Lose the oil but keep all of the crunch with this unbelievably crispy chicken. This is one of my favorite baked chicken recipes along with baked Cajun chicken and baked chicken wings.
As the weather starts to cool down, my cooking style tends to change. In the summer I’m all about grilling and salads full of seasonal produce. As we head into the fall and winter months it’s comfort food all the way. My family loves comfort food, who doesn’t?! But many comfort food dishes tend to be heavier in nature, which I’m not a fan of. This baked fried chicken is a lighter take on the classic. It’s got the same crispy coating and tender juicy chicken, but without the deep frying!
How To Make Baked Fried Chicken
There are a few tricks to making this oven fried chicken extra crispy and delicious. The first trick is a dip in buttermilk. The chicken needs to marinate in the buttermilk for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. The other trick to this recipe is in the coating. Some people use cornmeal, some people use panko crumbs, others use flour. I use all three to get a crust that’s both flavorful and crunchy. The key to getting oven fried chicken that browns nicely is to bake it at a high temperature in a thin layer of butter. I pre-heat the oven, then add the sheet pan to the oven so that it’s hot before I even add the chicken. I add the butter to the hot pan, let it melt, then add the chicken pieces in a single layer on the pan. You do have to flip the chicken halfway through the cooking process for even browning, but it’s so worth it!
I like to serve my baked fried chicken fingers with homemade ranch dip, but they’re also great with homemade BBQ sauce, ketchup or honey mustard sauce. I make these chicken fingers a few times a month, because it’s a dinner my whole family loves with less guilt!
Other Recipes You’ll Love
Grilled Chicken Kabobs Bacon Wrapped Chicken Honey Mustard Chicken Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Fried Ravioli
This post was originally published on October 10, 2016 and was updated on September 6, 2017 with new photos and a new and improved recipe. This was formerly a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Foster Farms Simply Raised Chicken.
