Who loves fried chicken? It’s probably one of my favorite meals. My whole family knows it. We didn’t got out to eat often when I was young. When my Grandparents would visit from California, they’d take the whole family out to lunch. All six kids and two parents, which makes sense why we didn’t go out to eat often unless Grammy and Papa came to visit 🙂
My favorite thing to order would be the classic mashed potatoes and creamy corn and fried chicken. Only it would be buffet style so obviously all you can eat (for a six year old, not sure if they got their monies worth!) but I sure did at the ice cream station! Now that I’m older, not a lot has changed. I still love a good crispy, golden, southern fried chicken. Anyone who is from the Twin Cities knows what I’m talking about. Ever heard of the restaurant Revival? It has won my heart.
The thing that has changed, is I’m probably not going to eat all the fried chicken at the buffet, because, well you can handle a little more chicken when you are young! So, what I’ve created here is a fried chicken rendition that actually isn’t fried. It’s baked. Which 1) means less work, and 2) less dishes to wash, and 3) well baked has coined the term “healthier” so maybe it’s just that! Either way, you are going to love it.
What makes this chicken paleo friendly? It’s the crackers that give it the extra crunchy, almost corn flake texture (anyone grow up eating these?! Me!) But I definitely chose my crackers wisely. Meaning, I didn’t lose out on the flavor but found some paleo ones for you! My favorite ones I’ve tried is from the brand Simple Mills. You can buy them for cheap at Costco or your local health food store. If you like a little kick, I’d recommend the Jalapeño Sprouted Seed Crackers.
Then all you need to do is crush up those crackers and whisk a few eggs and dredge the chicken in all of this goodness. What a fancy free happy weeknight meal!
Plus, don’t forget the ghee or butter if you aren’t paleo! Cause you know you need that golden, baked chicken and you get that by adding all the healthy fat. Don’t fear the fat people. If you’d rather use extra virgin olive oil, that would probably be fine too. Might give it a bit of a different flavor but I’m sure it’d be wonderful!
And if you are like me, you need some potatoes with your crispy chicken. You could add sweet potatoes drizzled with olive oil and sea salt with some cinnamon or a few yellow potatoes sprinkled with pepper, salt & parsley! Also, you probably already know I’m a HUGE fan of roasted veggies, so basically just add those to the mix! I love me some cauliflower and broccoli action. Plus butter, or ghee, or extra virgin olive oil, you know, whatever is your thaaaaaaang. And of course some crunch so making my paleo broccoli cabbage coleslaw would also me totally appropriate.
Nothing is stopping you now from making all the crispy, crunchy, buttery, chicken cause hello comfort golden food, I see you right here!
Paleo Crispy Baked Chicken
Ingredients
- 4-5 chicken thighs*, boneless
- 4 tbsp ghee or grass-fed butter if not paleo
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/4-1/2 cup gluten free crackers, crushed I used Simple Mills Crackers Jalapeño
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 tsp dried parsley, basil, sage optional
- 4-5 small sweet potatoes (or yellow if not paleo) optional
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400.
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Crush up crackers (I placed them in a bag and used a rolling pin) and measure out 1/4-1/2 cup (depending on size of chicken thighs).
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In a bowl, add all the spices and crushed crackers.
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In a separate bowl, whisk 2 eggs.
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Pat and dry chicken thighs with a paper towel. Make sure they are flattened out so they cook evenly (they are often folded together in packaging). Then dip each one into the egg wash, then the cracker season mix.
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Place the chicken on a baking sheet with parchment paper or I used a ceramic one here. Then divide 4 tbsp of ghee or butter on top of the chicken.
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If you want to add potatoes, slice them into quarters, place them in a bowl and add some olive oil, sea salt, and pepper to coat. Place them on the same pan as the chicken.
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Bake the chicken for 30-40 minutes (breading will be a golden color and potatoes will be crispy!)
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*You could also use chicken tenders or other boneless chicken. I just like the flavor of chicken thighs.
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