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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.
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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.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
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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.
So so good and tastes VERY similar!! I had a hard time getting the breading to stay on when I went to flip the chicken. I think next time I’ll do it with tenders and get out my fry basket and deep fry them. I have a feeling the next batch will be identical to our blessed chick fil a! Thanks for the recipe!!
literally a waste of my time and it didnt even taste like chick fi la?!? I do not recommend, just go to chick fi la and buy some instead of taking time out of your day to get the ingredients and to cook it. Thumbs down for me.
I’ve made this 5 times. And my kids love it and says it tastes exactly like Chic Fil A. I also get to control the amount of salt and butter that goes into the food. So the recipe is good
For the nutrition does that include the bread and the sauce or is that just for the chicken??
This recipe was amazing! We do not have chick fil-a in Canada, but I was looking for a good homemade crispy chicken sandwich. Plus got the kids involved in cooking! Love the sauce too. Thanks for sharing!
Perfect!
I made this and it taste nothing like a Chick-fil-A sandwich
Was looking for alternatives to the restaurant since the food is good but i do not support the homophobic chicken and will not be giving them my money ever. I can’t say this tasted like the restaurant but the flavor was very good; the pickle brining made a difference. It should be noted that I looked at other people’s reviews and tried less sugar and more salt then the recipe called for and also gave the chicken time to dry after bringing before I began cooking it.
The recipe was probably too advanced for my current skill set; I don’t like frying food so I opted to try the baking alternative. The baking did not go too well. I had a lot of dry flour mixture bits and a lot of the breading that turned out okay actually fell off. However, the chicken was fully cooked and so then I re-dipped it and did the frying technique on it. Since the chicken was all the way cooked through already I only had to keep it in the pan just long enough for the breading to form, about 20-30 seconds on each side.
I probably won’t make this again just because it was a lot of mess for not enough pay off to justify it for me. However, it did make a very tasty sandwich and I’m glad to have tried it.
This recipe is DELICIOUS! I took the following steps based on other comments: I patted the chicken dry after the brine then sprinkled s&p on both sides of the chicken (to address some of the comments that said the chicken was bland). I used 1/2 tsp of cayenne which gave it a tiny kick but didn’t take over the flavor. I also dipped in flour, then egg, then flour again (just once in the egg wash). I used the air fryer method (370 for 12 minutes, 6 min then flip for another 6). I also sprayed each side with cooking spray. It was FANTASTIC and is now the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had!
I wish I could give this recipe a 6 out of 5. The sauce is out of this world good. I am so lazy with coming on review sections of blogs but I could rave about these ALL DAY.
These sandwiches were so good. So so so good. Going to go follow on Instagram now.
Did I mention how good this recipe is??
Excellent alternative to going to their restaurant. Is so good.
My husband and I loved this fried chicken recipe, followed it and it was so good! Thank you!