If you eat chicken and like food, you probably like Fried Chicken. You probably love Fried Chicken! But you probably don’t want to use an entire day’s worth of Points on a single piece of chicken. Or lose the ability to button your jeans for the remainder of the weekend. It’s good and all, but not that good. Especially now that you can make this Oven Fried Chicken!
Fried Chicken and Oven Fried Chicken (mostly Bisquick or Cornflake) were staples in our house growing up. They were in heavy rotation, maybe even once a week. When my husband came into my family, he got turned onto Cornflake Chicken as well but it never quite did it for him like real Fried Chicken. Don’t get me wrong, Cornflake Chicken is good but it doesn’t have quite the right crunchy crust.
I knew I needed to keep experimenting and looking for the perfect solution. A recipe that would satisfy my hubby’s Fried Chicken cravings but not be deep fried, that would be easy enough to throw together for a weeknight dinner and would use clean ingredients.
We were doing a couple variations on Bran Flake Oven Fried Chicken last summer and while we liked that better than Cornflake Chicken, we just weren’t quite there yet. Until I found an old Cook’s Illustrated from 1999 that discussed Oven Fried Chicken technology and made a recommendation for using Melba Toast. The Corn Flake wasn’t quite crispy enough and the Bran Flake was just always too sweet. Enter Melba Toast.
Cook’s Illustrated broke down every possible cracker combo in their article and with Melba Toast a clear winner, I knew I needed to try it with my mom’s Cornflake Chicken spice mix.
And we have a serious winner! If you crave Fried Chicken, you HAVE TO MAKE THIS! It’s that good. Yes, I did leave my caps lock on that long. Make it (and let me know how you like it)!
NOTES:
- I like the flavor of Hellman’s (also known as Best Foods) Light Mayonnaise.
- If you want to start making crispy things in your oven that are not fried but sort of taste like it, you need to buy these cooling racks. Even though they are called cooling racks, I use them for cooking / baking. Air circulates all around the food allowing it to get crisp instead of soggy. Must have! If you buy them, make these Apple Chips too!
- Yes, you can make this with all legs, thighs, breasts or any combo of the above. But if you go with a whole chicken, make sure to ask the Butcher to remove the skin and cut it into 8 pieces (2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs and 2 wings). This is a major time saver!
- Skinless thighs are 3 Points Plus each plus 1 Point Plus for the breading so 4 Points Plus each.
- Skinless legs are 2 Points Plus each plus 1 Point Plus for the breading so 3 Points Plus each.
- Skinless breasts 3 Points Plus each for 4 ounces plus 1 Point Plus for the breading so 4 Points Plus each.
Yields 8
4 Points Plus Per Serving -- Recipe Makes 8 Servings -- Individual Serving is 1 Breaded Chicken Thigh or 1 Breaded Chicken Breast (skinless, on the bone) see NOTES section for more info regarding Points
15 minPrep Time
1 hrCook Time
1 hr, 15 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 whole organic chicken, cut up into 8 pieces, skin removed
- 1 5-ounce box Classic Melba Toast, crushed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- non stick cooking spray or oil mister
Instructions
- Start by lining a baking sheet with tin foil and place cooking rack on top. Lightly spray cooking rack with non stick cooking spray.
- Now, lets crush the Melba Toast. If you are a patient person and want the best possible results, place the Melba Toast in a large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush it. If you are crunched for time or slightly impatient like me, throw it in the food processor. Help the process a bit by crushing it in the package before tossing into the food processor bowl. You do NOT want the Melba Toast to be completely pulverized. Leave some little pebbles and texture for maximum crispy crunch!
- Add in salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder and oregano. Pulse a couple more times.
- This is the final texture.
- Combine Dijon and light mayo in a shallow dish.
- Get an assembly line ready: chicken, a shallow dish or plate with mayo mixture, Melba crumbs and lined baking sheet.
- Coat one piece of chicken at a time with mayo mixture (just enough to lightly coat) and press into Melba toast crumbs, making sure the chicken is evenly coated. Repeat until all chicken is coated.
- Use an oil mister or non stick cooking spray to lightly spray each piece of chicken.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Place oven rack in upper middle position. Cook for 60 minutes, rotating the baking sheet one time at 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve and Enjoy!
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