Deviled Chicken Nuggets
Deviled chicken nuggets are crispy chicken nuggets topped with a spicy pickle chicken salad! The hot and crispy nuggets balance so well with the creamy chicken salad! The pickle flavor, extra dill, and heat from a habanero all work together to make these an awesome little snack or appetizer!
The inspiration for this recipe
I am on a mission to “devil” as many different foods as I can think of! I have done tater tots and pickles, and chicken nuggets were next on my list. You may think it needs eggs, but if a deviled egg is an egg salad inside an egg white, then a devild nugget can be a chicken salad on top of a chicken nugget!
Make the chicken salad
Leftover chicken, a few pickles, and a habanero to start. You could do this in a food processor but I just hit it with a knife.
Next add dill and chop it more! Since nuggets are small, you want the chicken pieces to be super small so it forms a nice ball on top of the nugget and look like a deviled egg.
Dress the chicken salad
Some mayo, pickle juice, hot sauce, and mustard. If you make it too wet, you can add some potato flakes to thicken it up a bit.
Form the deviled chicken nuggets
I like to pan fry my nuggets to get this crispy on the edges, but feel free to just toss them in the oven or cook to the package instructions. Once they are ready, top with the chicken salad, then garnish with pickle, dill, and hot sauce.
Serve the deviled chicken nuggets
Serve the deviled chicken nuggets immediately. If you wanted to make it ahead, just make the salad, but cook the nuggs when it is time so you can serve them with a hot nugget and a cool salad.
I loved how these came out and I ate wayyyy too many of them! Super cravable!
Twists on deviled chicken nuggets
I made this simple chicken salad but you could make any chicken salad you like, just make sure to chip everything small! Doing a version that pairs with your favorite nugget dip might be great, like a honey mustard or sweet chili or BBQ sauce version.
Deviled Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 pound cooked chicken
- 3 medium pickles plus more for garnish
- 1 habanero seeds removed
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice
- 2 dashes hot sauce plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- potato flake if needed (instant mash)
- 24 chicken nuggets
Instructions
- You want the chicken to be chopped very small, so you can use a food processor or do it by hand. Chop the chicken with the pickles, habanero, garlic, and dill.
- Add the chopped meat mixture to a bowl and mix in the mayo, pickle juice, hot sauce, and mustard. Stir to combine.
- If the mixture is too loose or wet, you can add a little potato flake to thicken it up. Add and mix, then let sit in the fridge for half hour and see how it looks. Repeat until desired thickness.
- Cook the nuggets according to the package instructions. Personally though, I like to pan fry them with some oil on medium heat to make sure they are crispy on both sides.
- Spread the nuggets on a platter and top each nugget with a scoop of the chicken salad.
- Top with a small pickle slice, some dill, and hot sauce. Serve.