They consist of small pieces of reconstituted boneless chicken meat that have been battered and deep fried.

[5][6] McDonald's first executive chef, René Arend, a native of Luxembourg, created the Chicken McNuggets recipe in 1979.

"[12] As of August 1, 2016, the ingredients within the United States are as follows: White boneless chicken, water, salt, seasoning (yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring, safflower oil, lemon juice solids, dextrose, citric acid), sodium phosphates.

[14] In some markets, including the United Kingdom, they are sold in packs of 4 (as part of a Happy Meal), 6, 9 or 20 (as a "ShareBox").

A 50-piece McNuggets meal deal has been promoted at times for special events such as the NFL's Super Bowl.

[17] In September 2020, McDonald's introduced Spicy Chicken McNuggets in the United States for a limited time along with Mighty Hot Sauce.

[20] The judge identified that rather than being merely chicken fried in a pan, McNuggets included elements not utilized by the home cook, including unusual sounding ingredients such as extracts of rosemary, vitamins (niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid) all of which are common in enriched flour, and leavening (baking soda, calcium lactate, etc.).

[23] Marion Nestle, a New York University professor and author of What to Eat, says that the ingredients in McNuggets probably pose no health risks.

[24] According to Lisa McComb, a media relations representative for McDonald's, dimethylpolysiloxane is used as a matter of safety to keep the frying oil from foaming.

A mathematical problem, discussed on Eric W. Weisstein's MathWorld[29] and Brady Haran's YouTube channel "Numberphile,"[30] is that of determining the greatest number of McNuggets which cannot be made from any combination of pack sizes on offer.