Search
dinner gluten-free meat paleo

Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets

April 12, 2016

Eat your favorite childhood food without having to deep fry a thing with these Healthy Chicken Nuggets! They’re baked instead of fried and coated with a Hemp Heart crust to make a zesty and flavorful childhood recipe classic, revamped!

With Passover just around the corner, I’ve had a couple readers ask me for some Kosher for Passover recipes. Here’s the truth: I totally forgot Passover starts in a week and a half, and genuinely did not realize I was granting your wishes when I decided to post these Healthy Chicken Nuggets.

You’re welcome.

Actually, when I was talking to Jess about what I was recipe testing, she asked if these were for Passover. That’s when I realized they were entirely K for P so I wasn’t just satisfying every parent of picky children, but also the tribe too. We’ll consider this my Mitzvah of 2016.

Eat your favorite childhood food without having to deep fry a thing with these Healthy Chicken Nuggets! They're baked instead of fried and coated with a Hemp Heart crust to make a zesty and flavorful childhood recipe classic, revamped!Truthfully, Manitoba Harvest reached out asking for some new recipe ideas using their amazing Hemp Hearts. I’m a huge fan of sprinkling hemp hearts on my morning smoothie and love adding them to salads for a protein boost, but I took this opportunity as a challenge to think outside the box.

I image that most parents out there are struggling to get their kids to eat any vegetable, let alone hemp hearts so I really wanted to develop a recipe that would trick every human under the age of 12 to eat more hemp, without them knowing.

Little did I realize that I’d also be fulfilling a life-long dream of transforming my favorite childhood meal into a healthy dinner recipe.

I basically lived off chicken nuggets when I was child. I wasn’t a horrible eater, but I certainly wasn’t experimental so when the kids menu arrived I rarely had to glance to figure out that I wanted chicken fingers. Fast forward 20 years and I go weak at the knees for a menu that includes hemp.

So really, these healthy chicken nuggets are just a fusion of my past and current favorites…oh and it’s Kosher for Passover too. Amen.

Print

Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 large chicken breasts, boneless + skinless
  • 1/2 cup Hemp Hearts
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Cut chicken into 1 1/2 inch bites.
  3. Beat egg in a large bowl.
  4. In a separate bowl combine Hemp Hearts, almond meal and spices.
  5. Dip each bite into egg with left hand and then place into breading mixture in separate bowl to mix and coat with right hand.
  6. Place onto a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet.
  7. Repeat with remaining bites
  8. Bake for 20 minutes.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Manitoba Harvest. I was compensated for my time, however all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that help make THM possible and bring more delicious recipes your way!


JOIN THE THM NEWSLETTER

Join 20,000+ members of the THM Community to get access to exclusive recipes, healthy lifestyle tips and behind-the-scenes news from our team!

Powered by ConvertKit
  • Reply
    Deanna
    March 28, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    Hey! I have so many allergies, and almonds are a no for me. Any advice on what to sub it with?

  • Reply
    Priscila brandao
    December 28, 2016 at 7:57 pm

    looks like incredible!! wow!!!!!!

  • Reply
    Karen Chisolm
    June 14, 2016 at 4:45 am

    I just tried this recipe and the kids love it, and also the hubby. Thank you for sharing this delicious and healthy recipe.

  • Reply
    Holly Young
    May 6, 2016 at 2:54 am

    Thanks for sharing this oh so delicious recipe! The kids will surely love this and its a really nice healthier take on chicken nuggets. Thanks again Davida!

    • Reply
      Davida Kugelmass
      May 9, 2016 at 11:04 am

      Thank you, Holly! Enjoy!

  • Reply
    Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen
    April 15, 2016 at 8:38 am

    Okay, these are genius! Who can pass on chicken nuggets?! I love the hemp hearts addition too.
    During our photo shoots at work we get catering, and on the little kid days we always request the chicken nuggets and mac & cheese… you know, for the kids 😉

    • Reply
      Davida Kugelmass
      April 15, 2016 at 9:41 am

      …for the kids…obviously.

  • Reply
    Sam @ Barrister's Beet
    April 13, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    These look so good! These would be great over a salad, too. I wasn’t a picky eater as a kid. I would love to create healthy ramen or mac n cheese : )

  • Reply
    Marina @ A Dancer's Live-It
    April 13, 2016 at 8:50 am

    I wasn’t really a picky eater, but Shake N’ Bake was totally my thing! These nuggets remind me of them! I love the addition of hemp hearts, thank you so much for sharing 🙂

    • Reply
      Davida Kugelmass
      April 13, 2016 at 11:12 am

      They add so much flavor! Glad you enjoyed!

  • Reply
    Cassie Autumn Tran
    April 12, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    If you’re talking picky eaters, call my six year-old self the QUEEN of picky eating!! I don’t know when was the last time I had a chicken nugget but I was a fan of McDonalds for sure when I was a kid! These look so divine and I love that the almond meal will lend a nice nutty texture and flavor!

    • Reply
      Davida Kugelmass
      April 12, 2016 at 2:47 pm

      Oh man. 6-year old Davida would have liked six-year old Cassie! Same taste 😉

  • Reply
    Alysia at Slim Sanity
    April 12, 2016 at 8:12 am

    I don’t remember being too picky, but I remember not liking lettuce. Kinda weird!

    • Reply
      Davida Kugelmass
      April 12, 2016 at 8:24 am

      hahahaha well lettuce isn’t the worst I suppose! LOL

  • Reply
    rachel @ athletic avocado
    April 12, 2016 at 7:15 am

    These kind of remind me of the Chick-fil-a Nuggets!!! love that you used hemp hearts!

    • Reply
      Davida Kugelmass
      April 12, 2016 at 8:24 am

      Thanks, Lady! Never had Chick-fil-a but I’ll trust your word on that 😉

Leave a Reply

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

FREE MEAL PLAN

Sign-up for a free weekly meal plan straight to your inbox.