1 ¼poundsground chicken - this was the result of grinding one chicken breast and four thighs
¼cupground oats - old-fashioned ground oats
⅛cupcheddar cheese - grated, I used a mix of hard grated cheeses I had on hand
½teaspoonpaprika
½teaspoongarlic powder
¼teaspoonground black pepper
¾cupsbreadcrumbs - I made my own from homemade herb bread, which added a little more flavour
⅛cupParmesan cheese
½teaspoonpaprika
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine chicken, oatmeal, grated cheese, paprika, garlic powder and pepper.
Stir dry ingredients into ground chicken.
In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs with paprika and parmesan. Use a spoon or a teaspoon cookie scoop to form the chicken mixture into balls. Press into a cookie-cutter for shaped nuggets or flatten with fingers for a basic nugget shape.
Drop nuggets into bread crumb mixture and turn over, patting crumbs into the surface to coat evenly. At this point, you can either freeze the nuggets or bake them.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Arrange nuggets on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Lightly spray nuggets themselves with cooking spray or olive oil for a crispier coating (optional).
Bake 15-20 minutes, turning once and checking – don’t overcook!
Notes
You should have seen the grins on my little ones’ faces when they took their first bite! Unfortunately, I was too busy passing them more food to catch it on camera.