These crispy oven baked chicken goujons are juicy, tender, succulent and healthy. Unlike most homemade chicken goujons these are also dairy & egg free! They can also be easily adapted to be gluten free too.
Great for a kids playdate tea or a weekend dinner for the whole family.
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Ask any child what their favourite food is and I can guarantee at least half of them will say chicken nuggets/goujons. To be fair I love them too ( can’t beat a kids dinner! )
Sadly, a lot of the shop bought ones are not particularly healthy. They can be filled with salt, sugar and sometimes ingredients you can’t even pronounce.
So, you decide to make your own. That way your kids can have their favourite dinner and you can sleep at night knowing you haven’t fed them a freezer dinner again. (No judging.. we all do it!!)
Except most of the homemade chicken goujon/nugget recipes all contain egg in the coating!
That’s where this recipe was born…. I tried to use dairy free milk and butter instead of egg in the breadcrumb coating, however neither stuck as well as the traditional method.
Step in my trusty Hellmans vegan mayo….. This recipe is so simple and easy you will make it time and time again.
Looking for something to serve with the crispy chicken goujons? Why not check out my dairy free coleslaw recipe, or baby hasselback potatoes with garlic & rosemary or salt & pepper chips.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts or chicken mini fillets
- Hovis best of both bread - this bread is rich in calcium so is great for getting more calcium into a dairy free diet. You can also use any other bread including gluten free bread
- Hellmans vegan mayo
- Garlic granules
- Vegetable oil
- Black pepper
See recipe card for quantities & please always double check all packaging for allergens.
How to make crispy oven baked chicken goujons
- Preheat oven to 180℃ / gas mark 4.
- Make the breadcrumbs. Use a food processor to blitz the bread into small breadcrumbs. Add in some garlic granules once blitzed to give a bit of extra flavour.
- Cut the chicken breast into long strips. You can also buy chicken breast mini fillet strips and they will be pre cut into goujons for you!
- Coat the chicken with the vegan mayo using a basting brush, ensuring you get a good layer all over.
- Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl, place the chicken strips in the bowl, one at a time, flipping over ensuring you fully coat both sides. Press the breadcrumbs into the chicken.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown, then transfer to the oven on a baking tray for 10-15 minutes until fully cooked.
Hint: Using a basting brush makes it a much less messy job! A meat thermometer is a great addition to any kitchen - no more under cooked or dried out chicken! I have this one and use it all the time.
Substitutions
- Gluten free - just swap the bread for a gluten free bread like this one. (please note this bread contains egg)
- Vegetarian - the chicken fillets can be replaced with a meat free version.
Variations
- Spicy - add chilli flakes or cajun seasoning to the breadcrumb mixture.
- Burgers - flatten a whole chicken breast by bashing with a rolling pin and coat the breast with the mixture. Increase cooking time to 25-30 minutes.
Storage
Once cooked, you can store the goujons in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
To re-heat put them in the oven at 180℃/gas mark 4 until they are piping hot, usually about 15 minutes. (Temperature on chicken must reach at least 70℃) Please bear in mind they will not be as crispy as the first time around!
FAQ's
Yes! They can be prepared ahead and stored in the fridge uncooked for 24 hours.
Of course!
I have fried the goujons for a few minutes first before transferring to the oven as this is what gives them their golden crispy appearance, however if you would prefer to just bake them in the oven, adjust the cooking time to 15-20 minutes.
They will still taste delicious! Try spraying them with some olive oil before placing in the oven and they will still crisp up slightly.
I find the mini fillet strips that you can buy pre cut are great and give you a really tender goujon. You can also cut a chicken breast into strips. I wouldn’t recommend using chicken thighs as they are harder to cut into uniform pieces.
The goujons are great served with homemade potato wedges and peas.
They also work really well with my dairy free coleslaw
More Dinner Ideas...
Kids Chicken Teriyaki Style Noodles
Dairy Free Chicken Potato Topped Pie
Hidden Vegetable Tomato Pasta Sauce
PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK ALL PACKAGING FOR ALLERGENS
If you love this recipe please rate and review and leave a message in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Crispy egg free chicken goujons
Ingredients
- 2 Medium Chicken breasts Approx 250g
- 4 Slices Hovis Best of Both bread or any alternative bread. Can use gluten free bread
- 3 tablespoon Hellmans VEGAN mayo
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Granules
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil or alternative oil
- Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180℃ / gas mark 4.
- Blitz the breadcrumbs in a food processor. Once blitzed add the garlic granules and black pepper to taste. Stir well.
- Cut each chicken breast into 2-3 long strips lengthways (dependant on size of breast).
- Coat the chicken strips with the vegan mayo using a basting brush.
- Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl and then put the chicken strips into the breadcrumbs, one at a time, turning over and coating well.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the chicken strips, frying for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown.
- Transfer the chicken to a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until fully cooked through.
Melissa Lamb
Thank you! I was making vegetarian “chicken” parmesan and stumbled across your recipe. This was the perfect crunch for our cutlets using vegan mayo!
Lauren Woodger
Im so glad you liked it! It's a good little trick isn't it! x