I make home made bread crumbs....usually home made bread...slightly stale or it would be eaten as toast...
Ig rate the bread in the cuisinart with a shredding disc, put the crumbs on a baking sheet and into a 300 degree oven until they are toasted and very dry. Then I store them untuil needed. for chicken I take some of the crumbs and add garlic powder, chili powder....the kind with a bit of cumin in it.....the amount depending on how seasoned I like it. I also add a generous amount of dry parsley and salt. I also add parmesan but you say someone has dairy issues.
To get the breading to stick, dry your chicken pieces very well, dredge with flour, then into egg ( seasoned too!) and then into the crumbs.
If you do this in the morning, lay the breaded chicken on a rack in the refrig loosely covered with waxed paper.
Another option is to use something like BBQ sauce or mustard and mayo mixed together instead of egg.
BUT....the ultimate way to get your kids to love your home made chicken nuggets is to fry them in an inch or so of hot oil....Make your own Mac Nuggets! LOL!
Linda C

I am getting ready to try a recipe I recently found for my 2 year old grandson. He doesn't eat much meat - a little ham or bacon but that's about it.

I found a recipe for Chicken Burgers. It uses onion, galric and sage for spices. The chicken is supposed to be ground but I think you could leave it in chunks. It calls for 1/4 cup peeled and shredded apple added to the breadcrumbs and it does have Parmesan cheese as well, which you could leave out. Maybe use Panko breadcrumbs since they would be crispier than regular ones.

I made mini meatballs yesterday which also uses the apple mixed in with the ground beef, cheese, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, tomatoe paste and egg. I think the apple cuts the strong meat taste a little. I made them more like a burger than a meatball as they tended to fall apart while cooking.

Oh dear, I can't help but I'll e watching this. The Princess and Bruvver like homemade baked chicken nuggets dipped in milk and rolled in Dorito crumbs, I put the Doritos in the food processor.

Not healthy by any stretch and it uses pre-made stuff. they also like them rolled in potato chip crumbs, BBQ is a favorite, or cornflake crumbs because they are crunchy.

Like LindaC, I make my own bread crumbs, when the bread is getting a bit stale (which happens in a couple of days because I bake all my own bread), I toss it into the food processor and make crumbs. I either put them in a bag in the freezer or toast them in the oven for crunchines and they keep longer that way. I've used cheese bread crumbs and it was pretty good.

Annie

Oh, wow, a use for all our stale Doritos!

I'll have to see about making bread crumbs. That might make a difference. I've tried panko and whole wheat ones (only ones I've found to purchase without dairy in them) We don't eat much bread due to my love of bread and being type 1 diabetic so I always have it frozen in portion sizes so never end up having stale bread. I do bake all our bread to avoid dairy.

I've tried the chip part with chips that doesn't have dairy in them, but she wasn't too much for them.

I'll have to try the flour before egg thing and see if it helps, might help in keeping more spices in too if I add them to the flour.

I really have a little gourmet eater I think on my hands. Don't get me wrong she loves some of the regular stuff kids eat too, but if she has her choice it isn't the stuff on the normal kids menu. Of course the majority of it she can't have anyways due to the dairy protein allergy.

I'm not necessarily trying to mimic the children's type nuggets as it is nice to have something we can enjoy eating too.

We like the added crunch of the pecans in this recipe. You can play around with the spices, and almost anything "crunchy" will work for cornflake crumbs - potato chips, crushed pork rinds, etc... -Grainlady

NUTTY CHICKEN FINGERS
(source: Better Homes and Gardens)

1/3 c. cornflake crumbs
1/2 c. finely chopped pecans
1 T. dried parsley flakes
1/8 t. salt
1/8 to garlic powder
12-ounces boned skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1x3-inch strips (or use breast tenderloins)
2 T. skim milk

In a shallow dish combine cornflake crumbs, pecans, parsley, salt, and garlic powder. Dip chicken in milk, then roll in crumb mixture. Place in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 7 to 9 minutes or till chicken is tender and no longer pink. Makes 5 servings.

Nutrition: 217 calories, 23 g. protein, 7 g. carbohydrates, 10 g. fat, 59 mg cholesterol, 178 mg sodium, 245 mg potassium.

Sour cream is good for getting crumbs to stick. I'm not familiar with the non-dairy alternatives, though (mayo, maybe?)

I find that my own bread crumbs....browned, look a little more like fried than panko or unbrowned crumbs do. When making a casserole that doesn't contain cheese or butter or anything that browns easily....topping with brown bread crumbs fools your taste into thinking they are browned and buttery.

I made passover chicken strips for the grand kids......and the kids as well as the adults were all snarfing them down. I cut chicken breast into strips, dried and floured, dipped into beaten egg which had been salted and seasoned with pepper....then into matzoa meal which had been seasoned with granulated garlic, chili powder and parsley.....then deep fried. Seriously good stuff!

You might find recipes that fit your needs if you search for kosher recipies.

Could the chicken be marinated for a little more flavor, or would that mess up the texture? I haven't done it, but I've been thinking about it, just for a change from our usual coated fried chicken strips.

jessicavanderhoff-

Thanks for suggesting sour cream - that's one I'll have to test in the future ;-). Maybe even some leftover guacamole, now that you've got me thinking.... I have a favorite recipe I make with chicken breast tenderloins and dip the chicken into a mixture of mayo and mustard (any kind of mustard you like), then dip it into crushed potato chips (or other kind of chips) and bake. So yep, mayo will work ;-).

-Grainlady

CC, stale Doritos? What's that? The grandkids can finish off a bag without batting an eye. Good thing, none left for me!

Lyfia, You can also dip the chicken strips into Italian dressing for extra flavor.

OK, so if it doesn't have to be "traditional", how about coconut chicken strips? My girls loved these and I started making this with shrimp but quickly changed to chicken:

Awesome Coconut Chicken Strips

2 lb chicken breast halves, skinless and boneless (can
thaw in coconut milk)
1 1/3 c shredded coconut
16 saltine crackers
1/4 c white flour
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp each-garlic powder, fresh ground black pepper,
paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 c melted butter
3 eggs

cut chicken into strips at desired width and pat dry with paper towels

mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl wide enough for dipping strips, stir until ingredients are completely mixed.

put eggs in a separate flat dish and whisk with fork, put additional flour in flat bowl for dipping

dip chicken strips first in flour, then in egg and then in coconut mixture. Place chicken strips in a cake pan or cookie sheet which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Melt butter a drizzle a small amount over each strip

Place pan in a 350 degree oven and bake for about 30 minutes gently turning them after 15 minutes.

We liked the sweet chili sauce, just the bottled stuff, as a dipping sauce, or some habanero gold jelly heated in the microwave.

We also liked this chicken recipe, I'm sure it would work as well with strips as it does regular chicken pieces:

PECAN CHICKEN

4 chicken breast halves, skinned & boned
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1 c. finely chopped pecans

Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper, flatten to 1/4 inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Set aside. Combine honey and mustard. Spread on both sides of chicken and dredge chicken in chopped pecans. Arrange chicken in lightly greased shallow baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until tender.

Good luck, I'm still looking for a traditional one that the kids like that isn't fried.

Annie

Sounds interesting, Grainlady. Maybe guacamole and corn chip crumbs. I was going to mention that sour cream, chicken spice, and saltine crumbs is Kodiak the dog's favorite kind of chicken nugget, but I was afraid it might be untoward. (Seriously, though, he has very discerning tastes!)

This is Paula Deen's chicken nuggets

2 cups crushed sour cream and onion potato chips
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
6 chicken breast fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup butter, melted

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 25 mins
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2 Spread the crushed potato chips in a shallow dish. Beat together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken cubes into the egg mixture and then dredge them in the chips.
3 Place the chicken nuggets on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown

I have also used Town House crackers or Ritz crackers for breading. You can crush them as fine as you like.