When can babies eat chicken nuggets?

From around 6 months, once your baby is ready for solids, served in a safe shape and texture for their age.

Chicken nuggets

Soft, homemade and baked, nuggets can be one of your baby's first finger foods.

Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review

Quick answer

Babies can eat chicken nuggets from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedAllergens: Wheat, Egg

How to serve chicken nuggets by age

6 months+

Soft baked chicken strips

Make them at home: cut boneless, skinless chicken thighs into strips, or shape ground chicken into soft fingers, coat them lightly in fine, plain breadcrumbs and bake until the center reaches 165°F (74°C). Use beaten egg to stick the crumbs only once egg has been introduced on its own, or brush them with a little oil instead. Offer them once your baby has had wheat on its own.

Size: Strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Squash a strip between your thumb and finger. It should fall apart into soft shreds. Trim off any hard or crisp coating.

US and UK advice differ here. The AAP suggests mashed food or soft pieces no larger than ½ inch; the NHS suggests soft finger-sized pieces your baby can hold in their fist. Both agree the food must squash easily.

Always have your child sit upright in a high chair or at the table, and stay with them the whole time they eat. Keep to the size and texture for their stage. Every baby develops on their own timeline.

How to prepare chicken nuggets

1
Don't rinse raw chicken: washing spreads bacteria around your kitchen. Wash your hands, board and knife after handling it, and keep it away from foods that won't be cooked.
2
Cut boneless, skinless thighs into finger-length strips, or mix ground chicken with a little mashed potato and shape soft fingers. Dip them in beaten egg (or brush with oil), then roll them in fine, plain breadcrumbs. Check the breadcrumb label for honey, which isn't safe before 12 months. Don't add salt.
3
Bake on a lightly oiled tray at 200°C (400°F) for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until the center of the thickest piece reaches 165°F (74°C) on a food thermometer. Our chicken and sweet potato bites recipe is a soft version with no coating.
4
Let them cool, trim any hard or crisp edges, and do the squash test.
5
Offer nuggets only once your baby has had wheat, and egg if you used it, each on its own. First time? Pick a day your baby is well, at home, when you can watch them for a couple of hours afterward.

How much to offer

Start with a strip or two. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of sucking and chewing with little swallowed is normal at first.

Common mistakes

Treating frozen nuggets as already cooked

Some frozen breaded chicken looks browned and cooked but is raw inside. Read the label, cook it exactly as the package says, and check the center reaches 165°F (74°C) with a food thermometer. Color is not a reliable sign.

Sharing frozen or fast-food nuggets with a baby

Frozen chicken nuggets have about 538 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.3 g of salt), and fast-food breaded chicken pieces about 594 mg (about 1.5 g of salt). The NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day and lists takeaways among salty foods to avoid. Make your baby's nuggets at home.

Leaving a hard, crisp coating on

Hard, crunchy pieces are difficult for babies to chew. Bake homemade nuggets until just golden, and trim or peel very crisp coating off for young babies.

Adding ketchup or salty dips

The NHS lists ketchup among sauces that can be high in salt, and babies shouldn't have added salt. The CDC says foods with added sugars aren't recommended for young children, and the NHS says to avoid sugar up to age 4. Leave dips off your child's portion, or offer plain yogurt once dairy has been introduced.

Where US and UK guidance differ on chicken nuggets

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

USDA FSIS says to cook all poultry, including ground chicken, to 165°F (74°C), measured with a food thermometer. It warns that frozen products with browned breading may look cooked when they aren't, and the CDC says to follow the label's cooking instructions exactly for raw frozen breaded stuffed chicken products.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS doesn't give temperatures. It says to cook chicken all the way through, until the juices run clear and there's no pink meat left, and to follow the cooking instructions on the packaging.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

Questions parents ask

Can chicken nuggets be a choking hazard for babies?

Chicken nuggets are a medium choking risk. The CDC lists tough or large chunks of meat as a choking hazard, and a hard, crisp coating is harder to chew. Make soft homemade strips that fall apart, trim crisp edges, and cut nuggets into strips or small pieces rather than serving them whole. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to chicken nuggets?

Chicken is not one of the common food allergens, but the coating usually is. Breadcrumbs contain wheat (with gluten), and many recipes use egg to stick the crumbs on. Shop-bought nuggets can contain other allergens too, so check the label. Introduce each allergen on its own first, one at a time and in small amounts. Chicken is a known trigger of FPIES, a rare, delayed type of food allergy: see when to call the doctor.

Are chicken nuggets healthy for babies?

Frozen chicken nuggets have about 14 g of protein, 1.4 mg of iron and 538 mg of sodium (about 1.3 g of salt) per 100 g. Fast-food breaded chicken pieces have about 594 mg of sodium (about 1.5 g of salt) per 100 g. Making nuggets at home from plain chicken lets you leave out the salt.

Can babies eat chicken nuggets?

Yes, homemade ones from around 6 months, once your baby has had wheat on its own (and egg, if you use it). Bake soft strips of chicken in a light coating, cook them to 165°F (74°C), skip the salt, and trim any crisp edges.

Are frozen or fast-food nuggets OK for toddlers?

Now and then, cut into small pieces. Frozen nuggets have about 1.3 g of salt per 100 g, and the NHS says children aged 1 to 3 should have no more than 2 g of salt a day. Check the label to see whether frozen nuggets are raw or fully cooked, and follow the package directions until they're steaming hot all the way through.

Can I cook frozen nuggets in an air fryer?

Only if the package lists it, and check the center reaches 165°F (74°C) with a food thermometer. USDA FSIS says frozen foods with browned breading can look cooked when they aren't. For raw frozen breaded stuffed chicken products, such as chicken cordon bleu, the CDC says to follow the cooking instructions exactly and not to use a microwave, air fryer or other method the label doesn't list. Homemade nuggets can go in an air fryer as long as they reach 165°F (74°C).

If your baby refuses chicken nuggets

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try another form: soft strips, small pieces, or a soft patty with no coating.
Moisten dry chicken with a little breast milk, formula or no-salt-added tomato sauce.
Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing chicken nuggets

Keep raw chicken in a sealed container on the bottom shelf of the fridge, and cook or freeze it within 1 to 2 days. Keep frozen nuggets frozen until you cook them.
Cooked nuggets keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
Homemade nuggets can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving.
Throw away any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F / 32°C).

When to talk to your doctor

Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if:

Your baby has had any reaction to wheat or egg, even a mild one. Stop offering breaded nuggets until you've talked to your pediatrician.
Your baby vomits a few hours after eating chicken. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that chicken can trigger. If they vomited once or twice and seem alert and like themselves, call your pediatrician or GP. If they vomit again and again, or are pale, floppy, very sleepy or hard to wake, call your emergency number.
Your child has diarrhea, vomiting or a fever after eating nuggets that may have been undercooked. Take them to the doctor straight away if there's blood in their diarrhea, a high fever that lasts, they won't take fluids, or they can't keep anything down. If they are floppy or hard to wake, call your emergency number.
You notice mild signs of an allergic reaction after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.
You're worried about how much your baby eats, their growth, or they refuse most solid food for weeks.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Offered chicken nuggets?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Recipes with chicken nuggets

Chicken & sweet potato bites

From 6 months · 50 min

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