when nuggets begin to brown.
- The trick here is to cook them so that they are done and crispy, without over cooking them and drying out the chicken. Check after 7 minutes as all ovens vary and flip early, if necessary.
- While nuggets are in the oven, combine all honey mustard ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
- Remove chicken nuggets and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with honey mustard.
Do you suggest an alternative to the cassava flour? Maybe coconut flour?
I haven’t tried it with anything but cassava flour so I wouldn’t be able to guarantee the result. I am not so sure coconut flour would bake well, but you can try!
I have baked with coconut flour and the chicken and breading was extremely dry! Iv been experimenting because my son loves chicken and I haven’t tried cassava flour but I’m going to try out this recipe!
Let me know what you think Marlee! Oven baked nuggets are always going to be a bit dryer than if they were fried, but a little extra egg normally works just fine.
Have you tried freezing these and reheating them later on? I love make ahead meals to save time but just wondering if they would get too dry being baked a second time?
Hi Whitney. I haven’t tried this but you certainly could. However, yes, I would be worried they’d be too try if you reheated them in the oven and I wouldn’t recommend reheating them a different way because then they wouldn’t be crispy. The prep really isn’t too difficult so I think it’s best to use them fresh. What you could do is pre-chop the chicken and/or pre-blend the breading mix so all you really have to do is dip the chicken in the egg and coat. Hopefully that helps!
Mine don’t get crispy AND the coating falls off. Suggestions??
Hmm. Perhaps add some more egg? These are definitely not as crispy as fried chicken nuggets, so please keep that in mind. However, they do brown and the coating definitely shouldn’t fall off!