Gluten-Free Fried Chicken
Published
Southern-style fried chicken made gluten-free and fried to a perfectly crispy golden brown. A classic buttermilk marinade ensures tender, juicy chicken, while a batter made from gluten-free flour and cornstarch creates the crispiest coating for the ultimate comfort food.
Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Recipe
This gluten-free fried chicken recipe is a classic Southern buttermilk fried chicken. As Southerners, my family knows fried chicken—it’s the real deal! It’s the perfect gluten-free chicken dinner that friends and family will absolutely love.
I marinated the chicken overnight in homemade buttermilk for both flavor and tenderness. My key ingredient in the dredging mixture is cornstarch. The cornstarch is mixed with savory gluten-free flour mixed with a blend of classic Southern spices for the crispiest and most flavorful batter.
Tips for Cooking
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour out of the bag into a measuring cup. After spooning the flour into a measuring cup, use the back of a knife to level the flour off of the measuring cup. I do this over a bowl to catch the flour.
- My preferred brand is Pillsbury gluten-free, but you can also use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1, Better Batter, or King Arthur Measure For Measure.
- For dairy-free, use unsweetened almond milk, cashew, or coconut milk.
Gluten-Free Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Buttermilk Marinade
- 6 chicken thighs
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- 3 cups milk, dairy-free use unsweetened almond milk, cashew or coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Dredging Mixture
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 4 cup vegetable oil for frying, I like peanut oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, white vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add in chicken pieces. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. It is best to allow the chicken to marinate overnight if you can.
- Prepare the breading by combining the gluten-free flour, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, paprika, thyme, oregano, basil in a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake to combine the ingredients. Or combined the ingredients in a shallow dish.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a 10" cast iron skillet (or a large skillet) on medium heat, until 350°F. You can test the oil to see if it is hot enough by sprinkling a little bit of the flour mixture into the oil. It should sizzle, but not smoke.
- Working one at a time, remove a chicken piece from the buttermilk mixture and place it in the bag with the gluten-free flour mixture. Seal the plastic bag completely and shake the bag to coat the chicken piece with the flour mixture. Place the coated chicken piece on a baking sheet. Repeat the steps until all the chicken pieces are coated.
- Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time (do not overcrowd the pan). Place the breaded chicken skin side down first into the 350°F oil. Watch the temperature of the oil, as the chicken causes the oil temperature to drop. Adjust your heat as needed to keep the chicken gently cooking. Fry each piece for 15-18 minutes, turning each piece over using tongs about every 2 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked, golden brown, and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the oil with tongs and place them on a cooling rack or paper towel-lined baking sheet. Let the fried chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. The chicken can be served warm or cold.
- Store completely cooled leftovers in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Reheat chicken in the microwave or on a baking sheet and bake uncovered at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is heated through.
Notes
- Keep an eye on the temperature of your frying oil by using a thermometer. The oil should stay at 350°F but will dip when the chicken is added. Be sure the oil rises to 350°F before adding the next batch.
- Allow the chicken pieces to dry on a baking sheet for 5 minutes after breading. After frying, let the chicken dry and cool slightly on a wire rack or paper towel-lined baking sheet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Make Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Step by Step
Gather all your ingredients.
Make the chicken marinade: Grab a large mixing bowl and whisk together 3 cups of milk (or dairy-free alternative), 3 tbsp white vinegar, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Add 6 chicken thighs and 6 chicken drumsticks to the bowl. Cover each piece of chicken completely in the buttermilk marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours. I like to marinate my chicken overnight! This tenderizes the chicken and adds so much flavor.
Prepare the dredging station: By combining 2 cups gluten-free flour, 1 cup cornstarch, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp dried thyme, 1 tbsp dried oregano, and 1 tbsp dried basil in a large gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Shake the bag to combine all the ingredients. You can also combine the ingredients in a shallow bowl. Using a cast iron pan (or large skillet), heat 4 cups of vegetable oil on medium heat. The oil should be heated up to 350°F. Test the oil to see if it is hot enough by sprinkling a little bit of the flour mixture into the oil. It should sizzle but not smoke.
Dredge chicken: One at a time, take a piece of chicken from the buttermilk mixture and add it to the bag with the gluten-free flour mixture. Seal the bag securely, then shake it to evenly coat the chicken with the flour mixture.
Transfer the coated piece to a baking sheet. Repeat this process for all the chicken pieces until they are fully coated.
Fry chicken: Fry 3 to 4 pieces of coated chicken at a time, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan. Carefully place the coated chicken into the hot oil with the skin side down first. Keep an eye on the oil temperature, (I use a thermometer) as it may drop when the chicken is added. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a steady, gentle cooking temperature. Cook each piece for 15–18 minutes, flipping with tongs every 2 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown, fully cooked, and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Once golden brown and cooked, place each piece of chicken on a cooling rack or paper towel-lined baking sheet to cool and drain.
Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Fried chicken can be served hot or cold. Enjoy!
Gluten-Free Fried Chicken in the Air Fryer
Follow the marinating and dredging steps. Preheat your air fryer to 375°F. Once all the pieces are coated, spray both sides lightly with cooking oil and arrange them in a single layer in the air fryer basket, making sure not to overcrowd them. Cook for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is golden brown, crispy, and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many side dishes that go really well with this gluten-free dinner recipe. Below are some of my favorite recipes that my family loves to have with fried chicken.
Try dipping the chicken in gluten-free bbq sauce as well!
Storage Instructions
Fried chicken is always best when fresh, but leftovers will be good in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
For best results, reheat leftover chicken in a 350°F oven or air fryer for 15-20 minutes. You can also reheat the chicken in the microwave, but the skin will not be as crispy.
I made this recipe with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Instead of vinegar in milk, I used buttermilk with the additions for only about a half hour to marinate and fried it in shallow hot oil in my cast iron skillet. It turned out very delicious, tender and crispy. The herbs and flours add to the great taste. I will make this often.
This was sincerely fire. We did use only thighs and did potato starch instead of corn starch. Then we got a crowd of gluten-full people to say WOW because it was so crispy and delish and not greasy. 125/10
Great recipe! Used coconut milk with vinegar and marinated for ~6 hours. Due to not having an air fryer, ended up using a fondue pot (didn’t want to deal with the splatter in my kitchen, so rigged up something outside) , could only do 2 pieces at a time and has some trouble keeping temp up to 350, however the chicken was tender and so crunchy on the outside (internal temp 165). Would def make again, but would ramp up the flavours in the dredging mixture (and reduce amount) as found it a bit bland, used rice flour. Thinking about what other things I can make using this technique. Has anyone tried schnitzel? (I’m married to a German and I’m missing that being GF!)
I made this last night… Yummm. However, I brined my chicken the night before and so didn’t use the buttermilk marinade. I shallow-fried the chicken pieces after breading, keeping a close eye on the flame and temperature of the chicken. It was juicy and delicious. I had leftovers today for lunch. Also VERY tasty!! Will be using this GF recipe in the future for sure!!! Thanks so much for posting.
Thanks Lori!
Family loved it!
I made this recipe with boneless chicken. Left in buttermilk mixture for a day. I cooked 5 chicken breast and 6 thighs cut into tenders. My kids ate it hot out of the pan and loved the cold leftovers from the refrigerator.
I used a thermometer each time before I added the next batch of chicken. Also checking the meat temp. Very time consuming, but the chicken was perfect! I used King Arthur GF 1:1 flour.
I will try the air fryer next time and compare the results.
I made this in the air fryer. Just spray some oil on the chicken after breading and cook at 360 for 20 minutes on one side, flip and cook for another 15 minutes or so until the internal temp reaches 365. I was so flavorful!
I read all the comments and am sad to say that I did not have the best results. My chicken browned so quickly so by the time it was actually cooked the coating burned. In the end (3rd and 4th batch) I only fried until golden and then transferred to the oven. I had 2 different thermometers. I think 350 degrees may be too hot for gluten free flour. I used Red Hill 1-to-1, a rice-based flour. I’ll try again with another type of gluten-free flour. Also, I made 6 large drums and 4 large thighs and threw away half the flour. Next time I will halve the amount of flour mixture. Way too much.
I had the same issue. I used Bob’s Red Mill and at 350 my chicken thighs burned before they were done. I cooked the second batch at 320 with better results
This recipe is amazing. I used cashew milk and vinegar for the brine (overnight), and it was the juiciest fried chicken I’ve ever eaten. 5 stars!
I had the same problem, but it was because the oil was too hot. I tried it again using a temperature controlled deep fryer and had amazing results. Delicious fried chicken that was tender and perfectly seasoned.
I love all your recipes! I love that you make it easy for me to eat gluten free foods! Thank you!
Question, does the xanthan gum in a gluten-free flour blend make the breading gummy?
Hi Rochelle, it shouldn’t!