Inspired by McDonalds, these healthy chicken nuggets are a delicious and fun recipe for toddlers and baby led weaning. Salt free and iron rich, these nuggets are a great alternative to store-bought!
Growing up, I had my fair share of children nuggets. My mom had two very busy girls, was a business owner (Montessori school), and we had activities literally every night.
My mom told me stories of how many parents were really strict about banning things like McDonalds chicken nuggets. She told me how if you ban something, those kids will want it more. She saw how the kids in her school who weren’t ever allowed to have fast food like McDonalds chicken nuggets, they would go CRAZY the second they were invited to a birthday party.
Just like adults do when faced with strict diet rules, the kids couldn’t help themselves but binge in fear that they would never get the alleged “bad” food again. So I always keep it in mind when feeding my kiddos. They can have a little bit of everything so they can learn that there’s no need to binge on “forbidden” foods. We go to McDonalds every once in a while, but these homemade healthy chicken nuggets are a big hit on the nights we stay in.
And if your family is plant-based, I didn’t forget about you! Try my vegan tofu nuggets and join in on the fun.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
Kids love nuggets so it’s easy to see why this recipe works. We’ve packed it with extra healthy ingredients that they won’t even notice is in it!
- Easy to prepare
- Perfect size for toddlers to munch on
- Salt-free
- Baked, not fried
- High in iron
- Perfect for picky eaters
Key Ingredients
Chicken — We use a food processor to grind up chicken breasts so the texture is similar to the store-bought version. Perfect for toddlers who may not like the texture of regular chicken.
Veggies — Blending up the vegetables with the chicken is an easy way to get some veggies into your toddler’s meal without them even noticing there’s vegetables!
The Coating — To make a crispy coating like the store-bought nuggets, these healthy chicken nuggets are coated in baby cereal, then the eggs, and then into the almond flour.
Seasoning — These healthy chicken nuggets for BLW are seasoned with garlic, paprika, cumin, thyme, and pepper. No salt needed!
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Preheat oven to 450 F and grease two nonstick baking sheets. At the same time, heat a small nonstick skillet over medium high heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Add the onion and sauté until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Step 2: In a food processor, puree the ground chicken with the sweet potato, cauliflower, onion, beans, thyme, paprika, pepper, cumin and 1 tbsp oil until smooth.
Step 3: Form into small nuggets, dip then dip into the baby cereal, then the eggs, and then into the almond flour. Continue with the remaining nuggets and spritz generously with the olive oil.
Step 4: Bake for 17-20 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 165 F. Serve with your baby’s favourite fruity baby puree for dipping.
Expert Tips
Let’s talk a dipper. Dry meat is a choking hazard for baby, and we all know that chicken breasts aren’t the most juicy fatty meat options. So having some kinda dip on hand for meat is always my recommendation. Rather than a super sugary plum sauce, ketchup or sweet and sour sauce like they serve at McDonalds, I usually just bust out one of E’s favourite puree pouches and let him dip it in that. You could even do a plum flavoured puree (with no added sugar!), my healthy homemade ketchup, or one of my toddler dips.
Chicken is a rich source of iron, but considering most of my son’s food ends up on the floor, I like to be budget conscious and stretch his meat allowance with other cheaper sources of iron. So these chicken nuggets also contain sweet potato, white beans, eggs and fortified baby cereal for iron, plus almond flour for a healthy dose of good fats. So don’t skip these ingredients for your healthy chicken nuggets! If you’re low on chicken, feel free to add a little bit more of these other iron rich ingredients.
Want to make these chicken nuggets into fun shapes? You can use a cookie cutter to mold the chicken nuggets into fun shapes like hearts, stars, and etc! Like store-bought but better.
This recipe is great if you have leftover ingredients. If you don’t, you can always cook your sweet potato and cauliflower a few days ahead of time and store it in an airtight container until you make your healthy chicken nuggets.
Recipe FAQs
This toddler chicken nuggets recipe are easy to make ahead, freeze and pull out throughout the week for an easy fast meal for baby led weaning and toddlers. To freeze, simply lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze for one hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to three months.
They technically are actually! Unlike in real McDonalds chicken nuggets, I like to use a rice-free baby cereal made of oats or quinoa, in which case these would also be gluten free.
You can definitely air fryer these healthy chicken nuggets instead of baking them. You still get that crispy exterior without using a ton of oil with deep frying. Air fryers will cook up your nuggets a little faster than the oven.
Your toddler friendly healthy chicken nuggets are good to go when the internal temperature has reached 165° Fahrenheit (75° Celsius). I recommend an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature.
More Recipes You Might Like
Want more BLW recipes or toddler friendly recipes? Here are a few that my family loves!
- Cheesy High Iron Baby Meatballs
- Baby Cereal Protein Pancakes
- Hummus Baby Meatballs
- Chickpea Peanut Butter Baby Biscuits
- Kale Pepper Baby Frittata Fingers
Now tell me parents, will you be trying these healthy chicken nuggets?
Healthy Chicken Nuggets (BLW & Toddler Friendly)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb chicken boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks
- ½ cup cooked sweet potato
- ½ cup steamed cauliflower cooked until soft
- ½ cup cannellini beans white beans
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 cup fortified baby cereal
- 1½ cup almond flour
- Extra virgin olive oil in an oil atomizer
- Your favourite baby puree for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F and grease two nonstick baking sheets.
- Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium high heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Add the onion and sauté until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
- In a food processor, puree the ground chicken with the sweet potato, cauliflower, onion, beans, thyme, paprika, pepper, cumin and 1 tbsp oil until smooth.
- Form into small nuggets, dip then dip into the baby cereal, then the eggs, and then into the almond flour.
- Continue with the remaining nuggets and spritz generously with the olive oil.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 165 F. Serve with your baby’s favourite fruity baby puree for dipping.
Video
Notes
- As a dip, I usually just bust out one of E’s favourite puree pouches and let him dip it in that. You could even do a plum flavoured puree (with no added sugar!)
- These chicken nuggets also contain sweet potato, white beans, eggs and fortified baby cereal for iron, plus almond flour for a healthy dose of good fats. If you’re low on chicken, feel free to add a little bit more of these other iron rich ingredients.
- Want to make these chicken nuggets into fun shapes? You can use a cookie cutter to mold the chicken nuggets into fun shapes like hearts, stars, and etc! Like store-bought but better.
- You can cook your sweet potato and cauliflower a few days ahead of time and store it in an airtight container until you make your healthy chicken nuggets.
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Beth says
Honestly, I didn’t make these after I saw the list of ingredients. I’m too busy to do this recipe. i’m sure it taste good but time is definitely a factor.
Kassi says
My 7 month old loved this as little chicken patties. I liked them too 🤣
Kassey says
My almost one year old LOVES these. Love the suggestion to use with purée as a dip. It’s another way to sneak some fruits or veggies in 🙂
It is a bit of a labour of love but I made enough to last for sure a couple of months so it is so worth it to have when I don’t have time to cook or what I made is not a hit lol.