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    Home » Recipes » 30 Minutes or Less

    Tajín-Seasoned Chicken Nuggets with Avocado and Jalapeño Lime Ranch

    Published: Sep 25, 2021 · Modified: Mar 24, 2023 by Mollie · 1 Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Introducing Dressed-Up Frozen Chicken Nuggets, a Series.

    Michael loves the NFL. Like really really loves the NFL. I was basically forced to promise that we'd never miss a Washington Football Team game in my marriage vows--I'm not sure he would've married me if I'd disagreed.

    Michael views football snacks as the holy grail of culinary delicacies. When we first got married I had a lot of fun with football snacks, but honestly, I'm not a big football fan and I'd rather spend my Sunday unwinding than watching grown men roll around on the ground while I plan new ways to make nachos exciting. Enter: frozen chicken nuggets.

    A couple of months ago, we became obsessed with these lightly breaded chicken nuggets from Costco. When I'm feeling lazy I throw a few in the air fryer and serve them up with a salad or whatever else we have lying around. I've had some fun tossing them in different sauces and seasonings, so Michael proposed that we come up with a different way to serve them every Sunday, based on the team that Washington is playing. So, I present to you: Dressed-Up Frozen Chicken Nuggets, a Series.

    This is a picture of a bag of frozen chicken.

    Each week I'll post a new way to serve these chicken nuggets, inspired by popular food in the geographical region that Washington's opposing team is from. In the process, hopefully we'll create some easy ways to transform frozen chicken. Win-win (except for Washington. They'll probably lose. Sorry, Michael).

    Part 1: Washington Football Team v. Los Angeles Chargers

    This is a picture of Chicken Nuggets with Avocado and Jalapeño Lime Ranch

    First up--the Los Angeles Chargers. Californians like avocados and Mexican food, right? These L.A. inspired chicken nuggets are seasoned with Tajín and cayenne and served with an avocado, jalapeño, lime, and cilantro ranch. For a 15-minute football snack, they're pretty dang good.

    That being said, just because we're serving these as a football snack doesn't mean you have to. They're perfect for a quick meal too--especially if you have kids and you're looking for something a bit more elevated than plain chicken nuggets.

    What you'll need.

    • Chicken nuggets. We use these from Costco. I like them because they're lightly breaded and not too heavy. Feel free to use your favorite chicken nuggets (or make your own!). Here are some made by Purdue.
    • Avocado
    • Cilantro
    • Fresh lime juice
    • Mayonnaise
    • Black pepper, salt, ground cayenne and garlic powder
    • Tajín Seasoning. Tajín is a chili-lime seasoning you can find at most grocery stores.
    This is a picture of chicken nuggets with avocado ranch dip and an avocado.

    Here's what I did.

    I heat my chicken nuggets in the air fryer at 350 degrees until they're crisp, about 10 minutes, but you can cook them according to package directions or whatever is easiest for you.

    While the chicken is cooking, combine avocado, jalapeño, lime juice, mayonnaise, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder in a food processor and blend until smooth. Once the nuggets are done, toss them in Tajín and ground cayenne while they're still hot and serve them with the avocado dip.

    Serve these chicken nuggets with...

    • Super fast and easy lightened-up Mexican black beans
    • Two bean, corn, and veggie summer salsa
    • The best party-sized guacamole
    Tajín-Seasoned Chicken Nuggets with Avocado and Jalapeño Lime Ranch

    Tajín-Seasoned Chicken Nuggets with Avocado and Jalapeño Lime Ranch

    Recipe by Mollie

    These frozen chicken nuggets are elevated with Tajín and cayenne and served with an avocado, jalapeño, lime, and cilantro ranch. For a 15-minute appetizer or meal, they're pretty dang good.

    Course: Appetizers, DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
    5 from 3 votes
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    Servings

    4

    servings
    Prep time

    5

    minutes
    Cooking time

    10

    minutes
    Calories

    300

    kcal
    Total time

    15

    minutes
    Cook Mode

    Prevent your screen from going dark!

    Ingredients

    • For the chicken:
    • 16 oz 16 frozen chicken nuggets (see note)

    • 2 tablespoons 2 Tajín seasoning

    • ¼ teaspoon ¼ ground cayenne

    • For the avocado ranch:
    • ½ ½ large avocado

    • ½ ½ large jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed

    • Juice of Juice of 2 small limes, about 3 tablespoons

    • 2 tablespoons 2 mayonnaise

    • ½ teaspoon ½ black pepper

    • ½ teaspoon ½ salt

    • ¼ teaspoon ¼ garlic powder

    Directions

    • Cook chicken according to package directions.
    • While the chicken is cooking, combine avocado ranch ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
    • Once the nuggets are done, toss them in Tajín and ground cayenne while they're still hot and serve them with the avocado dip. Enjoy with sports!

    Notes

    • We recommend Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sharie S. says

      October 03, 2021 at 10:58 pm

      I LOVE this avocado ranch dip! Perfect with the chicken nuggets! Awesome appetizer for football games and easy to put together.

      Reply

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