Soaking chicken in buttermilk is an amazing, guilt-free way to make it super-tender and juicy. I’ve converted more folks to unfried chicken by soaking the chicken in buttermilk than I could possibly recall. Just be sure you don’t overcook the chicken. If you do, not only will the chicken not be plump and juicy, the juice that should have been inside will run out and make the breading soggy.

　　

Ingredients

makes 2 servings

　　2 (4-ounce) trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness

　　1/3 cup reduced-fat buttermilk

　　Olive oil spray (from a spray bottle, not a store-bought, prefilled one that contains propellant; I used a Misto)

　　1 ounce (about 24 fat-free herb-seasoned croutons (I used Marie Callender’s Fat-Free Herb-Seasoned Croutons)

　　

Step 1

Place the chicken breasts in a medium resealable plastic bag. Pour the buttermilk over them and seal the bag. Let them soak 6 hours or overnight, turning once or twice.

　　

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly mist a small nonstick baking pan or sheet with spray.

　　

Step 3

Add the croutons to a resealable plastic bag. Pound them with the flat side of a meat mallet until crushed into very fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a medium shallow bowl.

　　

Step 4

Remove one breast from the bag and let any excess buttermilk drip off. Dip it into the crumbs, rotating it to cover the breast completely. Place the breaded breast on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the second breast and place it on the baking sheet so the breasts don’t touch. If crumbs remain, press them into the tops of the breasts. Lightly spray the tops of the breasts with spray. Bake them 5 minutes, and then carefully, being sure not to remove the coating, flip them. Lightly mist the tops with spray and continue to bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the coating is crisp and the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve immediately.

　　

nutrition information

Step 5

Each serving has:

　　

Step 6

Calories: 195

　　

Step 7

Protein: 29g

　　

Step 8

Carbohydrates: 11g

　　

Step 9

Fat: 2g

　　

Step 10

Saturated Fat: <1g

　　

Step 11

Cholesterol: 67mg

　　

Step 12

Fiber: 0g

　　

Step 13

Sodium: 265mg

　　Reprinted with permission from I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening! by Devin Alexander. Copyright © 2010 Devin Alexander. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Devin Alexander is the author of The Most Decadent Diet Ever, Fast Food Fix, and coauthor of The New York Times bestsellers The Biggest Loser Cookbook and The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. She was a chef on NBC's The Biggest Loser and the host of Healthy Decadence on Discover Health and FitTV.