Goldfish Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Crispy and flavorful, these Goldfish Chicken Nuggets are an easy dinner that your family will love!

Total Time: 30 minutes

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Crispy and flavorful, these Goldfish Chicken Nuggets are an easy dinner that your family will love. That’s right — your kids’ favorite snack cracker is the secret ingredient in the breading for this baked chicken nuggets recipe!

I’m willing to bet that if you’re a mom with young children, you probably already have everything that you need to throw together this meal. While this homemade chicken nuggets recipe is perfect for toddlers, it’s equally fun for the adults at your table!

How to make the best homemade chicken nuggets recipe at home:

First, prepare your breading ingredients. In one bowl, you’ll combine the following:

• Crushed Goldfish crackers
• Italian style bread crumbs
• Brown sugar
• Salt

Crushing the Goldfish is a great activity for your kids! You’ll need about 1 cup of whole Goldfish to equal 1/2 cup of crumbs.

Then let your child use a rolling pin or other heavy kitchen tool to smash those crackers!

In a shallow bowl, stir together the Goldfish crumbs, bread crumbs, brown sugar and salt. Then drizzle with olive oil and stir until all of the crumbs are coated.

You’ll also need two more shallow bowls — one for the flour and one for the eggs.

Next, grab your chicken! I like to use chicken breast tenderloins because it’s very quick and easy to slice them into equal bite-sized pieces. That said, you can certainly use regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead.

Then just work the diced chicken through the bowls — first in the flour, then into the egg, and finally into the bread crumbs.

Place the breaded nuggets on a foil-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray for easy clean-up.

Bake the chicken nuggets in a 375 degree F oven for about 15 minutes, or just until they’re crisp and golden brown on the outside.

What to serve with Chicken Nuggets:

There are many different sides that go well with this chicken nuggets recipe, including:

• French fries, baked potatoes, Crispy Seasoned Oven Roasted Potatoes or even Crispy Zucchini Fries
• Carrot Salad (just like they offer at Chik-Fil-A!)
• Southern Potato Salad
• Fruit Salad
• A simple green salad with Buttermilk Dressing
• Slow Cooker Southern Green Beans or Roasted Broccoli
• And don’t forget the dip! Ketchup is always safe, but honey mustard, mayonnaise, and barbecue sauce are also popular!

Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:

• Try to cut the chicken into equal-size portions. This will help the nuggets cook in the same amount of time.
• Use any Goldfish or similar cheddar crackers that your family enjoys. You can use the wholegrain Goldfish, Parmesan-flavored Goldfish, Cheez-Its, or Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies. Crushed up Corn Flakes cereal would also work well — you just might need to add some extra salt to the mix.
• I like the extra flavor that you get from the Italian-style bread crumbs, but you can use plain bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs if you prefer.
• These are baked chicken nuggets. If you would rather make a Fried Chicken Nuggets recipe, you can use the same preparation. First, heat about 1 cup of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the breaded chicken pieces to the pan (working in batches, if needed) and brown on each side, about 8 minutes total. Use a spatula to transfer the chicken nuggets to a paper-towel-lined plate. Cool slightly, and then serve.
• Prep ahead! Assemble the nuggets and then keep them in the refrigerator for a few hours before baking. You can also freeze the chicken nuggets before or after baking.
• Skip a step! Instead of cutting the tenderloins into nuggets and breading each individual piece, simply use the same recipe to prepare baked chicken tenders. Bread each chicken tender and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
• I like to use chicken breast tenderloins because it’s very quick and easy to slice them into equal bite-sized pieces. That said, you can certainly use regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead.

More easy chicken recipes that you might enjoy:

• Parmesan Ranch Chicken Tenders Recipe
• Dump-and-Bake Crack Chicken
• Dump-and-Bake Chicken and Mushrooms
• 5-Minute Honey French Baked Chicken Breasts

Did you try this recipe? Don’t forget to rate it and leave me a comment below! You can follow me on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest, and on Twitter!

5 from 2 votes

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Goldfish Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Crispy and flavorful, these Goldfish Chicken Nuggets are an easy dinner that your family will love!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword baked chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 367.9 kcal

Author Blair

Ingredients

• ½ cup crushed cheddar cheese Goldfish crackers (start with about 1 cup of whole Goldfish crackers)
• ½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins, cut into 2-inch pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Pour crushed Goldfish crackers, bread crumbs, brown sugar and salt in a shallow dish.

3. Drizzle the oil evenly over the crumb mixture and toss until oil is mixed throughout.
4. Pour flour into a separate shallow dish.
5. Place eggs in a third shallow dish.

6. Place chicken in flour and turn to coat. Shake off any excess flour. Then dip the chicken in the eggs, shaking off any excess egg before finally coating the chicken in the bread crumb mixture.

7. Place breaded chicken on prepared baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Recipe Notes

The nutrition information below includes all of the breading ingredients. If you don't use all of the bread crumb mixture, egg and flour when preparing your chicken nuggets, the nutritional facts will vary.

• Try to cut the chicken into equal-size portions. This will help the nuggets cook in the same amount of time.
• Use any Goldfish or similar cheddar crackers that your family enjoys. You can use the wholegrain Goldfish, Parmesan-flavored Goldfish, Cheez-Its, or Annie's Cheddar Bunnies. Crushed up Corn Flakes cereal would also work well -- you just might need to add some extra salt to the mix.
• I like the extra flavor that you get from the Italian-style bread crumbs, but you can use plain bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs if you prefer.
• These are baked chicken nuggets. If you would rather make a Fried Chicken Nuggets recipe, you can use the same preparation. First, heat about 1 cup of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the breaded chicken pieces to the pan (working in batches, if needed) and brown on each side, about 8 minutes total. Use a spatula to transfer the chicken nuggets to a paper-towel-lined plate. Cool slightly, and then serve.
• Prep ahead! Assemble the nuggets and then keep them in the refrigerator for a few hours before baking. You can also freeze the chicken nuggets before or after baking.
• Skip a step! Instead of cutting the tenderloins into nuggets and breading each individual piece, simply use the same recipe to prepare baked chicken tenders. Bread each chicken tender and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
• I like to use chicken breast tenderloins because it's very quick and easy to slice them into equal bite-sized pieces. That said, you can certainly use regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead.

Nutrition Facts

Goldfish Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 /4 of the recipe)

Calories 367.9 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 2.6g16%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4g

Monounsaturated Fat 5.8g

Cholesterol 163.8mg55%

Sodium 753.9mg33%

Potassium 55.7mg2%

Carbohydrates 30g10%

Fiber 1.3g5%

Sugar 3.3g4%

Protein 33.7g67%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post was originally published in January, 2015. It was updated in August, 2019.