3 Easy Fried Chicken Breast Recipes

Nothing beats fried chicken fresh out of the fryer. Discovering the secret to perfectly golden, crunchy Southern fried chicken is what family legacies are built upon. But once you start accounting for all the ingredients, the mess of frying on the stove, and the labor-intensive work that goes into taking that bird from the store to the table, you might shy away from frying chicken at home.

Luckily, not all fried chicken recipes require a 100-year history of trial and error and family secrets. Instead, try one of these easy fried chicken recipes that take the chore out of cooking chicken. Each of these three easy fried chicken recipes highlights different techniques for producing that great fried chicken flavor you are craving without complicated kitchen procedures.

If you want to vary these easy fried chicken recipes, change the type of oil to anything that can tolerate the heat. Or play around with what you use to coat your chicken: You can use anything from grains like quinoa to pancake mix for batter.

Buttermilk marinade is the secret to fried chicken that's tender and juicy. The enzymes in act as a natural tenderizer, and the jalapeño provides a nice fresh kick of flavor in this easy fried chicken breast recipe. It's a perfect start for fried chicken, but also works well for grilled foods.

For the Jalapeño Fried Chicken recipe, click here.

Why didn't anyone tell me that breadcrumbs can stick to meat just fine without the time-consuming flour//breadcrumb three-step process? News flash! Raw skinless chicken is very sticky and holds this whole-grain breading quite well. No need for frying here; try this "faux fry" method of high-heat baking, using a generous coating of good-quality cooking spray oil to give these fries a nice crisp finish. A good pair of kitchen scissors is your best friend for cutting the chicken into fry-shaped sticks for this easy fried chicken recipe.

For the Parmesan Chicken Fries recipe, click here.

This -crusted fried chicken is a healthier approach to an American classic — instead of dredging the bird in bread crumbs, this easy fried chicken recipe uses quinoa to crust the chicken. Plus, it's baked in the oven instead of fried, which makes this dish a diet-friendly alternative.

For the Quinoa-Crusted Fried Chicken recipe, click here.
 

Click here for more fried chicken recipes.

Angela Carlos is the Cook Editor at The Daily Meal. Find her on Twitter and tweet @angelaccarlos.