Transform Frozen Chicken Nuggets Into A Takeout Dish Right From Home

Chicken nuggets are an easy weeknight dinner for the kids or a late-night snack for college students, usually reserved for meals that require very little effort or imagination. We pop them out of the oven and into our mouths with a side of ketchup and call it a day. But, if we take advantage of the time it takes to bake or air fry them to make a tasty stir-fry sauce, we can transform frozen chicken nuggets into a takeout dish right from home.

Chicken nuggets offer a thick crunchy breading that'll soak up any flavorful sauce you toss them in. Considering the wealth of famous sauce-coated wings and Chinese takeout favorites, you've got plenty of inspiration for your next batch of chicken nuggets. You can make your sauce as simple or complex as you like, using a blend of store-bought condiments, seasonings, and fresh aromatics to give it a scratch-made taste. Chinese takeout staples, like this homemade recipe for General Tso's chicken, are defined by their sauces, which take less than 10 minutes to make. Simply stir-fry diced aromatics like scallions, ginger, and garlic in oil before adding honey, rice vinegar, and soy sauce, finishing with a cornstarch slurry for that characteristic thickness.

You could dress up store-bought sauces and pastes like miso, hoisin, gochujang, and teriyaki with fresh garlic, ginger, and scallions before pouring over sizzling oil and blending. Even a three-ingredient blend of chili oil, honey, and soy sauce would create a vibrant, sweet-and-spicy coating for your homemade takeout dish.

Chinese American takeout sauces are just one possibility in a world of different chicken dishes. Our recipe for a satay-style peanut sauce has a blend of peanut butter, honey, soy, sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes that would be a great coating. You could also draw inspiration from your favorite chicken wing flavor, whether it's store-bought Buffalo sauce, or a quick blend of garlic, parmesan, butter, and cracked pepper. You could create a thick Mexican-inspired nugget sauce by blending chipotles in adobo with honey and lime juice, or mix store-bought mole with a little broth before pouring it over the chicken nuggets.

Tossing chicken nuggets in sauce will elevate their flavors and bring them into more of a main dish category that you can round out with sides and garnishes for a complete and delicious meal. If you're using an Asian stir-fry sauce, you can serve the saucy chicken over a bed of jasmine rice, garnishing it with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and scallions. You can also make an extra large batch of sauce to coat your freshly baked chicken nuggets along with a package of frozen mixed vegetables in a wok for a proper stir-fry.

Buffalo sauce-coated chicken nuggets would taste delicious over a bed of lettuce, shredded carrots, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes tossed with blue cheese or ranch dressing. You could chop up chicken nuggets covered in barbeque sauce for a decadent loaded baked potato topping. Make tacos out of chipotle lime chicken nuggets. The possibilities are endless!