Gluten Free Fried Chicken

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Sinfully delicious, this gluten free chicken is as crispy, crunchy, tender, and juicy as what you’d get from the best fried chicken joint in town! We even love it cold the next day. Trust me! I’m a Southerner, and this is some seriously good gluten-free fried chicken.

What We Love About This Recipe
- This is good, down-home, Southern-style, classic fried chicken – with a completely gluten-free breading! If you’ve been missing out on this crispy comfort food because of Celiac or a gluten sensitivity, this recipe is especially for you.
- Frying chicken in a skillet rather than a deep fryer means cooks the chicken through completely before crisping up the breading. You’ll have absolute juicy, crunchy perfection in every bite. Watch out, KFC. Move over, Popeye’s.
- The breading is lightly seasoned, giving the chicken an extra-savory flavor. There’s nothing bland or boring about this recipe!
Cheryl’s Tips
- To make your fried chicken dairy free AND gluten free, you can replace the buttermilk with a mixture of almond milk and lemon juice.
- Letting the fried chicken drain on a wire rack will ensure the oil falls away from the chicken, rather than leaving the chicken laying in pooled oil. Maximum crispiness!
- If you want to make sure your breading stays nice and stuck to the chicken, do not skip the “rest until it’s paste-like” step! Lightly pressing the flour mix onto the chicken pieces after you take them out of the bag will help, too.
- Freshly fried chicken, gluten free or not, will be VERY hot! Make sure to let the chicken cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Trust me – the last thing you want is to be scalded by a secret pocket of hot oil.
Other Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes
- Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Creamy Dijon Chicken
- Gluten Free King Cake
- 20 Gluten Free Side Dishes
- Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan
- One Pan Chicken and Veggies
- Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie
- The Best EVER Gluten-Free Lemon Cake
- Gluten Free Meatloaf
- Gluten Free Crepes
- Smoked Chicken Legs
- Gluten Free Potato Soup
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Gluten Free Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon paprika plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon salt plus more as needed
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper plus more as needed
- 1 4-pound whole chicken cut into separate pieces
- vegetable oil approximately 2 quarts, plus more as needed
Equipment
- large sealable food-safe plastic bag
- large shallow bowl
- large cookie sheet
- wax paper or clean dish towel
- large cast iron skillet with lid
- Deep fry thermometer
- Tongs
- Internal meat thermometer
- Wire cooling rack
- Paper towels
Instructions
- Add 1 cup buttermilk to large shallow bowl. Set aside.
- Add 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper to large sealable bag. Seal bag completely and shake or toss bag to fully incorporate dry ingredients. Set aside.
- After cutting 1 4-pound whole chicken into separate pieces, dip one chicken piece in buttermilk, coating both sides. Allow excess buttermilk to drip back into bowl.
- Add buttermilk-dipped chicken to bag of seasoned flour. Seal bag completely, then shake and toss bag until chicken is fully coated in flour. Shake excess flour off of chicken and back into bag, then place chicken on cookie sheet.
- Repeat process with remaining pieces of chicken until all chicken has been breaded. Add more flour and seasonings to bag as needed depending on amount of chicken.
- When all chicken pieces have been breaded and arranged on cookie sheet, cover chicken with wax paper or clean dish towel.
- Let chicken rest until flour mixture develops paste-like consistency.
- Place large cast-iron skillet on stovetop over high heat. Fill skillet approximately halfway with vegetable oil. Heat skillet until oil reaches 350° Fahrenheit according to deep-fry thermometer.
- Once oil is ready, place breaded pieces of chicken in skillet, filling skillet completely without overlapping chicken.
- Pan-fry chicken until browned on bottom, then flip chicken over and fry until browned on other side.
- After browning both sides of chicken pieces, reduce heat under skillet to medium-low. Place lid on skillet and fry chicken 30 minutes or until chicken reaches 165° Fahrenheit internally.
- While chicken cooks, spread out multiple layers of paper towels on flat surface. Place wire cooling rack over paper towels.
- Once chicken is cooked through, uncover skillet and set lid aside. Increase heat under skillet to high. Fry chicken, flipping chicken as needed, until breading is crispy.
- Transfer fried chicken to wire cooling rack. Repeat process until all chicken pieces have been fried. If cooking chicken in multiple batches, set oven to 175° Fahrenheit and place fried chicken in oven to keep warm.
- Once all chicken has been fried, serve chicken hot with desired sides.
Nutrition Information
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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