Bread Chicken Without Eggs While Boosting The Flavor With This Tangy Dressing

Dredging stations can be dry-wet-dry or simply wet-dry, but an egg wash is the common wet dredge that binds the crunchy outer breading of chicken. While eggs are a great binding agent with their own richness, ranch dressing is the swap you should make for breaded chicken that's moist and extra flavorful. As a mayo-based salad dressing, ranch has the richness and binding power of eggs built in with so many other flavorful and textural attributes to contribute to your next chicken breading. Ranch is bursting with tanginess from buttermilk or Greek yogurt, aromatic brightness from onion powder, garlic and celery, and a fresh savoriness from herbs like dill and parsley. You can use our very own buttermilk ranch dressing recipe or choose from the countless brands of ranch dressing at your local grocery store (our favorite bottled ranch dressing happens to be from Trader Joe's).

Ranch dressing is a premade, multi-ingredient wet dredge that will bind breadcrumbs, keep chicken moist in the oven, frying pan, or air fryer, and complement the savoriness of the chicken with a zingy, complex flavor profile. The swap for eggs is simple. All you need to do is create a dredging station with a shallow bowl of ranch dressing and a bowl of breadcrumbs. Pat the chicken dry before enveloping it in the dressing, ensuring there is an even coating before placing it in the breadcrumbs.

Ranch dressing is a novel idea for a wet dredging that will save you the rising cost of eggs while imparting flavor and richness of its own. However, a wet dredge is not the only role for ranch dressing in this equation. You can try adding ranch powder mix to the dry dredge to take your breading to the next level. A ranch wet and dry station will double the zing for a truly flavorful breaded chicken dinner. Another way to bring out the tanginess in the ranch and ensure the juiciest chicken meat is to quickly marinate your chicken meat in buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk will tenderize the chicken, keeping it juicy, especially if you are using a dry cooking method like the oven. Just as Buffalo wings are often served with a side of ranch, you can flip the script by serving ranch breaded chicken with a Buffalo sauce for dipping. Pair ranch breaded chicken with your favorite bottled barbecue sauce, pickles, and onions on a brioche bun for a delicious sandwich.

If you're using the oven, we would recommend using a wire rack to bake the chicken so that air flows over every surface to evenly crisp the chicken without having to flip it over halfway through the cooking time. Whether you are using the oven or deep-fryer, let breaded chicken rest for a few minutes before cutting into it to redistribute the juices and flavors.