Fast food chicken sandwiches are all the rage but they’re not using good quality chicken and we all know that deep-fried food is terrible for you, especially if made in a restaurant.  Restaurants use THE CHEAPEST, WORST oil possible which gets heated over and over again. It’s very inflammatory.  We can make a great version at home and you can decide how you want to cook it: bone-in, skin-on in the oven or boneless, skinless in the oven or pan-fried on the stove.  You can air fry the chicken, but I have ‘t tested that out. I think what a lot of people like on these chicken sandwiches is the sauce, so I’ve given you a couple suggestions below.  You obviously can serve the chicken as is and not on a sandwich! If you are plant-based, I have the most insane vegan chickpea patty recipe coming soon.  SO GOOD!

Why you’ll love this Baked “Fried” Chicken

• Customizable to many dietary preferances;
• A more nutritious version of a fan-favorite dish!
• You can make them into a fried chicken sandwich, or eat on its own with a sauce and a salad or even in a lettuce wrap! 

Ingredients 

• Buttermilk – You can use kefir, or 1/2 yogurt + 1/2 milk, or unsweetened plant milk with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or pickle juice
• Chicken – About 4 small-ish breasts boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The thicker part pounded slightly with a meat mallet or rolling pin in between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap.
• Egg – this helps the breading to stick to the chicken
• Seasoning blend – I used a combination of paprika, garlic powder, dried thyme, and cayenne pepper. 
• Flour – Choose between all-purpose flour, spelt flour, gluten-free flour blend, or grain-free flour blend. 
• Arrowroot powder – a grain-free starch that helps to keep the breading from getting gluey.
• Baking powder – this helps keep the coating light 
• Oil spray – An avocado oil or olive oil spray works great

How to make Baked “Fried” Chicken

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the seasoning ingredients. Reserve half of the spice mix (eyeball it) for the marinade (Step 2) and set aside the rest to use in the coating. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, kosher salt, and half of the prepared spice mix. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. This will help with easy clean up. Place a metal cooling rack over the baking sheet and spray or brush well with olive oil.
5. Remove the chicken from the fridge and reserve 1 ½ Tablespoons of the marinade.
6. Beat the egg in a shallow baking dish (I like to use a pie plate). Take another shallow dish and combine the flour, arrowroot, baking powder, remaining spice mix and 1 teaspoon of salt.
7. Drizzle the reserved marinade (1 ½ tablespoons) over the flour mixture and toss it together with your fingertips to create some lumps.
8. To assemble: take the chicken breasts, one at a time, and dip into the egg mixture, coating both sides, then dredge with the flour mixture. Press the chicken into the flour mixture to help it adhere and toss to coat both sides. Transfer coated chicken pieces to the prepared cooling rack.
9. Coat the top of the chicken with a little olive oil. You can either brush with oil or spray it with oil. Be sure to lightly coat the entire top of the chicken or you’ll be left with dry flour spots.
10. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thicket part reads 160 degrees. Optional step: set oven to broil and broil chicken pieces about 6 inches from heat source for 2-3 minutes or until chicken is nicely browned.

Tips 

•  If the chicken breasts you buy are very large, pound them out a little and cut them in half crosswise to make two pieces. Or put a large chicken breast into a hoagie roll and cut the sandwich in half.
• Spray the rack well otherwise the coating will stick.
• You can also do this recipe with bone-in, skin-on pieces (drumsticks, thighs, and breasts.) Just cook at the same temperature for longer, about 45-55 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.  This longer cook time will also result in a crispier exterior coating.
• For a crispier texture, I recommend frying the chicken in a pan with oil. Another option is to cook them in an air-fryer at 375 degrees (coat rack and chicken with oil) and start checking them after 15-20 minutes. 
• Serve with a Copycat Chik-Fil-A Sauce or Honey-Mustard Sauce or just serve with BBQ sauce, Ranch Dressing, Green Goddess Dressing, or the Burger Sauce from Quicker Than Quick (that one is INSANELY good!) 

Copycat Chik-Fil-A Sauce: ¼ cup mayonnaise or Vegenaise + 1 teaspoon yellow mustard (has to be yellow, not Dijon or brown etc) + 1 Tablespoon barbecue sauce + 1 Tablespoon honey

Honey-Mustard Sauce: ¼ cup mayonnaise or Vegenaise + 1 ½ Tablespoons Dijon mustard + 1 Tablespoon honey + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Substitutions 

• Buttermilk – kefir or plain, unsweetened plant milk with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or pickle juice
• All-purpose flour -spelt flour, gluten-free flour blend, or grain-free flour blend
• Arrowroot powder – cornstarch 
• Chicken – Vegan Crispy “Chicken”  recipe coming soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Pamela Salzman (@pamelasalzman)

Other recipes you may like 

*Cornflake “Fried” Chicken with Sauerkraut Citrus Coleslaw

*Tasty Turkey Burgers

*Black bean burgers with smoky red pepper sauce

*Baked Parmesan Chicken Caprese

If you give this crispy “fried” chicken recipe a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes,  updates and things I’m loving lately.  If you enjoy this recipe, I taught it last year in my online class!  Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better, healthier cook!