Easy Popcorn Chicken Recipe
Popcorn Chicken is one of those comfort foods that never gets old. While these crispy, juicy morsels are 100% kid-friendly, the adults in your life will enjoy them just as much.
If you love the taste of our Crispy Chicken Sandwiches or Baked Chicken Nuggets, this Popcorn Chicken recipe is going to become a regular part of your dinner rotation.
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What is Popcorn Chicken?
It’s likely that you first fell in love with popcorn chicken at KFC. If you’ve never tried it before, it features tender chunks of chicken breast that have been breaded and deep-fried to golden brown perfection. Unlike traditional fried chicken or Chicken Tenders, it comes in bite-sized pieces (hence the “popcorn” reference in the name).
It can be served as a snack or appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce, over salad, or with your favorite side for a complete meal.
Ingredients for Popcorn Chicken
- Chicken Breast – Use fresh or thawed chicken, cut it into even, bite-sized pieces
- Flour – all-purpose flour works best for this recipe
- Salt – fine sea salt or table salt will do
- Garlic powder – adds extra flavor to the breading
- Buttermilk – makes the chicken juicy and the breading nice and crispy
- Panko Crumbs – add a nice, crunchy texture to the chicken
- Oil – use any high heat cooking oil such as canola oil, vegetable oil, or light olive oil
How to Make Popcorn Chicken
- Slice chicken breast – cut into even, bite-sized pieces.
- Make the flour mixture – Whisk the flour, salt, and garlic powder together in a medium bowl.
- Measure buttermilk & panko – Pour buttermilk into a separate bowl and the panko bread crumbs onto a plate.
- Dredge the chicken – Dip the chicken bites into the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk then panko.
- Fry the chicken – Preheat about 1-inch of oil in a deep frying pan to 350˚F and pop the coated chicken pieces inside. Fry in small batches until golden brown.
- Allow the chicken to rest – Remove the popcorn chicken from oil with a slotted spoon and let it rest on a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease or a wire rack with paper towels underneath. Serve with your favorite sauce!
Tips for the Tastiest Popcorn Chicken
- Cut the chicken into even-sized pieces – To ensure even cooking, slice the chicken into similar-sized pieces.
- Avoid overcooking the chicken – Once the chicken turns golden brown, remove it immediately from the oil. The longer it cooks, the drier it will get. Chicken breast should reach 165˚F on an instant read thermometer when done.
- Check the oil with a thermometer – To make sure your oil has reached 350°F before adding the chicken.
- Season the batter – If you’re feeling adventurous, add in a couple teaspoons of different spices into the flour mixture. Cayenne pepper, freshly cracked black pepper, and paprika are all great flavorings.
- Add baking powder for extra crispy popcorn chicken – If you like your chicken extra crispy, add in a couple of tablespoons of baking powder to the flour mixture.
How to Serve
- Dipping sauce – Jalapeno ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, Avocado Ranch, hot sauce, and ketchup are all great options.
- Appetizer – Serve alongside other small bites like Jalapeno Poppers, Egg Rolls, or Air Fryer French Fries.
- Salad Topper – Sprinkle the popcorn chicken onto your favorite salad or even over pasta like we did with Lemon Chicken Pasta.
Common Questions
They are very similar. Popcorn chicken is smaller-sized and made with whole pieces of chicken breast meat, while chicken nuggets use ground chicken and can be made with both chicken breasts and thighs.
The best way to reheat leftover popcorn chicken in the oven or air fryer at 350°F until crispy and warmed through.
To freeze popcorn chicken, assemble the raw, breaded chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze uncovered for 1 hour or until frozen, then transfer to freezer-safe zip bags and store up to 3 months. Bake frozen nuggets at 400˚F for 15-18 minutes or just until cooked through with an internal temperature of 165˚F.
Yes – substitute in your favorite gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs and prepare as directed.
More Tasty Chicken Recipes
We love chicken recipes like this Popcorn Chicken because they are inexpensive, easy to make, and well-loved by everyone. P.S. If you love chicken, check out our 40+ Best Chicken Breast Recipes.
- Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Cheesy Chicken Fritters
- Baked Chicken Legs
- Popeyes Chicken Sandwich
- Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
Easy Popcorn Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 5 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups panko crumbs
- 1 cup oil, vegetable or canola
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and garlic powder.
- Pour the buttermilk into a separate bowl and the panko crumbs onto a plate.
- Dredge a piece of chicken into the flour mixture until evenly coated then dip in buttermilk, letting excess drip off. Lastly, roll in panko bread crumbs until evenly coated. Transfer to a platter.
- Preheat 1-inch of oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Adjust the heat to keep the oil at 350˚F. Fry the popcorn chicken in small batches, leaving space between each piece and flipping as needed. Fry until golden brown and 165˚F at the deepest part of the chicken on a thermometer.
- Remove the popcorn chicken from the oil and let it rest on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce!
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Natalya Drozhzhin
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I just made this recipe tonight & was wondering if you could confirm the amount of salt. I loved everything about it, but they were way too salty. Was the 1.5T in your recipe correct?
Hi Kristi, I apologize for not catching that – I’m certain it should have been 1.5 tsp rather than Tablespoons. Thank you for letting me know and I’m sorry we didn’t catch that sooner.
it didnt turn out well… it wasnt like crispy at all.. probably wont do it some other time
Hi Kiara! This can happen if your oil is not hot enough. Check the oil with a thermometer (affiliate link) to make sure your oil has reached 350°F before adding the chicken. Also, I mentioned in the notes if you like your chicken extra crispy, add a couple of tablespoons of baking powder to the flour mixture.
Hi Natasha, can I refry before serving instead of reheating in the oven?
Thanks
Hi Tulika! I think that could work but I haven’t tested that.I worry they might dry out. We like to reheat these in the air fryer or the oven.
Hi Natasha, can we substitute the butter milk with something else
Like yogurt or something else?
Thx😊
You can try to make your own buttermilk at a ratio of 1 cup whole milk to 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice. Combine and let it sit 10 minutes to curdle then stir and use.
Thx, will try making the buttermilk as suggested by you
Thx 😊
I hope you love it!
Hi Natasha, thx for sharing such wonderful recipes 😊
Can we use chicken thigh meat( bite size) for the popcorn
Since chicken thighs are juicy and won’t dry out
Thx
Tulika
Hi Tulika, yes, chicken nuggets can be made with both chicken breasts and thighs. I hope that helps!
Thx Natasha for the quick response 😊 Your videos are so helpful and entertaining as well!
You’re welcome, Tulika! Thank you.
Can the buttermilk and panko be substituted with regular milk and breadcrumbs? Just trying to stick with what’s in my cupboard. Thanks!
Hi Mariah, I haven’t tested using just milk. Panko breadcrumbs work well for frying chicken because they crisp up so beautifully. Regular breadcrumbs can be used interchangeably in most recipes. It won’t be quite the same but I assume it would work just fine for this recipce.
As always, thank you for your wonderful recipes. I wanted to try this one for my toddler. One question about oven, to clarify:
For non-frozen would you recommend 350 and for frozen 400? The time for becoming crispy is the same ? (15-18 min?)
Thanks again!
Hi Varash! You’re very welcome. The best way to reheat non-frozen popcorn chicken is in the oven or air fryer at 350°F. I don’t recall the exact time it took, but reheat it until it’s crispy and warmed through. For frozen nuggets, it takes about 15-18 minutes at 400˚F or just until cooked through with an internal temperature of 165˚F. I hope that helps.
Thank you for your reply. I made it into two versions: one in pan frying and one in oven!. The one w frying was awesome and happy to be able to do that at home and not have to go to restaurant for that ! 🙂 .
The one in oven did not come good. Chicken cooked but the crisp became weird! Maybe I misunderstood: Is oven option only for reheating and not for making it from the beginning?
You’re welcome, Varash! Yes, these won’t have the same results if baked. The oven is what we use to reheat them after they have been fried. 🙂
These are fantastic! They turned out exactly like your photo. My family could not get enough. I can’t believe that I didn’t know about adding baking power for added crispness. It really works.
That is the best when the family loves what we moms make. That’s so great!
I haven’t seen a response about a full substitution for buttermilk. We are lactose intolerant. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you!
Hi Jen. I have not tested any dairy-free alternatives to advise.
But I have successfully made my own buttermilk using whole-fat lactose-free milk. The ratio is 1 cup milk to 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let sit until curdled and then it’s ready to use. I hope that helps.
Natasha, Thank you for being a reliable source of go to recipes. I currently have a 11 y.o. daughter who’s interested in cooking and baking. For her birthday she requested a recipe book. I made a recipe book for her and over 90% of the recipes are from you. Thank you!
That’s amazing and so sweet! Thank you for sharing that with me.
Great recipe. I made some with panko and some with corn flakes. Both tasted delicious. Did use baking powder for the extra crisps. Thank you.
That’s great to hear, Pat! Thank you for sharing.
These were terrific. Just as promised, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Thank you!
You’re so welcome! We’re glad you liked it!
Delicious! I only made some for myself, and I could hardly stop eating them. I would add a little black pepper to the coating, but that would be my only change. They reheat wonderfully in the oven, too!
Hi Daphne, thanks for your good comments and feedback, we appreciate it!
I use your recipe to make homemade KFC bowls. They are wonderful. Needless to say, a lot of them never actually make it into the bowls! They get eaten as fast as I make them. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Haha, that’s great! Love those KFC bowls. Thank you for sharing, what a great way to use this recipe.
Looking forward to making this!
Does it have to be panko crumbs? Would any other type of “crumbs” work?
Hi Cece! Panko breadcrumbs work well for frying chicken because they crisp up so beautifully. Regular breadcrumbs can be used interchangeable in most recipes. It won’t be quite the same but I assume it would work just fine for this recipce.
Can you make this in an air fryer? If so, how? Can you give me air fryer directions?
Hi Wayne, I haven’t tested making this recipe in an air fryer, I usually use the air fryer to reheat this.
I made these tonight everybody LOVED them!! Your chicken sandwiches are the bomb!! Love your recipes!! Your pizza sauce😋😋.
Thank you for sharing, Janice. So glad to hear that.
This was fantastic! After some trial and error on my part I got the frying part down. This was super easy and I made enough for leftovers. This will make a great filling for a wrap.
That sounds like a good idea! Thanks for the good review, we’re glad that you liked this recipe!
Yum – my kids really love your recipe. It was easy to make and so tasty. I saved your recipe to make again soon.
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Can i substitue buttermilk with other kind of milk? like oat milk for instance? or it has to be buttermilk?
You can try to make your own buttermilk at a ratio of 1 cup whole milk to 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice. Combine and let it sit 10 minutes to curdle then stir and use.
Can I substitute buttermilk? Not readily available in my grocery store.
Hi Ray, you can also make your own buttermilk at a ratio of 1 cup whole milk to 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice. Combine and let it sit 10 minutes to curdle then stir and use.
The best popcorn chicken! My kids love it! Thank you so much!❤️It taste really good with chick fil a sauce! Highly recommend it!
Thank you for the awesome feedback!
Could you do this recipe in an air fryer spraying the chicken with a bit of olive oil?
Hi Fran, I haven’t tested making this recipe in an air fryer, I usually use the air fryer to reheat this.
Fran, When I use our air fryer for chicken pieces, I cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the air fryer basket, then spray the parchment paper lightly with olive oil. Cooks perfectly and doesn’t stick .
This popcorn chicken was SO good! We are obsessed! I genuinely think this is going to be a weekly meal!
Yay, that’s great news! I’m so happy that you loved it.
Any suggestions on making these ahead of time and freezing them. I would like to have these in the freezer instead of store bought precooked frozen chicken.
Hi Lisa, please check this part in the recipe “Can you freeze popcorn chicken?” for the freezing tips.
Can this recipe be done by baking rather than by deep frying, without compromising the taste? Thank you.
Hi Rachelle, I think that would work if you were to spray with cooking spray and then bake. Check out our instructions for baked chicken nuggets for an estimate on cook time and bake until the center reaches 165˚F.
So easy! I love how juicy and flavorful these turn out! I have to restrain myself from eating the whole batch, lol. My kids love them, too!
Great to hear that it was a bit hit, Betsy! Yes, my kids love this a lot too.