The first bite of this gluten free fried chicken, that shattering crispy crust giving way to the juicy, tender chicken, is the kind of thing I honestly did not think was possible after going gluten free. This is why I was so incredibly thankful that Ari, the owner of Proposition Chicken in San Francisco, shared his famous gluten free fried chicken recipe. If you want a tried and true gluten free fried chicken recipe, this is the one to make!
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: This delicious gluten free fried chicken recipe is made with simple ingredients, without flour! It turns out with a flaky, crispy outside and tender, juicy chicken inside. Use any parts of chicken! I share every step to make this incredible restaurant-quality gluten-free fried chicken.
When the owner, Ari, of Proposition Chicken in San Francisco, told me he was going to share his exclusive gluten-free fried chicken recipe with us, I thought about how incredible this was. How often do you feel safe eating fried chicken at a restaurant? I can tell you I wouldn’t! There is a lot of risk from shared equipment, shared fryers, etc. At Proposition Chicken, you can leave these worries behind. They have dedicated gluten free fryers, and they take all of the precautions to prevent any cross contamination.
I walk you through every step to make this delicious chicken. One taste of this gluten-free chicken recipe, and you will never want to try a different recipe. If you are looking for more chicken recipes, I have a lot of incredible gluten-free chicken recipes on the blog.
The fried chicken came out amazing. It was the best fried chicken I have had in over 15 years. Came out super crispy (I only dipped once) and the chicken was moist and flavorful. Your directions were easy to follow and made all the difference to me.”
ellen s., blog comment
A Note From My Kitchen
When I tested this recipe, I used bone-in chicken thighs and legs. I left the skin on so the tapioca starch would stick nicely.
For me, the part of testing I dread most is frying in hot oil. Our outdoor Weber grill has a side burner attached. I used this to make my fried chicken. This prevents the hot oil from going all over my kitchen, and that smell permeates EVERYWHERE! Avoid all of this if you can, and cook this outside. If you have a deep fryer, you can use it outside if you have an external electrical outlet.
Safety Tip: It is important to use long metal tongs when making this fried chicken. Hot oil can splatter and burn your hands. Long metal tongs will help protect you. You can also wear silicone pot holders.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
These are the ingredients needed for this gluten-free fried chicken recipe. I share a few substitution ideas in case you do not have a specific ingredient. For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Chicken – You can use bone-in or boneless chicken cut for this recipe. Cooking times will be shorter if you use boneless chicken.
- Tapioca Starch – Tapioca starch, also called tapioca flour, is grain-free and is the reason this recipe works. Unlike flour, it contains almost no protein or fat, so when it hits hot oil, it gelatinizes and sets into a rigid, almost glassy shell. That is where the crispy shatter comes from. Flour gives you crunch; tapioca gives you crackliness.
- Buttermilk – This adds flavor and juiciness. If you don’t have buttermilk, mix 1 cup of milk with one tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Red Wine Vinegar – Most vinegar is gluten free, but always read the labels!
- Cayenne Pepper and Salt – This adds a hint of spice; it is optional.
- Oil – One of the most important factors to consider when choosing an oil to use is the oil’s smoking point. The smoking point is the moment when the oil is no longer glossy and shimmery-looking, and it starts to smoke.
How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Fried Chicken (Step-By-Step)
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Step 1: Add all the buttermilk, red wine vinegar, and cayenne pepper to a large
Add the raw chicken to the liquid ingredients and coat the chicken with the buttermilk mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Step 2: Soak the chicken in the buttermilk overnight or for 8-10 hours in the refrigerator. This makes the meat more tender and juicy when you fry it.
Remove the chicken and dip it into the tapioca starch seasoning blend. Toss the chicken to coat it.
Step 3: In a Dutch oven or large 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat the oil to 350-375º F. Use a digital thermometer to measure the oil temperature. You do not want the oil too cold, where the chicken will not cook properly, and you don’t want the oil too hot, where the chicken can burn.
Gently drop the chicken into the hot oil. Be careful of the hot oil spattering out of the pan!
👀 Sandi Says: I recommend using canola or avocado oil because they are heat-resistant. Do NOT use olive oil or other low-smoke-point oils, or the flavor will turn rancid.
Step 4: Use long metal tongs to flip the chicken over so both sides cook evenly. Cooking time will vary by the cut of chicken you use and whether it is bone-in or boneless. Be sure the internal temperature of the meat is 165º F.
If you want delicious buttermilk-soaked baked fried chicken, try this Gluten Free Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken recipe!
If you want to try one of my old Texan favorites, you need to try this easy Gluten-Free Chicken Fried Steak recipe! If you make Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets with this recipe, you can use them for my Gluten Free Orange Chicken!
Frequently Asked Questions:
I have not tried this recipe in an air fryer yet, but one of my readers has tried it. She said the fried chicken took her around 25 minutes to cook in an air fryer.
You do not have to soak the chicken as long, but the flavor and juiciness of the chicken will be reduced. The buttermilk acts like a meat tenderizer for the chicken.
If you want more gluten free air fryer recipes, we love these Gluten Free Air Fried Chicken Tenders.
Sides To Serve With Fried Chicken:
- My Deli-Style Gluten Free Macaroni Salad is a winner at picnics.
- Try this potato salad-style side, Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- My kids love serving Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes with this creamy Gluten Free Gravy with the fried chicken.
- Prefer a healthier side? Try this popular Kale and Apple Salad.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. This will help others know that this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Crispy Gluten Free Fried Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 8-10 pieces bone-in chicken of your choice
- 1 cup buttermilk (*see note)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ tablespoon red wine vinegar
- dash of salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup tapioca starch (*see note)
- hot oil for frying (*see note)
Equipment
- Strainer
Method
- Put 1 cup buttermilk, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/4 tablespoon red wine vinegar, and dash of salt and pepper to taste (except chicken) into a bowl and whisk until the mixture is fluffy.
- Put 8-10 pieces bone-in chicken of your choice into a large dish and pour the marinade over the butchered chicken.
- Move chicken around to make sure all of the raw chicken is all covered in the marinade.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight for 8-10 hours.
- Drain marinaded chicken in a large strainer.
- Place chicken in 1 cup tapioca starchand toss it around to cover the whole piece of chicken.
- Let the chicken rest 2-3 minutes on a baking pan.
- Gently heat oil in a pre-seasoned cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. If you have a deep fryer, that is great! I would use that instead. The oil should be 350-375 F degrees before adding the chicken pieces.
- Fry the chicken for 10 minutes on one side. Flip the chicken to cook the other side another 10 minutes. (Do this if you are not fully submerging your chicken in the hot oil. After you cook each side of the chicken, check the internal temperature of 165 F degrees. The total cook time would be around 20 minutes, but it depends on the cut of chicken you are using. If you are deep frying the chicken it will take less time for your chicken to cook.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Nutrition
Notes
- Many ask if you can use cornstarch instead of tapioca, this should be okay. I haven’t personally tested using cornstarch.
- If you do not have buttermilk, you can make your own by mixing 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- If you like your chicken extra crispy, double-dip it! After doing one dip in the tapioca starch, put back into the buttermilk, then redip into the tapioca starch.
- Use an oil that is made to tolerate high heat. Canola, avocado, and coconut oil are all great high-heat oils for frying. (Note if you use coconut oil it will impart a flavor where canola and avocado oil are tasteless.)
- You want your hot oil temperature to reach between 350-375º F before adding the chicken.
- This fried chicken will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. To reheat, put onto a baking sheet, cover with foil (to prevent burning the crispy coating), and bake in the oven at 325 F degrees for 20 minutes. Check to see if it is heated all the way through.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
I have been frying chicken using gf jules flour mix. It does quite well and is very tasty. And my celiac husband is very happy! I have never used vinegar in my recipe…will have to try it. Sounds tasty.
Better Byrd, a chicken restaurant in St. Petersburg, says they now serve only gf fried chicken and have separate fryers for the chicken and their specialty, made to order, mini donuts (not gf). We haven’t tried the chicken since they made the change to gf, but I hear good things.
It is funny, I never used vinegar until the owner of Proposition Chicken gave me this recipe. I wonder if it helps tenderize the chicken. Thank you so much for stopping by Jane :-).
Hi Sandi. Mouthwatering! That sounds delicious! I’m a new cooker and finding fried recipes. I’m thinking to practice this recipe. Thank you for your sharing. It works very well, I think it is suitable for chicken fried for this menu. What do you think about that?
I will have to try an air fryer. Thank you so much and let us know how it turns out Mily 🙂
Hi there, I’m so glad I came across your site. I’ve been gluten free off & on (I know that sounds silly) for about 2 years now & was researching GF fried chicken. I just purchased some Cassava flour, but don’t have any tapioca starch/flour on hand. I’m kicking myself for not ordering any from Amazon. I will place an order for some today. Can’t wait to try the breading with the tapioca. I’ll use my cassava tonight, however. Will be my first time using that as well. I think I also read somewhere that cassava is really good for fish & chips. I’m reside in Wisconsin and fish & chip Friday’s are big here.
Just wondering, though, have you ever used potato starch/flour for breading? I understand some Asian recipes call for potato starch. I have used cornstarch & sweet rice flour. They add a bit of an extra crunch. And I read where someone commented on the vinegar factor. Yes, that does make the chicken really tender.
Thanks again. I can tell I’m going to love your website.
I am so glad you are here Tara :-). I use potato starch to thicken sauces, but I have not tried it for a fried recipe…Cassava flour is very similar to Tapioca, it is from the same plant so I would think it could work in this recipe.
Well I have made the delicious Paleo Apple Cinnamon Donuts, then the Banana Chunky Monkey Donuts and tonight we are having the fried Chicken & Cauliflower Cheddar Pancakes, so far they have all been great.Thanks for sharing!
Wow John, you have made my day, and quite possibly my week. Thank you 🙂
Hi I’m wondering if you can use an air fryer to eliminate some of the extra calories and oil?
Hi Cindy, I am so sorry, I have never used an air fryer so I am not sure what to advise. I suspect it would be okay, but I haven’t tried it myself. Would you be so kind as to come back and let us know if you try it?
This southern girl has never been more excited! The idea of gluten-free fried chicken makes me so happy. I can’t wait to try this!!! Out of curiosity, which oil do you use? I’m thinking avocado oil but unsure if it would vibe.
Hi Michele, I used avocado oil, but I suspect the restaurant uses canola. Enjoy :-).
Love this recipe! I’ve made it as is and loved it but tried it out with a few tweaks this weekend and my family was blown away! I added a TBSP of hotsauce and 1 TBSP of salt to the buttermilk in the place of cayenne & wine vinegar. It was how I brined my chicken before going gf and always resulted in incredibly juicy chicken. I also added rosemary… next time I’ll put soak the rosemary in the buttermilk then strain before adding the chicken. (I love the flavour but not the feel of eating little sticks ?) After dredging each piece in the tapioca starch, I went back and dipped it in the buttermilk and back into the tapioca starch… I let it rest on a wire rack for about 20 min before I put it in batches into my deep fryer. I just like the ease of a deep fryer for bigger pieces. I forget to turn it in my cast iron ? The ease of only needing one starch/flour and the incredible taste and crunch of this chicken made it 5☆ for me!! Just as good, and crispy, cold for lunch the next day! Thankyou so much for sharing ?
I am so glad you liked it Mary. I thought of you today because I went to Proposition Chicken for dinner 🙂
What type of oil do you use for frying??
Hi Melissa, you want to use an oil that can tolerate high heat. I like to use Avocado oil for frying.
I do like some well cooked, juicy fried chicken in my life!
Hi,
I was curious if I could make this with regular gluten free flour instead of Tapioca flour?
Thank you!
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte, I would try arrowroot starch if you can’t have tapioca. I would assume you can use gluten free flour, but you want to make sure it doesn’t have xanthan gum in the mix. Take care and let me know how it turns out 🙂
How deep should the oil be in the pan? Is there a way to oven fry this chicken so it’s crispy but healthier and easier?
Hi Su, I would say the oil should be deep enough to cover half the chicken. That way when you flip it, the other side cooks perfectly.