Juicy, flavorful chicken in a spicy, crunchy crust is possible without a frying pan or a minute spent standing in front of the stove. This Crunchy Baked Chicken is made crunchy with a sprinkling of an unexpected ingredient. I remember tasting chicken breaded with corn flakes years ago, but it sure didn’t taste anything like this! A reader mentioned corn flake crusted chicken to me the other day and one thing led to another. I wanted to play with that idea and it turned out amazingly well.
My family couldn’t guess the ingredient in the crunchy crust, and even after I told them what it was, they still didn’t believe that there were corn flakes in the recipe. I’ve now made this chicken three times, with boneless skinless chicken breast fillets, with boneless skinless chicken thighs, and with bone-in chicken drumsticks. The chicken turns out juicy inside and crunchy outside every single time. I served this dinner with a Vegetable Tian and steamed corn, however, this chicken would work nicely with almost any side dishes. You’ll notice that there is a large quantity of hot sauce in the marinade, and it works to provide a deep level of flavor to the chicken. Surprisingly, the hot sauce does not serve to make the chicken very spicy. The Mexican spice mix will, however, add a good bit of heat to the crust, so if you are leery of the heat, start with a more traditional taco seasoning and adjust the amounts for your family. You can serve this with broccoli pasta or creamy parmesan pasta with spinach. {originally published 8/15/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 8/21/17}
