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Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken

Published: Apr 20, 2022

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This Gluten-Free Fried Chicken recipe balances flavour and textures, to produce an outstanding fried chicken. You wouldn't know it's gluten-free!

This Gluten-Free Fried Chicken balances flavour and textures, to produce an outstanding fried chicken. You wouldn't know it's gluten-free!

Note: This recipe was first posted on my original blog, Celebration Generation, on Jul 6, 2020. It was transferred over to this blog - existing comments and all - on 9/20/2021. It was updated on 4/20/2022

When this was first posted, it was Fried Chicken Day, so I figured it was about time to share my recipe for Gluten-Free Fried Chicken!

I developed this recipe for my first gluten-free cookbook, "Beyond Flour: A Fresh Approach to Gluten-Free Cooking and Baking".

When I started work on that book, I approached it as a giant gluten-free "wish list" - and traditional fried chicken was HIGH on the list of requests from my readers and Kickstarter Backers.

It’s among the ultimate comfort foods, but - for being such a favorite food - that crispy fried chicken seemed out of reach for a lot of my readers with celiac disease or food allergies.

Between flavours, textures, and varying reactions to frying... there's a lot of really awful gluten-free fried chicken out there. NO MORE!

The Best Gluten Free Fried Chicken

Much like with the rest of the recipes in my Beyond Flour books, I looked at the flavours and properties of the various gluten-free flour alternatives out there, and combined them to come up with the BEST balance of flavour and texture ... as well as behaviour.

“Behaviour” was an important consideration when developing this gluten free fried chicken recipe. I wanted a flour blend that tasted great, held together, and fried up to a golden, crisp coating.

The seasonings were chosen specifically for that gluten-free flour mix, and balances everything out well.

The resulting crispy gluten-free fried chicken is very flavourful, with the texture of a normal, wheat flour fried chicken. This is the real deal!

It holds together well, without holding onto excess grease. There's no gummy feeling, or weird mouth feel.

It's just a genuinely great fried chicken recipe - and one that passes very well for a "normal" fried, coated chicken.

You can absolutely serve this crispy chicken to the entire family, guests, etc without worry!

Enjoy!

Note: The development of this recipe also spawned my Best Coleslaw Recipe EVER - as pictured here.

3 pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a plate, next to a small bowl of colourful coleslaw.

Equipment

There are a few things you’ll need to make this recipe.

Meat Thermometer

Let’s start with the easiest piece of equipment you’ll need - an Instant Read Meat Thermometer.

The internal temperature matters, both for food safety and quality reasons. You’ll want to use one of these whether you’re deep frying, air frying, or baking this recipe.

If you don’t already have such a device, I highly recommend getting one!

Deep Fryer

If you don’t have a deep fryer, you’ll want to use a heavy bottomed pot, ideally fairly large.

Alternately, you can use an air fryer, or bake this recipe - more on that in a bit.


3 pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a plate, next to a small bowl of colourful coleslaw.

Gluten Free Fried Chicken Ingredients

The Chicken

This recipe makes about 10 chicken pieces, give or take. You can use whatever form of chicken - bone in or boneless - that you like.

We’ll generally go with bone in, skin on when we want actual “fried chicken”: chicken breast, chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks.. Even wings.

A whole chicken can be cut up into individual chicken parts, as an economical option.

Sometimes, we’ll use boneless, skinless when we’re looking to make gluten-free chicken fingers, etc.

The Coating

The coating is where most of the ingredients list gets used. It may look involved, but it really does closely resemble coating made from wheat flour!

Dry Mix

Like my other gluten-free recipes, I don’t use a premade all purpose flour for this recipe. My flour blend for this recipe uses:

Corn Starch
Millet Flour
Sorghum Flour
White Rice Flour
Baking Powder

As well as spices :

Ground Black Pepper, Dried Sage, Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Sea Salt.

Wet Ingredients

The egg mixture uses just 2 simple ingredients - Buttermilk and Large eggs. Couple notes on that:

Buttermilk is the best option, but you can substitute milk, either as-is, or with a little bit of fresh lemon juice added, to make your own buttermilk substitute.

If you need a dairy-free option, use coconut milk.

The Frying Oil

If you’re deep frying this recipe - I HIGHLY recommend it - you’ll want to use one of the vegetable oil options, like canola oil, corn oil, or sunflower oil. Peanut oil is another great option.

These are all great oils for frying - neutral flavours, high smoke point, low cost.

Olive oil is NOT appropriate for deep frying, but can be used as a spray if you’re baking or air frying these (more on that in a bit).

Coconut oil and avocado oil also aren’t great for deep frying, but work well as sprays for baking and use in the air fryer.

3 pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a plate, next to a small bowl of colourful coleslaw.

How to Make Gluten-Free Fried Chicken

Note: The process photos in this section are actually of my Keto Fried Chicken Recipe, over on my low carb blog. Exact same process, slightly different ingredients.

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, this is the pictorial walk-through, with additional tips and information.

Prepare the Chicken

Arrange your pieces of chicken on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper, for easy cleanup!). Pat dry with paper towels, season well with salt and place in the fridge - uncovered - for one hour.

Chicken pieces resting on a parchment lined baking sheet.

In one large bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and water, set aside.

In a separate bowl - I’ll usually use a more shallow dish for this second bowl - whisk together dry ingredients until well combined.

Lightly dredge all rested pieces of chicken in flour mixture, shaking excess mixture back into the bowl.

A 5 part image showing the coating mix being made, and the chicken pieces coated in it.

Measure about 1 tablespoon of milk/egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to work the moisture into the dry mixture, creating some small lumps throughout.

A 3 part image showing a bit of the egg mix being added to the dry mix and crumbled.

One piece of chicken at a time, dip chicken into buttermilk mixture - shaking off excess -and then dredge chicken in dry mixture. Press flour mixture firmly against the piece of chicken to adhere, arrange on a baking sheet.

A 2 part image showing a piece of chicken being coated.

Repeat with remaining chicken.

Once all chicken has been dipped and coated, allow to rest for 15 minutes.

A pan of coated gluten free chicken, ready to be deep fried.

Fry the Chicken

Heat oil 325 F (165 C) You can use a deep fryer, or a heavy pan.

*****

If not using a deep fryer, use a deep, heavy pot or large dutch oven, filled to at least 3" deep.

I’ll usually heat the oil over medium-high heat, then turn it down to medium heat - or lower - when the oil reaches temperature.

*****

Once oil reaches temperature, carefully place chicken in the hot oil, one piece of chicken at a time, avoiding splashing the oil.

Fry chicken in batches until nicely golden brown and crispy, and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 F.

Gluten free fried chicken being deep fried.

(Note: Be sure that the internal temperature of each piece of chicken is safe. Larger pieces will take longer to come to the right temperature than smaller pieces

The cooking time will vary, but should take between 10-14 minutes, depending on the size/type of chicken pieces. Allow oil temperature to come back up between batches.

Transfer cooked chicken to a plate, wire rack, or pan lined with paper towels, to soak up excess oil.

Serve hot!

Store any leftovers fried chicken in an airtight container - or on a plate covered with plastic wrap - in the fridge for a few days.

The best way to reheat is in an air fryer, but an oven or microwave will do if you don’t have one.

3 pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a plate, next to a small bowl of colourful coleslaw.

Alternate Cooking Instructions

Not wanting to mess around with the deep frying process, or just want to use less oil? You can bake this “fried” chicken recipe, or use an air fryer. Here’s how:

Baked Gluten Free Fried Chicken

After you’ve fully coated all of the chicken pieces, pre heat oven to 400, line a sheet pan - or two - with parchment paper, spray with pan spray or olive oil, or avocado oil.

Arrange coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet(s), spray generously with oil.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chicken pieces reaches 165 F.

Air Fryer Gluten Free Fried Chicken

Air frying is the easiest way to get a good approximation of deep fried chicken, without all of the oil. It “fries” up more crisp than the baked version.

Once all of the chicken is coated and resting, preheat your air fryer to 400F.

Once heated, spray the air fryer basket with oil, and arrange breaded chicken pieces in a single layer, leaving a bit of space between each.

Air fry for about 20 minutes. About halfway through, re-spray the chicken, flip each piece, spray the new “top” side, and continue cooking.

Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 F.


Gluten-free fried chicken being cooked in an air fryer.

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Variations

This recipe is a great base recipe for making fried chicken, but can definitely be customized to your tastes. Here are a few ideas for you:

Vary the Format!

You can use this recipe to make gluten free chicken nuggets or chicken tenders!

I’ll usually skip the “add 1 tablespoon of wet mixture” step when making nuggets, though. Sometimes I’ll toss some sesame seeds in, for some added texture.

Just cut up some boneless skinless chicken breast into your choice of format - chunks for nuggets, long fingers for tenders - and follow the recipe for coating them.

You’ll need a shorter cooking time, so just keep an eye on it.

A 3 part image showing a piece of chicken being coated.

Spice it Up

If you’d like a bit more kick, add some Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder, Hatch Chile Powder, and/or Smoked Serrano Powder to the dry mix.

Alternately, you can add some hot sauce to the wet mix.

Serve with ranch dressing!

3 pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a plate, next to a small bowl of colourful coleslaw.

More Gluten-Free Main Dish Recipes

Looking for more dinner ideas? I’ve got you covered! Try one of these gluten free recipes ...

Gluten-Free Bacon Poutine Pizza
Gluten-Free Beef Stroganoff
Gluten-Free Beet Gnocchi
Gluten-Free Chicken Mushroom Tourtiere
Gluten-Free Coconut Shrimp
Gluten-Free Cod Au Gratin
Gluten-Free Cod Cheeks & Dressing
Gluten-Free Crab Cakes
Gluten-Free Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Gluten-Free Creamy Creole Pasta
Gluten-Free Creamy Creole Soup
Gluten-Free Fish Fingers & Custard
Gluten-Free French Onion Soup Tart
Gluten-Free Perogies
Gluten-Free Sesame Chicken
Gluten-Free Spicy Orange Chicken
Gluten-Free Square Root Tart
Gluten-Free Tourtiere

2 pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a plate, next to a small bowl of colourful coleslaw.

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @BeyondFlourBlog - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

Also, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.

Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

3 pieces of gluten-free fried chicken on a plate, next to a small bowl of colourful coleslaw.
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken

This Gluten-Free Fried Chicken perfectly balances the flavours and textures of the batter, to produce an outstanding fried chicken. You wouldn't know it's gluten-free!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Chilling / Resting Time1 hr 15 mins
Total Time2 hrs
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Gluten-free
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 347kcal
Author: admin

Ingredients

  • About 10 chicken pieces to fry - thighs drumsticks, breasts, etc
  • Salt
  • 4 Large eggs
  • ⅓ cup Buttermilk
  • 1 cup Corn starch
  • ½ cup Millet flour
  • ½ cup Sorghum flour
  • ¼ cup White rice flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon Pepper
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ½ teaspoon Dried sage
  • ¼ teaspoon Paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon Onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Garlic powder

Instructions

  • Arrange chicken on a baking sheet, season well with salt and place in the fridge - uncovered - for one hour.
  • In one large bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk, set aside.
  • In a separate large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients until well combined. Lightly dredge all rested chicken in flour mixture, shaking excess flour mixture back into the bowl.
  • Measure about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of buttermilk/egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to work the moisture in to the dry mixture, creating some small lumps throughout.
  • One piece at a time, dip chicken into egg mixture, and then into flour mixture. Press flour mixture firmly against the chicken to adhere, arrange on a baking sheet. Once all chicken has been dipped and coated, allow to rest for 15 minutes.
  • Heat oil 325 F (165 C) You can use a deep fryer, or a heavy pan. If not using a deep fryer, use a deep, heavy pot, filled to at least 3" deep.
  • Once oil reaches temperature, fry chicken in batches until nicely browned and crispy. This should take between 10-14 minutes, depending on the size/type of chicken pieces. Allow oil to come back up to temperature between batches.
  • Transfer cooked chicken to a plate or pan lined with paper towels, to soak up excess oil.
  • Serve hot!

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 488mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 271IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 2mg

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Marie Porter


Author of the "Beyond Flour" series of gluten-free cookbooks, autistic polymath, and cat mom.

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