Freezer Ready Chicken and Veggie Nuggets

Veggie chicken nuggets are delicious and a great way to sneak in extra veggies! Made for dipping in your favorite dipping sauce, these gluten free and protein packed homemade chicken nuggets are made with 8 simple ingredients and will be loved by the whole family!

Veggie chicken nuggets

One of my best tips for getting a little ahead in the kitchen is to simply double what you’re making.

It takes barely any extra time, but the result saves you future time.

That’s exactly what I love to do with my freezer-ready chicken and veggie nuggets.

Since they freeze so beautifully, they’re the perfect candidate for turning into a freezer meal!

Veggie-loaded and kid-approved even with picky eaters, you’ll want these healthier chicken nuggets stocked up all the time!

You’ll love these chicken and veggie nuggets because…

• they are easy to make
• hidden veggies inside
• an excellent source of protein
• freezer beautifully
• kids love them
• adults love them
• gluten free if you need them to be

Store-bought breaded nuggets are often filled with ingredients like yeast extract, soy protein concentrate, wheat starch, guar gum, citric acid, natural flavors, vegetable oil, or soybean oil, in addition to the ingredients that are hard to even pronounce.

When you make your own chicken and vegetable nuggets, you do not only know exactly what goes into it, you can give yourself a convenient lunch option o have on hand just like you would when you buy the frozen variety.

What you’ll need

• ground chicken
• egg
• grated carrot
• grated onion
• garlic powder
• sea salt
• pepper
• almond flour

How to make chicken and veggie nuggets

Scroll down to view the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutritional information, and step-by-step instructions.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl or a food processor, mix all of the ingredients together, except for the almond flour.
3. Place the almond flour on a plate. Take heaping tablespoonfuls of the chicken mixture, roll it into a ball, and gently roll the ball in the almond flour. Slightly flatten and shape it into a nugget form, then place it on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken mixture placing them on the baking sheet in a single layer.
4. Spray the top of the nuggets with olive oil spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, flipping them halfway through.
5. Enjoy them right away, or follow the freezer instructions below. Serve with homemade kefir ranch, honey mustard, or ketchup for dipping!

How to turn them into frozen nuggets

These chicken veggie nuggets are a good option to make in a big batch. You can easily double or triple the recipe, then freeze it! Here’s how:

Follow the instructions to make your nuggets.

Allow them to fully cool on a wire rack, then place them on a parchment paper-lined flat surface to freeze.

Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag. Label and date so you don’t forget what’s in the bag!

To cook from the freezer allow to thaw, then re-heat all the way through in the oven at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes. They can also be warmed in the microwave. You can also warm them on a medium heat skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side.

To cook from fully frozen, place in the oven at 350 degrees F and warm through for 10-15 minutes.

Substitutions

Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this homemade veggie chicken nuggets recipe. 

If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!

Ground chicken – Try these with ground turkey!

Carrot and onion – Mix up the veggies and try shredded parsnip, shredded sweet potato, leek, green onion, or even broccoli that’s been pureed in the food processor.

Egg – Make a flax egg instead of using a regular egg.

Garlic powder – Granulated garlic is a great option to use here. You can even use 1-2 fresh garlic cloves in the mix. Onion powder is a good alternative to use for garlic powder.

Almond flour – Alternatives to almond flour include using bread crumbs, yellow corn flour, wheat flour, or panko breadcrumbs.

More freezer meal recipes to try

• Freezer protein waffles
• Freezer sausage, egg and veggie breakfast burritos
• Freezer friendly crockpot coconut green curry basil chicken
• Sausage and french sorrel quiche
• Meatballs

If you try this chicken nuggets with veggies recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!

XO

Heather

*Originally published in May 2012. Updated September 2022.*