Oven-Fried Chicken

© Dotdash Meredith. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Great news — crunchy, flavorful fried chicken can be healthy with this oven-fried chicken recipe. We marinate skinless chicken in buttermilk to keep it juicy. A light coating of flour, sesame seeds and spices, misted with olive oil, forms an appealing crust during baking. And with only 7 grams of fat per serving in this oven-fried chicken recipe — rather than the 20 in typical fried chicken — that is good news.

Prep/Cook Time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes, Servings: 4

Ingredients

• ½ cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2½–3 pounds whole chicken legs, skin removed, trimmed and cut into thighs and drumsticks
• ½ cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1½ teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Olive oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic and hot sauce in a shallow glass dish until well blended. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or for up to 8 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
3. Whisk flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag. Shaking off excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. (Discard any leftover flour mixture and marinade.) Spray the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
4. Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 40 to 50 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Per Serving: 224 Calories, Total Fat: 7 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 130 mg, Carbohydrates: 5 g, Fiber: 1 g, Total Sugars: 1 g, Added Sugars: 0 g, Protein: 34 g, Sodium: 237 mg, Potassium: 400 mg, Folate: 19 mcg, Calcium: 57 mg