Whether for a picnic, everyday family meal, or special dinner, fried chicken is an excellent choice. The typical skillet-fried chicken is made with a cut-up broiler-fryer chicken, but feel free to use your favorite parts—chicken drumsticks, whole legs, thighs, or chicken breasts. Let’s check it out!

01. Fried Chicken Sandwiches With Sriracha Mayo

Crispy fried chicken with spicy Sriracha mayo makes incredibly delicious sandwiches. Just serve the chicken on soft buns with lettuce, tomato slice, red onion, and dill pickle slices.

02. Classic Southern Fried Chicken

The coating for this fried chicken includes a batter of milk and eggs, and then the chicken is dredged in seasoned flour. Fry the chicken in a cast-iron skillet or heavy Dutch oven. The two-part batter simply consists of dredging the chicken in a milk and egg mix, then giving it a quick shake in seasoned flour.

03. Honey Marinated Buttermilk Fried Chicken

A sweet-sour honey marinade flavors this juicy fried chicken. Honey and vinegar get together in the marinade for the chicken, and then it’s coated in a buttermilk batter and deep-fried to golden brown perfection. A drizzling of the hot boiled marinade finishes the fried chicken perfectly. This is a tasty change of pace from the everyday fried chicken, and it is delicious with rice, potatoes, or noodles.

04. Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Air fryer chicken tenders are an excellent choice for boneless chicken breasts. The air fryer offers the same crispy breaded taste, but without the grease of traditional frying. This recipe also uses a pickle juice marinade and gently spiced breadcrumb batter for enhanced flavor.

05. Nashville Hot Chicken

Nashville hot chicken might be considered a “trend” in some parts of the country, but those in the know realize it’s been around for nearly a half-century now. Nashville hot chicken is characterized by its spicy, deep-red glaze, traditionally made with cayenne pepper. Although the level of spiciness varies, it’s almost always served on top of white bread—plain white bread, the cheaper and sweeter the better—with some pickles on top.

06. Oven-Fried Chicken With Cornflake Crumb Coating

Budget-friendly chicken leg quarters are baked to perfection with a crunchy cornflake coating. Serve these tasty chicken legs with macaroni and cheese or potatoes for a satisfying everyday family meal. Feel free to remove the skin from the chicken before dipping in the sour cream, and light sour cream may be used.

07. Spicy Sriracha Panko Chicken Fingers

Spicy Asian Sriracha sauce teams up with honey and soy sauce to flavor these Panko-coated chicken fingers. Serve them with an Asian-style dipping sauce. These spicy chicken strips are excellent for an everyday meal or make them for a tailgating party, weekend game gatherings, or picnics. Use a deep fryer or fry on the stovetop using a deep-fat thermometer.

Whether you serve your fried chicken with mashed potatoes, French fries, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, a tossed salad, or steamed vegetables and biscuits, this dish makes for a fabulous family meal. You can’t go wrong with fried chicken.