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This moist and tender Buttermilk Baked Chicken is not only quick and easy to make for family dinner, but it is the perfect new comfort food.
Everyone knows buttermilk fried chicken is like the ultimate comfort food.
I mean, serve me a plate with some smashed potatoes and collard greens alongside a homemade buttermilk biscuit and you can call me a happy girl. The problem is that fried chicken isn’t exactly the healthiest choice. Plus, if you’re anything like me, deep frying doesn’t happen too terribly often in my kitchen. That’s why I love making this buttermilk baked chicken.
A lot of the time with chicken breasts, I prefer to tenderize them by smashing with a mallet. There are so many benefits to cooking chicken like this. First, there are few things more satisfying than hitting something like meat with a mallet. If you’ve never tried it, you must do so and then report back. Have a bad day? No problem! Just beat the heck out of your dinner! Second, by making the meat a uniform thickness, it not only cooks faster (hello, weekday dinner) but it ensures a tender and moist piece of chicken rather than one that is moist on one end and dried on the other.
Buttermilk is my secret weapon of choice in the kitchen. I use it in all sorts of recipes like pancakes and mashed potatoes, but it also works phenomenally to coat things like these chicken breasts. No need for a hot pan of oil with tonight’s dinner!
The combination of panko and parmesan give the chicken the perfect texture and flavor. Nothing browns up more beautifully than parmesan cheese! I add just a few spices to the mix to give this chicken the perfect flavor.
Next time you’re in need of a quick dinner that your entire family will love, be sure to add this buttermilk baked chicken to your list of go-to recipes!
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds chicken breast boneless skinless
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Set each breast in between two layers of plastic wrap and flatten to 3/4 inch thickness by using a mallet or rolling pin. Soak chicken in 1 cup buttermilk for at least 30 minutes.
- In a shallow dish, combine remaining ingredients. Shake excess buttermilk off each piece of chicken and coat in the bread mixture.1 cup panko bread crumbs, 1 cup parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in preheated 400 degree F oven for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you use chicken wings instead of breasts?
Yep!
My comment is about not having pan preparation info in the method. Like you, I like parchment paper but for me, it wasn’t appropriate for this chicken. The entire crispy layer facing the paper came away when lifting the breast from the pan. I read the comment that you said nothing needed greasing, so I didn’t.
Do I Greece the pan before baking?
Nope! Not necessary. I love to cook on parchment paper for easy no-stick clean up.
can i put them on a baking rack on top of baking pan?
yep!
I love this recipe! My SIL has made a similar recipe for years we all love, but she would pan fry hers. I wanted oven baked to save calories and fat. Thank you for this! It came out just as tender and yummy as hers! The only thing I did different was I do salt and pepper the cutlets and add a bit of garlic powder to them before, and I added a few shakes of Frank’s Red Hot to the buttermilk. I do also add some seasoned Italian bread crumbs to panko. SIL always does too. They came out fork tender and delicious! This is a keeper!!! My go to from now on.