15 Fabulous Fried Chicken Recipes

There are a lot of opinions out there about what makes the best fried chicken—for some, the ultra-classic recipe pictured here just can't be beat. While we love this one, we still say there's way more than one way to make it flavorful and crunchy, and there are just as many delicious ways to serve it up.

Whole cut up chickens are the way to go when making this classic dish. In the Wyebrook Farm Fried Chicken, the chicken pieces are soaked in buttermilk to tenderize and add flavor before being coated in flour and deep fried. A drizzle of honey and scattering of lavender finishes it off. Or try a new flavor profile with the Tandori Fried Chicken. It brings great flavor from a good soak in tandoori sauce and a bit of cornmeal in the crust for extra crunch.

If you are looking to go a little healthier, you can oven-fry the chicken. Try our recipe for Oven Fried Chicken with Tabasco-Garlic Marinade—it's an oven fried chicken option that still delivers tons of flavor. Another good choice is our recipe for Cornflake Fried Chicken, which has extra crunch thanks to the addition of crushed cereal in the coating.

If you want to make dinner a little easier, you can fry up chicken cutlets. This versatile method of cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs can be served up in so many ways. Try our Chili-Glazed Fried Chicken Lettuce Cups, where the chicken is sliced and served in lettuce cups. Fried cutlets were made for sandwiches like this hot and spicy Nashville-Style Hot Chicken Sandwich. Our recipe for Quick Chicken and Waffles also makes good use of cutlets; the result is a Southern favorite that cooks up a little faster.

Whether deep-fried, oven-fried, bone-in or boneless, stuffed in a sandwich, or a stand-alone crispy cutlet, it's really hard to beat a crispy piece of fried chicken.

Wyebrook Farm Fried Chicken

The traditional buttermilk soak gets a flavor upgrade here by first puréeing it with garlic and onion before the chicken is added. Grab a sprig or two of fresh lavender from your garden or the farmers' market for the garnish — just be sure it's culinary grade so it hasn't been sprayed with non-food-grade pesticides.

Chili-Glazed Fried Chicken Lettuce Cups

Crunchy fried chicken thighs are seasoned with Old Bay, fried, then sliced before filling butter lettuce cups. The recipe calls for topping with sliced cucumbers and carrots, but red bell peppers and radishes would also be a nice way to add fresh crunchiness.

Tandori Fried Chicken

Fried chicken goes Indian and is served with a refreshing onion and herb salad. Be sure to give yourself at least a day or up to two days to marinate the chicken for optimal flavor.

Oven Fried Chicken

Skip the deep fryer and go healthy with this skinless oven-fried chicken. You can marinate for 30 minutes or even overnight if you've got the time.

Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Instead of the standard buttermilk soak, these nuggets get their tang from a quick soak in yogurt. Pick your favorite dipper to serve on the side—ketchup, mustard, or blue cheese dressing are great choices.

Korean Fried Chicken Wings

Cornstarch fills in for flour to coat these wings and brings them a serious crunchy coating. The sesame seed garnish not only looks gorgeous but also adds a little extra flavor boost with every bite.

Fried Chicken Sandwich

Be sure to use soft potato buns to let the crunchy fried chicken shine. A simple tartar sauce, lettuce, and pickles finish off this classic diner sandwich upgrade.

Pickled Peach and Mozzarella Salad with Fried Chicken Cutlets

Pickled peaches replace tomatoes in this fun and zesty twist on the standard a caprese salad. It's a perfect side to this simple fried chicken breast.

Quick Fried Chicken and Waffles

Using chicken cutlets instead of skin-on and bone-in chicken pieces helps get this classic Southern dish on the table faster. Don’t forget the hot sauce!

Quick Crispy Chicken

Toss the chicken in a bag with all of the dry ingredients for a quick and through coating. The chicken is baked instead of fried for a simpler and healthier dish.

Nashville-Style Hot Chicken Sandwich

This flavor-packed chicken sandwich is made Nashville-style—coated with melted butter seasoned with plenty of hot sauce. The coleslaw and pickles help cool things down a bit.

Crispy Chicken Cutlets

This incredibly versatile fried chicken is served with a salad here, but you could also pair it with your favorite vegetable and a roasted sweet potato. It would also make a perfect filling for a Kaiser or subway roll stuffed with a few leaves of lettuce and some sliced tomatoes.

Cornflake-Fried Chicken

Instead of the classic breadcrumb coating, this chicken gets coated in cornflakes. Be sure to give enough time to marinate the chicken—at least three hours or overnight.

Oven-Fried Chicken with Tabasco-Garlic Marinade

Spicy marinated chicken pieces get coated with a cornmeal mixture before baking. Serve with cucumbers tossed with yogurt for a cooling side dish.