INVENTED back in 1963, chicken nuggets have become a cheap and cheerful favourite for the kids’ tea.
Most families in the UK will have a bag in the freezer.
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But a bag of nuggets from the market leader Birds Eye will now set you back over a fiver.
So are there any cheaper own-brand nuggets which won’t disappoint at tea?
We asked mum-of-three Lynsey Hope, 41, from West Malling, Kent, to compare some own brand nuggets to see which taste best.
Here’s what happened:
Lidl Red Hen Chicken Nuggets (22)
- £1.39
- 6p per nugget
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Lynsey says: “I love Lidl but there was something about these nuggets which tasted a bit off.
“The more I tasted, the less I enjoyed them.
“They are cheap, just £1.39 for a bag of 22, but the flavour just didn’t hit the spot.
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“They were a good size and came up a nice colour but I wouldn’t rush to buy these again.”
- Taste: 4/10
- Appearance: 6/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall: 5/10
Morrisons Breaded Chicken Nuggets (50)
- £4.25
- 8.5p per nugget
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Lynsey says: “I found these bland and thought they tasted quite cheap.
“The kids didn’t seem to mind too much though and lapped them up dipped in ketchup.
“They tasted best if cooked for a bit longer than is recommended on the packet.
“This gave them the lovely golden colour we all look for in our nuggets.”
- Taste: 5/10
- Appearance: 6/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall: 6/10
Birds Eye Chicken Dippers (38)
- £5.25
- 13p per nugget
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Lynsey says: “Soooooo expensive when compared to own brand nuggets, so are they worth the extra pennies?
“They are made from 100 per cent chicken breast so that’s a win and I loved the light, fried batter.
“They were a standard size, the meat tasted good and were all round winner at dinner time.
“The only downside is the price – 38 nuggets doesn’t go far when you’re feeding a family-of-five.”
- Taste: 9/10
- Appearance: 9/10
- Value: 5/10
- Overall: 7/10
Tesco Breaded Chicken Nuggets (30)
- £2
- 6p per nugget
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Lynsey says: “Made with 100 per cent chicken but on the packet it says ‘chopped and shaped’ chicken rather than breast so not sure exactly what part of the bird is in them.
“They take about 16 minutes to cook and the breadcrumb coating was nice with a lovely golden colour.
“Amazing price from Tesco – just 6p per nugget, beating Asda and Aldi in our test and on a par with Lidl.
“Flavour wise they are ok, not the best and they lacked seasoning, but for a quick kids’ tea, these hit the spot.”
- Taste: 7/10
- Appearance: 8/10
- Value: 9/10
- Overall: 8/10
Breaded Chicken Nuggets by Sainsbury’s (70)
- £3.90
- 5p per nugget
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Lynsey says: “More ‘chopped and shaped’ chicken here and no mention of it being chicken breast.
“However, I loved that they came in a big family size bag and they were the best value of all the nuggets in our test.
“They tasted delicious with a nice amount of seasoning. The meat was succulent.
“I’d prefer to buy breast meat to be honest but the flavour of these was right on the money.”
- Taste: 10/10
- Appearance: 9/10
- Value: 10/10
- Overall: 10/10
Aldi Gastro Battered Chicken Chunks (15)
- £2.29
- 15p per nugget
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Lynsey says: “Surprisingly, these chunks from Aldi were the most expensive ‘per nugget’ in our test.
“You are not necessarily paying for breast meat either.
“However, the batter they were coated in was light and fluffy and they tasted more like McDonald’s nuggets than most supermarket varieties.
“The meat was succulent and they were flavoursome.
“Shame there’s not more in the bag.”
- Taste: 9/10
- Appearance: 9/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall: 9/10
Asda Breaded Chicken Nuggets (38)
- £2.90
- 7p per nugget
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Lynsey says: “Teeny tiny nuggets and as I tucked into these I was hoping good things do indeed come in small packages, but I was disappointed.
“The nuggets were ok and a good price for a bag of 38, but although they are advertised as breast meat the chicken tasted a little poor in quality.
“They had a nice crunch and were so small it made them hard to dip in ketchup.”
- Taste: 6/10
- Appearance: 4/10
- Value: 7/10
- Overall: 6/10
