Make chicken like the Colonel with this KFC-inspired Oven Fried Chicken recipe! The chicken is baked in the oven but comes out crispy and juicy like fried chicken.
Oven Fried Chicken
This recipe is the best thing to make when you are craving that famous KFC flavor but don’t necessarily want to bust out the deep fryer. This is a simple recipe that your family will ask for again and again—it’s on a weekly rotation at our house!
I wish I could take credit for this oven fried chicken recipe because it is simply DELICIOUS! While I did make some adjustments, I originally found the recipe on this blog (via Pinterest, of course!).
What Sides Go with Oven Fried Chicken?
There are so many things that go great with this baked fried chicken. If you want to go for that classic KFC meal, you definitely need to make this KFC coleslaw recipe – it’s a dupe for the one at the restaurant and it is seriously the best!
This crispy baked chicken would also work well with mashed potatoes, but for a fun twist try our baked potato wedges or parmesan baked potato halves. While your cooking, let your slow cooker make a side of creamed corn for you, and you are all set for dinner.
How to Make Oven Fried Chicken More Crispy
That classic KFC chicken has an irresistible flavor and that perfect crisp. This oven fried chicken definitely nails the flavor, but because it is baked instead of fried, there are a few tricks to make it a bit more crispy.
Experiment by double-coating the chicken before baking or adding a handful or two of panko bread crumbs to the seasoning mix for extra crunch.
Tips and FAQs about This Recipe
We’ve gotten quite a few questions about this baked fried chicken. Here are some answers to your frequently asked questions—be sure to leave yours in the comments if it isn’t answered here.
What can I substitute for buttermilk?
Don’t have buttermilk on hand? No problem! This easy substitution is the perfect way to make some quick.
Simply stir in 1 Tbsp. lemon juice to 1 cup milk, let it sit for about 5 min and the milk will be soured and ready to use in place of buttermilk. Also – did you know we have a whole page devoted to substitutions?
Can I make this oven fried chicken with legs or thighs instead of breasts?
If you are a dark meat fan, you can definitely make this recipe too. You can easily sub in whichever cut of chicken you’d like instead of the breast with no changes necessary to the recipe.
How do I double coat the chicken?
Double coating is a great way to make this chicken extra crispy. To do so, dip the chicken in buttermilk and then crumbs as normal. Then, repeat! Dip back in the buttermilk and coat it in the crumbs again.
Can I fry this recipe?
If you prefer to fry instead of bake this chicken, you can certainly do so. Dip into the mixture as normal, but instead of baking, fry for 7 minutes or so per side until done.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Parts of this recipe can be made ahead of time. The chicken actually tastes best when it has had a chance to soak for several hours in the buttermilk. However, once it is baked, the oven fried chicken tastes best fresh.
How to Make Oven Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1-2 tablespoons Morton's Season All Seasoning Salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast in half. If you prefer chicken strips, you can also cut them into strips.
- Place chicken pieces in a large resealable bag and cover with buttermilk. Seal bag tightly, squeezing out all the air. Marinate chicken for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan or 11x17 pan with cooking spray then cut up the butter into pieces and place around the bottom of the pan. This keeps the chicken from sticking to the pan.
- Place the pan in the oven for about 8-10 minutes until the butter is melted and HOT.
- While butter is melting in the oven, combine seasoning salt, pepper, flour, and paprika in a shallow dish or pie plate. Set aside.
- Remove the pan from oven and spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan.
- Shake excess buttermilk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix.
- Place each coated piece of chicken in the pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and carefully turn each piece of chicken over. Continue baking for 15-20 more minutes, or until cooked through.
Equipment
- Conventional Oven
Nutrition
Jackie says
Hio
I was wondering if I could do this recipe with whole pieces of legs and thighs. Also, how do you double-coat the chicken.
Emily says
Sorry Jackie! I didn’t realize that we didn’t get back to you on this, you could definitely use legs and thighs. As far as double coating, you coat the chicken in the crumbs, then re-dip it in the buttermilk and coat it in the crumbs again.
Penny says
What can I use to substitute the buttermilk?
Emily says
The answer to that is actually in our substitutions page here.
Erica says
Looks great. I have been wanting KFC lately. I will have to give this a try.
Miss Fiesta says
This recipe was so-so. I let my chicken breast chunks soak in buttermilk for 6 hours. The chicken flavor was ok but not KFC flavor quality. Also, after I coated the chicken and baked on a high temperature 15 mins one side then 7 mins the other side, to my surprise the coating slid off! Some pieces remained in tact, others did not fare as well. I worked hard in making this recipe with accompanying made from scratch side dishes and wanted my chicken to look just like the above photo. In the end, it was average. I think the key is don’t bake but fry that chicken! Doing research to perfect for next time. Thanks!
Morena says
I just tried this recipe on chicken nuggets as well as Mexican gulf shrimp. The chicken nuggets taste very similar to KFC. The shrimp has an Asian seasoning flavor and tastes really good covered in sweet/sour sauce. I am serving both chicken and shrimp with rice. It tastes like I bought it from an exclusive restaurant.
Sarah says
Looks yummy! At what temperature do you cook the chicken? It’s not indicated in the recipe. Thanks!
Sarah says
Oooooops! Just found it!! Sorry. Baby brain! 🙂
Erica says
No worries! I have been there! 🙂
jan=mie says
I made this to the tee, and mine did not look anything like the pic
Erica says
Oh no! I am hoping yours turned out looking better 🙂 Hopefully you liked the taste?
Andrew Newey says
Awesome recipe. Being a health freak, I cook it in the oven instead of frying in butter and it’s still awesome 🙂
Tash says
Can u fry it with this recipe?
Nantara says
I just made these with 2 lbs of chicken tenders. The flavor was good, but I was left with too much flour. 1/2 cup should be enough. And the butter is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much. The coating got soggy from too much butter!!! I would recommend maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the amount suggested.
Cyndi says
I agree, although it was tasty, everyone loved it, it did not resemble fried chicken, at all.
The coating was way too soft and some pieces had no coating left, just seasoning.
Claudia Lamascolo says
Oven Fried is the best way to make chicken and you nailed this one looking like it was fried I must have some tonight!
Tara says
Who needs Popeye’s chicken sandwich when you can make your own at home (without the wait in line)! And honestly, this is better. Thanks!