12 Ways To Upgrade Frozen Chicken Nuggets

If you, too, were not allowed to eat frozen chicken nuggets while growing up at home, you probably can recall how excited you were when you saw them on the school cafeteria menu or had a friend's mom prepare them when you slept over at their house. As an adult, though, the fascination with this processed meat has transformed into something far less exciting. Now, when work is busy, projects are piling up, the fridge is empty, and takeout is not in the cards, they're the food you begrudgingly turn to out of need. 

It may be pretty obvious, but it's worth noting that frozen chicken nuggets are not good in the way that a greasy burger is when you're hungover or a steak is when you visit a fine-dining destination. Even if you invest in a high-quality brand of chicken nuggets, the flavor is reliably bland, and the texture is nothing to write home about. What do you expect from manually separated, precooked chicken that's occasionally shaped like a dinosaur and seasoned in a way that appeals to children (meaning: not a speck of green anything in sight)?

However, today is the day that chicken nuggets get to turn a new leaf. Out of our own frustration with frozen chicken nuggets and their mediocrity, we came up with a list of ways to liven up this freezer aisle staple, from switching up your cooking method and process to pairing and using them more creatively.

There are few condiments that can surpass hot honey. Salty ones are okay, sure, but there is something magical that happens when you get to experience the unadulterated heat paired with the honey's innate sweetness. We like to call it the culinary yin and yang, though "delicious" is another way to describe it. When paired with a great hot honey, even the blandest of chicken nuggets will reach new heights, as the chicken nuggets (aside from spicy nugs, of course) don't usually have any sweet or spicy flavors going on already. After dousing a few chicken nuggets in it, we've concluded it's one of our favorite ways to use hot honey. 

Whether you're buying store-bought hot honey or making homemade hot honey from scratch, you'll want to give it a taste before you coat your nugs in it. Hot honey can be relatively mild, or it can assault your palate, so it's good to know what you're walking into before you've gone past the point of no return. For this instance, we prefer to make our own hot honey, as we can tailor the heat based on our preferences and use different chiles to bring out certain aromas and flavor nuances. Once you have a hot honey you like, you can either toss the nuggets in it or use it as a dipping sauce.

Chicken nuggets suffer from chronic under seasoning — which is surprising, given that the sodium listed on the package can be quite high. However, "seasoning" doesn't just mean salt here. It also means herbs, aroma enhancers, and, yes, salt.

Lucky for you, all you need is a well-stocked spice cabinet and a bag of frozen nugs to make magic happen. Start with a bowl of oil and your chosen spices. You can use melted butter as well, but oil will give you a more neutral flavor that won't distract from your chosen spices. You can either coat the nuggets in this seasoned oil as they're baking by applying it with a pastry brush or toss your cooked nuggets in the spice blend once they are out of the oven. Cooking the spices will mellow out their flavor, so keep this in mind when deciding when you want to add the seasoning.

There are plenty of seasoning options worth trying, from tried-and-true chicken pairings such as lemon pepper and Italian seasoning to internationally inspired and unique spice blends such as za'atar and ras el hanout. Pair these seasonings with a tasty dipping sauce, and you'll never go back to plain nugs ever again. 

The easiest way to make virtually anything better? Add bacon. Bacon cheeseburgers, bacon breakfast sandwiches, and bacon-wrapped Brussels sprouts are all the rage, so why not use that same energy to whip up a tray of snackable chicken nuggets that no hungry teenager (or full-grown adult, let's be honest) could resist?

Wrapping your chicken nuggets in bacon will take some getting used to, as the nuggets are small. The easiest way is to carefully wrap the center of the frozen nuggets with a slice of bacon and place them seam-side down on your tray. You can also use wooden toothpicks to affix bacon strips to the nuggets. As they bake, the fat and flavor from the bacon will infuse into the nugget, giving it a meaty, salty upgrade. If you prefer, you can glaze or season the bacon with maple syrup or brown sugar; that will contrast with the salty and savoriness of the bacon, yielding a more complex bite.

Adding chicken to your salad is a relatively normal concept. But using chicken nuggets instead of having to slice, cook, and prepare chicken from scratch is a much smarter solution from both a time- and effort-saving standpoint. After your nuggets are baked to perfection, all you need to do is toss them in your salad with the rest of your toppings and dressing and enjoy.

The nice thing about this hack is that not only does the salad benefit from a punch of added protein but so do the nuggets themselves. The salad ingredients introduce texture, and the dressing adds flavor, while the breading on the outside of the chicken makes every bite extra hearty and adds textural contrast. Spicy nuggets, popcorn chicken, and regular nuggets are all fair game for this tasty side or starter.

In creating this list, we wanted to include a variety of ways to upgrade chicken nuggets, speaking both in terms of cooking methods as well as ways to amp up their flavor with seasoning and accoutrements. This suggestion falls into the former category, and it's a must if you prefer your nugs extra crispy.

When most people throw their nuggets on a sheet tray and bake them, they neglect an important step: flipping them in the middle of the cooking time. This prevents one side of the nugget from getting soggy and allows for a more even bake.

If you don't have the patience to set a timer, you can also prop the nuggets up on one edge in the pan with the help of an oven-safe rack so that the air can circulate on all sides of the nuggets. Some folks have also suggested cooking the nuggets directly on the rack so that the air can get to the underside of the nuggets — but if you hate cleaning your oven as much as we do, you may not want to try this at home.

It's hard not to love chicken Parmesan (especially if you make it in an air fryer, like in this recipe). The soft and moist chicken and its crispy exterior are the perfect match for the tomato sauce and cheese topping. Sunday suppers wouldn't be complete without a tray of it. However, the whole "making the chicken" part can be a pain — unless you have a bag of frozen chicken nuggets on your hands. 

You only need two ingredients to transform nuggets into a tasty appetizer: sauce and cheese. The secret to not drying your nuggets out when you try this at home is to undercook them by a few minutes, then pour your sauce (use a high-quality marinara here) and cheese on top. Bake the dish until the cheese is molten. Serve these nuggets straight from the baking dish or spoon them over pasta for an easy weeknight meal. 

Stir-fry, especially a recipe that uses hand-breaded chicken, can be a pain to make at home. Aside from prepping all of your veggies, you also need to slice, bread, and cook the chicken ahead of time before you can have a delicious meal on the table. But when you use chicken nuggets, you can circumvent most of this meat prep process. All you need to do is bake the nuggets (which can be done while some of your harder vegetables, like carrots, are cooking) and toss them in toward the end with your sauce. You don't want to recook them when they're on the stove, since this can potentially dry them out, so only add them right before serving. This is not a hack we would recommend trying if you plan on eating this stir-fry on day two (or longer), since the moisture from the veggies and the sauce can render the nuggets' coating soggy. 

That said, you can skip the whole veggie part too and make a quick takeout-inspired dinner by just coating the nuggets in your favorite stir-fry sauce and eating it solo. General Tso's sauce, orange chicken sauce, and teriyaki sauce are common store-bought condiments for stir-fry, though a homemade sauce, personalized to your liking, would also do you well. 

On a weeknight, you're probably not going to be pulling out your trusty cast-iron skillet, filling it with a couple of generous glugs of oil, and frying your nuggets by hand. However, we can't help but note that deep-frying your nuggets, as opposed to slowly baking them in the oven, will give them a crunchier texture and more uniform color. 

You'll want to set your oil to medium heat and let it come up to temperature before adding your nuggets. You should never guess the oil temperature when frying, which is where a heat-safe thermometer can be beneficial. The temperature of the oil will also decrease when you add your nuggets in, so it's helpful to fry in small batches and keep an eye on the temperature as you're cooking. Otherwise, you'll risk greasy nuggets that taste like the oil you fried them in. You may only need to fry your nuggets for three or four minutes at a time, flipping them in between, before they need to be transferred to a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. These extra-crispy nuggets are far more decadent than the ones you'd make in an oven, and they're excellent paired with a classic side of homemade crispy french fries. 

Air fryers have become a staple in kitchens across America — and for good reason. These tiny appliances get your food extra crispy by circulating hot air around a basket. One of the common myths about air fryers is that they work similarly to a deep-fryer. In reality, they are more like a high-powered, ultra-efficient convection oven. Their efficiency and ability to get frozen foods like chicken nuggets extra crispy, as well as their fast preheat time, make them a must-have appliance for chicken nugget lovers everywhere.

There are some important things you need to know about your air fryer before you toss your nuggets in and hit the "on" button. The first is that you can't overload the entire basket with nuggets. You don't want to block the fans and the air cycling through the basket; otherwise, you'll risk messing up your machine and/or getting a less-than-perfectly-crispy batch of nugs. As such, if you're making nuggets for a crowd, you may be better off using a standard oven. As a rule of thumb, if you can't put your food in a single layer, opt for the oven. 

Some air fryers will also note that you need to add some oil (not a ton) to anything you cook in it. However, chicken nuggets already contain more than enough oil, so any extra that you add will cause them to become greasy. Add your liner, pop your nugs in, and air fry away!

Visit any restaurant in the South, and you will likely see chicken and waffles on the menu. This pairing is absolutely divine, as you get the sweet, vanilla flavor of the waffle paired with the salty, crispy fried chicken. Add a little drizzle of maple syrup and you have a brunch dish that stands tall among humble bowls of oatmeal and plain scrambled eggs. 

But like chicken Parmesan, preparing chicken and waffles is a labor of love. It can be a bit more than you bargained for, especially if you're trying to serve them on a weeknight. If you find yourself in a bit of a time crunch, turn to chicken nuggets instead of fried chicken. And, if you don't want to try and master the perfect waffle at home, you can use frozen waffles for this breakfast or brunch dish instead.

Obviously, a measly chicken nugget is nowhere near the same size as a standard Belgian waffle. So, you'll want to opt for the mini frozen waffles instead of full-sized ones. For an even more creative brunch hack, try sticking the chicken nugget and waffle (you can cut out rounds of a full-sized one with a biscuit cutter, too) with a toothpick and serve them with a shot glass of maple syrup. 

Tacos are a dinner that the whole family will love. All you need are a handful of soft taco shells, your favorite toppings, and protein, and you can whip up a satisfying, nutrient-dense meal that no one in your household will complain about. Although tacos are often touted as being simple to bring together, when you account for the time spent preparing the protein, making the toppings, assembling other sides such as rice and beans, and warming up your tortillas, it can turn into something more time-consuming than you bargained for. One shortcut worth trying? Swapping your chicken filling for chicken nuggets. 

Normal chicken nuggets aren't very filling on their own, but when mixed with fiber-rich veggies and nutrient-dense toppings such as avocado and fresh pico, they get a new lease on life. The nuggets, whether spicy or plain, will soak up the Tex-Mex inspired flavors of your dish. You can even toss them in taco seasoning to give them a bright, cumin-y flair that will mesh well with virtually any toppings. 

Now we have arrived at what seems to be the most painfully obvious way to upgrade chicken nuggets: changing your dipping sauce. We won't say that ketchup should be dropped off the face of the earth or that Chick-fil-A sauce isn't that good (but if the shoe fits ...), but there is some value to switching up the sauce that you enjoy your nugs with. Unconventional sauces, like herby pesto, marinara, or garlicky toum, can turn a bland chicken nugget into a gourmet one.

Our first recommendation for folks just dipping their toes in the dipping sauce water is aioli — simply because there are so many types of it. Garlic aioli is an excellent, elevated pairing for nuggets; its slightly allium undertones work well with the plump, juicy chicken. You might also go with an herby, bright aioli flavored with lemon, which will make your nuggets feel lighter and easy to eat. That said, you can also bring the heat with a store-bought chipotle sauce or even make use of your leftover Taco Bell sauce packets — there are so many different flavors to choose from. 

And if you are in love with the classic chicken nugget sauces, don't be afraid to experiment with different brands and flavor variations. Invest in a high-quality store-bought honey mustard (French's makes an excellent one) or try a different barbecue sauce — like one that's more acidic or one with deeper hickory notes. You may discover a new go-to sauce in the process!