I don’t know about you, but I get so tired of my kids eating all this processed and packaged food that is so readily available today! It really bothers me! What my children put into their bodies is so important to me and I have strived to always teach my kiddos how to eat the right way...balanced! My friend, Lindsay, was telling me about this recipe she makes for her son called "Turkey Tots". I was like...what is that?? She said that she switched her son's store bought "chicken nuggets" to these turkey tots that she makes. I was all over this recipe, so like a good friend she shared it with me. I made this last night for my kids and they loved them...I mean LOVED them. I asked them, ok seriously...which nuggets do you like better, the ones mommy just made or the store bought. They said, "Hands down mommy...yours! SCORE!
The thing that I love about this recipe is that it makes A LOT...so I can easily freeze these and re-heat in the oven at a later time. These can also be made Gluten Free, which of course that's how I made ours due to my daughter’s gluten sensitivity and mine. These little tots are FULL of protein, so guess what? Yep - they make a perfect snack for me! If you know anything about me so far, you know I'm all over food that is Gluten Free and high in protein. So this recipe is a win win for all of us! Thanks Lindsay Pineda for sharing this recipe with me! It's definitely worth repeating and my kids loved these little Turkey Tots!
These pair nicely with ketchup and your kids will really enjoy this one!
Nugget Ingredients
- 1 – 3 pound package of Jennie-O Lean Ground Turkey (I use the 93/7)
- 3 Tablespoons ketchup
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tablespoons Gluten Free (or regular) panko bread crumbs (plain)
- Spices – any you want (I used: ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano and onion powder)
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Coating Ingredients
- 8oz Gluten Free panko bread crumbs (or regular panko if you are not Gluten Free)
- Spices –any you want (I used: ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano and onion powder)
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover two larger baking sheets with foil and lightly rub them down with extra virgin olive oil to avoid sticking.
Prepare the coating ingredients so they are ready when the meat is mixed. Spread most of the 8oz package of breadcrumbs on a large dinner plate. Mix in your spices and salt/pepper with your hands. Set aside until you are ready to coat the nuggets.
Put the turkey meat into a large bowl. Crack the two eggs, put in the ketchup, breadcrumbs and spices. It is important that you DO NOT mix everything until it’s all added into the bowl. You don’t want to over mix this; it will make them less tender.
I create “stations” when I’m doing this to help me be more efficient and less messy. I have the meat mixture in the bowl and then next to that, the plate with the bread crumb coating followed by the baking sheets.
Make about a 1 ½ inch ball of turkey meat and then flatten it a bit to look more like a “nugget” that you’ve typically seen. Put it into the coating mix; tap it a bit so the bread crumbs stick and then flip it over to the same to the other side. I then make sure the sides are covered by rolling the sides in the breadcrumbs. Then put it onto the baking sheet. I usually can get about 5-6 meat nuggets onto the plate before coating them so I am doing multiple ones at a time. They can be packed close together on the pans as well; they don’t spread out when cooking.
Put both pans in the oven. Set the timer for 10 mins. Once that 10 mins is up, use tongs to flip each nugget on the pan and then swap the pans on the racks for more even cooking. Set the timer for another 10 mins. After this, I usually cut into one or two to make sure they are done and if needed, another 2 to 5 mins cooking time. Take them out to cool on the pan for about 5 mins before eating.
Freeze any leftovers in a gallon size Ziploc bag.
- Recipe source: inspired by Milk Free Mom
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