Fried chicken is one of my favorite comfort foods. Unfortunately it isn’t one of the healthiest. However, it is still pretty easy to recapture that crunchy-goodness of fried chicken with a simple baked alternative.

The key to good fried chicken is a buttermilk marinade, and this baked alternative is no different. Buttermilk is very acidic and helps tenderize the chicken and keep it moist as well as lending a pleasantly tangy flavor.

I make my own breadcrumbs for this recipe. I normally keep Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs in the pantry but I find them to be too seasoned for fried chicken. I chop some almonds with the food processor to mix with my breadcrumbs. The almonds give the chicken a nice nutty taste and add a little crunch. To add a little kick, I season the breadcrumbs with plenty of black pepper.

Oven-Baked “Fried” Chicken

6 chicken breast halves, skinned (thighs and drumsticks work well too)

Marinade:
1 qt. buttermilk
1 onion roughly chopped
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Breadcrumb Mixture:
2 cups plain breadcrumbs (cornflake crumbs work too)
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. chopped almonds

1. Soak the chicken at least 8 hours (preferably overnight) in buttermilk with onion and cayenne pepper.

2. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk marinade. Combine the ingredients for the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Roll each chicken piece in the breadcrumb mixture and place on lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 400° uncovered for 45 minutes or until done.