Oven Fried Chicken

Oven-Fried Chicken with Honey Garlic Sauce is an easy sheet pan meal. You get chicken that tastes deep-fried when biting into it, using a simple technique to make crispy oven-fried chicken with no need for deep frying.

We wish a plate of this was in front of us again. It was gone too soon…

Oven-Fried Chicken with Broccoli and Honey Garlic Sauce! This is the good meal for a fussy eater and even just for a regular family dinner when you want a healthy alternative to fried chicken. And it's SO GOOD paired with potato salad.

Why This Recipe Works

Searching the internet for a reliable oven-baked chicken, we constantly ran into recipes that pour oil into the baking tray to deep fry the pieces right in the oven, but we found every piece would turn out so oily.

Mixing the oil directly into the breadcrumbs is the secret to an earth-shattering crunch. But do not just use any breadcrumb. To get that crispy baked chicken texture, use Panko, which is a Japanese-style breadcrumb easily found in the Asian section of any supermarket.

The honey garlic sauce to go with it is crazy good!

This recipe is the result of our children begging us for KFC. We love our kids, but we love their health even more. It took us a few months to nail this fakeaway fried chicken and get the crunchy coating exactly right. No need for a deep fryer. Just your oven or an air fryer!

Oven Fried Chicken

When we first started making this recipe, our main goal was to find a healthy alternative to deep frying. Traditional fried chicken tastes great, but it requires cups of heavy oil, which adds unnecessary fats and calories (and, to be honest, it's also a mess).

In this recipe, we bake the chicken on a sheet pan instead; you only need a couple of tablespoons of oil mixed right into the breadcrumbs.

This small change turns a heavy takeout-style dish into a healthy baked chicken dinner that leaves you feeling good after it's gone. You get the same crunch and flavor without all the grease. It is a fantastic way to make low-oil fried chicken at home, making it much easier to feed our kids their favorite food on a regular day without any guilt.

On the stove

To keep our workspace clean and make the process fast, we set up a simple dipping station right next to our baking sheet. We line up three shallow bowls:

• One for flour
• One for the egg wash
• One for the Panko and oil mixture.

Working one piece at a time, we coat the chicken in the flour, dip it into the eggs, and press it firmly into the breadcrumbs so the coating sticks.

Once all the chicken is on the tray, give the pieces a light spray of cooking oil. This helps the breadcrumbs toast up in the oven and gives you that authentic baked fried chicken crunch. Halfway through the baking time, we add the prepared broccoli florets right onto the same pan. Doing this turns everything into a quick sheet pan chicken and broccoli dinner with barely any dishes to wash.

If you do not have bone-in thighs, you can swap them out for chicken drumsticks, tenders, or breasts. Just remember to adjust your cooking time since boneless cuts cook much faster.

When the tray comes out of the oven hot and crunchy, drizzle the sticky honey garlic sauce all over the chicken and vegetables. You get an easy homemade crispy chicken dinner finished in about 45 minutes of cooking time.

On the stove

If you want to use your air fryer instead of the oven, we cook the chicken and the broccoli separately for a reliable results. It is a fast way to make air fryer fried chicken without heating up your whole kitchen.

Prepare the chicken pieces the same way through the flour, egg, and Panko dipping stations. Don't forget to season with black pepper and salt!

Place the chicken in the basket in a single layer. Give the breading a light spray of cooking oil and air fry at 392°F (200°C) for 25 minutes. Make sure to turn the pieces halfway through cooking so they get an even crunch.

While the chicken rests, you can quickly cook the broccoli. Toss the florets into the air fryer basket and cook them at 356°F (180°C) for 7 minutes. Toss everything in the sauce, and you get a complete, easy air fryer meal with the exact same texture as the oven method.

Kitchen tip

• Keep the crunch: If you want to maintain that crispy oven-fried chicken texture for as long as possible, serve the honey garlic sauce on the side for dipping or drizzle it over the chicken right at the dinner table. Letting it sit in the sauce on the pan for too long will soften the breading.
• Mixing the breadcrumbs: When adding oil to the Panko, we like to rub the mixture between our fingers. This breaks up any clumps and coats the breadcrumbs evenly so every bite of your baked fried chicken has an even crunch.
• Broil at the end: If the chicken is cooked through but you want a darker color, switch your oven to broil for the final two minutes. Keep a close eye on your sheet pan chicken recipe so the coating does not burn.
• Mince the garlic fine: Since the sauce thickens up fast, make sure you mince your garlic finely. Large chunks will not cook down quickly enough and can overpower the sauce.
• Let the chicken rest for just a couple of minutes before eating.

Serve it with

If you are figuring out what a reliable pair is for this chicken recipe, we got you.

Keep things simple since this sheet pan meal comes with its own roasted vegetables. We can say that basically everything goes well when it comes to chicken and broccoli.

• Steamed rice is our top choice so the grains can soak up all that extra sticky glaze.
• Mixing the chopped chicken and vegetables into some quick vegetable fried rice makes the dinner feel a lot like takeout.
• Plating the chicken next to a big serving of garlic butter noodles is guaranteed to keep the kids happy.
• Potatoes, no matter how you prepare them, you can make some chips a classic puree wedges… The choice is yours.
• Chicken and waffles are a classic, so feel free to try it with this oven fried chicken!

Try it with mashed cauliflower or coleslaw if you want to keep it low carb.

Cook notes

a reliable way to get that crispy oven-fried chicken texture is by rubbing a little oil directly into Panko breadcrumbs. You also want to pat the chicken completely dry with a paper towel before coating it so the breading actually sticks. If you have one, bake the pieces on a wire rack so the hot air circulates underneath.

If your leftover chicken dried out, a simple trick is to spray the pieces lightly with chicken broth, not too much. You can tent the baking pan loosely with foil for just a few minutes while it warms up in the oven. This traps the steam and pushes moisture back into the meat, reviving those juices.

Keep any leftovers sealed tightly in the fridge. When you want to warm them up, avoid the microwave. We prefer throwing the pieces right back into a hot oven or air fryer for a few minutes. We share more specific storage and reheating steps right below!

5 from 50 votes

Oven Fried Chicken

What you need

• 2 broccoli heads washed and dried, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic minced
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 6 bone in skinless chicken thighs
• 1 pinch salt to season
• 1 pinch pepper to season
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg large
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika sweet or smoky
• 1 3/4 cups Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped to serve
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or white or apple cider – optional
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Method

1. Add the broccoli to a bowl with the oil, garlic, salt and pepper, mix to combine. Set aside.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Set up a work station with 3 shallow bowls. To one bowl, add the flour and set aside. In the second bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, garlic powder, the 3/4 teaspoon of salt and paprika. In the third bowl, mix the Panko with the vegetable oil.
3. Working one by one, evenly coat the chicken in the flour, then dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the Panko mixture, pressing to coat. Place onto prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken thighs.
4. Lightly spray each chicken thigh over the top with cooking oil spray (this is optional, but we have found it to crisp the chicken even more).
5. Place back into the oven to cook for a further 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through; the crust is crispy and golden brown, and the broccoli is tender-crisp
6. In a small saucepan, combine honey, soy sauce, vinegar (if using), and garlic. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and quickly reduce heat to low.
7. Pour the prepared cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and stir until the sauce thickens (about 2 minutes). Set aside and allow to cool.
8. Garnish chicken with parsley and serve immediately with the honey garlic sauce.
9. Place the chicken in the basket in a single layer. Give the breading a light spray of cooking oil and air fry at 392°F (200°C) for 25 minutes.
10. Toss the florets into the air fryer basket and cook them at 356°F (180°C) for 7 minutes. Toss everything in the sauce