United boss Neil Warnock, whose side is propping up the Premiership, chucked in the reserves making nine changes from the side beaten 2-1 by Reading at the weekend to show where his priorities lie.
With a daunting game against Arsenal in London on Saturday, Warnock rested his senior side but must have been impressed with Nade and the work rate of midfielder Alan Quinn with United still looking for their first win in the Premiership.
The Sheffield side carved out the early chances, Chinese international Li Tie picking out Nade as the ex-Troyes striker flicked the ball across the face of the goal but there was no one to add the finishing touch.
Minutes later Alan Quinn pumped over a precise cross as Craig Short powered in a header but a slight deflection was enough to curl the ball the wrong side of the bar.
United broke the deadlock in the 16th minute when Tie threaded the ball to Nade who cut inside before unleashing an angled strike and the ball flashed into the top right-hand corner past the helpless Alan Fettis.
Bury should have levelled matters nine minutes later when midfielder Nicky Adams got the better of Alan Wright. His low cross fell nicely for Andy Bishop who stretched to toe-poke from close range but Ian Bennett made a comfortable save.
The Sheffield side's finishing was just as poor minutes later as Colin Kazim-Richards promptly slammed the ball high over the top from 16 yards.
Bury suffered a blow four minutes before the interval when keeper Fettis, injured in an earlier collision with Alan Quinn, trudged off to be replaced by Aaron Grundy.
Bennett pulled off a spectacular stop on 52 minutes diving to his right to push away a stinging drive from Daryl Taylor and Bishop almost found a way through minutes later but his close-range effort was smothered on the line by the United keeper.
Academy midfielder Stephen Quinn, who joined his brother Alan after coming on at the interval for Wright, had a chance to finish off Bury as he ran on to Nade's astute pass but the youngster ballooned the ball high and wide from 15 yards.