Chicken and Waffles

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You know how much of a hit waffles are in our house. Buttermilk waffles have quickly become a staple recipe that gets made regularly. The mini-chefs can’t seem to get enough of these easy to make waffles.

We’ve also been enjoying Southern Buttermilk Air Fried Chicken since it goes so well with just about E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. 

Homemade Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles is the perfect meal for any day of the week – ALL day long. Need a tasty brunch idea? Have leftover waffles from breakfast and want a savory satisfying lunch idea? In need of a different idea for dinner? This Southern Style Chicken and Waffles Recipe has allllll of those bases covered- and MORE!

Reasons To Fall For This Southern Dish

• Like I said, it’s versatile and great for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.
• Satisfying crunch from the chicken thighs. 
• Slightly sweet, but not tooooo sweet waffles. 
• Perfect COMFORT food.

Where Did The Idea Of Chicken And Waffles Come From?

Well folks, there’s many speculations on where this recipe started out from. I and many others believe it is without a doubt, a Southern inspired dish.

Others have also theorized that this dish came from the African-American community, Harlem, NY and other groups of people seem to think this dish came from  the Pennsylvania-Dutch community. 

No matter where you think it came from, everyone can agree that this recipe should be made with full flavored Buttermilk Waffles and Buttermilk Fried Chicken Thighs.

Tools Needed

• Skillet.
• An Air Fryer.
• Multi purpose mixing bowls.
• Measuring cups and spoons.
• Waffle Machine.

Now that you’ve gathered up all these ingredients, let’s get to explaining how to make this decadent dish.

We will start with the Buttermilk Waffles first and then move on to making the Chicken Thighs either in the Air Fryer, Oven or Stovetop. 

How To Make The Best Waffles  

1. Preheat the waffle iron.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Pour in the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, and melted butter into the dry ingredients bowl. Stir until well combined.
4. Pour the waffle mix into the preheated waffle iron. The amount of batter needed varies based on each waffle iron. Scoop the batter into your waffle iron in batches and cook according to the manufacturer’s directions (lean toward being a little deep golden and crisp. 
5. Keep finished waffles warm while cooking the rest of the batch.

How To Make Buttermilk Fried Chicken Air Fryer Style 

• Step 1: start preparing the chicken thighs by rinsing the chicken and patting them dry. Then cover all the pieces with 2 cups of buttermilk. Soak in the refrigerator for 4- 24 hrs.
• Step 2: 30 mins prior to cooking, move chicken from the fridge to the counter to warm up to room temp.
• Step 3: Prepare the breading. Put the flour and all seasonings in a medium bowl and pour in the remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk. Mix with a fork until slightly lumpy.
• Step 4: Take 4 pieces of chicken thighs at a time and thoroughly coat each piece with the breading on both sides then set aside on a plate. 
• Step 5: Preheat air fryer to 400F / 200C.

• Step 6: Place breaded chicken in an Air Fryer basket, making sure they don’t touch. Lightly spray with oil.
• Step 7: Cook for 10-16 mins depending on the size of the chicken. Mine took 14 mins. I recommend shooting for 12 mins and ensuring that your chicken is done by using a meat thermometer and letting meat reach 165F (74C). 
• Step 8: Halfway through cooking, spray the chicken with oil to cover the flour spots and flip the chicken to cook both sides evenly. 

How To Make Chicken In Oven

1. Complete steps 1-4 from the Air Fryer section above. 
2.  Place breaded chicken on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350F/177C. 
3. Cook for 15 mins in the oven or until chicken is golden and cooked thoroughly according to the meat thermometer. 

How To Make Chicken Thighs On Stovetop And Oven

1. Complete steps 1-4 from the previous Air Fryer instructions. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350F/177C. 
3. Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil and 5 Tbsp butter in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.  
4. Add 4 pieces of chicken at a time to the oil, fry for 3 mins each side, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken isn’t getting too brown.  Note-they will NOT be thoroughly cooked yet.
5. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 mins or until the internal temperature reaches 165F/74C.

Chicken Cooking Tips

• Coat your chicken with the breading on both sides and then quickly get it in the Air Fryer, Oven, or in the Skillet. Drenching them in the coating for a long time will make them soggy. 
• If frying in the Air Fryer, use parchment paper in the bottom of the basket to help prevent the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the fryer. Poke holes in the paper to allow air to continue to circulate around and properly crisp up the chicken. This also helps catch breading that will fall off the chicken as it cooks.
• Spray the Fried Chicken in an Air Fryer with oil halfway through when you flip them over to cover the dried flour spots. I recommend using Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil for the best flavor. This also helps them crisp up and become that gorgeous golden brown color.
• Check your chicken with a meat thermometer no matter how you cook it to make sure your chicken is safe to eat (165 F/74 C). 

Waffle Cooking Tips

• Lightly oil or spray the waffle iron with cooking spray before cooking each batch. 
• Want even crispier waffles? Turn the heat up on the waffle iron. Don’t worry you won’t burn them. 
• Do not open the waffle maker halfway through cooking at the risk of breaking the waffles.
• Make sure to not overmix the waffle batter. This will make them turn out too dense. 
• You may need to keep the waffles warm in the oven (200F / 94C) on a wire rack on a baking sheet while the chicken cooks. 

FAQ

What If I Don’t Have Buttermilk?

Fresh buttermilk is optimal for the most flavorful waffles and chicken but, sometimes we don’t always have it on hand. No worries folks, here’s the quick fix for you that doesn’t involve another trip to the grocery store. 

Check out my how to make homemade buttermilk recipe and make your own fail-proof buttermilk substitute. It’s so tasty and a great substitution! 

How To Get Breading To Stay On Chicken In Air Fryer

With so many different chicken recipes we’ve made in the Air Fryer, I know occasionally the breading just doesn’t want to stick to the chicken. There can be a few different reasons for this and a few simple ways to fix this problem. 

• Firmly push the breading onto the chicken before placing it on the parchment paper in the air fryer basket. The fan is quite strong and will blow the soon-to-be crispy coating right off if you don’t.  
• Before starting to cook the chicken and again halfway through, make sure to spray the chicken with oil to cover the dry flour spots. Otherwise your chicken will end up tasting like dry flour. 
• Split your chicken up in batches when cooking. Place chicken in the basket to air fry and be sure they don’t touch. This will make sure your chicken doesn’t stick together and lose the crispy, crunchy coating. It will also make sure you get proper air circulation around the chicken to make sure they cook evenly.

What Do You Use As A Topping

Try either maple syrup or honey with your Air Fried Chicken and Waffles. Maybe even a little of both! If you’re looking for something extra, smear some butter on the waffles too. 

Meal Prep And Prep Ahead

Prep Ahead – Prepping this dish ahead of time isn’t always ideal, but if you need to save time here’s what I recommend. 

The chicken thighs can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For the waffles, you can mix the dry ingredients (from the waffle instructions step 2) together ahead of time and store in a container. I do NOT recommend adding the wet ingredients (from step 3) as this will activate the baking powder and that should not be done until you’re ready to make the waffles. 

Freeze – Follow the handy tips below on how to freeze these Buttermilk Southern-Style Chicken and Waffles.

• Let the thighs and waffles completely cool down then transfer into these very handy Ziploc freezer bags.
• Squeeze out all the extra air and seal the bags.
• Label the bags and then lay them flat in the freezer.
• Store in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Thaw – Remove them from the freezer the night before needed and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.

Reheat – If you are looking to reheat fried chicken, try tossing them in the air fryer on 370F/188C for about 10 mins, checking the temperature of chicken periodically. For the waffles, you may want to reheat them in the oven at 200F/94C for 5-10 mins to warm them up or toss them in the toaster. 

Meal Prep – Double or triple the recipe to use as meal prep ideas for the whole week. Fried chicken goes with just about everything. And Waffles are perfect for so many meals too.

Serving Suggestions

• Peach Bourbon Smash.
• Easy Southern Grape Salad.
• Instant Pot Iced Tea.

More Southern Recipes

• Smothered Pork Chops.
• Southern Squash Casserole.
• Instant Pot Collard Greens.
• Easy Southern Salmon Croquettes.
• Southern Banana Pudding Cake.

Thank you for reading my Southern Chicken and Waffles recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Southern Recipes and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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