22 Must-Make Fried Chicken Recipes

Fried chicken recipes in an array that offers you so many possibilities—brined, spiced, honeyed, buttermilked, waffled, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. It’s all here. Pass the napkins, please.

Pieces of bourbon buttermilk fried chicken on a baking sheet drizzled with honey and topped with sliced chiles.
This bourbon buttermilk fried chicken has that incredibly satisfying combination of mind-bogglingly crisp skin and meltingly tender meat with an ever-so-subtle hint of bourbon. The hardest part is letting it marinate for 2 days.
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Crispy fried chicken pieces on grease-stained paper.
The key to moist, plump, juicy fried chicken is the marinating, either in salted water—a brine—or in milk. I've combined the two methods. The combination of salt and milk results in sheer, succulent pleasure because the milk makes the meat even sweeter.
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A pile of Cajun fried chicken pieces.
This Cajun fried chicken recipe is bathed in buttermilk and turns out crisp, slightly spicy, perfectly deep-fried loveliness thanks to its Southern charm and Louisiana personality. Quite literally the best we’ve had.
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Seven pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet.
This gluten-free fried chicken doesn’t call for buttermilk but instead relies on coconut milk plus cornstarch and a pinch of chili powder to make the best fried chicken. No one will even notice it’s gluten-free and dairy-free.
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A platter of Nashville hot fried chicken with a jar of whipped butter in the background.
Nashville hot fried chicken boasts just the right level of heat which it takes from a bath of buttermilk and habanero sauce. It’s the style served at Prince’s Hot Chicken down South. Here’s how to make it at home.
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Several pieces of gluten-free dairy-free fried chicken in a parchment-lined metal bucket.
This gluten-free dairy-free fried chicken is made by dipping chicken pieces in coconut milk, then dredging in rice flour, potato starch, and spices.
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An oval plate with four pieces of Southern fried chicken wings.
Here’s how to make Southern fried chicken wings battered with a mixture of flour, paprika, Parmesan, and milk and fried until crisp. As easy to make as it is to crave. Well, almost.
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Three fried chicken and biscuits sandwiches on a baking sheet with a bowl of honey beside and drizzled around the sandwiches.
These fried chicken and biscuits meld two homemade Southern classics that are easy to make thanks to clever shortcuts. What results? Crisp fried chicken thighs and tender, flaky buttermilk biscuits. Here’s how to make them.
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A fried boneless chicken thigh drizzle with honey on a white plate with a fork next to it.
Egg Shop fried chicken fanatics, here's how to make the famously crisp, juicy, chile- and brown sugar-brined bird at home.
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Northern fried chicken piled on a green plate, with a bowl of gravy alongside.
Our Northern fried chicken is coated in a mix of matzo meal and flour, giving it a crust that's worlds away from your typical fried chicken. Lighter and crisp in a way that brings to mind a cornmeal crust. And don't skip the fried chicken seasoning–it adds a ton of flavor.
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Momofuku fried chicken pieces on a piece of brown paper, covered with Octo Vin, with chopsticks piled beside.
For this Momofuku fried chicken, you steam chicken before frying it and then you douse it in a Korean-inspired vinaigrette. It's unfailingly crisp-skinned on the outside and tender within. Genius as well as gluten-free.
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A platter of pickle-brined fried chicken with pieces of dill pickle, and a bottle of beer.
If you've never tried pickle-brined fried chicken, it needs to go to the top of your must-make list. Now.
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A man holding tongs in front of a skillet making southern pan-fried chicken, which is bubbling in the pan
This Southern pan-fried chicken is the classic, crispy fried chicken of your dreams. The chicken is brined, soaked in buttermilk, and coated. It's then fried in a skillet in a mixture of lard, oil, ham, and butter. The results? Crisp, juicy, perfectly seasoned fried chicken.
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Three pieces of cornmeal-crusted fried chicken on a white plate.
This cornmeal-crusted fried chicken from Sydney Meers, thanks to a quick brine and an easy dredge in flour and cornmeal, turns out tender, juicy meat, and shatteringly crisp skin. Here’s how to make it.
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Eight pan-fried chicken tenders piled on paper towels on a plate.
Pan-fried chicken tenders are an easy and tasty way to get dinner on the table in a hurry. Covered in a crisp batter, the toothsome filets of white meat beg to be dipped and devoured.
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Two pieces of cornmeal-crusted fried chicken with white barbecue sauce and a knife on a metal sheet.
This cornmeal-crusted fried chicken with white barbecue sauce has a crispy exterior thanks to its breading and tender, juicy meat, which pairs beautifully with a creamy, tangy mayonnaise-based white barbecue sauce.
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Four pieces of Judy Hesser's oven-fried chicken in a oval glass baking dish on top of a linen cloth.
This oven-fried chicken from Judy Hesser, momma of Amanda Hesser, is a classy Shake'n Bake. The chicken is brined, coated by shaking in a bag, and baked.
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Seven oven fried drumsticks with different coatings on a white background.
These oven fried drumsticks can be coated in bread crumbs or panko, sure. But let’s not forget crushed potato chips, cheese crackers, tortilla chips, crushed wasabi peas, saltines, corn flakes, or just about anything.
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A dozen pieces of double fried Japanese chicken on a paper towel.
Chicken karaage, or Japanese fried chicken, is made by marinating chicken in soy sauce and sake and then coating it in egg white and potato starch and frying it twice. The result is blissfully crisp and golden on the outside, tender and ridiculously juicy on the inside.
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A person pouring spicy maple bourbon syrup over a platter of waffle fried chicken bites, with a white plate with two bites on it beside the platter.
Waffle fried chicken is chicken coated with waffle batter and fried until crisp on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. With maple syrup for the kiddos and spiked syrup for the adults.
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Six breaded oven fried chicken thighs with four lemon wedges in a parchment-lined dish.
These breaded oven fried chicken thighs come together quickly with just a handful of pantry ingredients. They have all the crispy goodness of fried chicken, without the mess and hassle of deep frying.
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