This recipe came from Trisha Yearwood. CHECK HERE for all the deets, pics, and a video.

If you live in the South, Fried Chicken is its own food group. Other areas have their own way to fry chicken and I can count on one hand the folks I know who DON’T like fried chicken. Unfortunately, fried food got a bad rap so here’s a healthy alternative. Check it out.

Ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (optional)*
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
2 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional)*
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika
Directions:
Mix buttermilk and hot sauce together, adding chicken and stirring to coat. Marinate for 1 hour.

Grease a baking sheet, then mix panko crumbs, parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika in bowl.

Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade, then coat chicken in panko mixture. Place on baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F then bake 15 to 20 minutes for each side.

*I marked the two starred ingredients at optional. The original recipe marked the cayenne.