A family favorite, true comfort food, and an easy dinner recipe, Easy Southern Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken, has a crispy, fried to perfection crust, juicy, flavorful meat, fewer calories and less mess to clean up than classic fried chicken.
I can’t imagine a more perfect food than Southern Fried Chicken, that is, I couldn’t until I made this Easy Southern Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken recipe.
I love fried chicken and admit it’s my favorite food! There, I’ve said it! And, you know what? Most of my friends agree. We all grew up eating fried chicken, and to this day, it’s still our favorite.
Of course, these days, love it or not, it’s not something I eat or cook regularly, and you know all of the reasons for this, so there is no point in covering them here. But guess what? This recipe for Easy Southern Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken is so close to the real thing, I don’t miss real fried chicken at all.
Is oven-fried chicken healthy?
While I wouldn’t call oven-fried chicken a health food, it’s certainly healthier than traditional fried chicken, and one might even go so far as to say it’s “healthy-ish”.
I really could go on and on about how good it is, but I’m just going to keep this short and sweet and ask you to try it yourself! Please be sure to let me know if you agree that this recipe for crispy oven-fried chicken is a great substitute for real fried chicken.
More Easy Chicken Thigh recipes:
If you like dark meat as I do, I know you will also love these easy chicken thigh recipes. A bonus: most recipes are also one-pan skillet meals.
Easy Honey Baked Bone-In Chicken Thighs
Skillet Mediterranean Chicken Bake
Bacon and Mushroom Skillet Chicken
Broiled Chili Rubbed Chicken Thighs
Healthy Chicken Cauliflower Skillet
If you want even more recipes for chicken, check out all of my chicken recipes here.
How to make crispy chicken in the oven.
At least 4-6 hours before you plan to cook the chicken, place the pieces in a large bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to brine it. Cover and place in the refrigerator.
What is brine, and what does it do?
Brine is a salt solution made by mixing salt and water. When a piece of chicken is soaked in a brine solution, the solution is drawn into the meat, and it ends up juicier and moister when cooked.
Once the chicken is brined, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, drain, and pat dry with a paper towel.
Place the butter in a large roasting pan (which should be large enough to fit all of the chicken pieces in one layer without crowding).
Place the pan in the oven, to allow it to heat up and the butter to melt. Watch it carefully and don’t let the butter burn, you just want it hot enough so that the chicken starts cooking as soon as it hits the pan.
While the pan is heating, place the flour, remaining salt, and pepper in a large plastic storage bag. Add the chicken, a piece at a time and shake well, until each piece is thoroughly coated. Shake off any excess flour and repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Remove the pan from the oven and place the chicken in it, skin side down.
Oven-fry the chicken for 30-40 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown and crispy.
Remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula and turn the chicken over. Cook for an additional 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oven, and drain on paper towels.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Sharon’s Expert Tips:
Instead of a bowl, you can use a large plastic storage bag in which to brine the chicken.
You can substitute bone-in skin-on chicken breasts for chicken thighs. If they are large, cut them into equal thirds.
Brine is a salt solution made by mixing salt and water. When a piece of chicken is soaked in a brine solution, the solution is drawn into the meat, and it ends up juicier and more moist when cooked.
Easy Southern Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 Tbsp kosher salt divided
- 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- At least 4-6 hours before you plan to cook the chicken, place the pieces in a large bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Cover and place in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Place the butter in a large roasting pan, which should be large enough to fit all of the pieces in one layer without crowding.
- Place the pan in the oven, to allow it to heat up and the butter to melt. Watch it carefully, and don't let the butter burn, you just want the chicken to start cooking as soon as it hits the pan.
- While the pan is heating, place the flour, remaining salt, and pepper in a large plastic storage bag. Add the chicken, a piece at a time and shake well, until the piece is thoroughly coated. Shake off any excess flour and repeat with the rest of the chicken.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place the chicken in it, skin side down.
- Oven-fry the chicken for 30-40 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and use a spatula and turn the chicken over. Cook for an additional 20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, and drain on paper towels.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
I have made this recipe probably about 10 times now–it has almost become a staple for us! It is always superb and is really very easy to do. Just get it in the oven and then relax with a glass of wine until it’s done! No mess! Thanks, Sharon, for another great recipe!
Now all my family love chicken any way it is fixed but we are going to try this fried chicken.
Oh my goodness Sharon. This chicken is to die for! Just looking at your photos made me hungry. I went years without brining and I cannot believe how much of a difference it makes in chicken now that I do it. I love chicken thighs and this is perfect. Thanks for posting.
Hi Kristy,
I love fried chicken prepared anyway, anytime! And, I can eat this without all of the guilt…
Take care,
Sharon