Simple & Quick Baked Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients

• 3 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, trimmed up and cut into similar-sized chunks
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Makes about 4 dozen nuggets.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a large, rimmed sheet pan. Lightly coat the parchment with some non-stick spray. Set aside.
3. Combine together the regular breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs and Italian seasoning. (I do this in a sandwich-size plastic baggie.)
4. Place the chunks of chicken in a medium mixing bowl. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Stir or toss to coat evenly. Drizzle on the olive oil and stir to coat. Sprinkle on a third of the breadcrumb mixture and stir to distribute. Sprinkle on another third of the breadcrumb mixture, then stir to distribute. Finish with the remaining breadcrumbs. Stir or toss to ensure that each piece of chicken is evenly coated.
5. Place the chicken pieces in an even layer on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Gently mist the tops with additional cooking spray.
6. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, then flip over chicken nuggets. Continue baking an additional 4 - 5 minutes or until nuggets are browned and crisp.
7. NOTE: If you don't have breadcrumbs on hand, you can crush up some croutons or crackers. Also, all regular breadcrumbs can be used instead of using a combination of regular ones and panko ones. The panko just adds an extra "crunch" factor to the nuggets.