Skillet Fried Chicken for Beginners

This 4-ingredient skillet fried chicken recipe is the easiest and tastiest! It’s the perfect beginner-friendly recipe for all my new cookin’ cousins.

Table of Contents

1. Beginner-Friendly Skillet Fried Chicken
2. Kitchen Equipment Needed for Frying Chicken on the Stovetop
3. Ingredients for Easy Skillet Fried Chicken
4. The Best Seasoning for Skillet Fried Chicken
5. How to Make Easy Skillet Fried Chicken (+ Video Tutorial)
6. Stovetop Fried Chicken Recipe Tips & Tricks
7. What to Serve with Stovetop Fried Chicken
8. Easy Skillet Fried Chicken Recipe

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Hey there, cousins! I’ve been reading the comments y’all leave me on Facebook, and many of you have asked me to share a super easy, beginner-friendly fried chicken recipe.

I know a lot of my “seasoned” cousins have fried chicken down pat, but many of my newer fam (and even some of y’all seasoned ones *side eye*) need a little assistance with ya basic fried chicken! So, I’ve decided to step up and share my easiest fried chicken recipe yet – beginner-friendly skillet fried chicken! I know I say this a lot, but this recipe is extremely easy. Like, seriously, y’all. You only need FOUR ingredients! When I say “easy chicken recipe,” I mean it!

Beginner-Friendly Skillet Fried Chicken

Now, before I talk more about the ingredients, I just want to tell you what we’ll cover in this post! First things first, let’s cover the basics of what you need to make skillet-fried chicken. Then, we’ll talk about ingredients and all the beginner-friendly tips to learn how to fry chicken in a pan.

This skillet fried chicken recipe is as simple as they come – but in a good way!! When I’m through teaching y’all how to make delicious fried chicken with only a handful of ingredients, your minds will be BLOWN.

If you’re one of my more seasoned cousins and want a more “advanced” fried chicken recipe (y’all know me… have I ever posted a truly difficult recipe on this blog?!), you can click on over to one of my other fried chicken recipes:

• Traditional Southern Fried Chicken
• Spicy Fried Chicken
• Waffle Fried Chicken
• Southern Oven Fried Chicken

Ready to learn the basics of easy fried chicken? Let’s get goin’!

Kitchen Equipment Needed for Frying Chicken on the Stovetop

Those new to fried chicken might think you need a deep fryer and other fancy equipment to make good ol’ homemade fried chicken. Think again! To make simple, tasty fried chicken, you only need a few things:

• A large bowl or baking sheet for seasoning and breading the chicken. You want something big enough to hold all the chicken pieces.
• A large skillet that’s at least 2 inches deep and ideally should have straight (not rounded or curved) sides. A cast iron skillet is the perfect type of skillet to use for stovetop fried chicken.
• A wire cooling rack is optional but very helpful!
• Paper towels are necessary to make sure our chicken is nice and dried of excess moisture, so our seasoning and flour mixture sticks tight to the skin.
• An instant-read thermometer is the best and most reliable way to tell when your fried chicken is cooked to temperature.

Ingredients for Easy Skillet Fried Chicken

Now, let’s talk about those ingredients. Remember when I said this recipe only calls for FOUR ingredients? It’s so simple because there’s no brine or buttermilk mixture to soak the chicken in beforehand or a long list of seasonings to search for and measure out.

No, ma’am! Only four simple ingredients – and those are:

• Chicken: I use whole chicken wings only in this post, but this simple recipe works with any piece of chicken.
• Flour: I used self-rising flour, but you certainly can use regular all-purpose flour.
• Oil: you will need 4-6 cups of neutral, high-smoke point oil (more on this in a bit).
• Seasoning: I only use one simple seasoning mix for my skillet fried chicken, and that’s my very own Rosamae Seasonings Granny’s Secret Fried Chicken Seasoning!

Should you use self-rising or all-purpose flour to fry chicken?

Self-rising flour is my secret ingredient for extra crispy skillet fried chicken wings. However, I’ve used both self-rising and all-purpose flour to fry chicken before, and either one works. In this recipe, there’s no real difference! Self-rising flour has a leavening agent mixed in (think baking powder or soda), which helps to make the chicken nice and crispy.

What kind of oil should I use to make skillet fried chicken?

This is a question that I get asked all the time, and my answer is pretty straightforward. Be sure to use a nice quality oil with a high smoking point! I personally love corn oil, and it’s my favorite when frying chicken. It doesn’t have an overpowering taste, is not too expensive, and doesn’t smoke up the house. Other oils that I like are:

• Peanut Oil: This oil is very flavorful and popular when it comes to frying chicken and other foods. However, it’s kind of on the expensive side. Also, be careful with this one! Many people have nut allergies, so if you’re feeding a crowd and are unsure about their allergies, skip out on this one.
• Canola Oil: Another popular oil that many people love for frying chicken. It definitely does the trick, but it can be on the bland side.

I suggest avoiding vegetable oil blends with low smoking points (like anything with nut oil or olive oil). The last thing you want to do is burn your chicken and smoke up the house.

The Best Seasoning for Skillet Fried Chicken

Delicious, crispy fried chicken should be seasoned to perfection. The chicken should not only be seasoned on the outside but on the inside as well. The trick for achieving perfectly seasoned fried chicken is overnight seasoning. This gives those flavors time to penetrate the meat.

My very own Rosamae Fried Chicken Seasoning has everything you need to season your skillet fried chicken – a blend of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and other spices – all in one jar! I know some people may be in a rush to fry the chicken and skip the overnight process, but I highly recommend it! This step is a must – one of the best ways to get extra flavorful fried chicken.

How to Make Easy Skillet Fried Chicken (+ Video Tutorial)

Now we get to the juicy part… how to fry chicken on the stovetop! Once the seasoned chicken has sat overnight, remove it from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. (If you can’t let it season overnight, aim for at least a few hours in the fridge!) From that point, it’s just a few more steps until you’ve got crispy, tender, juicy, perfectly fried chicken.

1. Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. You want the oil to reach 325 to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare a seasoned flour mixture with your flour and fried chicken seasoning (or seasonings of your choice).
3. Coat the chicken pieces completely with the seasoned flour mixture, then place them in the hot oil.
4. Fry each batch of chicken until the breading is a deep golden brown – about 15 minutes.
5. Once done, allow each piece of chicken to cool on a paper towel-lined wire rack until all your chicken is done.

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it is!! It just takes practice and patience. Below is a video tutorial showing exactly how I make my easy skillet fried chicken recipe. Be sure to watch, and feel free to ask any questions that you may have in the comment section!

Stovetop Fried Chicken Recipe Tips & Tricks

I want to share a few of my reliable Cousin Rosie pro tips for perfect stovetop fried chicken every time. If this is your first time attempting fried chicken, I gotchu! We’re in this together, fam.

• Don’t overfill the skillet with oil! You should only use about one inch of oil in a large, deep skillet. Any more, and it will spill over the edges when you put the chicken in, and trust me—that is NOT a good time!
• If you want a mess-free way of breading chicken, put your flour mixture into a resealable plastic bag, add the chicken, and toss it around until well-coated.
• Don’t overcrowd the pan! Fry your chicken in batches, and give the oil time to return to temperature after each batch. Cooking in oil that’s not hot enough will give you soggy, oil-soaked chicken.
• Pull the chicken from the oil about 5 degrees before it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. While it rests, it will finish cooking – I promise!

Cooking Times for Different Pieces of Chicken

This recipe uses only bone-in, skin-on chicken wings, which take about 15 minutes (6-8 minutes per side). However, you can use any cut of chicken with this recipe! Here are some cooking times to keep in mind:

• Chicken Breasts: boneless chicken breasts will take between 15-20 minutes to cook completely, depending on the thickness. Thick chicken breasts take longer, so you may want to cut the chicken in half lengthwise to make thinner slices that will cook more evenly.
• Chicken Legs, Thighs, and Drumsticks: these pieces take about 5-7 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken.
• Chicken Tenders: these are the thinnest cuts of chicken and only take 2-3 minutes per side, depending on how thick you cut them.

What to Serve with Stovetop Fried Chicken

Serve up this crispy fried chicken with your favorite Southern side dishes from I Heart Recipes!

• Southern Green Beans with Smoked Turkey
• Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
• Corn Pudding Casserole
• Miracle Whip Coleslaw Recipe
• Soulful Cabbage & Collard Greens
• Oven Baked Corn On The Cob
• Southern Cornbread Recipe
• Cheddar Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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