This Chick-fil-A crispy chicken sandwich with homemade Chick-fil-A sauce is the perfect copycat recipe of the classic sandwich we all love!
This is one of those recipes that cause my husband to sing my praises!  It’s a true winner.  Serve copycat Chick-fil-A with french fries, a Side salad, a Fresh fruit bowl, or some homemade Potato Salad.
A copycat Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich on a plate with fries and sauce.

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.

A bowl with chicken in egg and milk, next to a sheet pan with the chicken dipped in flour.

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!

Three breaded and fried chicken breasts on a sheet pan.

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

A small bowl with ingredients for homemade Chick-Fil-A sauce

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.

A open faced Chick-Fil-A sandwich with fries and sauce.

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Recipe

Prep 30 minutes
Cook 10 minutes
Total 40 minutes
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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:

For the Chick-fil-A-sauce

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 579kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 21gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 1286mgPotassium: 391mgFiber: 2gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 525IUVitamin C: 1.7mgCalcium: 147mgIron: 3.7mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!

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 post contains affiliate links.

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About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 4 stars
    The sauce is amazing! I think it needs more seasonings as the chicken lacked flavor. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I think we just need to adjust to our own specific liking.

  2. After dinner, I had to come back to this recipe after printing it and rate it 5 stars. It tasted exactly like a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. My wife has celiac disease and we used gluten free Cup-4-Cup flour. This is a recipe we will continue to make again and again!!!

  3. This recipe is good. I don’t eat chick fil a so I don’t know how close the flavors are but I liked it. Make sure to pay dry the chicken after marinating or the topping just slides off. I made a double batch and the first batch did that.

  4. 3 stars
    I just finished eating a Chick-Fil-a sandwich. The bun was pretty sweet. To copy that, you could use Hawaiian hamburger bread buns. Can’t wait to try your recipe.

  5. 4 stars
    Wouldn’t say that these taste exactly like chick-fil-a (I put mine in the rack of an air fryer), but they were still good on a sandwich.

  6. 5 stars
    I made these on a late night craving type of day and they came out perfect ! I made a slight change by adding cayenne pepper, garlic powder , onion powder and a bit of tonys to make it spicy as well lol!

  7. 3 stars
    Honestly this recipe would be better but I think you made a typo on the amount of sugar to put 3 tbsp is wayyyy too much it make my chicken taste way too sweet

  8. 2 stars
    This recipe may be good when fried, but it should not be used in the air fryer. The double egg wash and breading was too thick and sticks horribly to both the air fryer grate and any parchment paper inserts (tried both). It also just didn’t get crispy like other recipes I’ve used. I will have to try flour dredge first then egg, then panko or bread crumbs. Flavors are definitely on the coating, but doesn’t do me much good if it’s stuck to my air fryer!

  9. 5 stars
    Mmm! Next time one pickle jar’s empty we’ll make this again, and of course crack open the next jar for toppings. A new sandwich cycle’s born…

  10. Really good and flavorful
    My whole family loved it
    My dad doesn’t like fried food but for sure he loved this one

  11. Followed directions. Turned after four minutes and they were burned but still RAW inside. They are in oven now trying to cook thru….never again!

  12. 1 star
    I worked there and you DO NOT use pickle juice. It’s just plan raw chicken. The Juiciness comes from the fact that it is pressure cooked in a fryer of peanut oil. The pickle flavor only comes from the pickle on the sandwich. Now if you do a grilled chicken breast, that does get marinated in pickle juice with added seasoning over night and then grilled instead of fried.

  13. 1 star
    Frying didn’t work at all. After 3 minutes in oil at 350 I had a charred, blackened mess that was raw inside. I tried to bake the other breasts and all the breading fell off on the rack.

    This was a total disappointment.

  14. 5 stars
    Made this tonight for my family. My daughter and I have never had the original Chick-fil-A sandwiches since she had a peanut allergy, and I need to be gluten free. This turned out great using gluten free flour and olive oil. I used our air fryer but may need to try it on the stovetop next time as the basket held on to some of the coating. Still very yummy! And my daughter, who is not a fan of any kind of sauce, asked to just try “a little” sauce on part of the sandwich. After a little taste test, she asked for the sauce to be on the entire sandwich!! This will be a part of our monthly dinner rotation.

    1. Try using parchment paper in the bottom of the air fryer with holes poked in it to allow for airflow. It works really well for us to prevent sticking. 🙂

  15. I imagine the breading burned more easily because of your flour substitution, as well as a powdered sugar being added to the mix. A bit delusional to criticize the recipe when you’ve made chemical and physical changes to the combination. Almond flour burns much sooner than regular flour. Frying recipes are much more like baking confectionaries where the amount chemical make-up of the batter matters when it comes to frying evenly and smoke point. I would suggest augmenting your cook time if you make similar substitutions again.

  16. 4 stars
    You are spot on with this one! I cooked this in my outside kitchen and usually have better temperature control inside. The batter is spot on! I wish that my chicken had as much flavor as the restaurant…… but this was not bad at all! Thanks for sharing and I will definitely keep tabs on what other recipes you have out there!!!!

  17. 5 stars
    I made this for supper this evening. It was definitely a hit at our house! We give the sauce a thumbs up as well. Thank you!

  18. It was okay. The family liked it enough. I did like the pickle brine. Didn’t really taste like Chicfila though. I would use this recipe as a guideline and add more of every seasoning to it and add garlic and onion powder. I always season my chicken and my egg before dredging the chicken too. Didn’t see that in this recipe. But you should always layer the flavor.

  19. 1 star
    Honestly this is the worst sandwich I have ever made. I eat chic filet and this recipe was horrible. Don’t waste your time

  20. 5 stars
    Loved this! We air fried it and it tasted delicious. Our only regret was the buns we bought to go with it. Not quite as soft and sweet as we would have liked. The chicken was perfect though!

  21. 2 stars
    Disappointed, tried two ways. Bland taste. Air fryer was not crispy. Maybe it should have been hotter. Not enough flour mix to do double.

  22. Don’t like the powdered sugar in this. This recipe absolutely does not taste like chick-fil-a. It was ok for one meal but definitely won’t be making it again.

  23. 3 stars
    Followed the Air Fryer instructions. The breading stuck to the air fryer and not to the chicken, despite keeping chicken chilled until dipping (which usually helps keep coating on). The cook time was way off for me – I had to air fry for 20 minutes, for chicken cutlets – I halved the chicken breast to thin them before air frying, and 15 minutes at 400 degrees was not enough. time.

    Gave it 3 stars for flavor, as the pickle brine marinade does give a similar taste to Chick Fil A. SImilar, not the same. I’d try this again but cut out some of the sugar (maybe 1/2) and try either baking or frying.

  24. 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

  25. 3 stars
    It was ok but the powdered sugar was too much. We don’t like that much sweetness. Had to add more salt. Don’t think it tasted like chick filet but it was fair.

  26. 1 star
    Unfortunately, this didn’t turn out so well. The coating came off too easily, and even after frying in hot oil for 4 minutes on each side and gaving cut the breasts i to halves and even thirds, I cut into it and it was raw. The seasoning was good, though.

  27. 5 stars
    I had chick-fil-a for the first time 3 months ago. Usually, I don’t like fried food, but it was so good! I’m very happy to have this recipe; thank you. Can I make it with boneless and skinless chicken breast or boneless and skinless chicken thighs?

  28. 5 stars
    Tastes just like Chick-Fil-A! The chicken came out beautifully and the whole family loved it. Will absolutely be making this again.

  29. 1 star
    Worst recipe ever. Chicken coating burned within 30 seconds. Pickle juice marinade was good after I scraped the burn off. I’ll never make this again your way. Sorry just not good !

    1. Did you stand and watch it burn? You’can always control the fire. It’s never about the recipe. Recipes are suggestion.
      You need to pay attention the first time you are trying it.
      Did you ask yourself what you did wrong and how you could have fix that?

  30. 5 stars
    That was extremely delicious and I will be making this again. I suggest adding a little bit more salt but other than that it’s great!

  31. 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!!

  32. 1 star
    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.

    1. 5 stars
      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

  33. 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!

  34. 3 stars
    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.

    1. 5 stars
      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!

  35. 5 stars
    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??

  36. 3 stars
    I feel like you have no idea what a teaspoon is when the recipe calls for 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne for four sandwiches. Even for spicy sandwiches it’d be more like an 1/8 teaspoon.

  37. 1 star
    Breading was soggy and burned easily from the sugar.

    Tried both a fried and air fried version. Both turned out awful

    Would be better off with Montreal chicken seasoning.

    1. 5 stars
      This was soooo good! Yes, need to dry that chicken well before dredging. I followed every step exactly. To those who didn’t follow it, you can’t say it doesn’t taste like Chic-fil-la, if you don’t follow it exactly. I haven’t had Chic-fil-la enough to say it tastes like it, but it was very good and will be making it again. Thank you!

  38. 4 stars
    Everyone loved dinner last night! I marinated the chicken in pickle juice for about 15 minutes, then patted the chicken dry before dipping in the flour and egg mixtures so I didn’t have any issue with the breading sliding off as some others did. I added extra salt and paprika to the flour mixture and I omitted the powdered sugar as I didn’t have any on hand. Toasted up some brioche buns and it came out perfect.

  39. 1 star
    I’m sorry but there is no way you followed the recipe the way you listed and got good results. Super soggy breading that slides right off cause chicken is so wet, breading burns while chicken is still completely raw in the center. Sauce is good but chicken is just wasted ingredients.

  40. The recipe needs improvement: Maybe thoroughly PAT THE CHICKEN DRY AFTER MARINATING IN THE PICKLE JUICE because the ‘breading’ falls off if you don’t. ALSO it’s advised by health officials that chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees but what happens in this recipe is that the breading is burned before the chicken ever reaches that temperature so just forget that temperature I guess at your own decision…. I substituted regular flour with almond flour and used powdered non sugar sweetener. Sauce is pretty good. Thanks…

  41. Started with consistent, tenderized cutlets. Soaked in the diluted brine for an hour. Dried them, then egg, flour, egg, flour. Fried up great, no bare spots. Tasted disgustingly sweet. Chicken was moist and tender but bland other than the sweetness.

  42. 1 star
    Save your ingredients. The recipe needs more salt. The breading twice is not helpful as it makes the breading thicker but you will need to fry it lower for the chicken to cook through, otherwise your breading will burn. This lacked flavor.

  43. I noticed you include a recipe for the Chick-fil-A Sauce which is delicious. I was curious if you happen to have a recipe for the Chick-fil-A Polynesian Sauce? My husband loves it and I would appreciate a recipe for it. It would be fun to follow your recipe for the Chick -fil-A sandwich with Polynesian Sauce in the side.

  44. Hi there! Former Chick Fil A cook here. We don’t brine the chicken in pickle juice! We just use plain chicken breast that we filet out. We also use a milk wash instead of an egg wash, and we deep fry the chicken in PEANUT oil. No clue what spices are in the flour; it comes pre-packaged. We use wonder bread buns rolled with butter flavored oil and toast them. The pickles are bread and butter pickles and come in a 5 gallon bucket of brine.

    1. Thanks for your input and we’d love for you to share your recipe! I’ve never worked at Chick-fil-A–this was just my attempt at making a copycat version that tasted as good.

  45. 4 stars
    After reading the reviews, I coated the chicken in the breading and let it sit for 10 minutes. I then dipped it in the milk and egg mixture and re-breaded before frying. Came out great! One teaspoon of cayenne was plenty.

  46. 1 star
    Save your money, time, and effort and choose another recipe.
    This was awful! I followed the directions and used my convection oven to bake (to save on fat calories). The breading came off AND the chicken never browned. It was a soggy mess on the plate. I’m deleting this recipe from my pins so I’m never going to try it again.

    1. 1 star
      Couldn’t agree more. I’m a great cook.
      This was horrible. I’m so mad at what a waste and mess the recipe made.
      Wish I could leave a pic to show that I know what I’m doing and that this recipe is garbage.

  47. 2 stars
    Usually love recipes from this site. Had high hopes. 😞 Read through all comments first. Marinated chicken in pickle juice over night. Tenderized them first. Did flour egg flour. Omitted powdered sugar added more salt. I choose to air fry so followed those directions. Breading still fell off. Made sauce just omitted honey. Chicken Lacks flavor. Sauce was ok. I’d make sauce again for something different. I bet it would have been ok if I actually fried them in oil. Oh well. Wasn’t expecting ChicFilA bc of comments but was expecting a different good flavor moist chicken. Didn’t get that.

  48. made it today,,,, I knew the powdered sugar would make it too sweet for us. I left it out, wish I would have cut way back on the honey in the sauce also, it was also too sweet, if I make it again will leave it out,,,,,, I also floured the chicken before putting in the milk mixture and then floured again,,,, lost some breading but not a lot.. was just okay, not sure if I would make it again or not.

  49. 1 star
    Usually don’t leave bad reviews on recipes, but this was the worst recipe I’ve ever tried. Even with cayenne pepper, the breading was sweet (probably from the powdered sugar) would not recommend trying this recipe. It was awful 🤢

  50. 1 star
    This recipe blows! Followed to a t, and the chicken was soggy, all of the breading fell off in the air fryer.

  51. 4 stars
    This is a really delicious recipe. A little too crispy for me. Will definitely make it again and only dip in egg mixture and flour just once.

  52. 5 stars
    This was a hit! I’ve never eaten Chick-Fil-A, so I can’t compare it to the actual sandwich, but now I feel like I need to try it. I couldn’t tell if it was the breading or the sauce that was so good – or just the combination. Not an easy meal, but will definitely make again.

  53. 5 stars
    Our family just loves Chick-fil-A but the closest restaurant is an hour away.

    So I tried this for Sunday lunch at Nana’s and Papa’s house.

    7 pounds of chicken breasts and they were finally done. Loved both the regular and spicy versions of the breading.

    Need a bigger fryer for next time!

  54. Tried dipping it in egg mixture prior to the flour knowing that’s probably not a good idea but you have a lot of likes so gave it shot. Bad idea! Knew it. Have to go flour mixture first or the crust separates from the protein. Flavors were okay but not at all like the original.

    1. 3 stars
      I found the same thing.
      I wanted to try the recipe as written, but it didn’t turn out great.
      Breading just falls off if you don’t do flour first.
      Flour – egg wash – flour would probably work better.
      Too sweet compared to CFA as well. Flavor was still ok, just not what we expected.

  55. 5 stars
    These were delicious!
    With Chick-Fil-A forty minutes away, and at $5 per sandwich, this recipe satisfies our taste while saving time and money. Love this!

  56. 4 stars
    Really tasty and the breading stayed on well for me. Marinating in the pickle juice mixture gave such good flavor. I decided to add a bit more salt and some onion powder because the flavor was a little subtle for me with the first batch.

    Thanks for the recipe!

  57. 2 stars
    This was a fail for me. The breading came off. After reading the reviews. Some of the tips would have been great in the original recipe. The picture looks so delicious. I was disappointed

  58. 1 star
    Very sweet and any flavor, not crispy at all!! Doesn’t have anything to do with Chic-fil-a. Nothing! I should trust my experience and do not tried the recipe

    1. Sadly, I agree. This tasted absolutely nothing like chic fil a. Instead, it was extremely sweet with no spice flavor whatsoever. I can’t fathom how it’s comparable to them!

  59. 5 stars
    This sandwich is amazing & it tastes just as good or better than Chick-Fil-A. We are going to add this to our regular rotation & even want to try it as their chicken nuggets or a baked sandwich after the marinating step. Thank you for another successful recipe!

  60. 5 stars
    I did this with fish – SO good! I actually don’t love chick-fil-a sauce so I made a creamy caper sauce to go with it and we will definitely do it again!

  61. 4 stars
    This recipe was super good! It didn’t quite taste like chick-fil-a, but that may have been my fault because I had to use chicken thighs instead of breasts but it tasted amazing I made hushpuppies with the leftover breading and it tasted amazing!

  62. Made this for the family tonight. Everyone raved about it. Looks like I’m going to be making this a lot in my future lol

  63. 3 stars
    Good, but tastes nothing like Chic-fil-a… Floured the chicken before putting it in the batter like a lot suggested here, and the batter had no issue staying on. Also, used 3 teaspoons of the sugar instead of 3 tablespoons.

    1. Thanks for the review Derrick! We recommend you follow the recipe as written and then let us know if it tastes like chick-fil-a.

      1. 1 star
        Followed the recipe exactly as written and breading completely fell off when I tried to flip the chicken. Gave up after the breading fell off. Should have read the reviews before giving it a try!

  64. 5 stars
    Oh my goddd! I will never use another chicken breading recipe again! & the sauce was so on point & easy! I had every ingredient already in my pantry. Thank you thank you thank you!

  65. Too sweet & I should have read the comments first breading slid off when I went to cut it so I then went straight from pickle juice to the breading then egg then flour mixture that worked better, but then I could taste the pickle flavor. I didnt have peanut oil so i used the jar of bacon grease which worked great. I would make this again with these adjustments,
    ●tenderize the meat first,
    ¤a lot less powdered sugar maybe 1 tablespoon instead of 3 &
    ●rinse off pickle juice,
    ●dry dip wet dip & dry dip.

    1. 4 stars
      Huge win! Everyone loved it. Flavor was amazing and very much like chick-fil-a. Followed exactly as written. Wouldn’t change a thing. Made waffle fries in the oil after the chicken was done and they were better than CFA’s! Will try dipping in flour mixture first, as the breading did slide off a little when we put it on the buns. Definitely not a deal breaker! THANK YOU!

  66. Dunk it flour, egg, flour. Any time you need to fry with breading you should do it that way so the breading sticks better.

  67. 1 star
    I was so excited to try this in my air fryer. I followed the recipe to a T since it was my 1st try. All of the coating fell off when I tried to turn it. It didn’t stick to the grate that was generously coated, it fell off when I touched it with the tongs. It took double the cooking time (at least) even though I pounded the chicken so it was all the same size. The coating that did stick was sweet in an off putting way. I’ll try again but I’m really disappointed!

  68. 1 star
    was super excited to try this and was very disappointed.. the best thing was the chick fil a sauce – I bought from the store from chick fil a itself. It was super sweet and breading just didn’t stick unfortunately.

  69. To prevent the breading from falling off, dip your chicken into the flour first, then the egg, then the flour once more. The skin stays on that way and won’t slip off. Doing the egg first always makes the skin slip right off for me.

  70. I did this recipe and let me tell you something…it came out awesome .piece of advice for keeping the breading on the chicken while frying: after you have marinated chicken make sure you remove any access juice before dipping in egg wash. Also, refrigerate battered chicken 30 min before frying. Makes a world of difference. Enjoy!!!!!!

  71. 5 stars
    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

  72. 1 star
    I’ve tried this recipe several times thinking maybe I was doing something wrong. Read through comments for recommendations. Nothing works. Not only does this recipe not taste like Chick-Fil-A at all, it’s incredibly bland, the breading never stays on no matter how much I try. Even with the oil set to the right temperature, it burns whatever breading manages to stay on and the inside of the meat is practically raw. So unfortunate. I was so excited to make it myself. Guess I’ll have to keep looking.

    1. 5 stars
      I’ve been trying to mimic their sandwich for some time, but could not get quite right until I ran across you recipe! Great by the way!

      Couple of things… mix both the egg and buttermilk together…. Make sure it’s cold…like refrigerator freezer 30 mins cold, and sit your chicken on the counter during that time so there is a sleight temp difference.

      In ref to your oil… use just enough so that your chicken is only half submerged when you fry. Doing so, you use less oil which allows you to easily drain and refill with fresh grease in between fries.

      Also… depending on how thick your pieces are and how many you’re frying at a time… use a tenderizer to flatten the prices for a quicker cook time resulting in a golden crispy shell with only a single flip or two.

      Lastly… substitute the regular salt for Lawry’s season salt and add a 1/2 tablespoons more.

      My thighs were nice size so after tenderizing… I was frying 3 at a time.

      I hope this helps you out because again… great recipe

  73. I did these in an air fryer with a combination of thigh’s and breast’s. The flavor was good but the coating came right off and made a total mess of the air fryer.

  74. I tried this but I am not sure what I did wrong.
    After frying the chicken the crispy part just came off of the chicken and white meat was visible. For some reason, the crispy part did not stick to the chicken. what am I doing wrong? Please suggest.

  75. 2 stars
    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.

    1. 5 stars
      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.

  76. 1 star
    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. =(

    1. 1 star
      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.

  77. 1 star
    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.

  78. 1 star
    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.

  79. 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!

  80. 5 stars
    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!!

  81. 5 stars
    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.

  82. 1 star
    Nope. Do not waste your time. There is a much much MUCH better recipe on BH&G. My wife pulled this one up by accident, we’ve made the BH&G one multiple times successfully. This one is awful. There is no egg wash in a real chick FIL a for starters. The crust fell off the breasts when we tried to flip them. And they didn’t taste good. At all. Nothing at all like original. Just don’t.

  83. 5 stars
    we are Canadian and have never had chick fil A, this chicken burger is so flavourful. We made it exactly how its written. We chose to fry the chicken in a pan with the recommended oil. I let the batter sit for 15 minutes as some of the comments recommended and it fried nicely. The sauce is the best part.

  84. My son -in- law worked at Chic fil lay when he was younger and he said pickle juice was never used in the recipe

    1. I’ve seen other posts by former employees that say they do use pickle juice as an ingredient. It may also be possible that the chicken breasts are marinated in a pickle juice brine, flash frozen, and then shipped to the franchises already marinated in the pickle juice brine.

  85. Do not air fry or in the oven on a rack. Even with spraying the air fry basket and oven rack the breading sticks to the basket or rack. Cook it in the oil in a deep skillet or large sauce pan

  86. 3 stars
    Sorry, no cigar. I followed the recipe verbatim, but the coating did not stick to the chicken good, and they did not taste like Chick-fil-a. Don’t get me wrong, they were tasty and tender, but the whole idea was to find a copycat.

  87. 4 stars
    Didn’t taste like chick fil la however, we loved them. We made our own buns so they tasted amazing. Thanks for the recipe.

  88. Someone is complaining that the batter falls off. Idk that’s their issue is but my chicken came out perfect. Tasted Just like chick fil a. 🤷🏼‍♀️

  89. I wanted chick fil a today but I’ve been wanting to make it myself. This recipe is perfect. I already had chick fil a sauce from the store but everything else was on point. Zero difference in the batter.

    This is it people. This is the recipe to use

  90. 5 stars
    Recipe was awesome. Tasted just like it. Thanks to a reviewer, I also let the chicken sit with the breading on for ~20 minutes and it did not fall off!

    1. 1 star
      Horrible. Tried dipping in the dry mix first, then egg/milk and back to dry mix. Still slides right off the chicken after. Ruined night. Thanks.

  91. absolutely the worst attempt at a copy cat recipe. The batter wouldn’t stay on the chicken. And yes I followed it to a “t”. I’ve never had any luck with the double dipping and this was no exception. Doesn’t taste anything like the Chick-Fil-A here in TX

  92. 4 stars
    The breading shouldn’t fall off if use the bumpy side of a meat tenderizer first and tenderize the chicken real well. Also let the chicken rest a few minutes after breading before placing in the pan.

  93. 5 stars
    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.

  94. 4 stars
    This was very good! I think my oil was a little too hot and because of the powdered sugar it burned a bit. Didn’t ruin it though. A tip for keeping coating on is pat chicken dry after marinating, and after breading let it sit on a wire rack for about 30 min before frying. I had no issues with the coating coming off.

  95. 5 stars
    Could not find my wire rack, so I tried it without when baking. Had a bit of extra flour mix so I put some on the bottom of the pan in case the breading fell off. Only substitution I made was to use dry milk instead of fresh, but I mixed it as I always do.
    My only question is, is it supposed to taste sweet?
    Is it possible to make it without the powdered sugar? I don’t like sweets, as I am diabetic.

  96. 1 star
    Might as well have just marinated the chicken and put it straight in the oven. I went to bake it and the breading fell right off.

  97. 5 stars
    This was such a hit! I absolutely loved your recipe. I made it with soymilk instead of dairy milk but that was the only change. It was so flavorful and ttender. Thank you!

  98. I pan fried this and the breading fell right off, and even though the breasts were sliced thin, the outside was overdone before the inside was completely cooked through.

    May try to bake it, but at this point a huge disappointment. Nothing like Chick Filet.

  99. 5 stars
    We loved this. That sauce is so yummy….hubs said he likes it better than a burger so this will be in rotation.

  100. 2 stars
    As others have stated, I followed this recipe exactly and the breading fell right off of the chicken before it even hit the plate which was a bummer. I had high hopes for this recipe.

    1. Too much milk in the egg wash. Should be a few tablespoons. Decrease the milk and your breading will stay on.

  101. 4 stars
    Flavors were amazing, but I mistakenly omitted the spray step. The coating paid for it, but the chicken and sauce were delicious! Will 100% make again!

  102. This is our mainstay chicken sandwich recipe. Been making this recipe for about 2 years and everyone love it! I follow this recipe exactly end it turns out wonderful every time! Thank you so much for posting this recipe everyone should try this!

  103. 1 star
    Followed the recipe exactly. Little flavor and most of the breading fell off. Would not make again.

  104. It was delicious. I used less sugar and I grinded the dry ingredients together that made them very fine it adhered to the chicken easier and it the tasted better and less gloopy as the writer described above. Great recipe!!

  105. 5 stars
    Changed recipe to keto friendly, using 3/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 coconut flour and swerve confection sugar for powder sugar. Also used avocado oil to fry 3 minutes each side, then baked on 400 for 8 minutes each side. Turned out perfect! Chicken was moist , breading light and tasted wonderful. Now a new favorite recipe. Won’t be waiting in lines at Chick Fil a anymore, and much healthier.

  106. This is one of the worst chicken sandwiches I’ve ever had. Followed the recipe to a T- the breading wasn’t cooked all the way through after cooking for 3 minutes each side and was very thick, and it was extremely sweet. 1/10, the chicken was well cooked but mouthfuls of sweet, gloopy breading is nothing even remotely resembling enjoyable.

  107. Made the recipe twice and it came out perfectly. My family loved the chicken. I followed the recipe exactly as stated using chicken tenderloins and vegetable oil for frying. I flipped the chicken every two minutes to prevent burning until internal temp of 165. The sauce is a great taste and enhanced the chicken.

  108. Chick-fil-A doesn’t doubled dip their chicken. And they also do NOT open fry their chicken, they pressure cook them in peanut oil, which some people may not be able to cook it that way, but just so you know!

  109. 2 stars
    You’re missing some key ingredients to the batter. You need to add a tablespoon of powdered sugar, a tablespoon of mustard powder, and a tablespoon of malted milk powder. Basically, this recipe is just typical Fried Chicken without the right ingredients.

  110. 1 star
    unfortunately, this was a complete disaster. Every last of the coating fell off in the air fryer. I followed the recipe exactly too. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but all we got was naked chicken that tasted like pickles 😉

    1. There’s a trick to that, when you dip the chicken in the breading and milk mixture, once you are done double dipping. Set the chicken aside for the batter to become like a wet consistency. No more dry flour should be seen on the chicken. Usually no more than 10-15 minutes. Once it reaches this point you can fry with no breading coming off your chicken. I learned this after my first attempt at “naked chicken”

  111. I made this it was soooo good whoever is reading this you guys should try it. It’s really good😋🤤

  112. Hi, so I have some chicken marinating right now. I meant to make it that night after a few hours of marinating but things came up & I didn’t cook them. They’ve been marinating for 2 days now….do you think it’s still okay to cook for tonight?

  113. 5 stars
    I gave this 5 stars because it was delicious & I think it would have been even more delicious had I been able to follow it exactly. I went 1 week with no income thanks to the Winter Storm that hit Houston so I had to make this using what I had. I only had bread & butter pickles so I used that. I eyeballed the marinade using less than called for. I didn’t have powdered sugar or baking soda so I couldn’t use those. I did put in 1 tbsp of granulated sugar & hoped that the sweetness from the pickles & the sugar would be just an ok substitute. I -also added garlic powder (we are garlic lovers). It turned out amazing. I can’t wait to try this the way it’s written!!!!

  114. 2 stars
    Just regular fries cicken tried the air fryer recipe and it was a disaster had to rebroadcast the chicken because it ended so badly THIS IS NOT CHICK FIL A CHICKEN save yourself and use a better recipe

  115. I am definitely giving this copycat a GO! O saw a few comments on loosing batter, Chick-fil-a uses peanut oil for frying chicken so I wonder if swapping oils will help. I am going to use peanut oil and follow up on my Copy Cat Adventure!

  116. I have been a chef for over 20 years. The proper breading procedure is flour mix, egg wash, breading, which in this case will be the flower mix again. Try taking the chicken out of the brine and doing this procedure instead of going straight into the egg wash. The breading should stay on better.

  117. I absolutely love the taste however I had issues with the breading staying. I had to switch from baking to frying. Any suggestions? I lost all my breading and I sprayed my racks.

  118. Made this tonight, flavor was good but I had issues with the batter coming off easily. What am I missing? Thanks.

  119. 5 stars
    Made this last night and it was so delicious! Fried chicken has always intimidated me but this was simple and so so good. I love how the pickle juice marinade helps keep the chicken moist and tender! Chick-Fil-A is great but it isn’t cheap to take my family of 7 there often. Saving this recipe to make again!

  120. This recipe is straight butt cheek dodo residue. This taste nothing like or even looks like a chick fil la chicken sandwich. It looks as sad and bad as the New York knicks for the past 7 years. If anybody is reading this DON’T USE THIS. It is straight dodo. And after i took it out of the brine it smelt worse than foot cheese. You are better off eating KFC than this copycat. For dinner i was suck eating fries and pickles on a bun.

      1. I bet they’re a troll trying to elicit a laugh with their silly, over-the-top hyperboles. Or maybe they’re being genuine but failed to realise that all of the ingredients they used were long expired. 🙂 Either way, I wouldn’t pay them much mind. Their comment is nonsensical and mean-spirited.

  121. 5 stars
    Made this chicken sandwich recipe and the sauce. Family loved the sandwiches and the sauce.
    This recipe will be a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing.

  122. 4 stars
    Really delicious! I think the chicken would be best served alone with the dipping sauce, salad, and fries, as it’s so good it tastes just as you would expect in any good sports bar. My only critique would be that it’s not crunchy enough, but you could tweak this by adding crushed cornflakes. The sauce is so yummy and I’ve never used pickle juice in this way before. Definitely a keeper!

  123. 5 stars
    My whole family loves this recipe! I’ve done it twice so far. Once as sandwiches as the recipe calls for and once as chicken nuggets. I have a deep fryer, 10 minutes @ 350 and it’s perfect. The sauce is so spot on and the breading is wonderfully crispy and flavorful!

  124. 3 stars
    Attempted to make these on the stove and the air fryer. The stove top ones burnt and the air fryer ones were raw… what a mess. #defeatedbyCFA

  125. 3 stars
    Honestly, I haven’t tasted them yet. As I write this they are in the oven. I didn’t have enough oil to fry them, so I opted to bake. I just flipped them and all of the breading stuck to the rack, despite following the instructions about the olive oil. I feel frustrated and like I wasted a lot of time. Have you made this recipe in the oven? Perhaps update your instructions to include using parchment paper or something. What a disappointment.

  126. I’m new to cooking and I tried this recipe tonight, but I ended up with burnt breading and raw chicken. I’m assuming my oil was too hot, or maybe I had too much oil? I’m wondering how to tell when the oil is “hot” but not too hot, and also how much oil are you supposed to use for this?

    1. I can’t help with your oil question, but if you can I would suggest investing in an air fryer. It uses very little oil and in my experience it fries chicken perfectly and hassle free. Just add a little oil, turn the dial according to your fryer instructions, and forget about it.

  127. 5 stars
    EXCELENT< BEYOND MY EXPECTATIONS Air fryer turned out perfect was crispy and juicy, flavors were completely awesome , wife and son raved, as a perfectionist cook I was completely satisfied with the outcome,
    GREAT RECIPE THANK YOU

  128. 4 stars
    This recipe was amazing! Only downfall was the breading sticking to the chicken after cooking! I will be making again!

  129. This was a hit! The hubby and kids both loved it. (They are all picky eaters.) I was nervous because previously I tried another copycat recipe and it didn’t come out. This recipe was perfect. I followed the recipe exactly except I marinated the chicken for an hour instead of 30 mins. The sauce was on point! It was so, so good! I will definitely be making it again. Thank you!

  130. 1 star
    Cook times were way under for pan frying and the Airfryer. And the flour batter tastes much sweeter than an actual chic-fil-a sandwich. I would not add powdered sugar to the mixture if doing this again. The sauce recipe was good. Not my favorite recipe overall, though.

  131. 4 stars
    Great flavors! Easy to follow recipe EXCEPT there are different air fryers and mine is the Power Air Fryer Pro and it takes 30-40 minutes for the chicken to cook at 375 degrees not 15! That’s a huge difference when trying to plan a meal do just make sure you know the cooking times for your machine before you get started

  132. Followed recipe exactly as written. The chicken & sauce was delicious, family loved it. Before marinating the halved chicken, lightly pounded the chicken with rolling pin. After taking out of marinade, placed chicken on sheets of paper towel and covered top with more sheets of paper towel to make sure they were dry. Shook of excess flour after dredging. Chilled the breaded chicken about 30 min (help breading adhere better to the chicken) before frying in hot peanut oil. Thank you, delicious.

  133. This was so yummy taste just like Chic fi la no complaints from me and my family fresh and made from my hands was the best. Thanks for sharing the recipe…….Btw when I read the comments people were saying negative things about how it didn’t taste exactly like Chic fi la well when it’s homemade it’s not going to exactly taste like it….. we enjoyed every bit of it thanks so much

  134. 1 star
    The only thing good about this recipe is the sauce. My kids hated the chicken. I tried frying and air frying, spicy and not. Chicken shouldn’t taste like pickle juice. Nuggets cooked better than sandwich size pieces. The coating fell off the large pieces.

  135. 5 stars
    My family was skeptical when I told them I was making their beloved CFA sandwhiches — but they DEVOURED these!

    We happened to have a bottle of the chik-fil-a sauce on hand that they now sell, so it made them even more easy and delicious!

    Thanks for sharing!!!

  136. It’s an ok recipe but it’s not chick fil a. I have the actual recipe and let me tell you it’s amazing down to the drippings just like the real thing. Best advice is to deep fry in peanut oil instead of pan fry if you try this recipe.

  137. 4 stars
    This was really delicious and I really love how you can taste the pickle-y ness because that’s how Chick Fil A makes their chicken taste. I think it should be marinated at least an hour and not just 30 minutes but other than that, I’m so amazed. Definitely not going back to Chick Fil A when I can make this at home.

  138. 5 stars
    Tastes better from scratch! I marinated my chicken for a couple of hours and used one coating instead of double. The sauce is fantastic as well. Well loved by the whole family.

  139. My family loved this. Its really good . the chicken has to be thin in order for it to cook all the way. The oil has to be just right. I tried this with chicken tenders and they came out really good as well.

  140. 5 stars
    My family enjoys this very much! I actually pounded out the chicken some to even it out. I did not make the sauce because we buy the niceness dipping sauce at Walmart. Lol. Taste just like Chick-Fil-A sauce. Thanks for the recipe.

  141. Just for kicks, I soaked lightly breaded FROZEN chicken tenders I bought at Grocery Outlet, overnight in a big pickle jar with left over juice. Baked them for 20 min on 355 in my airfrier. Worked great. The sauce recipe is perfect according to my 15 yr old son. He wants this every Friday night now. 🙂 I’ll try the fresh chicken next time. but this saved time…

  142. 5 stars
    Fantastic!! I used fermented pickle juice from my Bubbie’s pickles ( dont know if it makes a difference) I made a batch with the double coating and a batch with just one coating. I prefer the single coating, other than that, this was amazing!!!

  143. I made this tonight. As an expat living in the U.K. we miss chick fil a. I worked there while in high school in the 80’s, there was no sauce on the sandwiches, only buttered buns with pickle slices. I’ve stuck to that version. I also know there is no sugar in the batter. Flour, salt, pepper, paprika and baking powder are all I used. I opted for the air fryer version. My adaptations to your recipe worked a treat. Work work well if doing chicken nuggets as well. Thank you.

  144. 1 star
    I think the peanut oil is the key to Chick fil A chicken. I did everything else, because I’m not one of those people who doctors a recipe and then rates it badly, but didn’t have peanut oil and it tasted nothing like it. It had no flavor. Even more annoyingly – and I should have anticipated this when I saw the dipping process start with egg – as soon as I bit into it the chicken literally slid out of the sandwich and across the table, leaving me a bun filled with breading and nothing else. Total disappointment.

  145. 5 stars
    The basic ingredient for this recipe is patience. don’t rush, it says 30 minutes to marinate, 2 hours is better. really breaks down the meatb and provided a really juicy texture. *Don’t marinate over night, way too much, a few hours at best! Use an oil thermometer, I set the temp to 330°. slower cooking helped from drying it out and better color. I also cut and pounded down the chicken to make sure the pieces were as even as possible to avoid a thin side that would dry out. I was a bit surprised how thick my chicken was when it was cooked. It seemed to puff up. I could have made the first ones smaller..aka bun size this is a great recipe. the sauce is pretty darn close

    1. I am planning to make this tomorrow. Do you think it would be better to halve the chicken breasts instead of using the whole?

  146. Breading burns way faster than chicken will be done choose a very thin cut if you follow this recipe. Sauce is okay but I add a little more yellow mustard and barbecue to make it more like cfa sauce.

  147. 4 stars
    I tried this a few times, and I am going to give it another attempt. This will be my third time. The first time the chicken was wayyyyyyyy too salty. So the second time I made it I added more water to my brine and less salt. This was almost perfect, but now it wasn’t salty enough. I’ve seen many recipes add MSG and dry milk to the batter, so I am going to try that so we get that umami flavor. We shall see!!! Overall, not bad at all!!

  148. 1 star
    Amanda Says was right! I wish I read her review and listened before wasting time, energy, and chicken attempting this recipe. The flour coating overall was a mess. The flour mixture didn’t stick to the chicken prior to being cooked or even after, it was too sweet and outside of the sweetness there was no flavor what so ever.

  149. 1 star
    I have no idea why mine didn’t turn out 5 star quality. I followed this to a T and thought it tasted NOTHING like Chick-Fil-A. It was way to sweet. Tasted like I was eating a funnel cake coated chicken breast. Not only did the breading crumble off as it was handled but it had no flavor.

    1. 1 star
      I had the same problem. I baked it per directions and it was a disaster. The batter was so sweet. The sauce was delicious though!

  150. 5 stars
    Loved it! My CFA loving husband said it was better than CFA and something you’d expect to be served at an upscale bistro. Small changes I made was to add a couple of tablespoons of Bisquick and omit the water and chili powder. Didn’t make a sauce because I was pressed for time, used lots of pickle slices instead. Also, I used Aldi red bag chicken and Aldi brioche buns. Really delicious!

  151. This was a great copycat. I added just a touch of dill to the flour. I also let the chicken marinade for a about 12hr(not intentionally). However the result was a chicken breast so juicy and tender you couldn’t imagine. Basically this recipe was everything I need in my life 😍

    1. Hi i have the chicken in the pickle juice in the fridge but i noticed the chicken seems to be cooking in it. Turning white.. is this normal/ safe to cook and eat?

    1. 5 stars
      I loved this recipe! Everything tasted great. We didn’t use the sauce because I prefer their honey roasted bbq sauce to the Chicken-FilA sauce but the chicken turned out AWESOME!!

  152. This was a great copy cat recipe! My family loved it. Thanks. Ill be using this sauce for everything!!!

  153. This did not taste like a chick fil a sandwich at all. There was no flavor. The sauce was great however.

    1. No copycat recipe will taste exactly like chick fil la unless you use MSG. It is in both the chicken and breading and is the reason they are so addictive.

  154. 4 stars
    Good recipe. I forgot about the chicken marinating in pickle juice & ended up marinating for 3 days, which made it very tender. However, definitely not a copycat for Chick Fil A.

  155. I made this tonight…After marinating in a 1/2 jar of Claussen dill pickle juice for 3 hours; I pounded the breasts down some. THEN… I made some “tweaks” for the breading and the egg-wash so that this recipe was also KETO-friendly! I used unswtnd. coconut 🥥 milk (w/ a squirt of Stevia) instead of milk and used finely ground almond flour instead of white flour. I oven baked in some melted coconut 🥥 oil and cut each breast in half and melted colby-jack cheese on each serving; then placed in a low-carb tortilla wrap because I didn’t have enough ingredients for my low-carb buns. I added shredded lettuce, bacon 🥓 (optional), a Claussen pickle slice, and a lil’ sugar-free honey 🍯 bbq sauce. Supper was a huge success!

  156. 5 stars
    I made this for my family and it was great I never knew Chick-fil-A use pickle juice for the nuggets.It taste just like it! This is great for quarantine.I would totally recommend this!

  157. I made this and it was a big hit! The only substitution I made was I used buttermilk instead of water with the pickle juice. (Only because I had extra and wanted to use it up) And then, I let it marinate for two days because I forgot about it. It was amazing!!! Sauce was right on, if not better, since it lacked the chemically taste in packaged sauce.

    1. The chicken was delicious! But… Don’t you want to first put the marinated chicken in the flour then egg and repeat? I did egg first like you said and all the batter fell off.

    1. That sounds like a really bad idea. I really hope whatever you did turned out well, but if not, please don’t judge this recipe by your experience using ground chicken. It’s more or less the equivalent of trying a steak recipe with ground beef. It’s never going to be anywhere close. Like I said, I hope it turned it well, but I implore you to do this the right way in the future.

  158. 5 stars
    Sauce was on point! and we baked the chicken but wished we fried it. The flavor was still good but it stuck to our wire rack (our fault forgot to spray with oil) next time we will fry it.

  159. 5 stars
    Pretty close to the real deal. The breading did fall off during the cooking process though but it was most likely me and it didn’t really change the overall taste because I scooped out the breading from the oil and put it back on the sandwich after patting it dry (don’t judge).

    Overall, this was extremely enjoyable (especially when I don’t have to leave the house) and will be a repeat offender in my household

  160. 5 stars
    I’ve never had chick-fil-a but my husband requested I make a ‘copycat’ so I found this. Was my first time frying chicken and it was not as scary as I expected! The directions are great and they came out amazing.

  161. The batter was off; it was too cake-like. I think the baking powder is the wrong ingredient but the chicken had a similar taste to Chik Fil A.

  162. 4 stars
    Thank you for posting this recipe. My daughter was craving a Chick-fil-a sandwich and with the quarantine I was hesitant to go out to buy it. I made some modifications to the brine (added a few additional ingredients), but nonetheless it turned out to be a success! Everyone in my home LOVED it.

  163. 5 stars
    An absolute hit in our household! Thank you for this AMAZING recipe! Lots of work but so worth it.

  164. 5 stars
    The spicy chicken sandwich came out ahh-mazing! I marinated the chicken in dill pickle juice for several hours. I didn’t have peanut oil so I used olive oil. I also pounded the chicken so the thickness was was the same. The sauce was really good too! Very similar to the real one. This definitely hit the spot! It saved us a trip of having to go out during this quarantine.

  165. Worst recipe ever. Waste of time for disappointing result. Not worth going off my diet for, that is for sure.

  166. 3 stars
    This was a frustrating endeavor. Like others, I experienced all of the coating falling off of the cooked chicken. Also, there’s no way the chicken will be done in the middle with only 2-3 minutes of cooking on each side. If I ever make these again, not sure that I will, I will pound the chicken breasts down to only 1/2″ thickness. I ended up having to cut my chicken breasts down to 1″ strips to get them to cook through. In the meantime, the crust got overcooked and very, very dark brown. That is the crust that managed to stay on the breasts, most of it fell off after the first trip into the oil. The flavor of the chicken was good, but it was a true mess and very disheartening. The best I can possibly give is 3 stars.

  167. 5 stars
    Both the chicken and sauce were excellent! I used vinegar for the pickle juice because we don’t like pickles and didn’t have any. I never had Chic-Fil-A but I’ll have to try it for comparison now. I usually don’t fry foods but this was worth the exception!

    1. Try breading the chicken by doing the flour mixture first, then the egg, then flour again. All the breading fell off of mine the first time I tried too, but the second time I did flour first and it stayed on so much better.

  168. 4 stars
    One glaring omission: it’s not a Chick Fil A without 2 pickle slices on the bottom bun. My son’s friend works there, and it is a MUST! Look at real pictures, and you’ll see the pickle slices! Otherwise, good recipe! The sauce was great!

  169. 5 stars
    Great recipe. Tried both ways of frying in a pan and cooking them in an air fryer and both tasted yummy. My family just kept raving about how yummy they were. Marinating them in the pickle juice really makes the chicken juicy. Thanks!

  170. Wasn’t exactly like chic fil a but it was amazing! I used king Arthur Flour gluten free flour so that is probably why it didn’t come out similar to it. The flavor was all the way there . I did add garlic powder and onion powder and a wee bit of complete seasoning .

    1. Could you please state what the difference was? I’m a Celiac and really wanted to try this! Maybe we could try another flour? Anyone else try a substitute? My kids love the real thing–they can have gluten, thank goodness. Thanks!

  171. 3 stars
    WAAAAY too much sugar. The breading was so sweet that it overpowered everything. I will try this again but with far less sugar and more seasonings like onion powder, celery salt, and a pinch of garlic.
    The pickle juice did a great job of keeping the chicken tender and moist.

    1. Careful how you measure powdered sugar. if you scoop it like regular sugar it’s VERY easy to get quite a bit more sugar than you think you are getting. Up to 20-25 percent more.

      Do it like for flour. Fluff it up a bit and then scoop and scrape.

  172. 5 stars
    This was really good, honestly. It tastes better than the original. The sauce is fantastic, I was hesitant at first but it came together really nice. One thing I would change though is instead of flour, use panko bread crumbs. It doesn’t burn nearly as fast and gives it a crunchy texture. Improvise! Apart from that, it was really just awesome!

  173. 5 stars
    So good, made it for our neighbors for game night. This, every bit of this recipe, is a keeper. Double dipping is the key, and the sauce goes in any sandwich!

  174. 5 stars
    I made this lastnight, let just say that this best chicken Sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. The chicken was so juicy and tender. for the breading I did a-mixture of flour and cornstarch, I really wanted that crunch. And I marinated the chicken 1/2 cup pickle juice and 1cup butter milk and salt and black pepper to marinate. I added cayenne for the kick of spicy you mentioned. It was so good! I’ve shared my recipes with my loved ones and followers. Thank you for this amazing recipe!

  175. Question: Would you recommend butterflying thicker chicken breasts or pounding them to a uniform thickness? I’m really looking forward to trying this recipe!

  176. Chick Fil A pulls and tears their chicken breast to create more peaks and valleys for breading and frying for extra crispy and tender vs. large muscle bites

  177. 5 stars
    This is an excellent recipe. We have one near us, but in a mall food court. Spot on. You also have a lovely smile! Thank you for sharing this. My wife and I thank you!

    1. 5 stars
      THANKS FOR THIS VERSION!
      I’ve tried the CFA sandwich recipe from Serious Eats, twice now, and I wasn’t happy. Your double dipping method makes so much sense.
      And your sauce is perfect!

  178. Just found your website today thru Facebook. I have already booked mark on my phone. Just a question on the Chick-fil-A Crispy chicken sandwich; what kind of pickle juice did you use dill or sweet?

    Thanks so much, I think I’m going to enjoy your website.

  179. The chicken was really tasty with a nice crunchy crust. My 7 year old daughter said it was better than Chick-fil-A. I did not make the sauce but will try it out next time. Thanks for the recipe!

  180. I’ve been all about copycat recipes recently! I tackled the chick-fil-a chicken too…it was good, but not as close as I was hoping. I may give it another shot one day soon!