Fried Chicken Recipes: 8 Fail-Proof Ways to Have a Healthy Treat

Today’s fried chicken recipes prove that this comfort food can be both healthy and delicious.

Like many foods, fried chicken sits at neither end of the nutrition spectrum. Some certainly raise red flags but a few others are closer to the healthy end.

So, in today’s fried chicken recipes collection we’ve included the ones that are both tasty and healthy. We’re not sure which one exactly tastes best, so we’ve listed all we have and would like you to be the judge. All of them have a crispy skin that’s either embedded with spices and seasonings or drizzled with a flavorful sauce on top. All should come with around 450-500 calories, other healthy stats, and a side of veggies to up your micro intakes.

If you’re already familiar with the tips and techniques involved, click here to get to the recipes section instantly. If you’re quite new or simply want a review, read on to see how we typically prepare our fried chicken.

Healthy Fried Chicken Recipes

Below are 8 fried chicken recipes we thought you’d like:

1 of 8

Chicken with Orange Sauce Recipe

Our chicken with orange sauce recipe features the classic battered fried chicken chunks in a tasty and flavorful orange sauce.

Get the recipe.

2 of 8

How Our Air Fried Chicken Is Made Better

1 of 8

Air Fryer Fried Chicken Recipe

Our air fryer fried chicken recipe will help you make the perfect crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside chicken drumsticks.

Get the recipe.

3 of 8

A pair of chopsticks holding up a piece of deep-fried chicken covered in honey sauce and white roasted sesame seeds

1 of 8

Honey Chicken Recipe

Turn a classic Chinese takeout into your very own homemade staple with this honey chicken recipe. The crispy chicken is coated in luscious and heavenly sweet honey sauce, making each bite incredibly addictive. Taking only around 30 minutes to cook, this dish is an ideal choice for all your weeknight dinners.

Get the recipe.

4 of 8

1 of 8

Air Fryer Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe

If you are bored of the standard oily deep-fried chicken, today’s air fryer buttermilk fried chicken recipe will become a fast favorite.

Get the recipe.

5 of 8

1 of 8

Mochiko Chicken Recipe

Today’s mochiko chicken recipe gives you a straightforward and splendid way to enjoy one of the most famous Hawaiian staples.

Get the recipe.

6 of 8

1 of 8

Fried Chicken Salad Recipe

Today’s fried chicken salad recipe allows you to have fun while eating healthy with fried chicken on a bed of vegetables.

Get the recipe.

7 of 8

1 of 8

Popcorn Chicken Recipe

Our popcorn chicken recipe sates your fast food cravings with tender-yet-crispy chicken bites. These ones are also healthier than the store-bought version.

Get the recipe.

8 of 8

1 of 8

Spicy Chicken Recipe

Our spicy chicken recipe will give you a taste of Korean cuisine with this spicy yet irresistible fried chicken dish.

Get the recipe.

The Best Cuts to Make

To many, the best fried chicken comes in a size that can be held snugly between the fingers, and as such, the drumsticks and wings are the best cuts. Some prefer the meatier drumsticks while others the wings, with less meat but almost always juicy and tender in the end.

If the nutritional benefits interest you more, chicken breast might just be your favorite. It’s the highest in protein and the least in saturated fat. Plus, it makes delicious nuggets and is the only cut to pull off the ‘cordon bleu’. It’s our favorite cut, too.

If you just prefer larger cuts, the thighs or leg quarters would do.

The Best Ways to Cook

Very crispy chicken must be cooked whole in hot oil, so deep-frying is the ideal method by default. Pan-frying comes next—it returns a crispy result but doesn’t work well with wet batter and requires you to flip the meat halfway.

Both methods work with lots of hot oil, so extra careful handling is advised.

The other methods are air-frying and baking, which do not splash, thankfully. We either give them an oil spray or incorporate some fat (butter, cheese, oil, shortening, or lard) into the coating to make it crispy. Due to the lack of sudden exposure to high heat, however, the coating may not turn out as crispy as when deep-fried or pan-fried.

Apart from the cooking method, the coating formula itself plays an important role in making crispy fried chicken.

The Perfect Coating

There’s the wet batter, the flour coating, and the breadcrumb coating. In our opinion, each works best in different circumstances.

The wet batter works best with deep-frying. With enough room to move around, the batter should ‘bloom’, creating thin flakes that make a light, sharp crunchy sound. The batter, of course, doesn’t work well with air-frying or baking.
The dry coating (coating the meat in beaten eggs before dry flour) also gives a similar crunchy result when fried in oil. Plus, it allows for prepping the chicken in advance. The texture, however, is denser than the batter method, and the residual dry flour tends to make the oil dirty. It doesn’t work very well with air-frying and baking either.
The breadcrumb coating (coating the meat in flour, beaten egg, then breadcrumbs) works nicely with all frying methods. Like the flour coating, it also freezes well. The crunchiness, however, doesn’t compare to the other coatings.

For deep-frying, we prefer a wet batter; for pan-frying, a dry coating; and for air-frying or baking, breadcrumbs.

The Best Oil to Fry Chicken

Being exposed to high heat for a long time, the ideal oil for deep-frying should have a high smoking point and a low polyunsaturated fat content. Avocado oil, soybean oil, etc. are great neutral oil options.

Canola, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, or oil that’s previously used to cook other foods should be avoided, as they tend to create unhealthy substances. For the same reason, reusing the frying oil is also not advised.