12 Healthy Chicken Recipes That Use Buttermilk for Extra Flavor and Richness
Make your chicken even more delicious with the addition of buttermilk. Buttermilk is a fermented dairy product that's often used as a marinade for fried chicken. You can also use buttermilk as a salad dressing to add a tangy flavor. However you incorporate it, recipes like Chopped Salad with Chicken & Avocado-Buttermilk Dressing and Southern-Style Oven-Fried Chicken are flavorful and satisfying.
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Fried Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
A blend of whole-wheat panko and fine cornmeal gives this healthy chicken recipe the perfect amount of crunch even though it's not deep fried. Making an easy homemade buttermilk ranch dressing recipe means you can skip bottled, which may have additives and stabilizers.
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Buttermilk-Brined Chicken
This healthy buttermilk chicken recipe has all the flavor of buttermilk fried chicken without the frying. Using salt in the brine to draw moisture into the chicken, buttermilk to tenderize and a heap of herbs for fresh flavor, this easy chicken marinade creates unbelievably delicious fried chicken.
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Chopped Salad with Chicken & Avocado-Buttermilk Dressing
This herb-loaded green goddess-inspired dressing gets a color boost from creamy avocado. Make a double batch of this healthy salad dressing to keep on hand for salads throughout the week.
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Air-Fryer "Fried" Chicken Thighs
Air fryers need a lot less oil to create a deep-fried crispy crust. Here, chicken thighs are marinated in buttermilk and dredged in a simple breadcrumb coating. With the help of a little cooking spray, they cook up nice and crispy with a lot less fat. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce or slice them up to top a salad.
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Southern-Style Oven-Fried Chicken
A blend of dried spices gives the crispy panko coating on these oven-fried chicken thighs plenty of flavor, and marinating the chicken in buttermilk makes it moist and juicy. If you don't have an oven-safe skillet, you can roast the chicken in a baking dish in Step 5. Serve with your favorite vegetables (bake them alongside the chicken to make it easy) for a healthy comfort food dinner that requires just 20 minutes of active prep time.
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Air-Fryer Chicken Nuggets
These crispy air-fried chicken nuggets are a quick kid-friendly dinner that parents will love too. The homemade nuggets are healthier than fast-food versions--and more flavorful, thanks to the cornflake coating. You can also cut the chicken into strips for air-fryer chicken tenders. Be sure to cook those 2 to 3 minutes longer, or until done.
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Panko-Crusted Chicken
This recipe is the perfect way to add some extra flavor to your dinner. Combine this recipe with your favorite vegetables and a serving of whole-grains to make a balanced meal.
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BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich with Coleslaw
This eastern North Carolina-style chicken barbecue recipe is vinegar-based, a far cry from the sweet tomato-heavy sauces from the western part of the state. Double the recipe to make a big batch, perfect for game-day parties and potlucks.
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Crispy Ranch Drumsticks
This easy kid-friendly dinner pairs healthier oven-fried chicken with crisp, raw vegetables and a homemade ranch dressing for dipping.
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Green Goddess Salad with Chicken
In this cucumber, tomato, Swiss and chicken salad recipe, a healthy green goddess dressing is made from avocado, buttermilk and herbs. Any extra dressing is delicious served over grilled chicken or flaky white fish, such as cod or flounder.
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Old-Fashioned Chicken & Dumplings
Our revision of creamy chicken and dumplings uses whole-wheat flour for the dumplings and adds lots of vegetables to the filling. The delicious, satisfying results are packed with beneficial nutrients and dietary fiber, and because we don't use canned soup for the sauce, sodium levels are drastically reduced. To go even lighter, try the recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
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Oven-Fried Chicken on a Stick
Here's a fun way to serve oven-fried chicken for a picnic: put it on a stick. It's fabulous served with this homemade Vidalia onion and honey-mustard sauce, but it's also great with barbecue sauce or Frank's hot sauce. This is an easy recipe to double if you're serving a crowd.
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