Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
Crispy oven fried chicken is a lightened up version of the Southern classic. This recipe is so crunchy, juicy and well seasoned that it will fool even the most Southern of Southern Belles into thinking this is real deal deep fried chicken!
Fried chicken is a staple of most Southern childhoods.
We grew up having it for dinner many weekend nights.
And it’s something of a rite of passage as well.
When I was super little, I only got to eat it.
But as I got older, I started helping my mom and grandma make it until eventually they passed the family recipe down to me.
Imagine their disappointment when they heard that I was no longer deep frying the chicken but instead oven frying it.
But then they tried it and couldn’t tell the difference so I’d say my lightened up oven fried chicken gets a begrudging, but well deserved, seal of approval.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Chicken– I recommend boneless skinless chicken thighs over other cuts. They have slightly more fat than a breast so they will be juicier. However, use what you’ve got or ultimately prefer- as far as bone in vs out.
- Flour– All purpose
- Eggs
- Milk– You could use either regular milk or buttermilk here.
- Seasonings– Hot sauce, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper
- Breadcrumbs– Panko
- Peanut oil– If you have an allergy or don’t have peanut oil, you can substitute canola oil or even olive oil.
How to Make Fried Chicken in the Oven
Making oven fried chicken is very similar to making traditional fried chicken except you bake it instead of fry it.
To do it, whisk together the flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl or on a plate.
Then in a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
In a third bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, Cajun seasoning, paprika, oil, salt and pepper.
Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to coat, shaking off any excess.
Then dip it into the egg mixture, again shake off any excess and then sit it in the bread crumb mixture, turning and pressing to coat it evenly on all sides.
Place the coated chicken onto a lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the coating is nicely browned and the meat’s cooked through.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
What to Serve with This
You can serve anything with this that you would serve with traditional fried chicken.
We often have it with:
- Creamy Coleslaw Pasta Salad
- Sweet Corn & Cheddar Cheese Fritters
- Zucchini Fritters with Chili Lime Mayo
- Smoked Corn On The Cob with Honey Butter
- Down Home Milk & Honey Corn On The Cob
- Hot Water Cornbread
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a hot oven until warmed through.
Tips and tricks
- To trim the excess fat off of the chicken thighs, use a good pair of sharp kitchen sheers to easily cut away almost all excess fat quickly and easily without losing any meat. Just watch your fingers!
- Adjust the amount of hot sauce and Cajun seasoning to suit your tastes.
- You could use this method with other cuts of chicken. Just make sure to cook it until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
Other Baked Chicken Recipes
Oven fried chicken is my favorite way to enjoy the classic flavor for a fraction of the fat. Make it for your next picnic or potluck and enjoy!
Looking for other baked chicken recipes? Try these:
- Alice Springs Chicken with Homemade Honey Mustard
- Mayo Parmesan Chicken
- Onion Crusted Herbed Chicken Breasts
- Crispy Stuffed Cajun Chicken with Spinach & Pepper Jack Cheese
- Chicken Lombardy
- Doritos Crusted Chicken Fingers
If you’ve tried this OVEN FRIED CHICKEN, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp hot sauce or to taste
- 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 3 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup peanut oil
Instructions
- On a plate of in a small bowl whisk together the flour, salt and pepper. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper until evenly combined. In another small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, Cajun seasoning, paprika, oil, salt and pepper just until all are equally incorporated.
- Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour to coat, shake off any excess and then dip it into the egg mixture, again shake off any excess and then sit it in the bread crumb mixture, turning and pressing to coat it evenly on all sides.
- Place the coated chicken onto a lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the bread crumb coating is nicely browned and the meat's cooked through.
- Serve immediately with coleslaw and one or more of the other suggested sides.
- Sometimes it may seem like a lot of fat on a chicken thigh, and if you're like me you want to remove as much as possible. Using a knife to do so will cost you a lot of the meat too. Use a good pair of sharp kitchen sheers to easily cut away almost all excess fat quickly and easily without losing any meat. Just watch your fingers!
Notes
- To trim the excess fat off of the chicken thighs, use a good pair of sharp kitchen sheers to easily cut away almost all excess fat quickly and easily without losing any meat. Just watch your fingers!
- Adjust the amount of hot sauce and Cajun seasoning to suit your tastes.
- You could use this method with other cuts of chicken. Just make sure to cook it until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
Nutrition
recipe originally published March 27, 2016
I was just thinking about fried chicken the other day. It has been eons since we had any. This would be a great alternative!
It makes a perfect alternative.
Incredible! It looks just like it was fried and so very crispy and perfectly golden! I agree with your thinking–as good as some things are, they should be saved for occasions. And in the meantime, why not make a healthier alternative? 🙂
Yes, you summed it up exactly. Luckily, the healthier alternative’s help me get my ‘fix’ in between those special occasions!
I love the seasoning here! These aren’t your old boring nuggets! Happy Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
You have some very lucky kids. I love fried chicken but not the fried part so much. This looks delicious.
fantastic