Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets

I love chicken nuggets! The little kid in me comes out. Really who doesn’t love a little piece of chicken you can dip? The other night I was really craving some, but I didn’t want extra carbs at night from the breading so I was looking for alternatives.

I peeked in my fridge and staring back at me was a huge head of cauliflower. I roast cauliflower all the time in the oven, could I possibly use this? I gave it a shot and it worked!

These nuggets are “breaded” in finely chopped cauliflower bits. I of course used a food processor to make little crumbs, along with some spices to make it like a true breading. So easy, delicious, and low carb!

For this recipe you will need:

  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed into nugget form
  • 1/2 head of cauliflower
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of onion powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of italian seasoning

Dipping sauce:

  • 2 Tablespoons of plain nonfat greek yogurt
  • 1 Tablespoon of organic ketchup or Simply Heinz
  • 1 teaspoon of honey

(Makes 20-22 nuggets, 2-3 servings)

Start by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut your large head of cauliflower in half and break down into smaller size florets. They don’t have to be very small, the food processor will do the work for you. Place in a food processor with the spices and give it a whirl! Mix until finely chopped and you have cauliflower bits.

Spices and cauliflower
Spices and cauliflower
Cauliflower bits
Cauliflower bits

Slice your chicken breasts into cubes and lightly spray with extra virgin olive oil

Pile O Chicken!
Pile O Chicken!

Take each piece of chicken breast and dip into the cauliflower mixture. You almost have to mold the cauliflower to the chicken. It will press on nicely. Continue until all nuggets have been coated.

Roll it around, pat it on there. It'll stick, trust me!
Roll it around, pat it on there. It’ll stick, trust me!
"breaded" nugget
“breaded” nugget

Line a pan with tinfoil and give it a quick spray. Place nuggets on the tray and cook for 40 minutes or until the cauliflower has browned.

Nugget tray
Nugget tray

In the meantime mix together the dipping sauce. The ingredients sound weird, but it’s quite delicious! Ketchup, greek yogurt, and honey! Little sweetness and tang 🙂

I use simply Heinz. It's all natural ingredient ketchup. Nothing added. I just found it the other day. Must be new!
I use Simply Heinz. It’s all natural ingredient ketchup. Nothing added. I just found it the other day. Must be new!

And in 40 minutes you have low carb nuggets!

They look good don't they!?
They look good don’t they!?

This makes 2 servings. Each serving has: 260 calories, 2.2 grams of fat, 4.2 grams of carbs, and 54 grams of protein! If you eat less nuggets than I do (I like a lot… no surprise here), and divide this into 3 servings, you would be around 173 calories, 1.46 grams of fat, 2.8 grams of carbs, and 36 grams of protein.

The dipping sauce has: 48 calories, 0 grams of fat, 7.3 grams of carbs, and 3.1 grams of protein.

Trying something new! Low carb nuggets
Trying something new! Low carb nuggets

Compare these to fast food nuggets which have up to 500 calories a serving, and 29 grams of fat!

So make these cauliflower nuggets instead. Your waist will thank you later 😉

Little nugget!
Little nugget!

Happy eating…

XOXO With a Cherry On Top,

-Minnie

You Might Also Like

6 Comments

  1. Chris

    I found your recipe via Facebook when FitGirls NW shared Fit Kick’s photo. Thank you for posting this! I’m going to try it soon. I appreciate your effort. 🙂

    1. Katie

      Thanks! I just saw on Facebook a couple pages shared it! Thanks for letting me know! Found some awesome readers and awesome people 🙂

  2. Tricia

    Makes me wish I still ate meat!

    1. Katie

      You can do it with tofu! I was a vegetarian for a year. I used to make tofu nuggets all the time 🙂

  3. A Day of Sharing | Skinny Minnie Moves

    […] off by thanking those that have shared my blog with others! Yesterday a couple people shared my cauliflower chicken nugget recipe on Facebook, and my Instagram followers pull in a great deal of readers too (who also share […]

Leave a Reply