My great-grandmother made the best fried chicken. At least that’s what my mom has always told me. I never got the chance to try it, but apparently it was next-level delicious. Maybe it was the fresh chicken she used—often butchered that same day—or the big cast-iron pot she used to cook it. Whatever her secrets were, I’ll never know. What I do know, however, is that a lot of recipes for really good fried chicken exist, and many of them have been shared by you, the readers. That’s why I found some of the best, channeled my great-grandmother, and then got to work frying up some chicken!
Top-Rated Fried Chicken Recipes
It’s a tough job selecting fried chicken recipes, but luckily, there’s a method to the madness. To be considered for this taste test, the fried chicken recipe had to have at least a 4-star rating and it had to have several glowing reviews. They were all a bit unique as well, which keeps things interesting.
One of the five recipes uses saltine crackers as the primary ingredient for the breading and two of the recipes use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Another recipe requires marinating the chicken in buttermilk before frying, and the other recipes call to “triple-dip” the chicken.
Judging Our Top-Rated Fried Chicken Recipes
It’s funny how people flock to you when you tell them you’ll be frying up several batches of chicken. Luckily I like people and I like feeding them, so I added a few chairs to my table and invited them to help me judge the best recipe. Of course I told them to enjoy themselves, but also slipped them a little paper to jot down notes about what they were eating. I tried to not provide too much in the way of guidance—it’s fried chicken, not an episode of Top Chef, but I did encourage them to consider the texture and flavor of both the chicken and the breading. Here are the results.
The Results
The Best Crunchy Fried Chicken
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Crispy Fried Chicken submitted by Elaine O.
- Average rating: 4.7
- Rave review: “I’ve been using this method for 40 years and it never fails me! My sister and son devoured the batch I just fried!” – ToughIce4711
Things get a bit messy when you’re dipping and coating, but without that two-step process, this chicken wouldn’t have been the crunchiest on the list. The key is to let the coated chicken sit until the flour is “of paste-like consistency.” Those words are even capitalized in the instructions, so don’t skip this step. While I never felt like my chicken looked like it was covered in paste, I did give it about 45 minutes to rest before frying it.
The verdict? The messy hands and wait were worth it for the crunch alone! My testers loved it too. It was satisfying and the chicken was tender. The only sad part was the flavor—there just wasn’t much. We all agreed we needed to make this one again, but next time, add more seasoning.
The Best Crispy Coated Fried Chicken
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Chicken Fried Chicken submitted by CASSJW
- Average rating: 4.7
- Rave review: “Absolutely hands down the best fried chicken I’ve ever made. We couldn’t stop eating it! The breading is the best and easy to make!” – segretowolf
Unlike the crunchy version above, this recipe for Chicken Fried Chicken resulted in a more cohesive, less crunchy, but definitely crispy, crust. I credit the saltine crackers for the lighter texture which my testers enjoyed, but unfortunately, the flavor fell flat. There wasn’t enough seasoning to keep things interesting and all of my testers agreed. Next time, I’ll add some poultry seasoning or a blend of spices to make things more flavorful.
The Best Battered Fried Chicken
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Triple Dipped Fried Chicken submitted by QUIRKYIQ
- Average rating: 4.4
- Rave review: “Made it exactly according to the recipe and served with chicken gravy and fries. Absolutely delicious.” – Anne
With a name like “triple-dipped,” you can’t avoid sticky hands and a messy countertop. After combining some flour and seasonings in a bowl and then making a beer batter in another bowl, it was all about moving quickly and strategically to coat, dip and coat the chicken again before frying. Was it worth it? My testers thought so—at least most of them. The triple-dip makes for a pretty intense coating, which some people loved and others didn’t. It was thick and crunchy, but on smaller pieces like drummettes, it fell off after one bite. The coating was tasty and flavorful, but we wondered if maybe it might be better for chicken tenderloins or a boneless cut.
The Best Boneless Fried Chicken
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Garlic Chicken Fried Chicken submitted by TANAQUIL
- Average rating: 4.7
- Rave review: “Made as directed and very good flavor! Very quick to make as well. Served with mashed potatoes and corn and breadsticks. Very good!👍” –Jeannie Rohan
Out of all the recipes, this was by far one of the easiest to make. It started with pounding boneless chicken breasts (you could also buy them “thin-sliced” at the grocery store to save time), then dipping them in a mixture of egg and milk before coating them in seasoned flour. Every step was clear and straightforward and Iprobes loved that this chicken was ready in just about 8 minutes.
My testers really enjoyed these saying that the chicken was flavorful and crunchy. It was also approachable and versatile—a great recipe for a weeknight dinner, but also parties and get-togethers. A few testers found the meat a bit dry, but that’s hard to avoid sometimes when cooking lean chicken breast. Next time I make these, I’ll try marinating them in buttermilk before breading and cooking for some added moisture.
The Best Fried Chicken
Sara Haas
- The recipe: Southern Style Buttermilk Fried Chicken submitted by pinkchef
- Average rating: 4.2
- Rave review: “Exceptional! Very easy and boy are they tasty! My grandkids loved them and so did I. Great granddaughter helped and wants to show her mom how to make them. Kudos to me!” – Margaret Guild Lambert
If you’ve got some time and you know you want fried chicken, this is the recipe you should make. It starts by whipping up a marinade using buttermilk, mustard and seasonings. After adding that and some chicken to a resealable bag you let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours. When you’re ready to fry, you make a quick seasoned flour mixture and add each piece of marinated chicken to it, tossing to coat.
Since cooking bone-in chicken is a challenge (and since the recipe doesn’t include much in the way of instructions), I kept my temperature probes nearby to keep my oil hot and also make sure my chicken was cooked to proper temperature. Finally, it was ready to eat, and eat is what we did. Out of all of the fried chicken recipes, this one resulted in the moistest, tender chicken that was also incredibly flavorful. The exterior was also well-seasoned and perfectly crisp. One tester said, “it’s hard not to really enjoy this chicken.” I couldn’t agree more! And if you make it, be sure to throw some flaky sea salt on it right when it comes out of the oil. Trust me.
