Chicken Fried Jackfruit

Not too long ago I posted a recipe for Chicken Fried Tofu and was truly blown away by the response! Who knew folks liked fried tofu so much?!

I’ll be honest, that’s one thing that I miss after going vegan… a good ol’ piece of fried chicken.

Chicken Fried Jackfruit

Clearly things have changed since the days of eating chicken, so I knew I had to find an alternative, which is why I wanted to try the fried tofu.

While I liked it, my cravings for fried chicken remained.

I knew I needed to find something that more closely resembled the texture of chicken. Welp, Chicken Fried Jackfruit seemed to fit the bill!

Though I enjoyed to tofu recipe, I admit it was a little labor intensive and required more steps and ingredients than what I’m used to. 

With this Chicken Fried Jackfruit recipe, I was determined to make it simple.

Chicken Fried Jackfruit

I cut it down to the basics and was really happy with the results. Not too basic though… I tried frying the jackfruit as is with the hard parts and seeds still in tact and that didn’t work out so well, so I had to add in some trimming as a step.

The “buttermilk” is a trick I learned while exploring vegan pancakes and seemed to work pretty will here too.

Chicken Fried Jackfruit

The breading is a flavorful mix of some basic spices that you probably already have in your spice cabinet. So go ahead! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

In the mood for something spicy? Try this Spicy Chicken Fried Jackfruit that’s made in the air fryer!

P.S. If you enjoy this recipe, you’ll love my fried oyster mushrooms!

Pair this Chicken Fried Jackfruit with:

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Chicken Fried Jackfruit
Chicken Fried Jackfruit
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4.53 from 19 votes

Chicken Fried Jackfruit

Easy vegan Chicken Fried Jackfruit Recipe that's crunchy fried deliciousness! The perfect meat substitute!
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword Fried, Jackfruit
Prep Time 17 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 1 20 oz. can jackfruit in brine
  • enough oil for frying (ex: vegetable) doesn't have to cover the whole chunk of jackfruit, but at least half

Breading

Buttermilk

Instructions

  • In a small bowl mix together the ingredients for the buttermilk and set aside
  • In another bowl of medium size, begin mixing together the breading ingredients and set aside
  • Add enough oil to a frying pan and turn on to medium low heat
  • Drain and rinse your jackfruit. Then on a cutting board, begin cutting parts of the jackfruit that are hard or contain seeds (see photo of scraps I discarded). You want to try and leave only the parts that are stringy or soft. This will help to provide a similar texture to chicken. I experimented with leaving the pieces as is and did not care for the texture
    discarded jackfruit
  • Once the other parts have been cut away, you should be left with pieces that you want to fry. Begin by dipping the jackfruit piece in the buttermilk mixture, then in the breading, BACK in the buttermilk, then in the breading again.
  • Once completed, add it to the hot frying pan. Note: you can add them one at a time, or wait until you've completed a handful of pieces to fry together.
  • If the oil in the pan does not fully cover the jackfruit pieces, keep an eye on them so that they can be rotated after 2-3 minutes. You will know if they're ready when you touch them with your tongs and the outer breading has hardened and is crispy
  • Repeat until all jackfruit is fried
  • Once the jackfruit is fried, transfer to a plate with 3-4 layers of paper towels so that some of the oil can be absorbed. Allow them to cool for ~4 minutes before serving
  • Pair with your favorite dipping sauce (or not) and enjoy!

44 Comments

  1. Hello! Lovely recipe! Do you think there is a difference if I used fresh Jackfruit? I found some at a asian market i visited but nowhere around me sells the canned jackfruit.

    Thank you!

    • Hi Ash! Yes, there would definitely be a difference since fresh jackfruit is sweet in taste. You’ll want to try to find young green jackfruit that is in brine or water (not syrup) because when the jackfruit is young (and not fully ripe), it’s much starchier and not sweet, which makes it ideal for meat substitutes. If you can’t find it in stores, try searching online! 🙂

    • I am from the Caribbean island of Grenada.
      This is like frying breadfruit (the riper, sweeter it will be) peel the breadfruit and put in some salt water, dry it and shallow fry it.
      No flour needed.
      if you want to use flour, mix flour with a pinch of turmeric.

  2. 5 stars
    I was skeptical about the jackfruit absorbing the flavors but OMG, this recipe is wonderful. I won’t miss chicken anymore.

  3. 5 stars
    Looooooved this recipe! Easy to follow and so delicious 🤤 . Can’t wait to make it again.
    Changed one thing : dipped in bread crumbs after second time dipping in milk . Also make sure you let milk and cider mix sit for a while.

  4. 5 stars
    I made this lemon pepper style and omg! So amazing! As much as I enjoyed it I believe my meat eating family enjoyed it more because they ate most of it

  5. wyvette johnson

    4 stars
    Have you tried air frying?

    • I have, but need to try again. It was my first time using an air fryer and forgot to spray them with a little oil. They tasted great, but had spots where flour was still visible. Next time I’ll be sure to spray and rotate them halfway through then spray again. If you try it, let me know how it goes!

  6. Can’t wait to try! What’s the purpose of the sugar? Do you think I can switch it out with maple syrup? Thanks!

    • Hi Mel, the sugar is simply an addition to the seasoning. I wouldn’t recommend swapping with maple syrup though. I’m afraid it might mess up the consistency, as this part should be dry. If you’re trying to avoid sugar, I would simply omit it or reduce it to your liking. Enjoy!

  7. Is there any way these would work being baked/broiled? We try very hard to not use oil. I craving some really good comfort food though! I know it’s a big ask.
    Thank you!
    These look amazing

    • Hey Nicole! Thanks for checking this recipe out! Unfortunately I don’t think this recipe would work out by baking or broiling. The oil makes the coating super crispy and I doubt that could be achieved in the oven the way these are made. If you have an air fryer, this might be a better option. It would still require some oil, as you would need to spray the pieces before cooking, but it would be far less oil than frying in a traditional method. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!

    • Kathryn Gannon

      You do know you need fat in your diet. Choose healthy oils and research the oils that are good for frying. It’s not my business of course but you may be being a bit too restrictive.

  8. 5 stars
    This was an amazing recipe! My meat eating husband said he would not have known it was jackfruit without me telling him! We loooooved it!

    • Hey Cris! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe! I’m always happy to hear when meat eaters are down with a little jackfruit! 🙂

  9. Patricia Kayden

    Looking forward to trying this since I have several cans of jackfruit that I need to use. This looks like a pretty straightforward recipe. Thanks for posting it.

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  11. 2 stars
    Was really looking forward to this recipe, but I found that the spices were lacking in a major way. I’d double them for next time. Sorry, I don’t particularly enjoy leaving bad reviews, but I think it’s worth mentioning.. not sure how others didn’t have the same issue… I’ll try again, just with more spice. Still decent with a dipping sauce though 🙂

  12. Super easy and delicious recipe! It was our first time trying jackfruit as a meat replacement and we were pleasantly surprised 🙂 we’ll definitely make this again soon.

  13. Crystal Johnson

    Omg did you go to Tuskegee?! If not you look so familiar. Anyway. I am trying to do the whole meatless thing once a week . I tried the jackfruit bbq and fell in love so I can’t wait to try out this recipe !

    • Hey! Nope, I went to UNCG. I hope you love the recipe! Jackfruit is so versatile! I have lots of other jackfruit recipes too. Just search “jackfruit” and you’ll find them!

  14. Your Chicken fried Tofu was AMAZING! So I can’t wait to try the Jackfruit!

  15. Hi, can you make this a day ahead? Will it still taste good?

    • Hey Sheila, fresh is always better, but if you have an air fryer, you should be able to reheat them in there. Just spray them with a little oil and cook them at 400 for about 10 min or so. Lmk how it goes!

  16. Hi Desiree,
    I noticed you said to “look at the pictures of the scraps” and then did not include any pictures! This is my first time trying to cook with jackfruit and am frantically searching the web to see what you mean! Maybe if you have pictures of this step you can add them!

    Thanks!

  17. 5 stars
    This looks delicious!
    Just fyi I saw that you noted that fresh jackfruit would be sweeter. This isn’t necessarily true. Most Asian stores sell fresh jackfruit that is unripe – meaning its the exact same thing as the canned version, just more labor intensive. You can tell the difference because unripe jackfruit is white and the ripe stuff turns yellow (and smells sweet).
    All the best!

  18. 5 stars
    First time trying this recipe & it was delicious! Definitely will make again.

  19. Thank you, I can’t wait to try this. I wish you had more pics and what the pieces look like before you coat them. I can’t wait to try this!!

  20. My 1st try. Taste was great but didn’t get the browning I wanted in the hot oil. Can u tell me what i did wrong?

    • Hi Sue, it’s hard to say what may have went wrong in your specific case without more information, but my guess is that they may not have been breaded properly. Next time be sure to dip each piece into the buttermilk mixture then thoroughly coat it in the flour mixture- lightly roll it around in the flour mixture, pressing it onto each piece to help it stick. Be sure your oil is hot before starting and you should be good to go! Hope this helps!

  21. 5 stars
    Absolutely loved this. Don’t agree about the under-seasoning which a couple of others mentioned – it was perfect as is with a little chilli sauce drizzled over, it’d be too much with any more. Thanks so much for posting – will be repeating this a few times!

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