Classic Chicken and Waffles is the perfect mix if sweet and savory. I use a buttermilk waffle and boneless chicken topped with pure maple syrup.
Do you remember when this writer put Thomas Keller's fried chicken against The Pioneer Woman's? It's a funny article. And super interesting. To paraphrase, she made both of their recipes, exactly as written, and fed both versions to her family. And PW won! Her family loved PW's version more, while the writer favored Thomas Keller's.
Anyhow! The recipe below for fried chicken is an adaptation from PW's recipe, scaled down and adjusted to fit this serving size, basically.
Just a heads up, this recipe involves soaking the chicken in buttermilk overnight, so just be sure to keep that minimal-prep in mind.
This waffle recipe is a total classic. It yields a sort of crunchy-esque exterior and a soft, hydrated center. The fried chicken is moist on the inside and crispy and crunchy on the outside.
Classic Chicken 'n' waffles is all about opposites saying hello to each other in your mouth. There's the crunchy fried chicken and soft insides of the waffles; there's the savoriness from the chicken and the sweetness from the syrup.
It's a dreamy meal that I love to eat every so often when I'm in the mood to eat something happy.
How to Eat Chicken and Waffles:
The whole key to chicken and waffles is getting the salty and sweet together so I serve them together and top with pure maple syrup.Some people also top them with powdered sugar, but I like to stay at maple syrup. This recipe also uses boneless chicken to it makes eating the dish a lot easier!
Where did chicken and waffles originate?
Right here in the U.S! The Pennsylvania Dutch version and the Southern version. This is the Southern version where it's a waffle served with fried chicken and maple syrup. The Pennsylvania Dutch version is a waffle with stewed or braised chicken and gravy.
Tips and Tricks:
Make the fried chicken first. In the recipe below I've included directions as to how to keep them warm while you make the waffles.
Classic Chicken and Waffles Recipe
Ingredients
Tip: Make the fried chicken first. In the recipe below I've included directions as to how to keep them warm while you make the waffles.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
The night before:
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 chicken breasts cut into 3-inch pieces
The day of:
- Vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon milk
Buttermilk Waffles
Dry:
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet:
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- In a bowl, mix together the buttermilk and salt. Add the chicken tenders and mix, being sure the chicken is evenly coated with buttermilk. The chicken should be at least halfway submerged in the buttermilk so add more if you need to. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator overnight or for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Remove the bowl of chicken and allow to sit on the counter while you prepare everything. You don't want the chicken freezing cold.
- To a medium pot or cast iron, add enough oil so it reaches 1 ½-inches up the pot's side. Heat the oil to 325 degrees F to 350 degrees F. While the oil is heating up, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, thyme, paprika and cayenne. In a super small bowl, mix together the buttermilk and milk; add it to the flour mixture and mix. (This will make the flour mixture a little shaggy which will help with the crispiness.)
- Prepare for a double-dredge! Working in an assembly-type fashion, thoroughly coat each buttermilk-soaked chicken tender with the breading. Re-dip it in the buttermilk and coat it one more time with the flour mixture, pressing to adhere the breading to the chicken tender. Add the chicken to the oil 3 pieces at a time. Allow to fry for 2-3 minutes and until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Transfer the fried chicken to a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm while you make the waffles.
Adapted from PW's famous Fried Chicken
Buttermilk Waffles
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. To a measuring cup or a small bowl, measure out the buttermilk. Next, add the egg and vegetable oil; beat until completely combined.
- Since each waffle iron is different, add the recommended amount of batter to the iron per your manufacture's recommendation. Close the iron top and cook until the waffle is medium golden brown. Transfer the cooked waffle to a 200 degree F and repeat until you've cooked through the batter.
- Serve each waffle with a few pieces of chicken. Garnish with a pat of butter and a heavy drizzle of syrup, if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Let me know on Instagram!
Looking for other chicken recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
Cheryl M Nahas says
This is the first time I ever ate chicken and waffles. Now I know what I was missing. The flavor and crunchyness of this chicken is amazing. The waffles also are so good. I just wish someone else made it because frying chicken is sooooo messy. The grease, flour, double dredging etc.....ugh. Saying all that, I'm positive my family will be asking for it again and again. Everyone raved about the chicken. That's how delicious this is.
jem says
hi! just wanted to thank you for another successful and delicious recipe. i only made the chicken because the waffle combo sounds crazy to my antipodean ears. i love the double dipping technique... it made it so crispy. also the chicken stayed super juicy.
t h a n k y o u !
Amanda Lane says
This looks amazing. I also want to say that, now that growing season is upon us, salads can be happy too! Don't let them get you down 😉
My husband and I like to let our lettuces grow just to baby size before we cut them into salads - that way they have that fresh baby greens taste and they'll keep on growing for more salads through the year. I've gotta tell you something we've discovered that most people don't think of. You know how you'll use mustard greens and chard in cooked dishes. I highly recommend trying (raw!) red mustard baby greens and (raw, too!) baby rainbow chard in with your usual salad. It's likely you can't find them at the store, but you'll be able to find seeds and they grow fast, indoors (with sunlight) or out. The mustard will add a spicy kick that, along with milder greens, pops and zings in your mouth but not too much. The chard seems to both counter and accentuate the mustard in a most delightful way. Come to think of it, baby arugula (kind of bringing to mind the taste of peanuts) is also amazing in the salad.
Baby spinach is also super easy and fast to grow and it can be put outside earlier than any other lettuce type (one year, we put our spinach starts in a cold frame outside in March. At 9000 ft above sea level in colorado. It was happy as could be!). And I highly recommend having some baby spinach in your salad as a sort of mid-bite palate cleanser from the spicy ones.
Dana says
Ever since I heard about the combination I've been meaning to give it a try, but it still hasn't happened yet. 🙁
We've got an el cheapo waffle maker that has made a mountain of fantastic waffles for us in the last two years, though I do get wistful for the fancy pretty (expensive) ones once in a while. It's too bad that the one you had conked out after a year!