These pretzel-coated chicken nuggets are so easy to make and the perfect finger food to add to a meat board!

oven-baked pretzel-coated chicken nuggets

I always assumed crumbs were crumbs. It made no difference which ones you used on chicken — the end result would be the same. Was I wrong! Coating with pretzel crumbs really does alter the flavor of these chicken nuggets. It’s no longer simply schnitzel; it’s something a lot more special.

I don’t love store-bought pretzel crumbs for pretzel-coated chicken nuggets. I find them to be too salty and too uniform. I like to make my own instead using my food processor. The flavor is better with real pretzels and you get a perfect mixture of fine and coarse crumbs. (I also think it’s cheaper to buy your own bag and crush it yourself.) However, if you’d like, you can certainly use store-bought crumbs for this recipe. If I do use store-bought crumbs, I like to get the finely ground ones. The coarse crumbs are too big in my opinion and the pieces tend to fall off the chicken.

Using pretzel crumbs gives this dish that delicious savory, salty pretzel flavor. However… even though I just gave you all my reasons for loving pretzel crumbs, you can definitely use any other type of crumb you want — panko crumbs, bread crumbs, gluten-free crumbs etc.

I love to add these pretzel-coated chicken nuggets to a meat board. They are a great finger food, the kids love them, and they present beautifully.

I cut my cutlets into cubes myself, but you can also buy chicken already cut up from the butcher. And it doesn’t have to be nuggets. You can use any shape, like long, thin fingers or bigger cutlet pieces. It’s one of those super easy and forgiving recipes.

When breading the nuggets you don’t have to dip each piece individually; you can coat them using my one-bowl schnitzel method, for a fast and easy alternative.

I bake these on a real metal cookie sheet. Yes, it makes a difference. I’ve tried it both ways and you get a much crispier coating when using a real metal pan.

The pretzel nuggets can be baked one to two days in advance or they can be frozen raw already prepped. Just defrost and bake when ready to serve. You can also freeze them after baking, though you should be aware that they might end up a bit dry once they are defrosted and reheated.

Pretzel-Coated Chicken Nuggets

These pretzel-coated chicken nuggets are so easy to make and the perfect finger food to add to your Purim seudah or meat board!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1½-2 lbs. chicken cutlets, cut into nuggets
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp mustard (any type)
1 bag pretzels, crushed in a food processor
Oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread some oil on it.
In a small bowl, mix together eggs and mustard. Place crushed pretzels on a plate.
Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture and then into the pretzel crumbs. Place on prepared cookie sheet in a single layer.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until chicken pieces are cooked through.
Serve alongside dipping sauces of your choice.