Crispy Buttermilk Chicken

We absolutely loved this dish. In the last few months we have made this at least half a dozen times and at least for two nights hosting company. Everyone raved about it! The more times I've done it, the more little tricks I've found to help get the skin crispy. I let it go for longer than four minutes in the pan, and when I flip them over, I let that side go for a few minutes too before going to the oven. The type of oil seems to make a difference, whether I use vegetable or canola as I typically use whatever I have available. I have to use a metal spatula very carefully when I flip them so the crispy breading stays attached and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. And a couple times that it's been an afterthought meal plan, I've only marinated for an hour or less and it's been the same result. Still delicious! This is definitely one of our favorites and even our four young kids love it!

You're so right, Eugene!  I can't believe canola keeps getting all this great press as healthy.

Made this last night. It was really good.

The Buttermilk "marinade," as it were, it not a marinade. It's only purpose is to tenderize the chicken. Nope it was not crispy, but this is reminiscent of my mom's fried chicken where she would only use flour,  and no it wasn't crispy. But we seared the heck out of the chicken and there were nice bits of crispy goodness from the flour coating, but again not supposed to be like deep fried fried chicken. :) 

You are supposed to taste the chicken and not much more. And my chicken tasted tender and juicy and really good.

This is a  great recipe and easy to make. In short, it's a healthier take on old fashion friend chicken. 

Please stop encouraging people to use Canola. It is extracted from a poisonous plant to humans and the process of extraction is enough to make you ill let alone the consumption of the resultant oil. Any other oil is healthier and doesn't go through the chemical process of making it edible.

Moist but a little bland and not at all crispy. I make homemade yogurt that yields a lot of extra buttermilk so this recipe is a good way to use it up. 

Delicious, moist and easy to make. I used Mrs Dash instead of celery salt and had to mix in some corn starch because I had only about 3/4 cup of flour and I wasn't going to run to the store. I also marinated it for over 6 hours with no issues. It wasn't crispy but I will make this again.

Disappointing. Not sure I would describe this as crispy. Lacked flavor. Many better CL chicken recipes out there.

Wow, I feel like I must have done something wrong because both the hubby and I found this to be only OK. It was prepared exactly according to the recipe, was moist and easy to make, but...meh.

Excellent recipe! I served it with Rainbow Chard with Bacon and Polenta. Delicious combination!

I can't say the chicken came out "crispy", but the breading did have good flavor. I used boneless skinless thighs and added about 10 min in the oven to get them fully cooked.

This was so good! The buttermilk really makes the chicken tender! My husband and I loved it!

Delicious, moist, flavorful chicken - very easy to make and uses few ingredients.

This chicken was delicious and very moist as a result of the marinating in the buttermilk. I only had time to allow it to sit 1 hour in the buttermilk mixture and it still turned out wonderful! This will be my new go-to recipe for "fried" chicken.

I made this and it is a great recipe...so easy...served with Broccoli penne, walnut apple salad with vinaigrette and cornbread all from this site! BTW all buttermilk is low fat.

Excellent! Made without celery salt...just used salt on chicken instead of mixing into the flour. Used whole spelt flour with fabulous results. A keeper!

I agree with many of the reviews posted. I think that the dish was FABULOUS w/o using the whole buttermilk. I used the low-fat and it was great! I also substituted whole wheat flour, which also went over well. I also used two whole breasts that I butchered into tenderloins and half breasts. This allowed me to cater to the family as a whole. The kids loved the tenderloins, and the hubbie and I enjoyed the breasts. Wonderful dish, and this has officially earned a spot in the rotation!

This is a recipe that my husband requests all the time, and he never likes anything I like. It is moist and spicy and crispy. I never used celery salt before, but now I want to put t on everything! I make this all the time now, and it is one of the best Cooking Light recipes I've ever tried.

I used low fat buttermilk turned out yummy. My kids thought this was fabulous so this is a keeper in my book.

I am so excited about this recipe because I thought I needed to give up on making boneless skinless chicken breasts with any success. The marinate and spices give the plain breasts so much flavor and moister. I went by the recipe exactly other than using low fat butter milk. Wonderful!!

I served this for company alongside some twice-baked potatoes and it went over very well. I used low-fat buttermilk since that's what I had on hand and it seemed to work well. I also didn't have onion powder or celery salt, so I substituted dried minced onion and celery seed plus salt, which also seemed to work fine.

I accidentally used skim buttermilk (though I'm usually in favor of full-fat ingredients) and it was just as delicious. Can't imagine how much better it could be with whole buttermilk.

wow - my mouth was on fire - but it was tasty i have to admit

I rarely give 5 stars. My socks have to be knocked off. That said, I've made this dish several times now. It's super easy, and the chicken is wonderfully moist (thanks to the buttermilk soak). Both my 4 year old and my husband love it, and I've served it to guests with great reviews, too. It's a great weeknight meal (provided you remember to put the chicken in to soak over the lunch hour!). Served with an easy veggie or salad and maybe some easy couscous, and you're good!

Flavorful and crispy without deep frying. Everybody loved this recipe. Made with a side of cole slaw!

This was wonderful. It tasted like real fried chicken with out the skin and grease (two things I do not like). I only had time to marinate for 2 hrs and that did not seem to matter. Highly recommended!

This is one of the rare chicken recipes that actually make me remember that chicken can be delicious. I halved the recipe and it was fantastic. I was amazed at the flavor. Instead of celery salt which I don't typically have on hand, I used a pinch of celery seed and a pinch of kosher salt.

Absolutely delectable! What more can I say?

Excellent! I served this to company earlier this week and everyone loved it. Great flavor and very tender. I can't wait to make it again.