McDonald's Chicken Nuggets | The Best Copycat Recipe For Chicken McNuggets

There's truly nothing better than classic McDonald's chicken McNuggets - but this homemade chicken nugget recipe just might have them beat! These chicken nuggets are perfectly seasoned, breaded, and fried to crispy, golden brown perfection. Paired with the dipping sauce of your choice, these might be the best nuggets you'll ever eat.

The Best McDonald's Chicken McNuggets

Adults and kids alike love McDonald's chicken nuggets! And why wouldn't they?!

They're the perfect fried food - they're crunchy, salty, meaty, and oh-so-juicy - and they go so well with pretty much every dipping sauce.

So, that's exactly why we wanted to create this homemade chicken nuggets recipe. We wanted to be able to recreate all of that nugget delicious at home. And I think we did.

This copycat McDonald's chicken nuggets recipe perfects the craft of getting that crispy golden crust around the juicy, flavorful chicken. Once you take your first bite, you'll agree that this recipe is so spot on. And, honestly, they taste even fresher than the ones at the restaurant because they're free of fillers and preservatives.

Oh, and I'm sure you already could've guessed this, but these copycat McDonald's chicken McNuggets are perfect for big game day gatherings, as a weeknight dinner, or even as a meal for a kid's birthday party. Really they're great for any occasion.

Also, these nuggets store super well. So you can make a big batch of these McDonald's chicken McNuggets easily, and then fry them up whenever you need them.

They go fantastic with some other fried-food favorites like these fried pickles, jalapeno poppers, and, of course, my McDonald's french fries!

By the way, if you want a spicy version of these chicken nuggets, then you have to make this McDonald's spicy chicken nuggets recipe!

Ingredients

One of my favorite parts about this recipe is how simple the ingredient list is. Seriously, it's so simple.

In fact, you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry waiting for you right now! But, if you don't, they're all super easy to find in your local grocery store.

Here's what you'll need for the ground chicken:

• 1 Skinless Chicken Breast, diced
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp. Salt
• ½ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• ½ cup Cornstarch

And here's what you'll need to make the breading:

• 1 cup Water
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tbsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tbsp. Garlic Powder
• 2 tbsp. Mustard
• 1 tsp. Salt
• ½ tsp. Pepper
• Oil, for frying

See?

Not bad, right?

So, this chicken nuggets recipe is pretty flexible. Feel free to adjust the seasonings for the breading. This combination of ingredients will give these chicken nuggets that iconic McDonald's taste and texture, though.

And you can easily swap chicken breasts for chicken thighs. Just make sure you buy boneless as this will make it easier to prepare the chicken mcnuggets.

As for the frying oil, I recommend canola oil or vegetable oil, but any frying oil will do just fine! 

Oh, and if you don't want to fry the chicken nuggets, I've included directions to make them in the air fryer. They'll turn out just as delicious as frying.

By the way, you can use these chicken nuggets to make this McDonalds snack wrap, so you'll definitely want to see what else you need to make those. And if you want something a little different, you can use almost all of these ingredients to make these Zaxby's chicken fingers.

How To Make McDonald's Chicken McNuggets

Ok, so this copycat McDonald's chicken nugget recipe is very easy to make. But you will need a food process - or blender - to make them, so take that out before jumping into the recipe.

Also, you can precut the chicken to make it easier to blend for the chicken mcnuggets.

Now that all of the is out of the way, let's get cooking!

Step 1: Prepare The Chicken

First, you're going to prepare the chicken.

Start by adding the diced chicken breast, egg, salt, and pepper to a food processor or blender.

Now pulse - or blend - until the chicken reaches a paste consistency.

Step 2: Make The Nuggets

Now that the chicken is prepared, you can make them into nugget shapes.

First, scoop two tablespoons of the chicken mixture and shape it into a nugget shape.

Then, cover all of the nuggets with cornstarch and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for later.

Step 3: Make The Breading

To make the breading to coat the chicken nuggets with, take out a large mixing bowl, and add the water, egg, flour, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard, salt, and pepper to it.

Now mix all of these ingredients together until they're fully combined.

Step 4: Bread The Chicken McNuggets

So, now that you have a smooth batter, dip one prepared chicken nugget at a time with a spoon or fork. And make sure to fully submerge the nugget in the mixture, so it's coated on both sides.

Then, transfer each nugget back to the baking sheet until they're all prepared.

Next, put the nuggets in the freezer for 2 hours before frying.

Step 5: Cooking The Chicken McNuggets

When 2 hours is almost up, add enough frying oil to a deep skillet to cover the chicken nuggets - about an inch worth of oil. Then, turn the heat on the stovetop to medium-high and let the oil heat up.

Once the oil is hot, deep fry the frozen nuggets in batches (don't overcrowd the pan) for about 4 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

Then, take them out of the oil, and lay them on a paper towel-lined plate so that the towel can soak up any extra oil.

How To Make Chicken Nuggets In The Air Fryer

Now, if you want to air fry the chicken nuggets, preheat the air fryer to 400°F.

Then, put the nuggets in the air fryer basket - in a single layer - and cook for about 10-12 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking. 

Either way, you cook them, you'll know they're done when the internal temperature is 165°F.

Step 6: Serving the Chicken McNuggets

Finally, after all of these McDonalds chicken nuggets are fried to golden perfection, serve with any sauce and sides that you want. 

No matter what you end up pairing with these chicken nuggets it'll make for one happy meal!

Enjoy!

Every Kind of Sauce to Serve With

I think that these McDonalds chicken nuggets are best paired with a sauce. I like to have them with different ones at the same time for a variety of flavors!

Here are my favorite chicken mcnugget dipping sauces:

• Wingstop ranch
• McDonald's breakfast sauce
• Alabama white sauce
• Sweet chili sauce
• Chick-Fil-A Sauce
• Tiger sauce

 

How To Store Chicken Nuggets

Ok, so this recipe for Mcdonalds chicken nuggets will make about 16 nuggets.  It's really the perfect amount for lunch with the kids or to put out if you're hosting.

And in case of the unlikely event that you can't finish all of your chicken nuggets, they store really well.

You can store the leftover nuggets in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How To Reheat Chicken Nuggets

If you want to reheat the refrigerated - or frozen chicken mcnuggets - two methods work best to keep their crispy texture.

The first one is to put the leftover chicken nuggets in the oven at 350°F for about 8 minutes or until warm.

Another great way is to reheat them in the air fryer at 350°F for about 5 minutes or until warm.

And for both methods, just add some extra cooking time if you're reheating the frozen chicken nuggets.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that is how to make McDonalds chicken nuggets at home!

McDonald's chicken nuggets are so delicious, but they're even better made at home with this recipe.

It's seriously crazy that you can recreate the iconic nuggets in your kitchen with just a few simple ingredients. And kids, adults, grandparents, it doesn't matter who tries the chicken nuggets, they'll agree they're the best ones they've ever had. 

Anyway, I hope by now I've convinced you never to waste time waiting in the McDonald's drive-thru again!

If you gave this copycat McDonald's chicken nuggets recipe a try, leave a comment below and let me know how it went!

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More Copycat McDonald's Recipes

If you love McDonald's we have a ton of McDonald's recipes that you can try making! I know I'm biased, but I think all of them are even better than the famous fast-food restaurant.

Give these a try next:

• Spicy crispy chicken sandwich
• McGriddle
• Egg McMuffin
• Buttermilk biscuits
• Breakfast burrito
• Iced coffee