If you enjoy comfort food meals, (or chicken fried steak, which is a staple breakfast menu item at many restaurants), then you’ll want to try this recipe for Chicken Fried CHICKEN with creamy Country Gravy for a tasty dinner!
I learned how to make this easy dish, after watching my Mom cook fried chicken for many years (and seeing how chicken fried steak is served in restaurants). I adapted this recipe from both of those methods by trial and error. Typically this dish is made using beef in cubesteak form, lightly breaded and fried, and is called chicken-fried steak.
I actually prefer to make it with chicken breasts, but still cover it with that signature delicious, creamy country gravy! It’s very easy to prepare, with a shortcut I use for making the gravy a nice time saver, too! If you enjoy fried chicken, you will enjoy this dish!
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True Story!
One time, over 20 years ago, I made chicken fried chicken at dinnertime for our two young sons while my husband was out of state on business. I flattened the chicken breasts out so much that when I put the finished, cooked piece of chicken on each of their plates, it nearly covered the entire plate. You should have seen the look in their eyes when they first saw it and gasped!
To make it even more “perfect”, we watched the movie Jurassic Park while we ate our dinner. BIG crazy dinosaurs… BIG crazy-good chicken fried chicken. Our boys have never forgotten that dinner… ha ha!!!
While it definitely is not the “healthiest” dinner you could choose to eat, it sure tastes great every now and then! It’s your typical “comfort food meal”, especially when served with creamy mashed potatoes. Everything in moderation, right? Here’s how easy it is to make:
How To Make Chicken Fried Chicken
Place a boneless, skinless chicken breast in between two pieces of plastic wrap, sealing the edges. Pound the chicken out with the flat side of a meat mallet, until it has flattened out considerably to about 1/2 inch thick, like a cutlet. Think of all that pounding as very inexpensive therapy…
Mix flour and seasonings in a small bowl. Place buttermilk in a separate bowl. Dredge the chicken breast in flour mixture until completely covered on all sides. Dip chicken in buttermilk, coating all sides.
Let excess liquid drip back into bowl, then place chicken back into flour mixture, turning to cover completely. Set chicken onto dry platter, and repeat process for all pieces of chicken, coating one at a time.
Heat vegetable oil on medium high heat, in large skillet. I like to use a cast iron skillet for this, but any type of skillet will work. When oil is hot (but not smoking), add chicken. It should sizzle when chicken hits pan. You might need to cook the chicken in batches, due to the size of the flattened chicken.
Cooking times will vary, due to different thicknesses of meat, but you will need to cook one side (without moving it around-that tends to pull the breading off) until deep golden brown on bottom, then carefully turn chicken over and cook other side. Cook until chicken is fully cooked through (total time between 12-18 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken). Remove from heat.
Prepare The Country Gravy
While chicken is cooking, prepare the gravy. Most of the time I make gravy from scratch, BUT for a quick and easy way to make this creamy gravy for this recipe, I start with a “cheap” package of country gravy mix.
Prepare according to package directions, but also add a small chicken bouillon cube, a teaspoon of butter, some black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, and stir until completely blended in. I find this really helps the gravy to have more “homemade” flavor!
To serve this easy dish, I place the beautifully browned chicken cutlet onto each serving plate, then generously spoon some of the creamy country gravy over the top, and serve hot! See how big that one little chicken breast becomes when it’s flattened out… practically covers half the plate! P.S. The gravy is good on mashed potatoes, too!
See how easy it is to make chicken fried chicken? It really is a simple dish to prepare, and tastes delicious! You might also want to check out my recipe for Crunchy Buttermilk Fried Chicken! Hope you will consider trying this comfort food style recipe… and enjoy a little taste of the South!
Looking For More CHICKEN Recipes?
You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have LOTS of chicken recipes you might enjoy, including:
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Recipe Source for chicken: My mom
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder (1/8 teaspoon each)
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 envelope Country Gravy Mix (+ water indicated on pkg.)
- 1 cube chicken bouillon (small cube, crumbled)
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder and onion powder (1/8 teaspoon each)
Place a boneless, skinless chicken breast in between two pieces of plastic wrap, sealing the edges. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, until it has flattened out considerably to about 1/2 inch thick (like a cutlet).
Mix flour and seasonings in a small bowl. Put buttermilk in a separate bowl. Dredge the chicken breast in flour mixture until completely covered on all sides, and shake off excess flour. Dip floured chicken into buttermilk, coating all sides. Let excess liquid drip back into bowl, then place chicken back into flour mixture, turning to cover completely. Set chicken onto dry platter; repeat process for all pieces of chicken, one at a time.
Heat vegetable oil on medium high heat, in large skillet. When oil is hot (but not smoking), add chicken. It should sizzle when chicken hits pan. You might need to cook chicken in batches, due to the size of the flattened chicken. Cooking times will vary, due to different thicknesses of meat, but you will need to cook one side (without moving it around-that tends to pull the breading off) until deep golden brown on bottom, then carefully turn chicken over and cook other side. Cook until chicken is fully cooked through (total time estimated between 12-18 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken). Remove from heat.
While chicken is cooking, prepare the gravy per pkg. instructions. Once thickened, add chicken bouillon cube (crumbled), butter, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir and continue cooking until ingredients are completely blended into gravy.
To serve, place a browned chicken cutlet onto each serving plate, then generously spoon some of the creamy country gravy over the top, and serve hot!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!