Ah, boxed cereal. Thanks to some guy years ago with the last name of Post and a couple of brothers with the name Kellogg, we have supermarket aisles full of cereal, many of them sham cereals filled with sugar that just do marketing to kids.
But cereal was created initially to offer a healthier breakfast option to the meat and fat-laden monstrosities of the late 1800s when dripping beef and heavy hams were mainstays of the morning. Early cereals like Grape Nuts and Corn Flakes promised just that. Fast forward to today, and we have cereals like “Cookie Crisp,” just like a box full of mini chocolate chip cookies. It’s a long way from Grape Nuts!
🌾 The Amish and Cereal
For most of Amish culinary history, homemade cereal was preferred. And that’s still the case. Amish cookbooks are packed with recipes for homemade grape nuts or granola.
That said, the rise of Amish "bent and dent" stores has introduced boxed cereals to the Amish. If you can buy a box of Wheaties for one dollar and it is just a month past its expiration date, why not? So, while boxed cereals aren’t something I see much in Amish communities, you do see boxes of cereal in Amish pantries. However, one of the more popular uses for cereal among the Amish isn’t for eating breakfast. It’s to be used as coatings on meats. You’ll see Grape Nut-encrusted chicken or cornflake-crusted chicken. And that’s what we’re featuring today.
🥣 Cereal and Chicken
Cereal can be used to coat chicken. It is a fun and creative way to add flavor and crunch to your chicken dishes. You can use any type of cereal you like, but some popular choices include:
- Cornflakes
- Frosted flakes
- Chex Mix
- Captain Crunch
- Shredded Wheat
- Cheerios
Hmmm, Capt’n Crunch coated chicken. I could go for that! What about Golden Grahams? Or Fruity Pebbles? Among the Amish, though, a good cornflake chicken recipe seems to be most favored.
To coat chicken with cereal, simply crush the cereal into crumbs and then dredge the chicken in the crumbs. You can also add other seasonings to the crumbs, such as salt, pepper, garlic powder, or paprika.
Once the chicken is coated in cereal crumbs, you can cook it in any way you like. You can bake it, fry it, or air fry it.
📜 Step-By-Step Amish Cornflake-Crusted Chicken
Always begin by preheating your oven so it's ready to go.
Dip the chicken in melted butter in a big bowl before you do anything else. You could also use thawed "chicken tenders", chicken nuggets, chicken drumsticks, or boneless skinless chicken breast to make this supper. The cut of chicken, whether it is a chicken thigh, breast, etc isn't crucial, more a matter of preference or what you happen to have on hand.
This is the cornflake mixture you'll use. You can do larger cornflake pieces like my parents did or you can put the cornflakes in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to really crush them. This is also when you can doctor it up with your favorite flavors. For instance, my Dad thought a tablespoon or two of mustard might be a nice addition. You could also try honey mustard, onion powder, cayenne pepper, or ranch to add extra flavors.
You can line your pan in aluminum foil as the recipe suggests and as my parents did. Or probably just giving the pan a good spray with cooking spray would probably also be okay. The foil cuts down the pan mess.
My parents really liked this chicken recipe. They paired it with mixed veggies and applesauce. Corn on the cob would go well also.
🙋 Cornflake Crusted Chicken FAQ
Yes, you can make this in an air-fryer, just follow regular instructions for cooking chicken!
Yes, just follow this recipe as given, simply swap out cereal for Panko. You'll get a nice, crunchy chicken!
🍗 More Amish Chicken Recipes
Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken
Alma Miller's World's Best Chicken
🖨️ Full Recipe
Amish Cornflake-Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed cornflakes
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup flour
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
- Chicken breasts, thighs, or chunks, or cut up a 3 pound broiler chicken
- ½ cup minced parsley
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Blend crumbs and other ingredients except butter.
- Dip chicken pieces into melted butter.
- Dip buttery chicken into cornflake crumb mixture, coating thoroughly.
- Arrange chicken in single layer in uncrowded shallow pan line with aluminum foil.
- Bake uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes.
Cindy Anderson
I have never used corn flakes, but in the 60s-70s my grandmother used Rice Krispies on both her chicken and potatoes (cut into French fries). It was a Sunday dinner treat.
D. Smith
People always say that snake meat and alligator taste like chicken. Where in the world are they buying their chickens anyway??? That is soooo not true. It tastes like fish and there's just no 2 ways about it. Now, if you like fish that's fine, but I detest fish, always have, so to me this would be many things but a "treat" would not be one of them.
YUCK!! Bear meat IS greasy, venison is tough and chewy and tastes gamey. I'm like Kevin, I'll stay with homegrown chickens, beef and pork (not the junk from china that biden's administration is praising). You have to ask your butcher at the grocery or wherever you buy your meat WHERE IT ORIGINATES. If it's not locally acquired, you're probably not gonna like it. I buy beef and chicken from a local butcher shop, and I am in the process of trying to find a new source for pork. I have finally found a local source of raw milk (my gut thanks him endlessly). When you're raised on raw milk there's just nothing else like it.
Eileen Moffit
Would love to try this recipe, but the ingredients don't say anything about
butter. How much is needed?
Kevin Williams
3/4 cup butter, melted
Rose Wilkinson
No mention of butter in the ingredients?
Kevin Williams
Oops, sorry for the omission, I added it to the ingredient list. it is 3/4 cup melted butter.