Description
Copycat McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and perfectly dippable. Made with simple pantry ingredients, these homemade nuggets capture the nostalgic fast-food flavor everyone loves—right from your own kitchen.
Ingredients
Scale
Nugget Base:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Coating:
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup cold water
For Frying:
- Neutral cooking oil (vegetable or canola)
Instructions
- Mix chicken: In a bowl, combine ground chicken, egg, salt, and pepper until smooth.
- Shape nuggets: With damp hands, form mixture into small nugget shapes and place on a lined tray.
- Coat with cornstarch: Lightly coat each nugget on all sides.
- Prepare batter: Whisk flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and cold water until smooth.
- Dip nuggets: Dip each nugget into batter, letting excess drip off.
- Freeze: Freeze nuggets for 30–60 minutes to set coating.
- Heat oil: Heat oil to 350°F (175°C).
- Fry: Fry nuggets in batches for 3–4 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- Drain & serve: Drain on paper towels or a wire rack and serve hot.
Notes
- Freezing is key: This keeps the coating from sliding off during frying.
- Don’t overcrowd: Fry in batches to keep oil temperature steady.
- Air fryer option: Cook at 400°F for 8–10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Storage: Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze uncooked nuggets for later.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6–8 nuggets
- Calories: 410
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 720mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 24g
- Cholesterol: 95mg
Keywords: copycat mcdonalds chicken mcnuggets, homemade chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets recipe, fast food copycat, kid friendly dinner