How To Cut Down The Cooking Time Of Chicken Parm Using An Iconic Frozen Favorite

Chicken parm is a great crowd pleaser for all ages as a family-style dinner. Juicy chicken, crispy breading, gooey cheese, and tangy tomato sauce — what's not to love? Well, chicken parmesan can be time-consuming to construct and certainly takes a while in the oven. For those who are busy with big families or particularly tired after work, cooking this tasty dish can be more hassle than it's worth. So, instead of making it from scratch, take an easier route and use chicken nuggets as your protein base.

Wait, don't click away, hear us out! It's not as weird as it sounds, and it tastes amazing. It's not traditional, but it's one trick that can get picky kids to try new foods and will cut way down on your dinner cooking time. Because nuggets are fairly thin, they cook in less than 15 minutes in an oven, microwave, or even an air fryer (a non-traditional chicken parm cooking method). Skip the breading entirely, add cheese and sauce, and dinner's practically done. Sure, it's not as fancy as something you could make entirely from scratch, but it is fun and gives you more hours in your evening to relax.

To build your chicken (nugget) parm, grab a pack of chicken nuggets (or equally tasty meatless nuggets if you prefer), red pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, and your favorite pasta shape. After that, bake the nuggets and assemble each one into a mini chicken parm. Elroy Red Beard (@elroyredbeard), who helped make the nugget hack go viral on TikTok, opted for melting the cheese onto the nuggets before adding them atop cooked pasta and sauce. But those less focused on a crisp exterior can bake the nuggets, cheese, and sauce all together in the oven for fewer dirty dishes. You can garnish with parsley or basil for a fancier finish but... come on, they're nuggets. It's okay to let them look a little imperfect.

If you want to take your nuggets to the next level, try frying them in beef tallow for a richer flavor and crispier texture. You can even transform them into something new. Make chicken parm nugget sliders, sandwiches, or wraps for a quick lunch or toss them onto salads for a fun alternative to croutons.

However you plate them, just know you're not alone. What was once a viral TikTok has turned into a full-blown culinary trend. Nugget parm has been seen in Mythical Kitchen videos, Food Network recipes, and even featured on the website of popular dino nugget brand Dino Buddies. Clearly, the delightfully playful twist on chicken parmesan has gone mainstream, so don't write it off just yet.