Baked Fried Chicken: a make-tonight method

Crunchy baked fried chicken fingers on a plate with ranch dip.

This recipe for baked fried chicken is ultra crunchy chicken that’s been baked in the oven for a lighter take on the classic. This oven fried chicken will quickly become a family go-to!

Lose the oil but keep all of the crunch with this unbelievably crunchy chicken. This is one of my go-to baked chicken recipes along with baked Cajun chicken and baked chicken wings.

Crispy baked fried chicken fingers on a plate with ranch dip.

My family loves comfort food, who doesn’t?! But many comfort food dishes tend to be heavier in nature, which I’m not a fan of. This baked fried chicken is a lighter take on the classic. It’s got the same crunchy coating and tender juicy chicken, but without the deep frying!

Enjoy this baked fried chicken with memorable side dishes like garlic mashed potatoes, Mexican coleslaw, Southern mac and cheese and baked french fries. You could even cool down with some refreshing strawberry lemonade!

Baked Fried Chicken Ingredeints

To make this baked fried chicken recipe, make sure you have raw chicken tenders, buttermilk, all purpose flour, cornmeal, panko breadcrumbs, kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and butter. I also like to garnish this chicken with chopped parsley. See the recipe card below for amounts and details.

How Do I Make Baked Fried Chicken?

The first step to make this baked fried chicken is to place your chicken tenders in a bowl of buttermilk for at least 30 minutes. When your chicken is marinated, preheat your oven. Place an empty sheet pan in the oven when your oven reaches 425 degrees F. Next, mix together flour, cornmeal, panko, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and smoked paprika on a plate. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixture until coated.

Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Place butter on the pan and let it melt. Swirl the butter around to coat the baking sheet. Place the chicken pieces on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake a few minutes and flip the chicken pieces. After a few more minutes of baking, turn on your broiler and let the coating crisp up for a couple of minutes. Take the sheet pan out, sprinkle a little chopped parsley on the chicken and enjoy!

A chicken finger being dipped into ranch dressing.

Tips For The Reliable Baked Fried Chicken

Make sure you allow your chicken to marinate in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes. It keeps the chicken tender while it bakes and gives the chicken a fantastic flavor!
Marinating your chicken in buttermilk means you don’t have to dip your chicken tenders in eggs.
My trick for a reliable crunchy coating is to use flour, cornmeal and panko breadcrumbs. Mixing these three together will give you an memorable, light and crunchy coating.
Preheating your pan and adding butter helps the chicken cook evenly and gives you a crunchy coating with a lot of flavor.

Quick Tip

Make sure to flip your chicken so that each side of the tenders get crunchy!

Recipe FAQs

Can you make fried chicken in the oven?

Yes, you can make a version of oven baked “fried” chicken that has tons of flavor and an memorable crunch. Simply marinate chicken tenders in buttermilk, add a crunchy flour coating and bake the tenders until crunchy.

How long does baked fried chicken last in the fridge?

Baked fried chicken stays good in an airtight container in a refrigerator for three days. You can reheat your chicken in an oven or a toaster oven.

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Baked oven fried chicken fingers in a dish with a side of ranch dressing.

Flavor Variations

While this baked fried chicken recipe is fantastic as-is, you can change it up to suit your own taste.

Dips: I like to serve my baked fried chicken fingers with kitchen-made ranch dip, but they’re also great with kitchen-made BBQ sauce, ketchup, fry sauce, blue cheese dressing or honey mustard sauce.
Coconut: For a tropical flavor try the coconut breadcrumb mixture from my coconut chicken recipe.
Chicken: You can use chicken breast or thigh meat. However, try to use pieces that are about the same size as chicken tenders. If you use larger pieces, it will take longer for your chicken to cook through.
Mexican: Substitute the garlic powder and onion powder for fajita seasoning or taco seasoning.

I make these oven-fried chicken fingers a few times a month, because it’s a dinner my whole family loves with less guilt!

Other Recipes You’ll Love

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This recipe for baked fried chicken is ultra crunchy chicken that’s been baked in the oven for a lighter take on the classic. This oven fried chicken will quickly become a family go-to! Time Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound chicken tenders
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 tablespoons butter
Optional garnish: chopped parsley

Instructions

Place the chicken tenders in the buttermilk and marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place an empty sheet pan in the oven for 10 minutes.
On a large plate, mix together the flour, cornmeal, panko breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and smoked paprika.
Take each chicken tender out of the buttermilk mixture and place on the plate with the flour mixture; turn evenly to coat. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven and place the butter on it. Wait 2-3 minutes until butter is melted. Swirl the butter around the pan until the bottom is evenly coated.
Place the chicken in a single layer on the melted butter. Bake for 10 minutes then flip. Bake for 8 minutes more. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until tops are crunchy. Serve immediately, sprinkled with parsley if desired.

Notes

Make sure you allow your chicken to marinate in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes.
My trick for a reliable crunchy coating is to use flour, cornmeal and panko breadcrumbs.
Make sure to flip your chicken so that each side of the tenders get crunchy!