I have tried a lot of different recipes and techniques for oven 'frying' chicken. Some have been good...some could have been better. It seems that with some recipes, if you cook it at a high enough heat and long enough to crisp the crust, the chicken itself ends up dry. Others I have tried, the chicken is moist and tasty, but the crust is lacking in crispiness and ends up a little soggy and falling off.
This recipe is the best, so far, I have tried. The chicken is so moist, it's unreal and the crust is very crispy and tasty. It also doesn't take all afternoon to prepare. Here is what you will need:
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if you prefer other pieces use those)
2 cups buttermilk
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed fine
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
6 Tbs. butter, melted
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and cover with the buttermilk. I cut my breasts in half because they were very large and I like more crust. You can also cut them in nuggets or strips. Kids like the smaller pieces better. Place the top on your bowl and refrigerate for about an hour. It's best if it has time to marinate in the buttermilk.
Place the Ritz crackers in a gallon size Ziploc bag. You can crush them with a rolling pin or in a food processor. Add the Panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, dry Ranch dressing mix, and black pepper. Mix it all together well. Add the chicken pieces, two at a time to the crumb mixture. Shake the excess buttermilk off of them.
These are Panko Bread Crumbs in case you aren't familiar with them. The texture is very different than other bread crumbs, very crispy.
Remove from the crumb mixture and place them on a cookie sheet or pan you have lined with foil, preferably nonstick Reynolds wrap, which I think is one of the keys to this crust crisping up like it does, that has been liberally sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. /Drizzle each piece with the melted butter. Place in oven for 40 - 45 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken pieces. 
Oven Fried Chicken
This looks so good, easy to make, and healthier than fried. I just need to get some Panko and buttermilk, and I'm good to go! Thank you for the recipe!
ReplyDeletei used water instead of buttermilk to help the coating stick. It really works and if you are trying to make it as healthy as it possibly could then that would be the way to go.
DeleteButtermilk helps to tenderize the chicken. Try it sometime.
DeleteButtermilk is also fat free
DeleteI can't wait to try this.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a good oven fried chicken recipe - thinking this might be it!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Tami
Take your chicken breasts, soak in buttermilk. Take a large bag of barbeque potato chips and crush into tiny pieces. Place only a hand full at a time in a bowl to coat one breast at a time. Add more crumbs as needed. The reason you don't pour all crumbs at once is the crumbs will get wet and not coat chicken. Uncovered bake for one hour at 350*. This chicken is like a tad tiny tad bit spicy, but goooooood.
ReplyDeleteLove the barbecue chip idea
DeleteThat sounds yummy! I want to try it with the barbecue chips.
DeleteI'm going to try this. It looks very good. I'm tired off the store bought shake n bake.
ReplyDeleteI have chicken waiting to cook....why couldn't I have seen this BEFORE I went out to the grocery store!!!? Now I have to buy buttermilk and ranch dressing mix..
ReplyDeleteSOUNDS DELISH!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is also delicious with biscuits crumbs instead of panko. Just put them in a food processor, they work really well.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try ! This looks like the baked chicken I've been looking for.
ReplyDeleteJust found your site and subscribed. I love this recipe as it combines flavors and textures that my family love. Can not wait to see what your next recipe is!
ReplyDeleteCould you use this same recipe for fish fillets?
ReplyDeleteYes I do ! except skip the buttermilk !
DeleteCould you use this same recipe for fish fillets?
ReplyDeleteMost likely the coating recipe will work for fish, but don't soak fish in buttermilk first. Just make sure it's well rinsed and damp, or use an egg-wash (one egg and a couple of tablespoons of milk or water whisked together)to make sure the coating sticks to the fish. Also, cut down the cooking time because it doesn't take as long to cook fish as it does chicken pieces.
DeleteI tried this recipe for supper today. It was very good! Will definitely make it again!!
ReplyDeleteLooks good...my kids will definitely like it! I love the texture and flavor of Panko. Does you use the seasoned crumbs or the plain for this recipe? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow... This is way too much salt between the crackers,parmesan cheese,and dry ranch mix,and buttetmilk. Just saying
ReplyDeleteThen don't eat it! lol Sounds perfect for me!
DeleteI would omit the salt.
DeleteYou do not add any salt to the chicken. The salt in the ranch seasoning and the cracker crumbs is basically what it is seasoned with and is not too much or not too salty for that amount of chicken. If you have dietary restrictions and are on a low sodium diet, you might need to alter it, but a person on a regular diet would have not have concerns with this. Sodium is something folks actually need in their diets to some extent.
ReplyDeleteI have used corn flakes crushed and even frosted flakes crushed-- our kids loved it this way
ReplyDeleteYou should set your recipe pages so that they are printer friendly.
ReplyDeleteSo enjoying your recipes!
ReplyDeleteFor lower sodium issues...
Ritz has a lower sodium cracker
that works just fine.
If you can't find the Panko, matza meal works well, too. Should be easy to find since we're coming up on Passover.
ReplyDeleteThere is a "print friendly" button right above each post in the green box. If you click on that, it changes the post to a PDF document that is very easy to print. You can even click on 'remove images' to save ink and paper.
ReplyDeleteI just found that when on the printer friendly page if you click on the individual images that you do NOT want they will disappear and you can print only the images you want to include with the printed recipe or pdf (pdf is a way better way to save them)
DeleteMy sister made this and was kind enough to share with me. It was absolutely delicious. Moist and crisp. The coating was yummy.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely the best oven fried chicken we've had! What a great recipe! A definite new addition to our normal chicken rotation. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat can you use instead of ranch? I hate ranch and the taste of it. Could you use onion soup mix instead?
ReplyDeleteYou could try onion soup mix, but with all the other things in this recipe, it's likely that the ranch flavor won't be too recognizable. Onion soup mix will, however, make it much saltier.
DeleteThis looks wonderful and I'm going to try it!
ReplyDeleteDo you cover the chicken with foil or un covered......thanks
ReplyDeleteNo, don't cover the chicken with anything. Just cook it open on the cookie sheet which is covered with foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
DeleteIf don't have buttermilk, mix a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar with milk.
ReplyDeleteLooks & sounds good - got to try this !
ReplyDeleteTrying this tonight! CAN'T WAIT!!!!
ReplyDeleteIs the dry Ranch dressing mix just for flavor. Would the recipe still work if I left it out? Also, would any cracker work in place of the Ritz?
ReplyDeleteIf you want the recipe to turn out with good results, it's usually best to follow the recipe. The Ranch dressing is for seasoning and Ritz crackers are not like just any other cracker. They are more buttery and add flavor.
DeleteI made this used regular lays potato chips instead of ritz didnt have any ritz but it was soooooo good!Tonight Im trying it with ritz I love this stuff yum! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI made this the other night instead of ritz I used lays potato chips I loved it ..tonight im making again but with ritz yum thanks soo much
ReplyDeleteI do not understand why people are so critical. If you don't want to try it don't. It sounds great to me and I will try it just like it is. Love this site.
ReplyDeleteYou can dip the fish in buttermilk (do not marinate) and then roll in crumb mixture. Yummy.
ReplyDelete