Truly Crispy, Easy, Low-Histamine Chicken Nuggets

I had a rough, rough week a few years back, and my friend brought homemade chicken nuggets over for dinner. They were moist, and tender, with a super crispy exterior, something I had never experienced in homemade, baked chicken nuggets before.

I begged her for the recipe. My husband and toddler have a deep and abiding love of chicken nuggets.

Add in Mast Cell Activation Disorder for the husband, and genetic mutations for the whole family that preclude the proper metabolism of synthetic folic acid, and that makes chicken nuggets kind of tough.

But it hit me tonight.

This recipe wouldn't be tough to make dairy free, soy free, low histamine, toddler-friendly, picky-husband-friendly. I was worried about doing it unenriched, but I did it!

And guess what?

They were crisp, golden, and absolutely delicious. Even this girl, who doesn't love chicken nuggets, went back for seconds. (I like mine dipped in Lighthouse Honey Mustard dressing.

Truly Crispy, Easy, Low-Histamine Chicken Nuggets

3 large chicken breasts or 6 small chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt (and pepper, if tolerated), to taste
1 level tablespoon liquid oil
6 tablespoons breadcrumbs (we make our own bread, and when it goes stale, we make breadcrumbs from it: this has been the best way to get safe bread, rolls, and buns for our family, plus breadcrumbs for cooking)
1/4 teaspoon Italian herbs
3 tablespoons panko (Dynasty brand is unenriched AND contains no soy or dairy)
2 tablespoons unfortified nutritional yeast (we use Sari Foods brand) or parmesan cheese, if tolerated
Pan spray (we use a spray from Kroger that's only pure coconut oil or canola oil)

Preheat oven to 425F. Spray baking sheet. Put oil in one big bowl. Put breadcrumbs, herbs, panko, and yeast or cheese in another and stir up well. Put the cut-up chicken in the bowl with the oil. Stir very well to coat everything. Add chicken in batches to the bowl of breadcrumbs, turning to coat, and placing on the sprayed baking sheet before adding more. Spray the tops of the chicken nuggets with more pan spray. Bake 8-10 minutes. Turn each nugget over and bake an additional 4-5 minutes. Serve with our Allergy-Friendly Amazing BBQ Sauce!