Chicken Fried Chicken with Homemade Pan Gravy
This Chicken-Fried Chicken with homemade pan gravy is the best! A Texas favorite, this fried chicken breast is tender and juicy and delicious served with garlic mashed potatoes and buttery green beans. Some of the cooking oil is used to make the homemade gravy that’s served with the chicken and this whole meal comes together in under an hour!
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Why is it called chicken fried chicken?
Chicken fried chicken is made of a boneless chicken breast battered and fried like fried chicken. The chicken breast is flattened or tenderized, then it’s covered in flour and egg, then fried until crispy golden brown. This dish is commonly found in Texas and it is usually served with mashed potatoes and creamy white country gravy.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken – I used 2 organic chicken breasts cut into thin cutlets to make 4 pieces.
- Seasonings – The seasonings are what makes this chicken fried chicken the best. Don’t skimp on salting the meat before drenching so it have nice flavor underneath the crispy breading.
- Eggs – Used to bind the flour and seasonings onto the chicken.
- Vegetable Oil – Used for frying. You can use whichever oil you like, just make sure it has a high smoking point so that the oil doesn’t burn during the frying process – like refined coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or avocado oil. I used avocado oil for this recipe. I buy a gallon because it is my main everyday cooking oil. I’ll link it here for you!
How To Make Chicken Fried Chicken
- Set up your drenching stations. This will make battering your chicken much easier. Add flour, 1 ¼ teaspoon of salt, and the rest of the seasonings into a shallow baking dish. Whisk eggs in a baking dish and have a pair of gloves or 2 pairs of tongs, nearby. Line 2 baking sheets with wire racks – one for raw meat and one for cooked.
- Cut chicken into cutlets then season with the rest of the salt.
Step three: Working with one piece at a time, dip the chicken into the flour, shaking off any excess.
Step four. Then into the egg mixture, allowing excess egg to drip off. Finally, coat in the flour mixture.
Step five. Set aside battered chicken on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Step six: Heat a large cast iron dutch oven with several inches of oil. Add chicken and fry for 4 – 5 minutes per side or until it is crispy golden brown.
Make the chicken fried chicken pan gravy
- Make the roux. In a medium skillet, add flour and 3 – 4 tablespoons of frying oil. Whisk together and cook until it smells like pie crust, 1 – 2 minutes.
- Whisk in cold chicken broth, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Allow it to simmer for 5 minutes then taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve over chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- To Make chicken breast cutlets: Place your hand on top of the whole breast, and cut horizontally all the way through to make 2 pieces. Then repeat with the other breast. It helps the chicken to cook faster. Alternatively, you could cover the breasts with plastic wrap or place them inside a gallon bag and then pound them with a meat mallet until thin. From here cut the breast into 2 pieces or leave it whole and fry it as one big piece.
- Use a cast iron skillet to fry. I feel like this is the best-kept secret of frying foods at home. Cast iron skillets work so much better at getting a crispy golden brown crust over stainless steel. My family and I purchased this set over 5 years ago. We use it every day and it’s in perfect condition. For this recipe, I used the dutch oven, but the large skillet works great too.
- Season the chicken before drenching in egg and flour. I feel like this is a given, but add salt to the chicken before coating it in the flour and egg mixture. That way the chicken won’t be tasteless inside with a flavorful crust on the outside.
- Recoat chicken in flour. If you have finished coating all the chicken in the flour and egg mixture and you come back it looks a little wet – like the egg mixture absorbed some of the flour, just dip it back into the flour mixture. It will help the crust to get even crispier when fried.
Frequently Asked Questions —
This is chicken breast fried like fried chicken! Boneless chicken breast is flattened and tenderized then battered and fried until golden brown and crispy.
Chicken-fried refers to the process of battering and frying meat like fried chicken. The difference between chicken fried chicken and fried chicken is the parts of meat used. Chicken fried chicken is made with flattened and tenderized boneless chicken breast and fried chicken is made of any part of the chicken!
Looking For More Recipes?
Fried Chicken without Buttermilk
Dairy Free Chicken Fried Steak
Garlic Mashed Potatoes with heavy cream
Green Beans with Garlic and Mushrooms
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Chicken Fried Chicken with Homemade Pan Gravy
Equipment
- 2 Sheet pans with wire racks 1 for raw chicken and 1 for cooked chicken
- 2 Pairs of tongs or a pair of plastic gloves 1 for wet ingredients and 1 for dry ingredients
- 1 Large Cast – iron skillet or dutch oven
- 1 Slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts split in half lengthwise or 4 chicken cutlets
- 2 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 large eggs
- Oil for frying I used avocado oil
Homemade Pan Gravy
- 3 – 4 tablespoons of the oil from frying the chicken
- 3 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups cold chicken broth*
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Start by setting up your drenching stations.
- Mix flour, 1 ¼ teaspoon salt, and the rest of the seasonings together in a large bowl. Add whisked egg to a shallow baking dish. Set up a wire rack over a sheet pan.
- Rinse and cut the chicken breasts into cutlets. Place your palm on the top of the breast then cut horizontally until all the way through so you’ll have 2 pieces. Repeat with the other chicken breast. Season all the chicken with 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Working with one piece at a time, dip the chicken in the flour mixture then the egg, shaking off any excess, then back into the flour mixture. Set on a wire rack and repeat with the other pieces of chicken.
- Heat a cast iron dutch oven on medium-high heat with several inches of oil. Once hot gently add the chicken, and work in batches if needed. Fry for 4 – 5 minutes per side until golden brown. Set on a wire rack to drain.
How to make the pan gravy
- In a medium skillet, add flour and 3 – 4 tablespoons of the oil you cooked the chicken in, whisking together. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes to moisten the flour and until it smells like pie crust.
- Whisk in cold chicken broth, salt, and black pepper. Allow it to come to a boil then cook for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve Chicken fried chicken with homemade pan gravy and mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
Fantastic fried chicken recipe and thank you for sharing, Tonya! Second time making this recipe and my mouth is watering just remembering how good the first time was.
May I just share a quick tip I’ve found useful? If you’re new to frying, please be sure to maintain your oil temperature (I have a large stock pot and keep the oil at 375º) during the frying step. This is especially important between batches! Let your temp rise back up before you put the next batch in.
Aaawww, this comment made my day! Thank you George! Oh yes, that is a good tip, thanks for sharing. 🙂