This post may contain affiliate links.
Fun, crunchy, tender, and absolutely tasty, this Popcorn Chicken is a great snack, lunch, or dinner treat that is easy to throw together and perfect for the whole family.
Popcorn Chicken is one of my favorite easy recipes we have been making for the longest time. With homemade breaded chicken, you really cannot get better.
Crispy on the outside and nice and tender on the inside, these are a great handheld meal that you can use in various aspects of your cooking.
Serve with some of your favorite dipping sauces, these are really able to be jazzed up to taste as you want. Ranch is our favorite, but others can be used.
This can also be served as an appetizer, it really is an all-inclusive recipe for whatever occasion you want to serve it for. It is especially kid-friendly, and they go crazy about it.
I love that we can make this homemade. Nothing against the frozen version, but if I can make something at home, then we do, and now you can.
If you love chicken but are looking for it on a smaller scale, this Popcorn Chicken is the perfect recipe for you. Easy, tasty, and irresistible.
Some of our other favorite chicken recipes that we have on our site include: Chinese Chicken Recipe, Southern Fried Chicken and Ritz Cracker Chicken.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Minimal and easy-to-find ingredients help these come together in no time.
- Ready from start to finish in 20 minutes.
- Perfectly spiced to create a nice flavor that suits everyone.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Fine sea salt
- Black pepper
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Sweet paprika
- Egg
- Buttermilk
- Bot sauce
- Peanut oil for frying, or other frying oil
HOW TO MAKE POPCORN CHICKEN:
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Place the cut-up chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper into a medium-sized bowl, and stir to coat the chicken in the spices.
- For the dredge, put the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and paprika into another medium-sized bowl, and stir to combine.
- In a third bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and hot sauce.
- Place the seasoning chicken into the flour mixture and toss to coat, shake off any excess, and place them into the egg mixture, stirring to coat the chicken pieces.
- Take handfuls of the coated chicken and place it back into the flour mixture, press the flour around the piece, then shake off the excess. Place the pieces onto the prepared sheet tray, and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Add about 2 inches of peanut oil or frying oil of your choice into a dutch oven or heavy bottom skillet over medium heat.
- Allow the oil to reach 325-350°F. Carefully drop pieces of the chicken into the oil but do not crowd the pan, you will need to fry in batches.
- Stir the chicken around with a slotted spoon, so they don’t stick to each other or burn. Once the chicken has reached 165°F and is golden brown, about 5 minutes, they are done, remove the pieces with the slotted spoon. Place them onto a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
- Place the chicken pieces onto a wire rack placed on a sheet tray to avoid them getting soggy.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken and serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.
CAN I USE ANOTHER KIND OF CHICKEN?
While we like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this, you can also use chicken tenderloins or boneless skinless chicken thighs.
WHAT IS THE BEST OIL TO FRY POPCORN CHICKEN IN?
We really love peanut oil for this recipe. It fries cleaner and doesn’t stink up the house. You can also use vegetable or canola oil for frying if you do not want to use peanut oil.
ARE THESE SPICY?
We use a small amount of hot sauce for this recipe, only 1 1/2 teaspoons. It doesn’t make it spicy just gives it more depth of flavor in the recipe itself.
If you do not want to use the hot sauce, leave it out.
If you DO want to make these spicy, add some cayenne or chipotle powder to the flour mixture.
HOW TO STORE:
These can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days. They can also be frozen in a freezer container for 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator overnight. To reheat, the best methods that we have tried are reheating in the oven or in the air fryer until heated through, this will keep them crispy.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it.
- Other chicken cuts can be used, see above on how to do that.
- To make it spicy, add some cayenne or chipotle powder to the flour mixture.
- Buttermilk is essential to the coating, I do not suggest another milk.
- You can use other meat for this, cut up turkey breast or turkey tenderloin is great.
- Use any of your favorite dippings sauces for this recipe
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Love a good handheld appetizer, lunch, or main dish that is tasty and super easy? Then you absolutely must make this family-friendly Popcorn Chicken recipe!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this POPCORN CHICKEN let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- For the dredge:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons hot sauce
- Peanut oil for frying or other frying oil
Instructions
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Place the cut-up chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper into a medium-sized bowl, and stir to coat the chicken in the spices.
- For the dredge, put the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and paprika into another medium-sized bowl, and stir to combine.
- In a third bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and hot sauce.
- Place the seasoning chicken into the flour mixture and toss to coat, shake off any excess, and place them into the egg mixture, stirring to coat the chicken pieces.
- Take handfuls of the coated chicken and place it back into the flour mixture, press the flour around the piece, then shake off the excess. Place the pieces onto the prepared sheet tray, and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Add about 2 inches of peanut oil or frying oil of your choice into a dutch oven or heavy bottom skillet over medium heat.
- Allow the oil to reach 325-350°F. Carefully drop pieces of the chicken into the oil but do not crowd the pan, you will need to fry in batches.
- Stir the chicken around with a slotted spoon, so they don’t stick to each other or burn. Once the chicken has reached 165°F and is golden brown, about 5 minutes, they are done, remove the pieces with the slotted spoon. Place them onto a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
- Place the chicken pieces onto a wire rack placed on a sheet tray to avoid them getting soggy.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken and serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it.
- Other chicken cuts can be used, see above on how to do that.
- To make it spicy add some cayenne or chipotle powder to the flour mixture.
- Buttermilk is essential to the coating, I do not suggest another milk.
- You can use other meat for this, cut up turkey breast or turkey tenderloin is great.
- Use any of your favorite dippings sauces for this recipe
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
Follow @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen on Instagram and @danadevolk on Pinterest for more!
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
My first time trying buttermilk instead of flour/egg/crumbs!! We love it! Although, it took way long than 20 minutes, as I was breading, while my husband was frying. Around 40 minutes total (I used about 2 1/2 lbs of meat). We fried in Lard, and it never got golden brown which was odd, but were fantastic regardless!! Thanks for the easy non overnight marinating recipe!