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Homemade Popcorn Chicken
Crispy popcorn chicken that’s tender, delicious and just so easy to make. These bite-sized pieces of deliciousness are full of flavour and can be baked in the oven or fried! Let’s get cooking…
Popcorn chicken is the best side on KFC’s menu! But what’s even better? Making it from scratch, especially when you want KFC without actually wanting to leave the house.
It’s so simple to do. All you’re doing is marinating diced chicken in buttermilk and coating it in seasoned flour, before frying it to perfection. Trust me, they come out perfectly juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Every. Single. Time.
These small popcorn chicken pieces taste so good, especially when dipped into ketchup, or my favourite, garlic sauce!
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the ingredients I used to make this recipe:
- Chicken Breast: I used diced chicken breasts from my local supermarket. You can use other cuts of chicken like boneless chicken thighs, just make sure they’re cut into small bite-sized pieces.
- Buttermilk Marinate: To make the marinade mixture, I mixed buttermilk with salt and black pepper. I like to marinate the chicken for at least 1 to 2 hours.
- Dry Flour Mix: Salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, cornflour and cayenne pepper are added to plain flour. Don’t skip adding cornflour, it helps to make the texture ultra-crispy. If you want this recipe really hot, add hot chilli powder too.
How To Make Easy KFC Style Popcorn Chicken
Here’s a summary of how I make KFC-style popcorn chicken. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:
Step One:
I dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and mix it with buttermilk, salt, and black pepper. Then I cover the bowl with cling film and leave the mixture to marinate in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
Step Two:
In a bowl I add plain flour, cornflour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano and cayenne pepper and I mix it all together.
Next, I generously coat the chicken in the flour mixture, making sure all areas of the chicken are covered.
Step Three:
I like to add around two inches of oil to my pan and heat it on a medium to high heat. Three to four pieces of chicken is added to the pan, and I fry it for around 3 to 5 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
Once cooked, I place the chicken over paper towels to drain excess oil.
TIP: To see if the oil is hot enough for frying, add a little bit of batter into the oil. If it starts to sizzle instantly, then the oil is ready. Plus, stir the chicken around occasionally, so that they don’t stick together.
How To Bake Popcorn Chicken In The Oven
You can also bake popcorn chicken in the oven, it’s quite easy to do! It won’t be as crispy as fried popcorn chicken, but it will still taste good.
To do this, I like to preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6, 400°F). Once the chicken has been coated in the flour mix, I place the chicken on a lined baking tray, leaving a gap between each piece. I spray the chicken with cooking oil and bake it in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes on each side.
My Top Tips
Before you start to fry the chicken, you really want to make sure that the oil temperature is hot enough! If the temperature is too low, the batter will become really soggy. If the oil temperature is too high, then the batter will brown too quickly, and the chicken will be raw inside.
Don’t overstuff your pan with chicken pieces as this will lower the oil temperature and will give you a soggy batter. Aim for around 3 to 4 pieces, but you might be able to add more or less depending on your pan size.
To get really crispy pieces of popcorn chicken, I like to add a few tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs to the flour mix, it will give you a really crispy coating.
How To Store, Make Ahead & Freeze
Store any leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. If you want to freeze them, allow them to cool completely before placing in an airtight container and freezing. To reheat, pop them in the oven until they’re piping hot throughout.
If you want to make the chicken ahead of time, marinate the chicken the night before, then cook the chicken the next day.
What To Serve With Popcorn Chicken
As good as they are by themselves, I do like to have popcorn chicken with dirty fries, or these salt and pepper chips to make a filling meal.
Dips are definitely mandatory! You can go with the classics, but I recommend a side of red chilli sauce, curry sauce or this smoky Chinese bbq sauce.
More KFC Style & Fried Chicken Recipe
- KFC Style Chicken Burger
- Southern Fried Chicken Wrap
- Crispy Chicken Goujons
- Crispy Salt And Chilli Chicken
- Crispy Panko Chicken
Popcorn Chicken (Like KFC!)
Ingredients
- 250 g Diced Chicken
Buttermilk Marinade
- 250 ml Buttermilk
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
Dry Flour Mix
- 200 g Plain Flour
- 2 tbsp Cornflour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- Dice the chicken into small even bite-sized pieces.250 g Diced Chicken
- Pour buttermilk into the bowl followed by salt and black pepper and mix together. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.250 ml Buttermilk, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Black Pepper
- In a bowl add plain flour, cornflour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano and cayenne pepper. Mix together until evenly distributed.200 g Plain Flour, 2 tbsp Cornflour, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tbsp Paprika, 1 tbsp Garlic Powder, 1 tbsp Onion Powder, 1 tsp Dried Oregano, 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- Take a piece of chicken and generously coat it in the flour mixture, make sure all areas of the chicken are coated in the flour. Do this to all the chicken pieces.
- Add 2 inches of oil to your pan (depending on pan size) and heat on a medium to high heat. Fry the chicken in small batches of 3 to 4 pieces at a time for around 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Stir the chicken around occasionally, so that they don’t stick together.
- Place the cooked chicken over paper towels to drain excess oil. Continue to cook all the chicken pieces, then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Don’t Have Buttermilk?
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make your own homemade version. Simply mix together 230ml of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix together and leave to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then proceed to marinate the chicken. You could also mix 200ml of yoghurt with 5 tbsp of milk, this is also a great buttermilk substitute.Nutrition
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Nadien Lucas
Great recipe.
Thank you for the content.
Michelle
Hi Nadien, I’m glad you like the recipe!