Can You Make Fried Chicken Without Oil? [Different Ways To Do It]

Often times I have wondered if it’s possible to make fried chicken without oil. It is definitely possible to make fried chicken without oil. I stumbled upon a few different ways to do it. Thought I might share them here. The result is pretty good. It won’t make you miss getting fried chicken with oil and is a healthier choice.

Absolutely! Fried chicken can be made without oil in an air fryer, an oven, or a microwave oven and taste similar to fried chicken. These methods allow you to achieve a crispy coating with moistness inside, however, you’ll have to find the right settings for the appliance that you are using.

In this article, we shall understand how we can make fried chicken without oil and the method to do it.

Benefits of Frying Chicken without Oil

As we all know that deep fried foods although superbly tasty are unhealthy and loaded with calories. Today there are a few ways to enjoy fried foods without it having absorbed oil and is loaded with calories. In this article, we shall cover the same.

Listed below are a few advantages of frying without oil or with the minimum oil possible.

1. It is lower in calories than traditionally deep-fried chicken.
2. Lower in sodium content.
3. Lower in saturated fats.
4. Lower in cholesterol.
5. Heart, liver, and waistline-friendly.

Different Ways To Make Fried Chicken Without Oil

1. Air Frying

Air frying requires little oil and is a healthier alternative to traditional frying. It works as the air fryer uses hot air to cook the chicken to a crispy texture.

Steps to make fried chicken in an Air Fryer

Following are the steps that can be followed to make fried chicken in an air fryer.

1. Preheat the air fryer to 375°F according to your manufacturer’s guidelines or for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
3. Dip the chicken into an egg.
4. Coat the chicken in seasoned breadcrumbs or flour.
5. Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
6. Place the chicken in the air fryer basket, taking care not to overcrowd it.
7. Spray the chicken with cooking spray.
8. Cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is crisp and cooked through.

Suggested Reading: My Fried Chicken Is Not Crispy? [Avoid Making These Common Mistakes] 

2. Oven

Oven-baking chicken with a light coating of breadcrumbs can give a crispy texture without the need for deep frying.

Steps to make fried chicken in an Oven

1. Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C) for 10 minutes. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or spray a nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Season the chicken and dip it in egg and coat with breadcrumbs or flour or follow the recipe you have and prepare the chicken for oven frying.
3. Lightly spray each chicken thigh over the top with cooking oil spray although this is optional, it will crisp the chicken even more.
4. Bake at 390F for 20 minutes now flip the chicken, and cook for another 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the crust is crispy and golden brown.

3. Microwave

In the microwave, the convection mode works just like an oven and therefore the chicken can be easily fried in the convection mode.

Steps to make fried chicken in a Microwave

1. Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C) for 10 minutes. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or spray a nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Season the chicken and dip it in egg and coat with breadcrumbs or flour or follow the recipe you have and prepare the chicken for oven frying.
3. Lightly spray each chicken thigh over the top with cooking oil spray although this is optional, it will crisp the chicken even more.
4. Bake at 390F for 15 minutes, now flip the chicken, and cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Turn the grill mode on and cook on each side for about 7-8 minutes until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the crust is crispy and golden brown.

Suggested Reading: Pan Frying vs Deep Frying Chicken [The Differences Debate!]

Healthier Alternative Fats for Frying

Since we all know that cooking and frying in oil is not healthy, there are some other options that we can use today for frying chicken in the above methods and not use oil. These are mainly saturated fats that are a much healthier alternative to frying the chicken in oil.

1. Avocado Oil:

Avocado Oil is super heart-friendly fat with a relatively high smoke point with a neutral flavor. Thus, it is one of the super-friendly oils for frying. It contains large quantities of Omega-9 and Omega-3 fatty acids and is particularly high in oleic acid.

2. Coconut oil:

Coconut oil is a lot of nutrition that is required by our body. It is full of fatty acids and improves our cognitive functions, metabolism, heart, and hair health. It is recommended for frying and is a better choice than the refined oils that we use. Using virgin coconut oil for frying does not leave any taste whereas if you use the second or the third press you will obtain a stronger aftertaste.

3. Olive Oil:

It is widely used in cooking. You can use it in salads, recipes as well as frying. It is one of the best oils for cooking. It is a healthier fat for cooking, it reduces the chances of heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

4. Butter:

Salted and unsalted butter are both good options to use instead of using oil for frying. It adds a depth of flavor and rich texture. However, it is more suitable for pan frying or sauteeing compared for frying. Also, it has a lower smoke point of 350F thus you need to keep the temperatures low while frying.

5. Clarified Butter(Ghee):

Clarifies butter is widely used in Indian cooking it is a saturated fat and frying in clarified butter is really healthy. It has a higher smoke point than butter as all the milk fat has been completely burned out during the process of making it, and what is left is pure fat.

It is one of the good alternative options to consider as opposed to oil. However, chicken fried in clarified butter will not turn out as light as fried in oil.

More Related Articles:

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2. Can You Use Regular Milk to Fry Chicken?[ Is It Okay?]
3. Using Self-Rising Flour To Fry Chicken [ Can It Be Done?]
4. Best Flours To Use For Fried Chicken! [A Deeper Understanding!]
5. Fried Chicken Vs Baked Chicken [Which to Choose?]