I never would have thought adding extra protein to chicken was necessary, but Tyson found a natural (and delicious) way to do it. That’s why these nuggets earned a Taste of Home Award.
I always keep popcorn chicken in the freezer. I’ll eat a plate of popcorn chicken after a workout instead of a protein shake or use it to make homemade copycat McDonald’s Snack Wraps. The last time I ran low on chicken and had a hankering for the nostalgic McDonald’s meal, I made my way to the grocery store and saw high-protein unbreaded chicken nuggets from Tyson next to my usual popcorn chicken in the freezer. I could feel my brow furrowing and thought to myself: Isn’t chicken already a high-protein food?
Reading the ingredients on the back of the bag, I expected to see something like protein powder in the list (and was ready to put the bag back!). But it turns out, the extra ingredient is cheese. That sounded much tastier.
I took the Tyson high-protein nuggets home with me, and they surprised me in the best way. The nuggets aren’t super cheesy, but you can taste a lot more than plain ol’ chicken in each bite. I knew these nuggets deserved a Taste of Home Award and a spot in my homemade Snack Wraps.
Cheese Is the Secret Ingredient in These Nuggets
Discovering that the new Tyson chicken nuggets get extra protein from cheese was exciting, but they had one more test to pass. Would they be more delicious than the crispy breaded chicken I usually buy? After all, I go the crispy route with chicken because without the breading, it’s often just a boring, under-seasoned cut of white meat.
After a quick stint in the air fryer, the nuggets proved me wrong. The Parmesan, mozzarella, garlic powder, pepper, salt and vinegar that are mixed in with the meat work together to give the nuggets way more flavor than your average unbreaded piece of chicken, creating salty, savory and definitively juicy bites. The taste of the Parm is more prominent than the mozzarella, which makes sense because of how high in protein Parmesan cheese is. There’s no coating: When you first pop the nugget into your mouth, it almost feels like a chicken meatball.
For almost the same amount of calories as a serving of my usual breaded chicken nuggets, these high-protein chicken nuggets have 12 more grams of protein. Twelve! That’s quite the upgrade if you’re trying to eat more high-protein foods. Plus, there’s absolutely no hint of “high-protein” flavor. (You know the one I’m talking about.) And as a bonus, the nuggets are still golden—even without breading.
You can microwave or bake the nuggets, but I like to use my air fryer because it makes them extra crispy. One tip? Air-fry them for a little bit longer than they say on the bag. I usually leave them in for 11 to 12 minutes.
This Is One of the Easiest High-Protein Swaps I’ve Made
The simplest way to eat these nuggets is heated up with a side of your favorite dipping sauce. But they’re also such an easy way to add extra protein to your usual meal plan with minimal effort. Use them as a simple swap in whatever meals with chicken nuggets you normally have on rotation.
I like to cut the chicken nuggets in half and add them to a bowl of lettuce with warm seasoned rice, Caesar dressing and crispy fried garlic slices for a decidedly golden, satisfying salad. They also work in place of chicken meatballs on a meatball sub, or rolled into a tortilla to make a buffalo chicken wrap. Cut the nuggets into smaller bites and they’re perfect as a topping on chicken Alfredo pizza or pesto pizza. I bet the nuggets would even work nicely tossed with pasta for a chicken Alfredo.
Where to Find Tyson’s High-Protein Chicken Nuggets
These chicken nuggets are easy to find. I’ve spotted them at most of my usual grocery stores, including Target, Publix, Kroger, Meijer, HyVee and Walmart.