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Oven Baked Keto Southern Fried Chicken

★★★★★★★★★★
4.7 stars, average of 180 ratings

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Oven Baked Keto Southern Fried ChickenPin itFollow us 148.4k

Easy dinner? Picnic meal? Make ahead lunchbox filler? Southern Fried Chicken ticks so many boxes.

But my days of dancing with The Colonel are over. This recipe combines the juiciness of buttermilk brined chicken pieces with the crunch of smoky, spiced coating and it’s oven baked so you don’t have to stand over a pot of hot oil.

Could it be any more perfect?

You can really experiment with the herbs and spices that you have on hand, or that you know suit your tastes. Make it your own. The “buttermilk” in this recipe is a dairy-free alternative, but by all means use buttermilk if it fits your requirements.

I love to throw together a batch of these on the weekend for easy snacking or lunches during the week.

Note: Nutrition facts for ingredients used as marinade are included partially (25%) as they are only used for marinating. Buttermilk can be used in place of almond milk and lemon juice if you do not require a paleo, dairy-free version.

Hands-on Overall

Allergy information for Oven Baked Keto Southern Fried Chicken

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free
✔  Beef free

Nutritional values (per serving)

Net carbs2 grams
Protein32.3 grams
Fat17 grams
Calories318 kcal
Calories from carbs 3%, protein 44%, fat 53%
Total carbs3.8 gramsFiber1.7 gramsSugars0.6 gramsSaturated fat6.3 gramsSodium752 mg(33% RDA)Magnesium39 mg(10% RDA)Potassium476 mg(24% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 6 servings)

  • 12 chicken drumsticks, or pieces to taste (1.6 kg/ 3.5 lb) - will yield about 50% meat
  • 4 cups unsweetened almond milk (960 ml/ 32 fl oz) - see note below for a nut-free alternative
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice (60 ml/ 2 fl oz) - can be substituted with vinegar
  • 2 tbsp pink Himalayan salt or sea salt (used in the brine)
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • Optional: 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 1/4 cup pork rinds (63 g/ 2.2 oz) - you can make your own
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
  • olive oil or coconut oil cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Combine almond milk, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano in a bowl. (Note: The amount of salt sounds like a lot but remember, this is only in the brine. You won't actually be consuming this much salt. You can use half if you prefer.)
  2. Submerge chicken pieces and leave to brine for a minimum of 90 minutes and a maximum of overnight.
  3. Once brining is complete, add remaining ingredients, except cooking oil, into a food processor and pulse until combined into fine crumbs. Oven Baked Keto Southern Fried Chicken
  4. Preheat oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional). Shake crumbed coating out onto a tray. One at a time, remove chicken pieces from brine solution and roll in coating until evenly coated. Oven Baked Keto Southern Fried Chicken
  5. Place coated pieces on a lined baking tray. Once all pieces are coated, bake for approx. 45 minutes depending on the size of your pieces. Mid-way through the baking time, remove from oven and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Oven Baked Keto Southern Fried Chicken
  6. Serve with Keto French Fries! Oven Baked Keto Southern Fried Chicken

Oven Baked Southern Fried Chicken
Step by Step

★★★★★★★★★★
4.7 stars, average of 180 ratings
Oven Baked Southern Fried Chicken
Healthy grain-free chicken drumsticks marinated in herbs, coated in gluten-free and zero-carb breading. A comforting American classic without frying!
Hands on15m
Overall2h 30m
Servings6
Calories318 kcal
Pin it

Ingredients

  • 12 chicken drumsticks, or pieces to taste (1.6 kg/ 3.5 lb) - will yield about 50% meat
  • 4 cups unsweetened almond milk (960 ml/ 32 fl oz) - see note below for a nut-free alternative
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice (60 ml/ 2 fl oz) - can be substituted with vinegar
  • 2 tbsp pink Himalayan salt or sea salt (used in the brine)
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • Optional: 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 1/4 cup pork rinds (63 g/ 2.2 oz) - you can make your own
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
  • olive oil or coconut oil cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Combine almond milk, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano in a bowl. (Note: The amount of salt sounds like a lot but remember, this is only in the brine. You won't actually be consuming this much salt. You can use half if you prefer.)
  2. Submerge chicken pieces and leave to brine for a minimum of 90 minutes and a maximum of overnight.
  3. Once brining is complete, add remaining ingredients, except cooking oil, into a food processor and pulse until combined into fine crumbs.
  4. Preheat oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional). Shake crumbed coating out onto a tray. One at a time, remove chicken pieces from brine solution and roll in coating until evenly coated.
  5. Place coated pieces on a lined baking tray. Once all pieces are coated, bake for approx. 45 minutes depending on the size of your pieces. Mid-way through the baking time, remove from oven and spray with olive oil cooking spray.
  6. Serve with Keto French Fries!

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories318kcal
Net Carbs2g
Carbohydrates3.8g
Protein32.3g
Fat17g
Saturated Fat6.3g
Fiber1.7g
Sugar0.6g
Sodium752mg
Magnesium39mg
Potassium476mg

Detailed nutritional breakdown (per serving)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Total per serving
2 g32.3 g17 g318 kcal
Chicken drumsticks, raw
0.1 g24.1 g12.3 g215 kcal
Almond milk natural (unsweetened)
0.2 g0.2 g0.5 g6 kcal
Lemon juice, fresh
0.1 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Pepper, black, spices
0.2 g0.1 g0 g1 kcal
Oregano, dried
0.1 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Paprika, smoked (spices)
0.1 g0.1 g0.1 g2 kcal
Garlic powder, spices
0.3 g0.1 g0 g2 kcal
Onion powder, spices
0.3 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Pork rinds (pork skins), dry, plain (for "breading")
0 g6.8 g1.1 g51 kcal
Coconut flour, organic
0.5 g0.9 g0.8 g18 kcal
Coconut oil, extra virgin
0 g0 g2.2 g20 kcal

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Naomi Sherman
Creator of NaomiShermanFoodCreative.com

Naomi Sherman

Naomi is the force behind Naomi Sherman, Food Creative. She is passionate about recipe development, food photography and styling.

An accomplished home cook who was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease eight years ago, Naomi started to explore the connection between healthy, whole food and her symptoms, and a new love was born.

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Comments (14)

Two TABLESPOONS of salt?! Surely not?

Hi Emma, this sounds like a lot but it is only for the brine - you don't actually end up consuming this much. If I had to guess it would be 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of actual salt in the recipe. You can use less though - start with a tablespoon.

Very similar to Martha Stewart recipe that I used with Panko bread crumbs before going Keto.  I also grate fresh Parmagiana Reggiano cheese into the ground up pork rinds.  Use buttermilk as my brine.  Delish quick and easy

Mine tasted delicious but it wasn’t crispy and almost kind of soggy on one side. What would you recommend for more crispness? But the taste is delicious!! Thanks!

Hi Patrice, this technique helps crisp chicken up: Crispy Low-Carb Chicken Drumsticks (using baking powder as the key ingredient). I hope this helps!

Hi Martina, can you get pork rinds in the U.K.? The links on your site are to the U.S Amazon, thanks, Karen

Hi Karen, I included a link to homemade (I make my own from pork skins I get from my farmer). Or you can get them here: http://mexika.co.uk/shop/crackling-chicharron/

Looking great! Going to give it a go 😄

Is there anything to substitute for the porkrinds?   My husband does not eat pork.

Yes, you can try other ingredients instead. What I use sometimes is a combination of almond flour and flax meal.

Thanks so much for including the nutritional info.  Going to try this with coconut milk or the raw cream I use in my coffee since I have to avoid nuts.

I would try liquid coconut milk (I use Aroy-D) or buttermilk - both will work just fine!

I'm allergic to coconut, can almond flour be used instead?
This looks so good!

Hi Kerry, I don't see why not! 😊 You can try more pork rinds or almond flour.