Chicken nuggets are a staple in our house but sometimes I wonder what to serve with chicken nuggets to vary things up in the kitchen.
In this guide we round up all our our favorite things to eat with chicken nuggets from carbohydrates, vegetables and of course the best condiments to serve with chicken nuggets.
As I mentioned above, chicken nuggets are an incredibly versatile freeze staple for families. As such you almost have endless options of how to serve them But if you want to put together the perfect meal containing chicken nuggets we like to include at least one vegetable, one source of carbohydrates and of course no chicken nugget meal is complete without a tasty chicken nugget dipping sauce.
To make it easier when you are putting together your chicken nugget meal we have split our suggestions into these categories.
Note: If you want some information for best ways to cook homemade or frozen chicken nuggets in an air fryer, in an oven and more check out our related guides.
And if you want to know what to serve with other chicken based freezer friendly products we have guides on chicken goujons, chicken tenders and chicken dinosaur nuggets to give you some more specific dinner inspiration.
Best Things to Serve With Chicken Nuggets – Carbohydrates
Although chicken nuggets are coated in batter you will still want a carb served with them to create a great balanced meal. Here are our favorite sources of carbohydrates to serve with nuggets.
French Fries
Ok so I am starting with an obviously one but really are there two things that go together better than chicken nuggets and French fries?
Homemade chicken nuggets and French fries certainly always feels like a treat but done at home are a healthier option than those bought at a takeout restaurant.
And as a meal they are so easy to put together. Simply throw everything onto a baking sheet and pop it in the over and voila! Or alternative you could air fry your chicken nuggets and fries.
And if you don’t fancy French fries you could mix things up and go with a thicker cut chip as they say in the UK. The only downside to thicker cut chips is they will take a bit longer to cook to get them both crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Potato Waffles
Potato Waffles are another great alternative to serving fries with frozen chicken nuggets. Effectively just a few large chips put together waffles are always a hit in my house.
For more information on how to cook frozen potato waffles in the air fryer check out this post.
Smiley Faces and Alphabet Letters
I know smiley faces and alphabet letters are just fried potato in a different shape but for some reason a different shape, makes my kids go crazy.
Just a heads up if your kids are anything like mine they will start to let their food go cold as their try and spell their name and other words with the letters they have.
Tater Tots
Another family favorite, Tater tots are great as a side for chicken nuggets. Either straight out of the freezer or served as a Tater tot casserole.
Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet Potato are super versatile and are a great alternative to regular French fries.
If you kids prefer a sweet potato casserole or mashed sweet potato this would work great too.
Mash
If you want a potato but not fried, then mash is a great healthy alternative.
Spaghetti
Hear me out with this one. I know spaghetti doesn’t spring to mind when you first think about chicken nuggets but let me say three words to you – Chicken Nugget Milanese!
This Italian American classic is usually served with one big escalope but why not serve it with chicken nuggets instead as a more family friendly version. You can read our recipe for chicken nugget Milanese here!
Rice
As with spaghetti, rice may not be the first thing you think of when serving nuggets but actually nuggets are a great Chinese and Japanese food hack.
Just think about all the fried chicken recipes you have in these takeaway cuisines such as orange chicken, lemon chicken and Katsu chicken.
Substitute an escalope for a nugget and serve with rice and sauce and you are on to a family friendly winner.
Biscuits
Biscuits are a Southern Classic and I personally love to full a biscuit with a nugget and some chilli jam and cheese and serve this as a classic biscuit sandwich.
However if biscuits aren’t your thing then you could serve the sandwich with any type of bread such as sliced loaf, buns or baguette whatever is your preference.
Best vegetables to eat with chicken nuggets
Corn
Corn is a BBQ classic and is a great accompaniment to chicken nuggets. Frozen, fresh, kernels or on the cob it really doesn’t matter, corn is just a great thing to serve with chicken nuggets.
Baked Beans
Baked Beans are my children’s favorite thing to serve with chicken nuggets. They love a regular variety but as adults we like to serve our nuggets with a BBQ Baked Bean.
Peas
Peas are a classic side dish for chicken nuggets or any children’s meal to be honest. We usually use frozen peas but any type of peas frozen, fresh, canned or mushy are perfect.
Veggie Fries
Veggie Fries are a great way of getting vegetables into your kids in a more pleasing way that just on the side of the plate.
Depending on your family preferences you could serve a mix of vegetables or just one type. Zucchini Fries, are a favorite in our household with some delicious tempura batter but any veggie fries will work.
California Mix
If you are short on time but want to get a variety of vegetables into your kids then California Mix has to be the answer.
Want to know how to make California Mix more exciting then check out our California mix recipes here.
Broccoli
Another family friendly staple, fresh or frozen broccoli is a great accompaniment to chicken nuggets.
Coleslaw
Coleslaw, is a great way of getting vegetables into your littles. We love to make our own homemade coleslaw with shredded onions, cabbages, carrots mixed with yoghurt and mustard and mayo however there are some great store bought coleslaws on the market too.
Fruit Cup
If you have a veggie hater in your family why not serve the chicken nuggets with a fruit cup instead. We usually serve a mix of strawberries, blueberries, grape and apples in our fruit cup but I would say go with whatever your little ones love.
Apple Sauce
Another great way to get another one of your child’s five a day into this quick meal. My kids love apple sauce and will eat it with everything chicken nuggets included!
Salad
Salad is the perfect summer accompaniment for chicken nuggets. We like to make our salads as bright and colourful as possible.
Best condiments to serve with chicken nuggets
Ok, we can’t talk about the best things to serve with chicken nuggets without mentioning condiments. I mean condiments are categorically the best thing about having nuggets for dinner right?!
Tomato Ketchup
Tomato Ketchup is perhaps the most classic condiment to serve with chicken nuggets.
Mayonnaise
Perhaps ketchups biggest rival. My kids love to mix ketchup and mayo together to create the ULTIMATE nugget sauce.
Sweet Honey Mustard
I really like to have sweet honey mustard as a dipping sauce when I am serving chicken nuggets with a salad.
BBQ Sauce
Sweet or smokey, Texas Style or Carolina style – you really can’t go wrong with a BBQ sauce on nuggets especially for summertime.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
This is my husband’s go to sauce when he orders McChicken Nuggets from MacDonalds.
Gravy
Maybe not a traditional choice to serve with nuggets but I like to serve a gravy when serving chicken nuggets with mash potato in my house.
Katsu Sauce
Chicken nuggets with rice and Katsu dipping sauce is a great family dinner that does something different with nuggets.
Extra suggestions for recipes using Chicken Nuggets
So there you have all the things that we regularly serve with chicken nuggets. However if you want some recipe inspiration using chicken nuggets to mix up a midweek routine then do check out our quick and easy frozen chicken nugget recipes.
- Chicken Nugget Katsu
- Chicken Nugget Milanese
And if you want some unusual and classic side inspiration for other family friendly freezer staples then check out these guides:
- What to serve with fish fingers
What is your favorite thing to serve with chicken nuggets? Let us know in the comments below.