Healthy Fried Chicken | The Gracious Pantry | Healthy Chicken Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What's the healthiest way to eat fried chicken? ›

But there's a healthier, equally delicious way to eat comfort food like fried chicken. And it's all thanks to your oven. By cooking chicken in the oven, you'll use little oil, which will minimize heart health risks. Aside from being healthier for your heart, this chicken is also high in protein (8 g per serving).

The oils in which the chicken is fried can contain trans fat. Also, fried foods are high in fat, calories and salt, raising the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. While most things in moderation are fine - fried chicken included - it's in your best interests to find healthier ways of cooking your meals.

Choosing healthy, lower heat cooking methods, including poaching, steaming, boiling, or roasting at moderate temperatures, may help minimize these risks while preserving the chicken's nutritional value. National Library of Medicine. Daily fried chicken serving linked to 13% higher risk of death.

Canola Oil

Benefits: With a high smoke point and neutral flavor, canola oil is excellent for frying chicken. As an added bonus, it has high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which makes it healthier than other options.

All-purpose flour gives the buttermilk and seasonings something to stick to, while ensuring a wonderfully crispy crust. This crispy fried chicken recipe calls for paprika (which helps with browning), salt, and pepper. You can add more spices and seasonings to taste.

Tenderness: The lactic acid in milk helps to break down the proteins in the chicken, resulting in a tender and moist texture. Flavor Infusion: Milk can act as a carrier for other flavors, such as herbs and spices, allowing them to penetrate the chicken and create a delicious taste profile.

As a general rule, food of this type twice a week or more should not be consumed. Doing so presents numerous health problems, including increasing the potential for many types of cancer.

"Rotisserie chicken is a healthy choice for people who want a lean source of protein but don't have either the time, interest or skill to cook. It's a low-fat cooking method, and the chicken can be used in a variety of ways," says Lisa Andrews, M. Ed., RD, LD, owner of Sound Bites Nutrition.

Overall, most health experts and dietitians would not recommend KFC products as part of a healthy diet. Fried chicken, KFC's signature product, is high in calories, fat, and salt, and has been linked to many health risks, including weight gain andl diabetes.

In general, skinless chicken breast is considered one of the healthiest cuts of chicken. It is low in fat and calories, yet high in protein and essential nutrients such as vitamins B6 and B12, niacin, and phosphorus.

Which part of chicken is very healthy? ›

The chicken breast is lean and has the most protein by weight, making it ideal for people who want to lose weight, maintain muscle mass and improve recovery. Fattier cuts like the thigh, drumstick and wings have more calories, which make them better for people wanting to build muscle or gain weight.

Deep frying requires cooking at high temperatures of about 350 to 400 degrees with oils that can withstand high smoke points to create a crust, so the oils do not get absorbed. Heart healthy oils for deep frying include peanut oil, sunflower oil or safflower oil.

Use air fryers. Air fryers are a great way to make fried food healthier. Air fryers use hot air to cook food, so they don't require oil. This means that air-fried food is lower in fat and calories than traditional fried food.

Put Baking Soda in Your Batter

Chefs spend a long time perfecting their fry batter and are understandably hesitant to make changes. However, adding baking soda to your batter can make your fried food healthier. The baking soda creates gas bubbles, which means your food doesn't absorb as much oil.

Fried chicken can be part of a healthy keto diet as long as you prepare it right, substituting high-carb ingredients with healthy fat and low-carb alternatives. These primarily include breading and cooking oil. As much as possible, avoid consuming take-out fried chicken unless you remove the breading before eating it.