How to Fry Chicken in the Oven for Perfectly Crispy Results

Fried chicken is a beloved comfort food enjoyed all over the world. The crispy, juicy chicken covered in a seasoned breadcrumb coating is hard to resist! However, traditional fried chicken requires deep-frying which can be messy, unhealthy, and dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.

You can easily get that fried chicken crunch in the oven with a lot less oil and work. Oven-frying chicken is a great alternative that makes chicken that is very crispy and tasty without having to use a deep fryer.

This guide will tell you everything you need to know to cook chicken in the oven at home and get great results. If you want your baked chicken to be crispy, you’ll learn how to bread it for the oven and get some quick oven-fried chicken recipes. Let’s get crunching!.

Why Oven-Fry Chicken Instead of Deep Frying

Frying chicken in hot oil yields that ultra-crispy texture we all crave, but it has some downsides:

• Messy and dangerous Dealing with large amounts of hot oil can be messy and presents a potential burn or fire hazard It requires more cleanup as well

• Not good for you: When you deep fry food, it soaks up a lot of oil, which makes the fat and calories higher. Regularly eating deep-fried foods has been linked to heart disease and weight gain.

• Needs special tools: For the best results, you’ll need a deep fryer or a heavy pot plus a deep-frying thermometer.

Oven-frying eliminates these negatives but still gives you delicious crispy chicken. Baking uses little or no oil, so it’s cleaner and healthier. Since it’s done in the oven, there’s no open pot of bubbling oil to watch closely. Oven-frying just requires basic kitchen tools like a baking sheet.

While deep frying can make the absolute crispiest chicken, oven-fried chicken still gets deliciously crunchy with the right techniques. Let’s look at how to nail that crispy oven-fried chicken texture.

How to Get Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken

The key to ultra-crisp oven-fried chicken is three-fold:

1. Bread the chicken: Breadcrumbs create a crispy coating on the chicken when baked.

2. Use a bit of fat: Adding a small amount of oil helps the breading get crispy and brown.

3. Get the pan ripping hot: Preheating the pan means the breading crisps up immediately when it hits the hot pan.

Here are more details on each crisping method:

Bread the Chicken

Breading is essential for getting a crispy crust on baked chicken. It gives you that crunchy texture you want. Here are your breading options:

• Breadcrumbs or panko: These dry bread coatings work perfectly to encase the chicken in a crispy shell. Use plain or seasoned.

• Flour: For a thinner, crisper crust, flour is ideal. It also helps the breading adhere.

• Cornstarch: Another thin coating option that crisps up nicely in the oven.

• Cracker crumbs: Crushed crackers like saltines or Ritz make a tasty crunchy baked coating.

• Chips or cereals: For fun coatings, use crushed chips or crispy cereals like Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies.

The key is double-dredging: coat the chicken in flour, then egg wash, then the breading. This layers on the crunchy coating. Let any excess drip off before baking.

Add a Small Amount of Fat

While oven-frying uses minimal fat, you need a little oil to help the breading crisp up in the dry oven heat. Options:

• Oil: Coat the bottom of the baking pan with a thin layer of vegetable, canola, olive, or avocado oil.

• Butter: Spread melted butter on the pan instead of oil.

• Non-stick spray: For the lowest fat option, lightly spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Get the Pan Hot Before Baking

Heating your baking sheet or pan before adding the breaded chicken is crucial for instant crisping. Follow these tips:

• Preheat oven and pan: Heat your empty pan in the oven as it preheats, usually for 5-10 minutes at 400°F.

• Use a dark pan: Dark sheet pans absorb heat better than light pans.

• Don’t crowd: Leave space between each piece so air circulates for even crisping.

• Start skin-side down: If baking bone-in chicken, place it skin-side down first for extra crispy skin.

How to Bread Chicken for Oven Frying

Breading is what transforms boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs into crunchy, mouthwatering oven-fried chicken.

Here is a simple oven-fry breading procedure:

Ingredients

• Chicken pieces
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-2 cups breadcrumbs or panko
• 1 tbsp seasoning (paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, etc.)
• Oil for the pan

Instructions

1. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
2. Place flour in one shallow bowl. Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl. Mix breadcrumbs and seasonings in a third bowl.
3. Dredge each chicken piece in flour, coating all sides.
4. Dip floured chicken in the egg wash, allowing excess to drip off.
5. Coat chicken in breadcrumbs, pressing gently so they adhere.
6. Lay breaded chicken on a baking sheet. Chill in fridge for 5-10 minutes to help coating stick.
7. Bake chicken according to recipe instructions until golden brown and cooked through.

The egg wash helps the breading stick to the chicken. Chilling firms up the coating a bit before baking.

Feel free to get creative with your breading! Try these fun ideas:

• Use flavored breadcrumbs like Italian-style or ranch.
• Season the flour with garlic powder, paprika, curry powder, etc.
• Add spices like cayenne or chili powder to the breadcrumb mixture.
• Use crushed corn flakes or potato chips for the coating.
• Drizzle the breading with melted butter for extra richness.

Now let’s get to the good stuff: easy oven-fried chicken recipes!

Quick and Easy Oven-Fried Chicken Recipes

With the crisping tips and breading method above, you can oven-fry any chicken. But here are some easy, tried-and-true oven-fried chicken recipes to get you started:

Simple Oven-Fried Chicken

Simple Oven-Fried Chicken Recipe – This no-frills oven-fried chicken uses simple pantry ingredients. Flour, breadcrumbs, egg, and seasoning create a crunchy coating on bone-in chicken.

The Best Oven-Fried Chicken

The Best Oven-Fried Chicken Recipe – For rave-worthy oven-fried chicken, this crispy panko-coated recipe is perfect. With well-loved seasoning flavors, it tastes like your favorite fried chicken restaurant!

Ranch Oven-Fried Chicken

Coat chicken in a zippy ranch-seasoned breadcrumb mixture. Use ranch dressing powder or Hidden Valley ranch seasoning in the coating.

Buffalo Oven-Fried Chicken

Toss breaded chicken in Buffalo wing sauce. Use hot sauce mixed with butter or ranch for a spicy oven-fried chicken.

Parmesan Oven-Fried Chicken

For ultra-crispy chicken, add grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs. Use regular or Italian-flavored for extra zing.

Crunchy Cereal Oven-Fried Chicken

Corn flakes, Rice Krispies, or Chex cereals make a fab crispy coating on oven-fried chicken. Just crush them into crumbs!

Pork Rind Oven-Fried Chicken

For gluten-free and low-carb oven-fried chicken, use crushed pork rinds instead of breadcrumbs. Almond or coconut flour works too.

The coating possibilities are endless with oven-fried chicken. Get creative with the breading to match your flavor cravings!

Oven-Fried Chicken Tips

• For safety, use a meat thermometer to ensure chicken reaches 165°F internally.

• Let oven-fried chicken rest 5 minutes before serving so the juices redistribute.

• Leftover oven-fried chicken reheats wonderfully in a 300°F oven to maintain crispness.

• Freeze uncooked breaded chicken up to 3 months. Add 5 extra minutes to the oven-fry cooking time.

• Brining chicken in saltwater before breading helps it stay juicy when baked.

• Oven-frying works great for boneless chicken breasts, thighs, wings, drumsticks, or tenders!

• For extra crunch, use sparkling water instead of plain in the egg wash.

• Serve oven-fried chicken with classic sides like mashed potatoes, coleslaw, biscuits, or mac and cheese.

Is Oven-Fried Chicken Healthier Than Fried?

Oven-frying chicken is much healthier than deep frying for a few reasons:

• Uses little or no oil compared to the large amount for deep frying. This significantly cuts down the fat and calories.

• Removes exposure to potentially carcinogenic compounds released from oil when heated to high temps.

• Avoids the trans fats formed when oil is heated repeatedly to high temperatures.

• Prevents absorption of excess grease like deep frying, which has been linked to high cholesterol and heart disease.

So while oven-fried chicken is not exactly health food, it’s a much better option than traditional fried chicken if you’re concerned about fat, calories, and health risks. The light breading approach helps significantly lighten it up.

Satisfy That Crispy Craving at Home

Once you get the crisping techniques down, you can oven-fry any chicken recipe to crunchy perfection. Let your imagination run wild with creative breading combinations. Then sit down to juicy, flavorsome oven-fried chicken that rivals the deep-fried versions!

Oven frying, while not true deep frying, involves cooking food in the oven to achieve a crispy exterior.