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
Save Recipe

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?

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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
    Taste very good. However I can’t rate this recipe exact since I changed somethings. I only put in 1tsp of powder sugar. I prefer not to have it too sweet. The brine kept it nice and juicey. Next time, yes next time I will add more cayenne pepper because we like things more spicy. Also I think adding another egg in the milk wash will help keep the coating on better. Overall it was very yummy.

  2. 1 star
    Awful!! Do not bake none of the coating will stick even if you spray the baking rack. I’m so mad I wasted expensive, quality chicken on this recipe. Learn my lesson ugh!

  3. 5 stars
    Who doesn’t love a good copycat meal without the prices? This was a delicious meal to make and easy, although in Canada we don’t have a Chick-fil-A I can’t tell you if it’s comparable, however this was delicious and received both thumbs up from both kids, which really they are the hardest critics.

  4. 4 stars
    We tried baking them and they turned out awful! I then put them in oil to finish them. They actually had a better crust then. The flavor overall was really good. We enjoyed them…and I know I will be deep frying them next time. I also tenderized them, to thin them out, to ensure they would cook through. Otherwise, it’s a new recipe to keep in the house! It was amazing! Thanks!

  5. 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.

  6. 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!!!

  7. 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.

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