The next time you’re frying or baking chicken, ditch the breadcrumbs and try something more unique. It’s a quick and easy way to use up ingredients you have lying around the house while spicing up your meals. Here are four unexpected chicken coatings you should try out the next time you’re whipping up dinner.
- Instant Ramen
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We all love to eat dry instant ramen. Trust me when I say it’s even better when you use it as chicken breading. It gets so crispy and crunchy on the outside of your chicken breasts or tenders. After dipping your chicken in beaten egg, dredge the meat in crushed up noodles—either plain or mixed with the seasoning packet for added flavor. Fry or bake, then top it with the best teriyaki sauce. It’s incredible on its own or as the filling of a sandwich.
- Pickle Potato Chips
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Crushed dill pickle potato chips are the ideal chicken breading. They add crunch, salt, and tang to your otherwise boring chicken. Plus, pickle flavor goes with chicken so well. That’s the secret to why people like Chick-Fil-A’s chicken so much. Ditch that drive-thru forever and make pickle-y chicken at home. It’s perfect for putting in a sandwich or topping a salad.
- Matzo
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There are so many great uses for leftover matzo, but one of my favorites is as a chicken coating. It has such a great crunch and light flavor. Matzo-breaded chicken breasts over mashed potatoes with a drizzle of St. Elmo’s Creamy Horseradish Sauce? A truly Incredible meal. Pulverize the matzo in a blender for a fine crust or smash the matzo with a rolling pin for larger pieces. It’ll be delicious either way!
- Instant Mashed Potatoes
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Speaking of mashed potatoes, instant mashed potatoes can make an incredible chicken breading. It’s like potato flour! A light dredge of flavorful potato powder can add so much crunch to chicken, especially if you’re doing a shallow fry in a pan on the stovetop. This is such a cheap option that there’s no reason not to try it!
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!