Chicken Nuggets are a firm favourite of children and adults and can be found in freezer sections and at take-away restaurants in every kitchen and town in the country. But, do you ever feel like they are a healthy option when you’ve eaten them? Me neither 🙁 They are often deep fried and coated in batter made from processed seed oils. Not my idea of enjoyment – but I do love biting into a succulent piece of hot chicken, and love the crunchy coating so I decided to create these healthier version of the widely popular Chicken nugget!
About this recipe for Sourdough Breaded Chicken
This is a recipe for a healthier baked chicken nugget using sourdough breadcrumbs.
The chicken needed no alternations – it’s lean protein rich succulent texture is always a winner when it’s been cooked correctly. The breaded or batter coating needed attention though… and the cooking method – deep frying would not be an option so I opted for baking these crunchy morsels – perfect for dipping into the creamy, homemade, protein rich and zesty – lemon mayo sauce.
Eating a plate of these nuggets and mayo is a meal in itself – providing ample protein from the chicken and eggs and energy from the sourdough breadcrumbs and healthy fats from the olive oil. The breadcrumb mixture is flavoured with garlic and spices so every bite is full of flavour!
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my others for Chicken, Spinach and Tarragon Pie or Marinated Beef, Broccoli & Courgette Stir-Fry & Satay Sauce
INGREDIENTS FOR BAKED SOURDOUGH CHICKEN NUGGETS
Ingredients you will need for these baked Sourdough Breaded Chicken Nuggets are;
- Chicken breasts
- Sourdough bread
- Thick Greek yoghurt
- Olive oil
- Garlic powder
- Oregano
- Sweet smoked paprika
- Salt & Pepper
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE BAKED SOURDOUGH BREADED CHICKEN NUGGETS
To make these sourdough breaded chicken nuggets, begin by assembling all of the ingredients together.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Drizzle the olive oil in the baking tray.
Make the breadcrumbs by placing the bread into a food processor and blitzing until you reach a fine breadcrumb texture. Pour the breadcrumbs into the baking tray on top of the oil and add the garlic powder, oregano, sweet smoked paprika and salt and pepper, combining it all together with a spoon.
Bake in the oven for about 6-7 mins until they are starting to crisp and become golden. Remove from the oven and leave to one side.
Next, place the Greek yoghurt into a bowl and whip until smooth using a spoon – this will loosen it to make it easier for coating the chicken.
Using clean hands, cut the chicken into equal nugget sized chunks – roughly 2″ diameter.
Use tongs to dip each piece of chicken into the yoghurt and then into the breadcrumbs – pressing down to coat the chicken evenly. Place each coated nugget on to a baking tray. Continue until you have coated all of the chicken pieces.
Place the tray of chicken nuggets in the oven at 180 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are piping hot and cooked through.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON EGG MAYONNAISE CREAMY SAUCE FOR DIPPING
Ingredients for Lemon Egg Mayo
The ingredients you will need for this Lemon Egg Mayo creamy sauce are;
- Eggs
- Lemon juice
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
To make this creamy lemon egg mayonnaise dipping sauce, begin by filling a small saucepan with water, add a heaped teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (this will make it easier to peel the eggs from their shells after cooking). Bring the water to boil and then turn down to a simmer. Add the eggs to the water and boil the eggs for 7-8 minutes. Carefully remove the eggs from the pan and place in a bowl filled with cold water. The cold water will stop the eggs from cooking further.
Once the eggs have cooled, peel the shell and place the peeled eggs into a bowl.
Add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to the eggs and use a hand blender to blitz until smooth and creamy.
Serving the sourdough breaded nuggets
You are now ready to serve your healthier baked sourdough chicken nuggets! They are enough to eat alone – simply dunked into the creamy, lemon mayo sauce. Go ahead – make these, eat them, and never buy frozen or takeaway versions again!
Baked Sourdough Breaded Chicken Nuggets with Lemon Mayo
Equipment
- 1 baking tray
- 1 bowl
- 1 dish
- 1 food processor for making breadcrumbs
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN NUGGETS
- 150 g sourdough breadcrumbs roughly 3 large slices of sourdough bread
- 1 TBSP oregano
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried garlic granules
- 1 pinch each of salt and pepper
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 450 g chicken breasts cut into chunks 2" dia
- 150 g thick Greek Yoghurt
FOR THE LEMON MAYO DIPPING SAUCE
- 3 eggs - medium size
- 1 lemon - juice of
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Drizzle the olive oil in the baking tray.
- Make the breadcrumbs by placing the bread into a food processor and blitzing until you reach a fine breadcrumb texture. Pour the breadcrumbs into the baking tray on top of the oil and add the garlic powder, oregano, sweet smoked paprika and salt and pepper, combining it all together with a spoon.
- Bake in the oven for about 6-7 mins until they are starting to crisp and become golden. Remove from the oven and leave to one side.
- Next, place the Greek yoghurt into a bowl and whip until smooth using a spoon – this will loosen it to make it easier for coating the chicken.
- Using clean hands, cut the chicken into equal nugget sized chunks – roughly 2″ diameter.
- Use tongs to dip each piece of chicken into the yoghurt and then into the breadcrumbs – pressing down to coat the chicken evenly. Place each coated nugget on to a baking tray. Continue until you have coated all of the chicken pieces.
- Place the tray of chicken nuggets in the oven at 180 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are piping hot and cooked through.
LEMON EGG MAYONNAISE CREAMY SAUCE FOR DIPPING
- To make this creamy lemon egg mayonnaise dipping sauce, begin by filling a small saucepan with water, add a heaped teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (this will make it easier to peel the eggs from their shells after cooking) bring the water to boil and then turn down to a simmer. Add the eggs to the water and boil the eggs for 7-8 minutes. Carefully remove the eggs from the pan and place in a bowl filled with cold water. The cold water will stop the eggs from cooking further.
- Once the eggs have cooled, peel the shell and place the peeled eggs into a bowl.
- Add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to the eggs and use a hand blender to blitz until smooth and creamy.