Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken (Gluten & Dairy Free)
This is the BEST Gluten & Dairy Free Southern Fried Chicken!
The best of the best of the best! Each Crispy crunchy bite is bursting with delicious flavor with just the right hint of spiciness. For Christmas Dinner this year I opted to make a southern style meal and rather than creating my own recipe I figured I would give myself a break and just try out someone else’s recipe rather than creating my own. But then after some time on google I didn’t find a single gluten and dairy free recipe that seemed worth the effort. So, I jumped into the kitchen and started recipe testing. With each trial run my friend chicken got better and better! This is (to my knowledge) the FIRST gluten and dairy free buttermilk chicken that not only looks like its classic counterpart but tastes as good if not better!
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What makes this gluten & dairy free Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken so good?
There are so many different gluten free flours and they all work a little different. Finding that perfect blend took this recipe to a place of absolute perfection. There’s an extra bit of crispy crunchy texture thanks to the extra 1 1/4 cup of starch that I added to the breading mixture! This chicken is really honestly fun to make- the breading clings on to the chicken beautifully & it comes out of the hot oil looking like you ordered it straight out of a restaurant!
Generally dairy free buttermilk is made by adding vinegar or lemon juice to nondairy milk. I saw some recipes that did this. But I KNEW this wouldn’t cut it thickness or flavor wise to perform anything like regular buttermilk does. So I made my own using dairy free yogurt and the results were astounding!
I know you will absolutely love this recipe. Once you try it you’ll never make it another way.
Gluten & Dairy Free Buttermilk Fried Chicken Ingredients
Kite Hill Unsweetened Yogurt : I selected this brand for a few reasons. Whole Foods sells a large container that has the perfect amount in it. But more importantly I find that kite hills yogurt is a little bit thicker than a lot of brands and as a result would do a nice job holding the breading on the chicken.
Unsweetened Dairy Free Milk- Any variety of dairy free milk should work here! I opted for oat milk as its my favorite dairy free milk available.
Lemon Juice or White Vinegar- Dairy free yogurt is not quite as sour as buttermilk. Adding this extra bit of acid makes all the difference in getting the right flavor profile.
Franks Red Hot- This adds just the right amount of subtle spiciness. If you don’t have red hot available sriracha will also work in its place.
Salt- You can use any type of salt really- my preference is pink Himalayan salt. I used it in this recipe as well as all of my recipes.
Garlic Powder- Any brand of garlic powder will work!
Onion Powder- Any brand of onion powder will work.
Paprika - I used Hungarian sweet paprika as its our favorite as I love making chicken paprikash so it is what I always have on hand. It has a bit more flavor than American paprika too. You are welcome to use whatever you have- just be sure to stay clear of smoked paprika for this recipe unless you want a super smoky flavor.
Black Pepper -Finely ground is best.
Chicken - You may use any cut of meat that you like or an assortment. Breast, Thighs, Wings, Tenders and or Drumsticks are all a great choice. Just keep in mind that cooking times will vary.
Better Batter Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Original Blend: This has become my go to for a lot of recipes. Its fabulous especially in bread & cookies. I selected it for this recipe as I know it has a good amount of gum which ensures that the breading stick onto the meat perfectly.
King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose Flour -This one and better batter are my favorites. This blend is a bit lower in gum compared to better batter and works wonderful for pancakes, muffins, biscuits & cake! I added it to my fried chicken breading as it contains some whole grains and I knew that would give the chicken a beautiful golden brown color. Plus it really tenderized the breading and make it perfect.
Starch (Potato, Cornstarch, Tapioca or Arrowroot)
Oil for frying - Its my humble opinion that sometimes is fine to use junky processed oil if you are only frying things up with it on occasion. This of course is a personal preference. Your best options for frying are Vegetable Oil, Peanut Oil, Avocado Oil or Lard! Olive oils smoke point is too low to fry this chicken- and while coconut oil will work great keep in mind that it will become part of the flavor of the fried chicken.
How to make Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Make the dairy free buttermilk. Add to a large bowl (large enough to fit the buttermilk and all of the chicken) the dairy free yogurt, dairy free milk, lemon juice, red hot and salt. Whisk together.
In a small bowl mix together the dry rub spices ( garlic, onion. paprika and salt.) Rub it on all sides of your chicken pieces.
Place each spiced rub piece of chicken into the "buttermilk". I like to gently press each piece into it without stirring too much so that the spice blend remains on the chicken. Once all the chicken has been added tightly cover the bowl and place it into the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or for up to 24 hours. The longer you leave it to marinate the better the flavor!
After the chicken has had time to marinate. Get ready to fry it up. Add the oil to your pot and slowly allow it to warm up. (Your temperature needs to be between 350-375 degrees.)
While that heats up- make your breading. In a medium or large bowl whisk together the better batter, King Arthur, starch & spices.
Lift the chicken out of the buttermilk allowing the excess to drip off. (I give the chicken a little shake, and run it along the side of the bowl to remove some of the buttermilk). Add it to the breading bowl a liberally cover each piece of chicken. Making sure that there are no wet spots remaining. I press the flour into the chicken to make sure its really well covered. Fry until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. (see notes below on average frying times.) Using an instant read thermometer is the easiest way to check the chicken.
Fry 3-4 pieces at a time depending on the size of your pot making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Allow each piece to fry undisturbed for 7-8 minutes before flipping the chicken allowing the breading time to set up and hold on nicely before its flipped.
Place on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Serve warm! Store leftover chicken in the fridge in a sealed bag or container for 5-6 days. It can be eaten as leftovers cold, or warmed up. (Heating it up in the air fryer is the best way!)
Tips & tricks to make the gluten & dairy free Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken.
How do I make sure it fries up perfect every time?
The chicken is the easiest to handle and the breading holds on best if you chicken pieces are not too large. For example- a super thick/big chicken breast I will often pound out a little bit and cut into 3 pieces. I cut it into the size that would be a good servings size. The same can be done with boneless chicken thighs. The skin of the chicken can be left on or removed.
Chicken tastes bests and is juiciest when it’s heated through close to the 165 degree temperature. If your piece of chicken is thicker in spots and thinner in others- this means that the thin sections will overcook end begin to dry out while you wait for the thicker section to finish. You can’t avoid this by using a meat tenderizer and pounding the meat so that it’s an equal thickness throughout.
Using a good quality plug in burner that has a setting for the temperature is my favorite way to fry. It allows me to select the pot size of choice that I want and control the oil temperate. This is optional of course- but is my preference. A deep chicken fryer cast iron pan is also a wonderful tool to have.
Have an instant read thermometer on hand to both check the oil temperature & internal temperature of the chicken to see if its done!
Keep in mind that the color of the finished fried chicken may vary depending on what flour blend is used. Blends heavy in white rice flour and starch get less of a golden color. A blend including some gluten free whole grains will get a lovely dark golden color. As a result of this you cant depend on the color of the chicken to signal when its done. The internal temperature is the only way to know for sure.
Why does this recipe use two all purpose blends?
I made this chicken a few times, a few different ways. I found that using 3 cups of better batter instead of including 1 cup of King Arthur did work great. It tasted great too! BUT, When I swapped in one cup of King Arthur the texture became lighter, crispier and just all around perfect. The reason it changed so much is due to the fact that I know King Arthur has less xanthan gum! Getting that gum ratio right is important - too much and the breading becomes almost too firm to chew. Using not enough gum means that the breading may fall right off while the chicken is frying! If you are worried you won't use both flour blends- I have a growing collection of recipes that call for one or the other. I love both and find they are great for different types of recipes.
Can I substitute the flour blends?
If you want to use 3 cups of King Arthur only I recommend doing a test piece of chicken before breading all of it.. Have some xanthan or guar gum on hand and add 1/2 Tsp of it if your breading doesn't hold on well. If that's not enough try adding another 1/4 tsp. I cant give you the exact amount needed- but this is the process I would do if I was experimenting. Just be sure to try one piece of chicken at a time while figuring out the perfect ratio of xanthan gum!
As for other gluten free all purpose blends..its the same thing. Some contain more xanthan gum than others (I know for example that the Pamelas mix is extremely gloo-ey- similar to better batter. If you use that one I doubt more gum will be needed.) There's really know knowing until you try! Please report back in the comments if you try a blend out I have not listed and how it went!!
If you want guaranteed perfect results without having to play around make it with the two blends I called for. As written it is incredible!
Can I use all brands of dairy free yogurt?
All brands of dairy free yogurt are not the same. I opted for kite hill as I find it to be a little bit thicker than other brands. Its perfect to mimic the thickness of real buttermilk . To see the exact thickness of this mock buttermilk and watch the whole process in detail join Club Angell Plus to gain access to the full class!
If you want to try out using a different brand of dairy free yogurt you are welcome to do so- the goal is to replicate the thickness of buttermilk. That means if you use a brand of Df yogurt that is on the thin side the you should skip the milk - but then increase the yogurt to make up for that difference making sure that you end up with 5 cups total. This quantity will fully cover the 4-6 lbs of chicken when it marinated. The red hot and lemon juice will also affect the thickness as well. The yogurt acts in this recipe like a glue ( plus it adds some flavor). It just needs to remain thick enough that Is can hold a nice thick layer of the breading on.
What temperature is best for frying fried chicken?
A safe range I find it anywhere between 350-375 Degrees. (I fry mine right in the middle at 360 degrees)
Th time it takes each piece to fry varies greatly pending the thickness of the chicken, if it has a bone, what temperature your oil is ect. But as a starting point I would suggest:
For 350 degrees: You will want 14-18 minutes for thicker cuts of meat ( less for wings/ tenders)
For 360 degrees: 12-15 minutes on average for thicker cuts (less for wings/tenders)
375 Degrees: 10- 14 minutes on average for thicker cuts (less for wings/tenders)
As a general rule I set my timer for 10 minutes (unless making wings/tenders) and then remove a piece to check the internal temperature and go from there. All chicken is done when the internal temperature is 165 degrees. When it cooks beyond that temp is begins to dry out. Especially chicken breast. Don't stress if you go beyond that heat- it will still taste great. But that 165 degrees is the goal post for perfectly cooked chicken.