We’re big fans of chicken nuggets here at Freezer Meal Frenzy. In fact, even our vegetarian staffers have a fondness for the things (though they prefer faux meat versions). So we were pretty thrilled to be checking out the Trader Joe’s Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets today.
These are easy enough to cook — we simply preheated the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit, then stuck some nuggets on a baking sheet and popped them in for about 20 minutes. We flipped them about halfway through. (For the full cooking instructions, check out our package scans at the bottom of this frozen food review.)
Now, we have a few observations about these. First off, they come out a bit greasier than we expected. Second, these are not your dinky McDonald’s-style nuggets — these are some pretty decent-sized chunks of chicken breast.
The grease factor really isn’t much of a problem. It’s just the bottom part of each nugget that gets greasy while cooking, and you can always place these on a plate that has a paper towel on it to soak up the grease. Don’t let the grease be a turnoff, because these nuggets are otherwise excellent.
The chicken is breast meat, which isn’t as flavorful as a darker meat would be, yet it’s a traditional nugget filler because it has that lighter, spongier texture. This stuff is juicy and tender, so it’s perfect for nuggets.
It’s the breading, though, that really makes these shine. Even with the slight greasiness that we mentioned earlier, these end up being pretty crispy on the outside. The flavor is subtle, but there’s a touch of garlic and onion powder to liven things up, which goes a long way in enhancing the flavor.
We decided to pair these with some BBQ sauce, and we found the perfect thing at our local Trader Joe’s: the Organic Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce. This combo is incredible — it’s almost like these were made for each other!
The bag claims it contains four servings of nuggets. While we think this is a bit of an exaggeration, we do agree that there is more than a single serving in a bag. As a side, we can see this being three servings, and as a small meal, two. It’s feasible that a person will end up eating a full batch of these in a sitting, but we can’t recommend it — that’s just too much food!
If you stick with Trader Joe’s recommended dose, you’ll be consuming 200 calories (50 from fat) and 450 mg of sodium. That’s not bad, but keep in mind you’ll be consuming much more than this if you eat more than a quarter of a bag. Plus, you have to factor in whatever sauce you use.
The Trader Joe’s Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets are some of the better frozen nuggets on the market. We recommend that nugget-lovers of all stripes (except the vegetarian ones) should give these a try.
To learn more about the nutrition content, cooking instructions, or ingredients for these Trader Joe’s chicken nuggets, check out our package scan below.
