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Baked Pecan Chicken Nuggets

Homemade Baked Pecan Chicken Nuggets Bites with honey mustard dipping sauce

Chicken and pecans go together nicely. It is a combination quite popular here in the South. I have seen variations of pecan chicken dishes on many menus throughout the years. This recipe came about after being inspired by a salad at a restaurant. I wanted to re-create the salad at home since my husband enjoys it and orders it often. When he said he would rather have one of my other salads, I decided to go with the nuggets sans salad.

I have made pecan chicken breasts before. The recipe is one I came up with as an adaption to the way I prepare turkey cutlets. It consists of a simple dipping of the meat into flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. The only difference is the addition of chopped pecans to the breadcrumbs. One other change is baking instead of frying. I wanted the nuggets to have the flavor of roasted pecans.

The next step was finding the right honey mustard sauce recipe. I searched the internet and came across several of them. I narrowed them down by ingredients (I wanted yellow mustard and not dijon). Some were as simple as mustard and honey mixed together and others included mayonnaise plus various spices and vinegars. What I wound up doing is going into the kitchen and winging it. I started with some mayo and added mustard and honey until it I thought it had the right balance. I added cider vinegar for a little tang. The result was exactly what I wanted.

Do you find yourself making things up as you cook? It is fun to put your own spin on a recipe or recipe concept. Having the ingredients and the end result in mind makes for creative cooking. It is an on-going journey and I cannot wait to see what I will explore next in the kitchen.

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Baked Pecan Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

A recipe for easy homemade baked chicken nuggets with a pecan crust and a honey mustard dipping sauce.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 Peopl
Author Renee

Ingredients

For the Pecan Chicken Nuggets:

  • 1 pound chicken tenderloins
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Instructions

For the Chicken Nuggets:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a cooling rack in a baking sheet and set aside.
  2. Use three shallow containers. Place the flour in one, eggs in another, and pecans/breadcrumbs mixed together in the third one. Cut the chicken tenderloins into four pieces each (will be about 1-inch chunks). Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip each chicken piece into the flour and shake off the excess. Dip each one in the egg mixture and then dredge into pecan/breadcrumb mixture to coat all over. Shake off the excess and place coated pieces on the rack in the baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the crust is golden. Serve warm with honey mustard dipping sauce.

For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

  1. In a bowl, stir or whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, and cider vinegar until smooth.

Recipe Notes

A recipe for easy homemade baked chicken nuggets with a pecan crust and a honey mustard dipping sauce.

Recipe Rating




CJ at Food Stories

Sunday 6th of May 2012

I love to put my own spin on recipes. You did a great job with this one :-)

sunithi

Thursday 3rd of May 2012

Wow ! love this ! Soo healthy too. Will try it for when my kids want nuggets next. Must get some pecans though and yr mustard recipe is simple too !

Renee

Friday 4th of May 2012

Thanks! The nuggets would be great for kids and much better (healthier) than the deep fried ones.

amy @ fearless homemaker

Thursday 3rd of May 2012

these sound awesome! i'll definitely have to try these for a weeknight dinner or group get-together one day soon. they sound wonderful!

Renee

Friday 4th of May 2012

Thanks Amy! They are a great appetizer - so many people like chicken nuggets.

Jen @ Juanita's Cocina

Thursday 3rd of May 2012

These look SO good, Renee. I refuse to buy those prepackaged things! And why would I when I can make these?

Renee

Friday 4th of May 2012

Thanks Jen! Yes, they are much better than the store-bought prepackaged ones.