Learn how to make a Crispy Fried Chicken Breast better than the ones in the restaurants. This is a chicken that is juicy and tender on the inside, not rubbery. With a light and crispy coating that is just delicious.
The first thing you’re going to love about this recipe is that you don’t need any special ingredients to make a good Crispy Fried Chicken Breast.
I will share my secrets for free! It is simple: for a good fried chicken breast, you need to brine the meat so you have flavor from the inside out. Because nothing is worse than a bland piece of chicken. But for the tenderness, we use baking soda!
Then the best part is the breading. I use the same one I use for my super crispy chicken, which is a combination of flour and cornstarch.
Then serve it next to a good potato salad or on bread with a good creamy spicy sauce.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Water & salt- This is used to make a cold brine. This helps to give the chicken a lot of flavor from the inside, so not just the coating has a good flavor.
- Chicken breast- This recipe uses a chicken breast but also works well with boneless chicken thighs. The chicken breast can be as big or as small as you find it because you will cut it and flatten it to the perfect size.
- Flour & cornstarch- When needing a breading that gives a super crispy texture, I like combining all-purpose flour and cornstarch. But you need less cornstarch because too much makes the coating rock solid.
- Seasonings- The seasonings are simple, we need salt, black pepper, garlic, and onion powder. Remember that we don’t need a lot because the chicken will already be brined.
How to Make A Fried Chicken Breast
- Photo 1: You don’t have to cut the chicken as I do; this is only a preference, but I’ll guide you so you can make it 2 different ways. First way: just butterfly the chicken in half. Second, you can do as I do and first cut the tenderloin. Then cut the chicken into ⅔, with the slimest part being the biggest.
- Photo 2: Then, it doesn’t matter which way you choose; just flatten the chicken to about ½ inch thick. Then, in a bowl, add the water, baking soda, and 1 ½ tablespoons of salt. Add the chicken and let it sit for 15 minutes, then quickly rinse the chicken 2 times and pat dry.
- Photo 3: Prepare the breading by adding the flour, cornstarch, and seasonings to a medium-sized bowl. You also need a bowl with plain water. Dip the chicken in the flour on both sides, shake off the excess flour, and dip in the water. Then dip the chicken in the flour again while pressing on the chicken to make sure it is completely covered in flour. Shake the chicken again to remove any excess flour.
- Photo 4: In a medium-sized pan, add oil over medium-high heat and let the oil get hot. Then add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes while flipping a couple of times to make sure the chicken browns evenly.
Recipe Tips
- Breading. Try to bread the chicken right before frying so the flour doesn’t sit too long on the chicken and start getting wet.
- Spicy. If you want to add some spice to the chicken, add some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to the flour.
More Chicken Recipes
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Crispy Fried Chicken Breast
This is going to be your go-to fried chicken breast recipe! This is the perfect fried chicken to enjoy on the side of a mash potato, over pasta or to make a super crispy chicken sandwich.
Ingredients
Brine
- 1 chicken breast
- 2 cups water
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Breading
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 cups oil (for frying)
Instructions
Cutting the chicken
- First, cut the tenderloin of the chicken breast. Then cut the chicken breast so that the thinnest part of the chicken is about 2 third of the cut. The smaller side of the chicken should be the thickest part of the chicken breast. (See step image in post for reference).
- Place the chicken pieces flat on a surface and cover with plastic wrap or a Ziploc bag. Pound the chicken until each piece is about ½ inch thick.
Brining the chicken
- In a big bowl, add the water, 1 ½ tablespoons of salt, ½ tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and mix. Then add the chicken and let it sit for only 15 minutes.
- Rinse the chicken 2 times with cold water and remove any excess water.
Breading the chicken
- In a bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, garlic and onion powder, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of salt. Mix until all the flour and the seasonings are well combined.
- Prepare an extra bowl of water to dip the chicken in.
- First, bread your chicken and remove any excess flour. Quickly dip the chicken in the water and then dip it in the breading to cover it again with the flour mixture. Press down on the chicken and flour so it can stick better to the meat. Do this on both sides of the chicken. Repeat with the other piece of chicken.
Frying
- In a medium-size pan, add the oil and set the heat to medium-high. Wait for the oil to get hot, and then add both chicken pieces. Fry for 12 minutes while flipping a couple of times.
- Remove the chicken onto a baking rack so it can drip and excess oil. Buen provecho!
Recipe Notes
- Cutting the chicken- I like to cut the chicken crosswise, but this is just a preference and more of a visual thing. But you can cut your chicken lengthwise. Since we flatten our chicken to the same thickness, it should cook the same even if you cut your chicken lengthwise.
- Size of the chicken- Depending on where you get your chicken breast, sometimes it can be larger or smaller. Just flatten to ½ inch pieces to get the same results overall.
- Brine- The brining part helps greatly to get a very tender chicken. But you have to make sure not to leave the chicken in for more than 15 minutes!!!! More time does not equal a more tender piece of meat. It will get rubbery and stringy if left longer.
- Fried chicken sandwich
- Mashed Potatoes & 10-minute gravy
- Puerto Rican Salad
Nutrition
Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 5929mg | Potassium: 472mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 2mg
*The nutrition information is automatically calculated, so this is only an approximation.
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