This easy gluten-free fried chicken recipe is seriously the best. You will be hooked with one bite of this crispy, juicy, gluten-free fried chicken with tapioca starch! Follow all of my tips and tricks to get the best gluten-free fried chicken ever!
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
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
When the owner of Proposition Chicken in San Francisco, Ari, told me he was going to share his exclusive gluten-free fried chicken recipe with us, I thought about how incredible that was. How often do you feel safe eating fried chicken at a restaurant? One taste of this gluten-free chicken recipe, and you will be hooked!
If you love making chicken recipes, I have a lot of incredible gluten-free chicken recipes to try!
Comfort foods like these rarely happen in the gluten-free realm; if they do, they are not very good. (Looking at this photo of gluten free fried chicken is really making me hungry!)
Ingredient Notes:
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.
- Tapioca Starch – This is the hero of the recipe. It is grain-free and adds the crispiest of coatings!
- 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 – 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 12 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.
Easy Frying Tip
Our outdoor Weber grill has a side burner attached. I use this to make my fried chicken. I hate when hot oil splatters all over my kitchen; that smell permeates EVERYWHERE! Avoid all of this if you can, and cook this outside.
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 temperature. 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 good at high heat. Do NOT use olive oil or other low-smoke point oils, or the flavor will turn out 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 to try one of my old Texan favorites…you need to try this easy Gluten Free Chicken Fried Steak recipe! If you make chicken nuggets with this recipe, you can use them for my Gluten Free Orange Chicken!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Unfortunately, traditional fried chicken is not gluten-free. Not only do they coat the chicken in flour, but the fryers in many restaurants become contaminated because they also fry other gluten foods in the fryer.
The best gluten free flours to use for frying chicken and other savory dishes like eggplant parmesan are Tapioca Starch (the star of this easy chicken recipe), Cassava Flour, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Blend (in the red label bag), and Gluten Free Bisquick.
The length of time to cook fried chicken depends on whether you cook it in a frying pan, an air fryer, or a deep fryer. When cooked, you want to ensure the chicken’s internal temperature is 165º F.
A deep fryer like this recipe calls for takes about 18 minutes. Cooking this recipe in a skillet with an inch of oil will take about 25 minutes. You will need to turn the chicken often so all sides get crispy.
I have not tried this recipe in an air fryer yet, but one of my readers has tried it. She said the fried chicken would take around 25 minutes to cook in an air fryer.
Buttermilk definitely adds to the flavor profile of this recipe. If you don’t have buttermilk, why not make some with milk and lemon juice?
For this recipe, use regular milk and add one tablespoon of lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes then you are ready to go :-). If you want delicious baked fried chicken, try this Gluten Free Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken recipe!
Sides To Serve With Fried Chicken:
- Deli-Style Gluten Free Macaroni Salad
- Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes with this easy Gluten Free Gravy
- The Best 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!
Best Gluten Free Fried Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Marinade
- 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
Prep
- 1 cup tapioca starch (*see note)
Cook
- hot oil for frying (*see note)
Instructions
Marinade
- 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 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 for 12 hours.
Prep
- 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. 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.
Notes
- Many ask if you can use cornstarch instead of tapioca, this should be okay.
- If you do not have buttermilk, you can make your own by mixing 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon 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 350-375 F degrees before adding the chicken.
- This fried chicken will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an air-tight 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.
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SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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!
Would it still coat and fry fine if using plant based milk?
I haven’t tested non-dairy milk but in theory it should work.
This is the first time I’ve ever commented on a recipe on any website but I feel compelled to because HOOOOLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY MOOOOLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYY THIS WAS INCREDIBLE!!!! I’ve never made fried chicken before and this was better than any non-gluten free chicken I’ve had! I’m beyond impressed. I’m celiac but my husband is not and he thought it was amazing too. You’d never know. Tapioca flour is definitely the move. So light and crispy. This is definitely going into our regular recipe rotation!
You made my day. I am so glad you liked the recipe!
What a great recipe!
If you want extra crispy chicken, you can do 2 coats of breading/flour; 1 the day before frying and 1 the day of. If you like grocery store fried chicken, this is how it’s done! Adding your favorite spice blend to the flour will make sure every bite is full of flavor, and doesn’t add any more calories or fat.
Thanks for the extra crispy tip Rae!
Thanks for the tip Rae- before the second dip in the tapioca starch on the day you fry, do you dip in anything “wet” first? The brine, or an egg wash? Or just back in the tapioca starch again? Thanks!
I would very much like to try your recipe. Can you make it using an all purpose gluten free flour?
Hi Jackie, I assume it would be fine. I haven’t used all purpose flour in this recipe. Please do come back and let us know how it turns out 🙂
A quick note on this: if using a gfap flour make sure there is no xanthan gum or any other gum based alternatives or the coating will come out messy and gummy, not crispy.
That is a good point. The chef doesn’t use an all purpose flour. Thank you Scott.
Do you have any idea how long you fried the tenders for this recipe? You made it a long time ago, but I thought I’d try! 🙂 I am using boneless, skinless breasts that I am going to slice into “fingers,” and I doubt they’ll take 18 mintues in the fryer but I’m also not an experienced fryer!
Hi Nikki, I would try cooking 5-8 minutes then maybe take one out and check the internal temperature. If it is 165 degrees F, they would be ready.
Hey there,
Thanks so much for this recipe!
I made this last night and it was AMAZING.
I used skinless chicken breast cut into long strips and the coating stuck to the chicken just fine.
I also added a bunch of herbs & spices to the tapioca flour to make it a bit like KFC (so rosemary, basil, salt, pepper, paprika, celery salt, thyme, garlic powder, oregano – meant to add mustard powder but forgot).
It was really crispy and delicious. I cooked it in my electric fry pan and served it with chips and coleslaw. YUM!
Will have leftovers for dinner and will make again in the future!
🙂
You absolutely made my day. I am so glad you came back to let me know you liked it 🙂
Hi, thank you for the recipe! I have one question, what oil do you recommend to use when frying?
Hi Edmond, I recommend an oil that does well at high heat like avocado oil or canola. Enjoy 🙂
This WAS so easy and delicious. Turned out perfect. Even leftovers were delicious. Thank you for this gf and egg free recipe!
I am so glad you enjoyed it Jennifer 🙂
Hi Sandi. This chicken looks delicious! I was wondering if the recipe would still work if the skin were removed from the chicken before frying to cut down on the fat content. I wasn’t sure if the coating would possibility still adhere to the chicken if air or oven fried. Thanks for your reply.
Hi Sharon, I am not sure as the coating really sticks to the skin…but I would definitely say to give it a try and see.
I would really love to try this recipe, but I am also dairy intolerant. Has anyone tried this recipe with an alternative non-dairy to replace the buttermilk?
Hi Minette, since this recipe was given to us by my chef friend, I don’t think he has tested it out as a dairy-free recipe. If you try using an alternative milk, can you please come back and let us know how it turned out? I recommend using an unsweetened non-dairy milk as the original flavors often have sugar, which may be weird in a savory recipe.
Ive done it – totally works! It is one of the ways I make homemade creamy based vegan salad dressings…
You can easily create a modified buttermilk using unflavored almond milk and vinegar…. or instead of vinegar, a little lemon juice.
It will still create the same reaction as if it were regular milk. Just be mindful of adjusting your spices as the viscosity created may be a bit more thicker than traditional made-on-the-fly buttermilk.
Good luck!
I never once saw the oil temperature described in the recipe. Depending on the size of the chicken pieces, some require lower temperature with a longer frying time, but Japanese Kaarage or Chinese sweet and sour chicken have smaller sized pieces requiring higher temperature and less frying time.
What temperature does this recipe require ???
Hi Jack, Thank you so much for pointing this out. The chef didn’t give me an oil temperature so I reached out to him. He said to get the oil between 350 and 375F degrees. I hope this helps.
Please send me lots of Gluten Free recipes as I am a Recipe Collector and the demand for G/F recipes is on the increase.
I will fill in the info required below and if possible, I can get a gluten free idea for working on for Wednesday’s, I’d be very appreciative. Even if you could email me something during a Tuesday, we could get max more sorted for Wednesdays!
Kind regards.
Lynne
I am sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about Lynne.