Toddler Chicken Bites
Chicken nuggets are the quintessential food staple for families these days. Walk down your grocer’s freezer aisle and you will see a variety of frozen options from popcorn, to nuggets, to strips. Do you ever wonder what is really in those chicken products? If it is even real chicken? I sure did, and I was set on finding a suitable alternative that my family would actually eat like they did the other (yes there was a time that I fed them the OTHER). After scouring the internet and my cookbooks, I put together this recipe hoping my family would give it a try. Give it a try they did -and now I can’t keep the freezer stocked with these yummy little bites.
Chicken Bites
Lisa @ Onceamonthmom.com
Ingredients:
- 2 whole chicken breasts, boneless skinless, cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 sleeve Ritz Crackers, crushed
- .25 cups Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1 cup ranch dressing
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Soak chicken in ranch dressing for 30 minutes. In a shallow baking dish, combine Ritz cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese and paprika. One at a time, dip chicken chunks into crumb mixture, pressing down to ensure entire surface of chicken is coated. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Repeat until all chicken breast cubes are coated. Bake 15 minutes or until chicken in cooked through. Cool slightly before serving.
Freezing Directions:
Follow directions above. Cool chicken bites completely. Transfer to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flash freeze. Divide among indicated number of gallon freezer bags. TO SERVE: Do not thaw. Microwave desired number of chicken bites until heated through – apx 90 seconds.
Servings: 4
**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann
This Post will be linked at:
- Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
- Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
- Tuesdays at the Table with All the Small Stuff
- Delicious Dishes at It’s a Blog Party
- Tip My Tuesday at Tip Junkie
My family and I have made something like this before and my 5 yo loves them!
I’ve even made these into taco chicken bites by swapping out the ranch dressing for equal amounts yogurt mixed with a packet of taco seasoning!
Fabulous recipe!
We make these for our kids all the time. I omit the ranch and soak in puree veggies (like carrots, peas or broccoli) for my picky eaters. We also take leftovers – when we have them- and make chicken Alfredo the next day with them.
Can anyone tell me how long this will last in the freezer?
This post will help you: http://onceamonthmom.com/get-started-how-long-do-meals-last/
Great recipe! Rookie question but what does “flash freeze” mean? Thx!
Kelly –
Great Question – check out this link http://onceamonthmom.com/flash-freezing/
Thank you! The recipe came out great!
Just a note: Ritz crackers have TBHQ in them, which we avoid as it is petroleum based… I found a great alternative at Trader Joe’s for anyone who may want to use something different!
Jen, thanks for the heads up on the Ritz crackers. Which alternative have you found? My son loves his Ritz crackers. I would still love to try this recipe with another brand.
Kim – I have made my own bread crumbs and substitute them in a pinch when I haven’t Ritz on hand. Club crackers are a good sub as well – really anything that you can blend up to the same consistency/texture will work! Gold fish crackers would be a good and tasty alternative as well! Good Luck!
I assume when we reheat we can also pop them in the oven or convection oven correct? Thanks!
Yes, you can.
Made these for my boys today. It was a big hit! Thanks!
What could be used instead of ritz crackers? We don’t always have those on hand since their my sons favorite, they don’t last very long in our house. But I have A TON of cornflakes (from couponing) that I’m trying to find use for. Would those work?
Tiffany – I don’t always have Ritz to use either! I think the cornflakes would be fine if you crush them finely. I have also used bread crumbs or club crackers if I am in a pinch!