I’m excited to share with you the best alternative to fried chicken I’ve ever had! Trust me, I know deep-fried food can taste good (and is a fun treat on occasion), but all the refined oil that gets absorbed during cooking is not good for you. So here’s an oven fried chicken recipe you can feel good about making for your family and, trust me, you’ll be picking the crust off this stuff just like it’s the real deal!
Oven "Fried" Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, bone in, skinless (can also use thighs, and/or legs)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, or more depending on size of bowl
- cooking spray
- 1 cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
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Marinate chicken in buttermilk (fully submerged) in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours or up to 24 hours overnight.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet, spray generously with cooking spray, and set aside.
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Stir together the breadcrumbs, cheese, and spices in a shallow, large bowl. One-by-one remove chicken pieces from buttermilk, shake off the excess, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture until fully coated. Place chicken on a baking rack.
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Generously coat chicken with cooking spray and cook until golden brown and the meat is done (165 degrees when inserted with a thermometer), about 35 to 45 minutes.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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Generously coat with cooking spray? That does not sound healthy or appetizing. Which spray are you using?
It looks like the cooking spray is just for the pan. You could substitute it with any kind of fat/oil to help the chicken not to stick.
You can mix in some olive oil Right into the Panko mixture and then I usually just spray the pan. Chicken will be crispy and golden- basically a homemade shake and bake
No it says, to spray the chicken. I’m with you, is there a way to make this without using cooking spray. I hate to buy cooking spray for a one time use, not to mention the questionable ingredients. Also what brand of whole wheat Panko do you buy?
Hi Glynis –
Spraying the breadcrumb coating gives similar flavor, texture, and appearance to deep frying but with much less oil.
We use an organic olive oil spray with no additives or propellant (other than I assume air or nitrogen as the only ingredient listed is olive oil). You can find this or similar avocado or coconut oil sprays on Amazon or in some grocery stores.
You can also add your own oil in refillable oil spray bottles, but over time they often end up spraying a stream instead of a mist. – Jason
You can buy sunflower, avocado, or olive oil sprays. Or you could put the oil of your choice in a spray bottle and use that.
I’ve purchased several oil spray bottles but NONE ‘spray’ the oil, they all just shoot out a solid stream! Does anyone have a recommendation for one that actually “sprays”?
The spray olive oil from Trader Joe’s sprays really well.
I was referring to a manual spray bottle to which you add your own oil. The finger pump types have not worked for me yet, with any kind of oil: olive, macadamia nut, Udo,… Is there one out there with a trigger that will actually ‘spray’ the oil? I don’t want a pressurized one with a propellant!
Im not sure about a manual one, but the Olive Oil Spray at Trader Joe’s that Brittany mentioned doesn’t contain a propellant. The only ingredient is Olive Oil.
I bought this oil mister on amazon and it works amazingly well. I’ve used it for about 3 years now and it still gives a fine mist of oil.
I’m sooo excited about this recipe! I can’t wait to try this. Thx Lisa!
Search for “Misto” brand for the bottle sprayer and you can put your own oil in it.
I used coconut oil spray and it came out great. It was crunchy and the breading was tasty. I will probably add some seasoning to the buttermilk marinade since hubby wanted more taste “embedded “ in the chicken. I think this shouldn’t be the problem if the pieces weren’t cut up too big. To me the seasoning was perfect.
You could substitute it with any kind of fat/oil to help the chicken not to stick.
I need to use up some chicken tenders…how long would you think I should cook them? This looks yummy!!
Hi. Tenders? I typically cook mine at 375 for 12-16 minutes.