You can get all the crispiness and flavour of KFC chicken by making it at home - plus it's healthier and cheaper too. Seasoned and breaded chicken breasts that are baked to crispy perfection for the Healthy KFC alternative. Put it in to a burger bun for a homemade Zinger Tower Burger.
If you are looking for some other breaded recipes to try, they why not try our Salmon Fishcakes, Homemade Fish Fingers, Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets or Parmesan Chicken Bites.
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Why you will love it
- Cheaper and healthier than actual KFC
- Lower in calories and fat
- You can adjust the seasoning to your own tastes
- Kids will love it
Step by step
One: Prepare the spice blend
Two: Put the bread in to a food processor and blend to make breadcrumbs.
Three: In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the spice blend. Season with salt and pepper.
Four: Cut the chicken breast into strips.
Five: Whisk the egg and put the flour onto a plate.
Six: Coat the chicken in flour, then dip in the egg. Transfer to the bowl with the seasoned breadcrumbs and coat completely.
Seven: Put the coated chicken on a baking tray and put in a pre-heated oven at 220°C/400°F for 40 minutes. It may need longer, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.
Is it healthy?
It's not called Healthy KFC for nothing! But seriously, its healthier.
One thing a lot of us would like to cut back on in a bid to be healthier, and have more disposable income, is fast food and convenience food. Sure, it's easy to just rock up to a drive-thru and put in your order, but who has the money to do that all the time?
Not only is making it yourself healthier, as you can control exactly what goes in to it and portion control, but you have the satisfaction of having made the delicious alternative yourself. With minimal effort too!
If you want to get that exact KFC flavour, then you are doing to need to deep fry the chicken to get it super crispy. But baking it gets it crispy enough, without a load of extra calories from the oil.
We have coated ours in breadcrumbs and baked it, rather than dipping it in flour and frying it, so there is going to be a taste difference there. But this is a healthier version after all. Also, KFC using MSG in their recipe and we gave that a miss too.
KFC Seasoning
The exact spice seasoning mixture in KFC is a closely guarded secret. However, after a lot of taste testing, we have come up with something that comes very close. You can adjust the spices to suit your own tastes.
Zinger burger recipe
One of the best things to order at KFC is the Zinger Tower Burger. You can recreate that at home too by taking a piece of this breaded chicken and putting it in a bun with some cheese, lettuce, some Restaurant Style Salsa and one of our Homemade Healthy Hash Browns.
What chicken to use
To make a healthy KFC, we used chicken breasts, not only to keep it lean but because we were serving it in a burger and didn't want the bone in it. However, if you just want to use your hands and bite straight in to some chicken, then you could use wings, drumsticks or thighs.
What to serve it with
Here are some suggestions of things to serve with this Healthy KFC:
- Air Fryer Fries
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Grilled Corn
- Mexican Coleslaw
- No Mayo Coleslaw
- Baked Tortilla Chips
FAQs
The exact KFC recipe is a closely guarded secret. However, with a few taste tests and some experiments ourselves we came up with a pretty great homemade version. It is a mixture of paprika, thyme, oregano, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper and mustard.
If you prefer one flavour and don't like another as much, feel free to change the quantities. Use this recipe is a base. We might add some chilli flakes next time.
This homemade KFC is really easy to make gluten free, as most of the ingredients are gluten free already. Just use some gluten free breadcrumbs and flour for the coating and you are good to go.
You can get this chicken even crispier than the oven by using an air fryer. Simply follow the recipe as below and then put it in your air fryer for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through
If you have leftovers, then they can be stored in an air tight container and kept in the fridge for 2 days. You can then slice them up and add to salads and sandwiches.
More takeout recipes
If you’ve tried this healthy KFC recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Healthier KFC
Ingredients
- 300 g Chicken breast
- 1 Egg - beaten
- 1 slice whole wheat bread
- 2 tablespoon plain flour
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 0.5 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 0.5 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the spice blend.
- Put the bread in a food processor and process until it becomes breadcrumbs.
- Put into a bowl with all the herbs and spices and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the chicken breast into strips.
- Whisk the egg and put the flour onto a plate.
- Coat the chicken in flour, then dip in the egg. Transfer to the bowl with the seasoned breadcrumbs and coat completely.
- Put the coated chicken on a baking tray and put in a pre-heated oven at 220°C/400°F for 40 minutes. It may need longer, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.
John Curtain
this must be my third time making these, I can't get anough of these! i have personallised them to me by reducing the cayenne chilli pepper and adding mixed herbs (i add mixed herbs on everything)
Susi
This recipe looked delicious. Unfortunately the chicken was dry but I think I sliced the chicken too finely. Also the sweet potato fries were soggy and not crisp. I followed the recipe for these exactly. I'm sorry but I won't be trying this recipe again. It was also quite time consuming!
Dannii
Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. Yes, if the chicken it sliced too thin, then it will change the cooking time and it would end up dry if you still used the cooking time in this recipe. As for the sweet potato fries, they definitely shouldn't be soggy. It will depend on your oven and it being at the exact temperature. Did the fries also have lots of space on the baking tray? If they are too close together they will not get crispy.
Cheran
Hiii, this looks so amazing. Definitely going to try. I was wondering two things. Firstly, could they be coated then frozen as I usually meal prep for the week? Secondly, does the 300g of chicken make up 4 servings?
Thank you so much. Really enjoy your recipes.
Dannii
Yes, 300g is for 4 portions and yes you can coat them and then flash freeze them. Hope you enjoy them!
Carl
Edit Required. re: Gluten Free ... You should probably use Gluten Free flour prior to dipping in the egg ...
Dannii
Thanks for letting us know we missed that out.
peter drake
Coulyou use drumsticks for this recipe
Dannii
Yes, you could. It would change the nutritional value and cooking time though.
Noelle Simpson
Great idea! Super easy way to make a delicious meal healthier. Thanks for sharing this great idea
Priya Lakshminarayan
Love the sound of it! Looks so good..perfect for entertaining!
Cat
This looks even better than KFC! Love that it's a healthier version too, saving to make soon!