This tasty chicken nuggets recipe for babies can be enjoyed by the whole family. 

It’s a perfect baby led weaning recipe – that is also brilliant for toddlers – that only takes around 30 minutes to put together. 

My nuggets recipe is something I have been cooking for the kids since they were starting out with solid foods, and they still enjoy it today now they are ages 5 and 7! 

When weaning my babies I decided to give them homemade baby food, as I could control what went into their food and also it was much cheaper.

The result is they were used to my cooking from an early age and are really good at eating their veggies now they’re bigger!

Baby Led Weaning Chicken Nuggets 

The key to making great BLW chicken nuggets for your baby is to ensure the chicken is cut into skinny finger length strips that they can easily hold in their fist and gnaw on. 

By making the nuggets from scratch you know there’s no added salt – the NHS advises against giving babies any added salt when it comes to cooking your own food for your baby – or other preservatives. 

These nuggets aren’t deep fried, they are simply roasted in the oven on a baking tray, so there’s no complex cooking process and it’s much healthier than fast food restaurant nuggets. 

Plus chicken is a fantastic source of iron and other essential vitamins, such as B6 and B12.

I keep my chicken nuggets pretty simple and that makes them a real crowd pleaser. 

But you could add some Italian mixed herbs into your breadcrumbs for some extra flavour, or a little paprika if you think your baby can handle a slight bit of heat. 

I use whole chicken breast, which I trim using kitchen scissors into strips. You can make the process even easier by purchasing mini chicken breast fillets.

These are more expensive to buy, however you can cut each one into three pieces so they’re nice and easy to prepare.

Can babies eat nuggets?

If we’re talking about chicken nuggets from McDonald’s, which are full of salt and have been deep fried, then you should really avoid giving those to your baby. 

However when it comes to homemade nuggets that you make with no added salt with fresh meat then it’s absolutely fine to give to your baby as a tasty meal. 

Plus with this recipe it’s actually something you can serve to the whole family as a simply midweek meal. 

I always like to avoid cooking different meals for me and for the kids if I can help it, so this tasty recipe is something everyone can have. 

When can babies have chicken nuggets

You can offer your baby these homemade chicken nuggets from around 11 months.

Of course every baby is different, so only offer them these if you think they are ready on their weaning journey.

You can serve my recipe to babies either as a whole nugget (as I cut them into skinny strips before coating in breadcrumbs) or cut into tiny pieces.

How to make breadcrumbs

I tend to make my own breadcrumbs for my nuggets recipe, as it’s cheaper and easier than purchasing store breadcrumbs.

Having said that, Panko breadcrumbs really do work well and give a wonderful crunch to this recipe.

To make my own breadcrumbs I get a slice of slightly stale bread, the crust if we have one, and whizz it up in my Kenwood Mini Chopper (a similar product for the US can be found here)

This is such a handy gadget for making food for your baby. Use it to create purees or just chop food down to smaller bits for them to manage.

If you don’t have any stale bread, grab a slice of bread from the loaf and leave it out on a plate on the kitchen counter for a few hours. It will dry out a little.

How to make your chicken nuggets

The step-by-step process of putting your nuggets together is really simple.

It does get messy with your fingers though, so make sure you have five to 10 minutes spare where you can get the chicken coated in the breadcrumbs without interruption.

I use pasta bowls to separate out my key ingredients – flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs – so I can roll the chicken in them easily. A wide-based bowl is best for this.

First you simply roll the chicken in the flour. This helps the egg to stick!

Next you roll the chicken in the egg, letting the excess drip off.

Finally roll in the breadcrumbs, which will stick to the egg mix. You want a fairly light coating of breadcrumbs that just covers the surface of the chicken.

After that I simply pop them in the oven for 20-25 minutes on a baking tray with a little olive oil. They are done when they are golden – I recommend cutting into one to ensure it is cooked through for your baby.

You may also like: Pizza recipe for babies

What to serve with chicken nuggets for baby?

These yummy nuggets go with a whole host of side dishes. 

My personal favourite is keeping it simple with a few broccoli or cauliflower florets. 

But you could also serve it with a few sweet potato wedges or a sweet potato fritter, mashed potato or rice. 

When it comes to the grown ups version of this meal I often serve it with a side salad to keep it simple! 

For toddlers I recommend a few of their favourite veg and either sweet potato or normal potato wedges. 

This is how I usually serve the recipe for my kids these days.

 Final thoughts

I hope your little one loves my chicken nuggets recipe for babies as much as my kids do! It’s a recipe I’m confident you will keep in your family repertoire for years to come!

If you fancy a change you can switch the chicken for turkey breast – this is a little more expensive but it works just as well with the recipe.

You may also like my spaghetti bolognese recipe for babies and this tasty pizza pinwheels for baby led weaning.