Paleo Chicken Nuggets need to be in your life! Do you agree? Agreed or not, if you have a 3 year old in your home…..these should be in your life. It’s not easy pleasing toddlers with food but these Paleo Chicken Nuggets won my granddaughters heart and palate!
Who Needs a Happy Meal??
It’s been years since I’ve seen chicken nuggets – you know, the ones from the “golden arches” and then one day, my daughter got my sweet Mazzy a Happy Meal with nuggets. Well, guess what? Mazzy loved them! I mean, what’s not to love? They are filled with all the things that will keep you coming back for more! It’s no wonder that my granddaughter now says, “I want McDonalds!”, while pointing to it with such a happy face …..as we try and get her mind diverted while we drive on by.
Since starting my blog, I haven’t had many reasons to paleofy a ‘kid friendly’ food. My kids were pretty much out of the kid meal phase so I didn’t pay much mind to things like chicken nuggets but now that Mazzy is living with me, I’m trying to find kid friendly meals that she will not only eat but love! And that’s why I started working on Paleo Chicken Nuggets!
Not Just for Kids!
Let’s be clear. These Paleo Chicken Nuggets aren’t just for kids! I will have you know, my hubby loves them as well as both my daughters (20 & 30 years old) but the true test will be having my 29 year old son come over for dinner. He was the nugget king! I think he ordered chicken fingers at steak restaurants til mid twenties. Actually, he could still be doing so — he’s just that kind of guy (hehe). While Mazzy does love these Paleo Chicken Nuggets, we all do too so this recipe is great to make for the family. Mazzy loves to dip them into Primal Kitchen Foods Paleo Ketchup but I like dipping them into their Garlic Aioli. Their good on their own but your favorite dipping sauce is always a fun addition!
I think the next step is to make flavored Paleo Chicken Nuggets. I’m pretty sure the family would be on board with buffalo style…in which case, ranch dressing is my dipping sauce of choice! If you’re a buffalo chicken fan, make sure you check out my Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe – it’s one of the most tagged recipes to date! It’s so easy and it’s a crowd pleaser so be sure and save it to Pinterest so you can have it on hand for potlucks & get togethers.
Well, that’s it for now my friends. I’m going to finish up this blog post and relax with my girls as we catch up on Housewives of Orange County (yes ….our guilty pleasure!). I only wish we had some of these Paleo Chicken Nuggets left to munch on while we watch it!
Paleo Chicken Nuggets
4 chicken thighs (boneless/skinless make it easy), cut into 1 inch chunks
2 – 2.5 oz bags salt & pepper pork rinds (or favorite pork rinds)
1/4 cup paleo mayonnaise
1/8 cup almond or cashew milk
2 – 3 large eggs
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp mayo
1/2 tsp salt*
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Pinch of pepper*
*if using Epic Salt & Pepper, omit these ingredients
Preheat oven to 420 degrees.
In a food processor, pulse the pork rinds into a “dust”.
Pour pork rind dust into a bowl with seasonings, mix.
In another bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and cashew milk to combine.
Add the chunked chicken to the mayo bowl and toss about to incorporate. Let sit for 15 minutes.
In a smaller bowl, whisk 2 eggs (you may need to add in the 3rd egg if you’re running low).
Lay a rack over a large rimmed baking sheet (foil on the bottom helps with clean up).
Set your chicken/mayo bowl, pork dust bowl and whisked eggs in a row. Take 2 or 3 pieces of chicken and coat them in the pork dust bowl ….then one at a time using tongs, place them in the egg bowl, turning to make sure each side of chunked chicken is coated with egg. Let some of the egg dribble off – then lay onto rack.
Continue on with remaining chicken, making sure pieces aren’t touching on baking rack.
Bake at 420 degrees for 15 min.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce!
