This easy dinner recipe has been pleasing hungry families for decades!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Great chicken recipe to use up almost any cut of meat
- Spicy, smoky, and tangy—the perfect Southern trifecta
- Buttery, golden brown bread crumbs bake to a satisfying crisp
This easy recipe takes about five minutes to prep, which is barely enough time to set the dinner table!
Plus, you can make it into a sheet-pan meal and feed the whole family—fast. I call that: winner-winner chicken dinner!
We love this crispy chicken with these whipped sweet potatoes.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Marinate the chicken in buttermilk & hot sauce mixture.
- Place chicken in pan or skillet and brush with mustard mixture.
- Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
- Drizzle with melted butter and bake.
🥫 Storage
Deviled chicken is best served fresh. The breadcrumb topping is crunchiest that way!
Though, if you have leftovers, they'll keep for about three to five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can microwave the leftover chicken to warm it up and enjoy as is.
However, for best results, I'd first microwave the chicken pieces, then pop them under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the breadcrumb topping once again.
Another way to store leftover deviled chicken is in the freezer.
It'll last for up to three months properly wrapped and sealed in plastic. Just let the chicken thaw in the fridge before warming it according to the instructions above.
📖 Variations
Deviled chicken is awesome because you can use pretty much the whole chicken. Here are some ideas:
- I love using chicken breast in this recipe because we always seem to have some on hand.
- However, juicy chicken thighs and leg quarters are also a great alternative for dark meat lovers.
- Use chicken wings and serve them on game day! Score!
- Feel free to make deviled chicken with skin-on pieces for an extra crunch.
Okay, enough about chicken for a minute. This yummy dish has plenty of other variations, too:
- Instead of traditional bread crumbs, you can use panko bread crumbs or crumbled Ritz crackers.
- If you don't have Dijon, spicy mustard or even honey mustard will work in a pinch, though the latter option will make your chicken sweeter.
- Fan of spicy food? Add hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes to the mustard mixture.
- Or, make a spicy coating by combining the breadcrumbs with hot, dried spices.
- Swap the honey with brown sugar, and feel free to add a little extra if you prefer a bit of sweetness with your spice!
- Run out of butter? Bless your heart, that's a shame. Don't worry, though—you can use a little olive oil instead.
- The original recipe from the '50s calls for cider vinegar, but I've used flavored balsamic, red wine, and other varieties. It doesn't make a huge difference! Some people even like to use lemon juice instead.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: The cook time in the recipe card refers to boneless, skinless breasts of chicken. Keep in mind that other cuts or bone-in pieces will cook at different rates. Just make sure the temperature in the thickest part of your chicken comes to 160 degrees F before removing it from the oven.
- To prevent uneven cooking, place chicken pieces in a single layer, without overlapping. Use a second shallow dish if you need more room.
- Make sure you dry off your chicken well between marinating and coating it with the sauce. This helps the mustard and spice mixture stick to the protein better!
- If using skin-on chicken, make sure to bake with the skin side up! If you have the skin on the bottom, the chicken juices will run down (gravity!) and make the skin soggy, rather than crisp.
- If you forgot to marinate your chicken, it's okay. I'll forgive you this time! Just go on with the recipe as written. However, if you can remember, marinating makes for super tender, moist chicken! It's worth it!
- Sheet Pan Instructions: Instead of using a skillet or a casserole dish, add tiny potatoes, baby carrots, and pearl onions to a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Then, place your prepared chicken on top. Don't forget the breadcrumbs! Bake, watching carefully so that the vegetables don't burn. The veggies taste lip-smackin' good when a little bit of the mustard mixture and chicken juices run over them.
👩🍳 FAQs
"Deviled" is a term used to describe a dish that has mustard and cayenne, or some other spicy pepper. You're probably familiar with deviled eggs and deviled ham, which are both made with the same devilish ingredients.
Buttermilk is acidic, and the acid breaks down the proteins in the chicken so that they're less tough, which means the final result is less chewy. Marination is the key to fork-tender chicken!
You can, but the recipe is super easy so there's not actually much to do ahead of time. You'll turn a five-minute prep into two minutes!
However, chicken is safe to marinate in buttermilk for 24 hours, so you could prep that in advance and let it sit overnight. You can also make the sauce in a small bowl and refrigerate it until you're ready to cook.
📚 Related recipes
- Popeye's Blackened Chicken Tenders have the bold, Louisiana flavor that you crave, without having to wait in a long take-out line!
- Not a fan of spicy? Mmm... these Popeye's copycat crispy chicken tenders are sooooooo good!
- Chipotle cinnamon dry-rub is what takes this Grilled Chicken over the top... or, maybe it's the spicy bourbon peach topping. I can't decide!
- Love vintage recipes like this? You'll want to try the herb baked chicken in cream gravy.
- Chicken-Fried Steak is hearty and crisp, and the homemade gravy is just like Grandma's—Southern comfort food never tasted better!
🍽️ Serve with...
- Dr Pepper Baked Beans or Southern Creamed Corn
- Southern Mashed Potatoes or Fried Potatoes
- Scalloped Tomatoes
- Southern Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
- Dutch Apple Pie or Banana Pudding
📞 The last word
Deviled chicken is an easy recipe with lots of that old fashioned, down home flavor. Sometimes I'll take a minute and make this copycat Cracker Barrel double chocolate fudge Coca Cola cake.
Definitely a memory making meal!
Check out the chicken recipes category for even more great recipe ideas!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Deviled Chicken
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Few drops of Louisiana hot sauce
- 2 pounds chicken, about ¾ pound per person if using bone in chicken
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder, optional
- 1 cup breadcrumbs, soft and fresh
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Add the hot sauce to the buttermilk and stir to blend.
- Marinate the chicken in the buttermilk for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Grease a baking sheet or skillet and set aside.
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture and pat dry.
- Place the chicken in the casserole dish.
- Mix the mustard, vinegar, honey, paprika, salt, and chipotle and brush over the chicken, coating it well.
- Place the chicken in the pan.
- Cover with the crumbs.
- Drizzle with the butter.
- Bake at 375F for 20 minutes (for boneless breasts, it make be longer for other cuts) or until the meat registers 160F on an instant read thermometer.
- Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving. During this time the temperature will continue to rise to 165F.
Notes
- The cook time in the recipe card refers to boneless, skinless breasts of chicken. Keep in mind that other cuts or bone-in pieces will cook at different rates. Just make sure the temperature in the thickest part of your chicken comes to 160 degrees F before removing it from the oven.
- To prevent uneven cooking, place chicken pieces in a single layer, without overlapping. Use a second shallow dish if you need more room.
- Make sure you dry off your chicken well between marinating and coating it with the sauce. This helps the mustard and spice mixture stick to the protein better!
- If using skin-on chicken, make sure to bake with the skin side up! If you have the skin on the bottom, the chicken juices will run down (gravity!) and make the skin soggy, rather than crisp.
- If you forgot to marinate your chicken, it's okay. I'll forgive you this time! Just go on with the recipe as written. However, if you can remember, marinating makes for super tender, moist chicken! It's worth it!
- Sheet Pan Instructions: Instead of using a skillet or a casserole dish, add tiny potatoes, baby carrots, and pearl onions to a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Then, place your prepared chicken on top. Don't forget the breadcrumbs! Bake, watching carefully so that the vegetables don't burn. The veggies taste lip-smackin' good when a little bit of the mustard mixture and chicken juices run over them.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published August 2015. Last updated August 9, 2022 for readability and better images.
Dee
So good and so easy!
Joanie @ Zagleft
I remember growing up and taking road trips on the weekends too. We'd load up the station wagon and head to the Mississippi Gulf Coast (I'm from New Orleans). This chicken looks like it would be the perfect picnic food and I know my family would love it. That topping looks so delicious!