If your dinner routine needs a little shake-up, these cornflake chicken nuggets are a great way to mix up dinner. Crispy, golden, and packed with flavor, they’re a hit with kids and grown-ups alike.
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Why We Love Cornflake Chicken Nuggets
- Flavor – I really love the flavor on these chicken nuggets and my family does too. You get plenty of savory flavor mixed with a tiny bit of sweetness from the cornflakes that just works.
- Mix Up Dinner – In a food rut? This is a great family friendly way to take something the kids are familiar with and make it a little different. When I find us getting in a dinner rut, a recipe like this can help to reboot us a bit and encourage trying new foods. Or sometimes I just want to use up the cereal that for some reason didn’t get eaten in the pantry.
- Great For Meal Prep – Make these on the weekend and enjoy them for several meals throughout the week. Also great way for the kids to grab and go throughout the week.
Ingredients For Cornflake Chicken Nuggets
- all-purpose flour
- garlic powder – divided
- onion powder – divided
- cayenne pepper
- salt – divided
- pepper – divided
- eggs
- pickle juice brine – this is just a little of the juice from a jar of pickles
- cornflakes
- panko breadcrumbs
- parmesan cheese grated
- smoked paprika
- chicken breast boneless skinless , cut into 1-inch cubes
How To Make Cornflake Chicken Nuggets
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Adding a wire rack to the pan can help the chicken to be more crispy, but I skip this step sometimes.
Making The Flour Coating, Egg Mixture and Cornflake Coating
- Add the all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to a wide shallow medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.
- In a second medium sized bowl, crack the eggs and add the pickle juice brine. Scramble the eggs with a fork, mixing in the pickle juice brine also.
- In the bowl of a food processor add the cornflakes, panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon onion powder. Pulse for about 15 seconds until the mixture becomes a crumb-like texture that is even in size. Transfer the cornflake mixture to a third shallow medium sized bowl.
Don’t have a food processor? You can place the ingredients in a strong zip-top bag and crush it gently with a rolling pin. Your crumbs may not be quite as even crushing the cornflakes by hand, but it will still work just fine.
Coating The Chicken
- Season the chicken pieces with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Toss each chicken in the flour mixture, coating all sides then shaking off any excess flour. Transfer the chicken to the egg mixture and toss the chicken in the egg. Then add the chicken to the cornflake mixture, pressing the cornflakes into the chicken. Add each piece of coated chicken to the baking sheet.
Cooking The Chicken
- Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, flipping about halfway through to encourage the chicken to be crispy on both sides. The chicken is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F when measured with a meat thermometer, is golden brown and has no pink on the inside. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!
Variation Ideas
Try Other Types Of Cereal – I think their are a lot of cereals you could use, but the trick is to make sure it’s not a cereal that is overly sweet. Cheerios, Chex or Rice Krispies all work if they are their plain or honey sweetened flavor and will be crunchy like the cornflake crumb. I would suggest skipping any cereal that is frosted, fruit flavored, has a lot of chocolate or has marshmallows, basically anything really sweet.
Swap In Tortilla Chips – Tortilla chips can be swapped cup for cup in this recipe and you’re going to get a great taste. It can be a great way to use the leftover crumbs at the bottom of a bag, especially those Costco or Sam’s sized bags which sometimes end up with more crumbs!
Add Some Coconut – Shredded coconut can give the breading a tropical twist, and gives it great flavor. Try adding half a cup of shredded coconut to the breading mixture. I like to add coconut after blending so it gives a little more texture, but you can blend it too.
What To Serve Cornflake Chicken Nuggets With
This recipe is one that is a serious crowd pleaser, but you may want to mix it up. Try serving these chicken nuggets in a wrap, over a salad, or just with your favorite bbq sauce, ranch or ketchup.
On the side I like to keep things pretty simple. Try the 10 minute honey mustard carrots, the creamy honey butter skillet corn,, roasted green beans and potatoes or the honey roasted baby carrots for some great options.
Potatoes are always a winner as a side. The crispy seasoned potato wedges are a family favorite. The roasted baby potatoes, the warm german potato salad with bacon, the cheesy mashed potatoes or mix it up with some creamy mashed sweet potatoes for more great choices.
If you are looking for solid but fresh kid friendly items, the pizza zucchini boats or the mac and cheese with broccoli can be more great options but may take a little more time. I also like the parmesan garlic zucchini fries if you don’t mind dipping in an egg wash a little more, but it may require a little more prep making them at the same time as the chicken.
Can You Cook These Cornflake Chicken Nuggets In The Air Fryer?
Yes you can, and I am sure the air fryer will get them nice and crispy. I recommend cooking these cornflake chicken nuggets at 325 degrees for 16 – 20 minutes.
I haven’t tried this recipe myself in the air fryer, but I know it should work well and be delicious based on cooking other items. The air fryer does crispy items well. If you do try this recipe in the air fryer, let me know how it goes in the comments.
How Long Will These Homemade Chicken Nuggets Last?
Expect that these chicken nuggets will last for about three days. Leftovers need to be stored in an airtight covered container in the refrigerator.
How Do I Reheat This Chicken Nugget Recipe?
Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, but they will be even crispier reheated in the oven or in the toaster oven. Usually 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees does it.
I’ve also thrown them in the air fryer before and that works pretty well. I didn’t record when I did it, but I think I reheated at 350 for like 3-4 minutes. If you are reheating from frozen it will likely take a few extra minutes. Let me know if you air fry the leftovers how it goes for you! There can be a little variation with air fryers.
Also don’t sleep on grabbing a chicken nugget or three cold from the fridge. The nuggets still taste pretty good cold though I prefer them warm.
Cornflake Chicken Nuggets
Bored of the same old nuggets? These cornflake chicken nuggets bring crunch, flavor, and just a hint of sweetness that make dinner way more fun.
Prevent your screen from going dark
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1 Baking sheet
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3 medium sized shallow bowls
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1 Food Processor optional, can also use a ziptop bag and a rolling pin to crush the cornflakes
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1 Measuring spoons
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1 mixing spoon
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1 Fork
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1 Meat Thermometer optional
Ingredients For The Flour Coating
Ingredients For The Egg Mixture
Ingredients For The Cornflake Coating
Ingredients For The Chicken Pieces
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Adding a wire rack to the pan can help the chicken to be more crispy, but I skip this step sometimes.
Making The Flour Coating, Egg Mixture and Cornflake Coating
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Add the all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to a wide shallow medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.
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In a second medium sized bowl, crack the eggs and add the pickle juice brine. Scramble the eggs with a fork, mixing in the pickle juice brine also.
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In the bowl of a food processor add the cornflakes, panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon onion powder. Pulse for about 15 seconds until the mixture becomes a crumb-like texture that is even in size. Transfer the cornflake mixture to a third shallow medium sized bowl.
Coating The Chicken
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Season the chicken pieces with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
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Toss each chicken in the flour mixture, coating all sides then shaking off any excess flour. Transfer the chicken to the egg mixture and toss the chicken in the egg. Then add the chicken to the cornflake mixture, pressing the cornflakes into the chicken. Add each piece of coated chicken to the baking sheet.
Cooking The Chicken
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Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, flipping about halfway through to encourage the chicken to be crispy on both sides. The chicken is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F when measured with a meat thermometer, is golden brown and has no pink on the inside. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!
It can be helpful to place the three bowls of the egg mixture, flour mixture and cornflake crumb mixture in a row. Then you can move each chicken piece quickly from one bowl to the next when coating the chicken.
Don’t have a food processor? You can place the ingredients in a strong zip-top bag and crush it gently with a rolling pin or even a heavy can of beans or canned vegetables. Your crumbs may not be quite as even crushing the cornflakes by hand, but it will still work just fine.
Adding the chicken back to the flour and then the egg a second time before adding it to the cornflake crumb mixture will give the chicken an extra crispy coating.
Placing a wire rack on top of the pan and cooking the chicken on top of it will allow the chicken to be a little more crispy but you can skip this step, I do sometimes. The chicken can be cooked on the pan though, just make sure to flip it half way through the cooking time so both sides get crispy.
You can skip the pickle brine if you don’t have any, but the chicken will be more tender with it.
Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 945mg | Potassium: 510mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 523IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 5mg
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
