Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, keto fried chicken is coated with pork rind panko, then baked in the oven into crispy perfection.
I can’t believe how delicious this keto fried chicken is! Baked in the oven and coated with pork panko, it’s amazingly close to the real southern fried chicken I used to make back in my high carb days.
Keto substitute for fried chicken
I used to make homemade fried chicken quite often. When I started eating low carb, I experimented with making keto fried chicken coated with almond flour and deep fried. But the almond flour coating disintegrated when I deep fried it. And deep frying isn’t very healthy.
So I started making keto fried chicken in the oven, using almond flour. This was excellent – we all loved it. But almond flour doesn’t get as crispy as flour or breadcrumbs.
My next discovery was pork panko. You can make your own of course by pulsing pork rinds in the food processor (or placing them in a bag and crushing them with a rolling pin). But I love the ease of using the store bought product, and it comes out perfect. Super crispy, and so delicious!
Oven baked keto fried chicken coated in pork panko is so good, so crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, that I don’t miss the frying anymore. Let’s face it – deep frying is no fun.
Admittedly, classic deep fried chicken is better. But if you want your food to be tasty AND healthy, this keto fried chicken is a wonderful choice.
A few tips for making this recipe a success
1. Coat the chicken pieces lightly – they don’t need a thick layer of panko on them, and focus on the tops. The bottoms won’t be crispy anyway.
2. Divide the pork panko into at least two portions. The more chicken pieces you dip in the pork panko, the soggier it becomes. Dividing into two portions makes sure you can dip the chicken into dry, crispy pork panko.
3. I like to use paprika in this recipe, not just for its flavor, but also because it adds gorgeous color to the chicken.
4. Pork rinds are very salty, so I don’t add salt. If you wish, you could add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to the pork panko mixture.
How to serve keto fried chicken
I like to serve it with a side dish that can be baked in the oven with the chicken. So I often serve it with cheesy roasted cauliflower, roasted cabbage wedges, or jicama fries.
Keto Fried Chicken
INGREDIENTS
- Olive oil spray
- 1 cup pork panko (2 oz)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 lb. chicken parts, bone in, skin on (I used 5 thighs and 5 drumsticks)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and fit it with a roasting rack. Spray the roasting rack with olive oil spray.
- In a small bowl, mix together the pork panko, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika and thyme. Divide the mixture between two shallow bowls.
- Melt the butter in another shallow bowl.
- Dip each chicken piece into the melted butter, then dredge in the seasoned pork panko. When you finish one bowl of panko, move on to the next.
- Place the coated chicken pieces on the prepared rack. Lightly spray with olive oil. Bake until tops are golden-brown and crispy, about 45 minutes. Serve the keto fried chicken immediately.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., has been following a healthy real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She has taken 
