Last Updated on March 20, 2024
We all know fried chicken makes for a crispy meal, but there are many other ways to add crunch to your chicken dinner. Chicken skin renders into a perfectly crispy exterior when roasted or baked with the right kind of fats and oils, but even skinless chicken like boneless breasts can be given the crispy treatment with the right technique — pan searing, anyone?
These recipes cover all the ways you can make crispy, crunchy chicken meals, from oven baked crispy chicken thighs with garlic, lemon, and scallion, to goat cheese and herb stuffed chicken breasts. There are plenty of gluten-free and Paleo-friendly options, too!
Oven Baked Crispy Chicken Thighs with Garlic, Lemon, and Scallion
Crispy chicken doesn’t take much to come together in this great baked chicken recipe, with a simple rub of garlic, green onion, lemon, and olive oil. These oven-baked crispy chicken thighs with garlic, lemon, and scallion are quickly marinated in a blender rub, then sent to the oven where the fat on the skin renders and crisps up to a delicious golden brown.
Be careful: Expect some splatter when removing them from the oven.
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast
One easy way to add some crunch to your chicken? Bacon.
This bacon wrapped asparagus stuffed chicken breast combines juicy, succulent chicken breasts with garlic and basil-spiced asparagus, goat and ricotta cheese, and, of course, crispy bacon. It’s a decadent dinner that’s easy to assemble and will leave your mouth watering for more.
Gluten-Free Chicken and Waffles
This is what we think of when it comes to crispy chicken: Ultra-succulent, totally crunchy fried chicken. This gluten-free chicken and waffles boasts gluten-free buttermilk fried chicken alongside some crisp, savory, and sweet waffles.
First, a butchered whole chicken takes a bath in buttermilk and loads of spices like thyme, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, and ground black pepper. Then, it’s dredged in almond flour, gluten-free flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, and then in egg. Finally, fry it off in a blend of coconut oil and ghee and finish it in the oven.
Goat Cheese and Herb Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Pan-searing a chicken breast is yet another way to ensure crisp, succulent chicken, and this goat cheese and herb stuffed chicken breasts recipe is no exception.
First, slice an incision into your chicken breast, then smear with an egg white, goat cheese, parsley, tarragon, shallots, mustard, and lemon zest mixture. Pan-sear the breast in oil for 10 minutes, add butter, garlic, and thyme, and finish off in the oven for 10 minutes.
Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon Rosemary Garlic Butter
We have the Maillard reaction to thank for perfectly browned and crisp chicken skin in this whole roasted bird recipe. This oven roasted chicken with lemon rosemary garlic butter uses a compound butter to great effect, mixing the fat with garlic, lemon zest, and rosemary. When rubbed generously all over the bird, the butter helps to crisp up the chicken skin during the roasting process. Hunks of lemon, garlic, onion, and sprigs of rosemary fill the cavity of the chicken, making for even more aromatic flavor.
Note: This is one of the best dinner ideas for a lazy fall weekend as the total cooked time is more than an hour to get a perfect golden brown crispy chicken.
Paleo Coconut Flour Chicken Tenders
If you keep Paleo and still crave crispy chicken tenders, these Paleo coconut flour chicken tenders are for you. Switching out gluten-laden wheat flour for coconut flour, these chicken tenders compromise nothing when it comes to crunch.
Coconut flour, parmesan cheese, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper make up the coating. Baked in the oven for 20 minutes or so, these chicken tenders are super easy to make, too.
Baked Chicken Thighs
These baked chicken thighs are uber-easy to throw together, requiring only skin-on chicken thighs, shallots, garlic, salt and garlic, and herb seasoning. There isn’t even any oil or cooking fat involved in crisping up this chicken!
Be sure to pat dry your chicken pieces before throwing them in the oven — excess moisture impedes the crisping up process.
Paleo Chicken Katsu
Did you know Japanese chicken katsu — a breaded, fried, or baked chicken cutlet — can be made Paleo? This Paleo chicken katsu proves as much. Coated with arrowroot flour, eggs, and a mixture of shredded coconut and almond flour, these chicken cutlets are uber-crisp.
Be sure to pound the chicken before coating it to achieve the perfect, thin, crisp texture. Thanks to their thinness, they also cook up super quick when pan-fried in oil. This is one of our favorite chicken recipes and is great alongside finely shredded cabbage tossed with an Asian sesame ginger dressing and some cauliflower rice.
Chicken Tenders with Avocado-Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Chicken tenders are amplified by a verdantly green dipping sauce in this chicken tenders with avocado-cilantro dipping sauce recipe. Coated with a blend of almond flour, coconut flour, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and some ground black pepper, this chicken tender recipe amps up the dredge by adding homemade sriracha to the eggs. It’s served alongside a sauce you can whip up in the food processor, with avocado, cilantro, green onion, garlic, lime, and salt.
