This post contains affiliate links.
If you're familiar with Chick-fil-A you will know that fans of this fast food chain are passionate! So many people, my husband Jeff included, are completely fanatical about their chicken sandwiches! We love them so much that I make this copycat version whenever we get a craving.
I found that the key to getting an extra crispy and delicious coating on the chicken is double-dipping. That's right, “double dipping” in this instance is allowed and encouraged! You'll see what I mean when you read the recipe.
I hope you all enjoy this tasty fried sandwich as much as we did. And, the homemade Chick-fil-A sauce we smothered all over it is a must. That stuff is out of this world!
Here's how to make your own AMAZING Chick-fil-A Sandwich, at home!
1. Marinate the chicken. Place chicken breast halves in pickle juice/water marinade, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Combine flour, powdered sugar, paprika, black pepper, chili powder, salt, and baking powder.
3. Make egg wash. In another bowl mix the milk, and egg.
4. Coat the chicken: Dip the marinated chicken into the egg mixture, and then coat in the flour breading mixture. Then repeat this step and dip that same chicken tender back into the egg mixture and then back into the flour again! Yep, this double dipping is how we're making a super yummy, crispy sandwich.
5. Pan Fry. Place chicken in hot oil in a sauce pan and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to paper towel to dry.
6. Assemble Sandwich. Toast the sandwich buns. Grab the Chick-fil-A sauce and smooth it on both sides of the buns. Top with lettuce, cheese, and crispy chicken! Enjoy!
Homemade Chick-fil-A Sauce:
All you need to make homemade Chick-fil-A sauce is:
- Mayonnaise
- Dijon mustard
- Yellow mustard
- Honey
- BBQ sauce
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Lemon juice
Make the Chick-fil-A sauce by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Air Fryer Chick-fil-A Sandwich:
Preheat fryer to 370ºF. Grease the inside basket/rack of the air fryer and place two coated chicken breasts in the air fryer. Lightly spray the top of the chicken. Cook the chicken for 11-13 minutes, flipping halfway through cook time. Assemble sandwich as instructed below.
Baked Chick-fil-A Sandwich:
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Place a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Place your coated chicken breasts on the wire rack and spray both sides lightly with olive oil. Bake the chicken for 12 minutes, flip and bake for another 15 minutes or until it's cooked through.
For a Spicy Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich:
We love spicy chicken at our house! If you'd like to add a little heat to your chicken sandwich, add 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper to the flour mixture when making the breading. I like to coat my kids sandwiches in the flour first, then add the cayenne for spice, and make mine and my husbands.
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
Chick-Fil-A Crispy Chicken Sandwich Copycat
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breast halves
- 1/2 cup pickle juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- oil for frying
- 4 hamburger buns
- Pickle, lettuce, tomato and cheese slices, , for topping
For the breading:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper , *optional, for a spicy chicken sandwich
For the Chick-fil-A-sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoon barbecue sauce, (hickory tastes the best)
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: combine the pickle juice and water in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken breast halves and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Make the sauce: Make the Chick-fil-A sauce by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Next, in a large bowl mix the breading ingredients together: flour, powdered sugar, paprika, black pepper, chili powder, salt, and baking powder.
- In another bowl mix the milk, and egg.
- Add 2-3 cups of oil to a large saucepan and heat oil to about 350 degrees F.
- Coat the chicken: Dip the marinated chicken into the egg mixture, and then coat in the flour breading mixture. Now "double-dip" by repeating this step and dipping that same chicken tender back into the egg mixture and then back into the flour again!
- Pan fry: Place chicken in hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to paper towel to dry.
- Assemble Sandwich: Toast the sandwich buns. Grab the Chick-fil-A sauce and smooth it on both sides of the buns. Top with lettuce, cheese, and crispy chicken! Enjoy!
Notes
Air Fryer Chick-Fil-A Sandwich:
Preheat fryer to 370ºF. Grease the inside basket/rack of the air fryer and place two coated chicken breasts in the air fryer. Lightly spray the top of the chicken. Cook the chicken for 11-13 minutes, flipping halfway through cook time. Assemble sandwich as instructed below.Baked Chick-Fil-A Sandwich:
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Place a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Place your coated chicken breasts on the wire rack and spray both sides lightly with olive oil. Bake the chicken for 12 minutes, flip and bake for another 15 minutes or until it's cooked through.For a Spicy Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich:
We love spicy chicken at our house! If you'd like to add a little heat to your chicken sandwich, add 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper to the flour mixture when making the breading. I like to coat my kids sandwiches in the flour first, then add the cayenne for spice, and make mine and my husbands. Gluten-free Adaptations: use gluten-free BBQ sauce, all-purpose flour, and buns.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Text me new recipe ideas!
Simple, tasty ideas sent once a week. No spam.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Recipe adapted from here.
The material in this blog post references the trademarked brand “Chick-fil-A.” The use of this trademark is for informational and editorial purposes only and does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by Chick-fil-A, Inc.
I originally shared this recipe May 2013. Updated November 2019 with process photos and improved instructions.
This was SO good! My husband is a picky eater and he LOVED this! He tasted the sauce beforehand and commented how delicious it was.
We don’t eat out much at all – so this is a great recipe to have on hand! Thank you so much!
Great tasting chicken sandwich. My family really enjoyed them.
Thank God 😇❤️🐔🍔Chicken sandwich came out sooo Good ❤️❤️❤️ my family told me 9.5 out of 10 5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and juta add another ingredient extra it’s called Knorr Shelf-Stable Granulated Chicken Flavor just add a lil
Was excellent, I was really craving more of a sriracha chicken sandwich, so fallowed it exactly except put a ton of sriracha and a few drops of our favorite ghost pepper sauce to the sauce was PERFECT
THE BEST CHICKEN SANDWICH EVER!!!! My husband brags to everyone about this recipe.
I love this recipe. I’m gluten free and I switched the flour to gluten free flour (cup4cup) & now I can enjoy Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich again.
I didnt care for the pickle juice but my grand daughter loved them thank you
I think most of the recipe was correct, the favor actual seemed close and I know pickle juice is important…however WHY would you dip in the egg first?? I have done enough breading that I should have known this was wrong. Breading slid straight off. Such a good recipe ruined by a mistake like that.
I just made this and the sandwich was great and tasty but my breading did slide off. Do you suggest not running it through first? I would definitely do this make this again but with any suggestions to keep the breading on.
Made this for dinner. The chicken is so juicy! Thanks for sharing!
I’m sorry but this was bland. I made it exactly as written and everyone was so disappointed with tonight’s dinner. I made a copycat Chikfila sandwich recipe before that was amazing but guess I pulled up the wrong one this time. =(
This recipe did not work. The egg wash is not needed. It makes it too moist and the breading does not stick when you fry it. The breading falls right off when you try to flip it. Also, it needs more salt or something. It tastes very bland.
Refrigerate battered chicken for 30 min before frying. I worked for me.
This definitely did not work out. I followed everything to a T and my breading completely fell off and apart and now I’m left serving my family bare pickled chicken.
The breading didn’t stay on the chicken and fell off when I flipped. I should have listened to my gut and put the chicken in the FLOUR first and not the egg. The crispiness of the breading wasn’t even a twinkle in anyone’s eye when it was done cooking and some of the flour wasn’t cooked for whatever reason.
I baked mine in the oven, middle rack, 450. Maybe an air fryer would return better results. This recipe is NOT made for an oven.
I’m about to make them and thought the same thing. I’ll definitely flour first 😊. Thank you
Thank You For Sharing 👍🏼👏🏼♥️❗️These LOOK Great❗️❗️G-d♥️Bless
Thanks for the recipe, and although haven’t tried it, I’ve also never tried Chick-Fil-A’s chicken sandwich. I’m not into fast-food, but I’ve wondered why Chick-Fil-A always has a line of cars, sometimes wrapping around the block. Sugar, pickle juice, and MSG, I think those are the main culprits for the addiction. By the way, your title has the word sandwich spelled “sandwhich.” Thank you for the recipe!
Omge. I love this lady! All of her recipes are wonderful!
The chick fil a sauce taste identical to the actual sauce! This was a favorite in our house we felt like we had restaurant quality food without the large tab! Love it!!
I let the chicken marinate in the brine for about 4-5 hours but otherwise followed this recipe exactly, and it was so good!
I also used the flour mixture to coat, then fry, a kale and quinoa burger for my son’s vegan friend and he said it was amazing, so the flour mixture gets an A+ from all of us.