Who doesn’t love fried chicken? It’s a favorite treat among many, and definitely this household. But sadly, my waist has been voicing some objections as of late — something about vats of oil and whatnot. And yet I have found a way to have my juicy, crispy "fried" chicken — guilt-free.
Fried chicken has firmly kept its place on my list of favorite foods, since for our weeknight “fried” chicken fare we fake it by coating the buttermilk-bathed chicken in crushed, spiced-up puffed rice cereal.
After about half an hour in the hot oven, the chicken emerges: juicy, crispy, intensely flavored – just like fried, except without the guilt.

1 quart buttermilk
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 bay leaves
4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, divided
Tabasco sauce, enough to slightly color the buttermilk
12 chicken parts (I used drumsticks and thighs)
4 cups puffed-rice cereal
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
3/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
In a large non-reactive bowl, whisk together buttermilk, onion, garlic, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and Tabasco. Submerge the chicken in buttermilk mixture, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Place an ovenproof wire rack on top of a rimmed, shallow baking sheet. In a food processor, pulse together cereal, mustard, cayenne, remaining 2 teaspoons salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper until coarse crumbs form. Transfer to a wide, shallow dish.
Working with one chicken piece at a time, lift chicken out of buttermilk mixture, allowing the excess to drip off, and roll around in crumbs until well-coated, lightly pressing on the chicken here and there. Place chicken on a rack allowing space between chicken parts, and bake until the crispy coating is golden and the chicken is cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes (but check on chicken after 30). Serve immediately, or allow to cool completely on the wire rack.
Related: How to Cook Moist & Tender Chicken Breasts Every Time
(Images: Olga Massov of Sassy Radish)
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Comments (16)
Is this different somehow from breaded chicken?
Shake n' Bake!
Sometimes I a mix of bread crumbs & parm cheese. Yum.
My mom and grandma have been making "Oven Fried Chicken" forever.
It is different than the traditional oven fried chicken where the chicken literally fries - in the oven.
We give the chicken a seasoned flour coating (usually we season it with salt, pepper, and some curry powder) and bake at 425 for about 45 minutes. I usually use Skin on-Bone in chicekn thighs for the juciest meat and the crispiest skin.
Halfway through the cooking I baste the chicken with any of the fat that has started rendering out. This crisps up the skin and it's absolutely DELICOUS.
It's definitely not "breaded" and it's not that Healthy (unless you refrain from eating the glorious skin), but it is damn tasty.
I've been making Jane Brody's oven fried chicken for years. The coating includes grated parmesan cheese. Her recipe calls for bread crumbs or cereal crumbs, but I've started using panko because it's so crispy.
I love using this technique with the key being to place the chicken pieces on a rack as it really helps to crisp up the coating.
Whenever I try to do this kind of baked fried chicken using homemade breadcrumbs, it never seems to get crispy. Even if I spray some spray oil over the coating. Maybe the breadcrumbs are too soft to begin with? Should I toast them first? Or do I need more spray oil? I suppose the rice krispies in this recipe help with the crispy factor...but I really want to make this in order to use up some of the breadcrumbs I always have in the freezer. Any advice??
Have you tried Panko, Brooklynnia? I think it's also important to drain the buttermilk from the chicken really well first. It should have marinated in, so there's no reason to have a thick layer on the outside. Just lift it out, give it a shake, then breadcrumb it. And don't let it sit too long like that before it gets in the oven. Everything should be preheated and ready to go by the time this gets done.
And I second rosebud- always use a rack.
That's what works for me!
Nah. When I want fried chicken, I want it FRIED by an EXPERT. We have it once or twice a year and it is awesome. But otherwise, I would rather have a good roast chicken and watch my 2 and 4 year old fight over the skin.
Brooklynnia- If you are going to use homemade bread crumbs they definitely should be well toasted and crunchy before coating- Since you're not frying in oil the juice from the cooking chicken only makes the coating soggy- not crispy...
The reason this recipe uses rice krispies is that they are meant to stay crispy after soaking in milk- so- they also stay crispy when absorbing chicken juices.
I've also seen a recipe using corn flake crumbs for the same reason.
I'm surprised there was no mention of the reason for using cereal crumbs in the article...
This works with crushed Melba toast as well. Crunchy and delicious!
Thanks tuxedo! That's kind of what I suspected. I was just hoping to avoid an extra step....but maybe I'll just toast *all* my homemade breadcrumbs in one hit and then pop them back in the freezer that way.
am i alone in thinking that picture does not look appetizing at all?
while this seems like a perfectly good idea, i feel concerned with the amount of conflating food with guilt in this article. i think that is such a dangerous concept, and i also think that the point would have been made just as well by saying things like "sometimes, though, my body protests the use of vats of oil for an everyday dinner," "or "just like fried, but without all the fat--or the hot oil burns that deep-frying always risks!"
i really appreciate about the kitchn normally that you all show a huge range of kinds of foods with very little judgement. the repeated mentions of guilt (and the waistline-related fatphobia) in this post feel really offputting and hard to read.
Mark Bitman has a very similar recipe in "How to Cook Everything" and it's one of my favourite ways to eat chicken.
@ Brian Mac - I thought the same about the picture!
I had baked "fried" chicken last night with buttermilk biscuits. Love it!