Healthier Chicken Nuggets

In my opinion, chicken nuggets might be one of the best inventions to parents everywhere. Let’s face it, there are days when you just don’t have the time to make a “real” dinner, days when you’ve reached your limit and when your child asks for chicken nuggets, you just don’t have any fight left in you to say no. It’s on those days when an order of chicken nuggets in the drive thru is a heaven sent solution at meal time.

Both of my kids are pretty good eaters, but they love their chicken nuggets just the same. If they were allowed, I think they could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner without complaint. But let’s be real, I don’t want them to constantly eat chicken nuggets. They certainly aren’t the healthiest food and sometimes the chicken used in them looks a bit “questionable”.

I was watching Food Network the other day and Giada (one of my favorites) was sharing a recipe for Crispy Chicken Tenders with Piccata Sauce and I knew instantly that I wanted to try making them for my kids.

This recipe is awesome!! It’s easy to make, pretty quick from start to finish and much healthier than some of the other chicken nugget options out there.

First of all, it uses chicken breast tenders, so you know it’s white meat and you can use the type of chicken breast that you want (I used free range, organic chicken breast tenders).

Secondly, the breadcrumb topping contains spinach leaves that are combined with parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs, and lemon zest. I love any recipe that sneaks a little bit more leafy greens into my kids’ diets.

Both of my kids loved them! And I have to admit, I ate a few myself and could actually see me making them for a family dinner for everyone (not just the kids) to enjoy. They are so flavorful and juicy with just the right amount of crunch. The piccata sauce is delicious and elevates the chicken to a “grown up” level. Full disclosure, the kids weren’t crazy for the piccata sauce but the chicken nuggets were gone in a matter of minutes.

Do you have a favorite dish that you and your kids enjoy equally?