37 Fried Food Recipes To Make Any Night More Fun (2024)

We know, deep-frying really sounds like a lot of work, but we have a genius tip to getting you the crispiest fries ever without the double-frying. With our method, all of the fries go in at the same time, and once they're out, they're ready to eat! After seasoning the heck out of them with salt, of course.

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When green tomatoes are in season, this Southern staple is the first dish we think of. Nothing complements a juicy, tart green tomato quite like a crunchy, slightly sweet cornmeal crust. A classic remoulade is our condiment of choice, but if you don’t feel like whipping one up from scratch, making a simple two-ingredient spicy mayo will absolutely do the trick.

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A lot of Thai dishes are spicy, sweet, salty, and sour all at once, and that’s why Thai food is so easy to love. This fried chicken sandwich has so much more going on than the traditional version. Its marinade is a little spicy and sweet and gets some sourness from the lime juice. The chicken fries up extra-crispy and is worth busting out the oil for. We are honestly obsessed with this sandwich. With the creamy mayo and messy slaw piled high, we just know you are about to be too.

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This easy recipe turns those sad leftover mashed potatoes into something MAGICAL. If you've got more leftovers on your hands, you gotta check out these Thanksgiving leftovers recipes to revive the remnants of your feast.

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Cod is awesome, but other fishes that work great are substantial, flakey white fishes like haddock, pike, and pollock. And since you have already heated up some oil, throw in a batch of French fries to complete the meal. To make them closer to the authentic British-style chip, just cut them a little bit thicker, shorter, and irregular like a true chip shop would serve.

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Fried calamari doesn't have to be reserved for beachfront restaurants. It's easy to make at home and comes out extra-crispy and crunchy. A squeeze of lemon juice and fresh marinara, and you're ready to go. After you master this, give fish and chips a go!

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These crispy, cheesy taquitos are quick and easy to make and are a fun appetizer; they could even easily be the main served along with rice and salsa. Taquitos are traditionally fried and will give you the crispiest outcome, but if you just really don’t want to bust out the big bottle of oil, you can bake these at 450° for around 15 minutes. Brush them with a little oil beforehand to help crisp them up.

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Move over, hush puppies! Corn fritters are my new favorite Southern-fried side. Fluffy and crispy with sweet fresh corn, these make the perfect partner for everything from a crab leg feast to a rack of saucy BBQ ribs or a taco spread.

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The best fish tacos have a wide variety of flavors and textures; hot and cold, crunchy and creamy, rich and bright, and with just the right amount of heat. The Indigenous people of coastal Mexico have likely been making fish tacos for thousands of years, but fried fish tacos in came into play much later. It's thought that Japanese fisherman who immigrated to Baja, California (a coastal Mexican state on the Baja California Peninsula) in the '50s and '60s introduced their technique for tempura frying, helping to inspire the fried fish tacos we know and love today.

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You'll never throw leftover rice away again! Fried rice is a quick and delicious way to transform leftovers into something greater than the sum of its parts. Though we sometimes think of certain ingredients being typical (eggs, garlic), the only things you need to make fried rice are heat, rice, and oil. Anything else you add is up to you!

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This recipe was very loosely inspired by our Korean fried chicken wings, but nothing about this recipe is really traditional at all. The cauliflower florets are tossed in a tempura-like batter, which does aid in a wing-like crispy coating, but you're still going to want to eat these right away—the crunch factor diminishes quickly!

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Frying pro-tip: Less moisture = crispier fries, and we are here. for. these. We found that frying them in peanut oil yields crispier fries that stay crisp much longer than the fries cooked in vegetable oil. That said, you can totally fry these in canola or vegetable oil, just make sure to eat them fast. We're sure that won't be a problem. 😉

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We don't often feel like getting a deep-fry going. But when you have an easy churro recipe this delicious, it's absolutely worth it. They only take a few minutes to fry and will actually still taste good at room temp, making them a great party dessert!

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Crunchy, spicy, creamy, and tart—this "chicken" sammie is total bliss. We replicated spicy fried chicken with protein-packed (frozen!) tofu and added cornmeal to the batter for extra crunch.

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There’s not much that rivals a thinly pounded piece of meat, breaded and fried until perfectly golden brown. This recipe for pork schnitzel is just that. Pounding the meat until you have a thin cutlet creates a super-tender bite. If you have access to a butcher, you can also ask them to do this for you, getting you one step closer to golden brown perfection when you get home.

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Umami-rich oyster mushrooms are lightly battered and fried for this squid-free take on a seafood favorite. You can use other mushroom varieties, but the delicate “petals” of the oyster mushrooms get especially crispy.

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Why limit these latkes to just the holiday season? We love topping these with sour cream and smoked salmon for an easy weeknight meal. You also can never beat serving these with homemade applesauce for the prime latke experience.

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If you've never had an iconic Louisiana po' boy, this fried shrimp version is a great place to start. Dressed with crunchy shredded iceburg, juicy tomatoes, and a creamy and briny remoulade sauce, this imposing sandwich will take you to the fern- and Spanish moss-lined streets of NOLA in seconds flat.

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Zeppole are the perfect snack for serving with coffee for a midmorning pastry break, or serve with chocolate sauce for a more decadent dessert. In Italy, larger zeppole are often filled with pastry cream. For a take on that version, use a paring knife to poke a small hole in the side of the donut, then fill with pastry cream using a piping bag. (Use the filling recipe from these eclairs.)

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The chicken sandwich is a seemingly simple Southern-fried chicken breast on a warm brioche bun, with spicy mayo and pickles. But even the most tried-and-true Southern methods for frying chicken can’t produce a crust that snaps and shatters the same way as the cult favorite—check out our non-traditional tricks that made our version of Popeye’s spicy chicken sandwich edge out above the rest.

Get the Copycat Popeyes Chicken Sandwich recipe.