Copycat Chick-fil-A Sandwich
You won’t believe how easy this copycat recipe is, and it tastes 100000x better than the original! You can’t beat that!
When you live 1.34 miles away from Chick-fil-A, it’s only natural to pick up a Chick-fil-A sandwich on a weekly basis. But since I have already tried re-creating their nuggets, I finally gave their sandwich a try, and I am happy to report back that we may never have to go through that drive-thru lane ever again.
The sandwich is made similar to their nuggets, except you’ll be using thin sliced chicken cutlets here. You can also use chicken breast, butterflied and pounded out, but either way, this sandwich will knock your socks off.
It’s amazingly crisp, juicy and tender, and you can load up your burger with plenty of pickles, greens and tomatoes, which are all three toppings they tend to skimp on! You can also prep the chicken beforehand, pop it in the fridge, and cook it right before serving. Easy peasy!
Copycat Chick-fil-A Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup dill pickle juice
- 1 ½ cups milk, divided
- 1 cup peanut oil
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For serving
- 4 hamburger buns, split
- 1 head green leaf lettuce, leaves separated
- 1 beefsteak tomato, sliced
- Dill pickle slices
Instructions
- Place a chicken breast on a cutting board. With your hand flat on top of it, carefully slice the chicken in half horizontally. Trim excess fat as needed.
- In a large shallow baking dish, combine chicken, pickle juice and 1/2 cup milk; marinate for at least 30 minutes. Drain well.
- Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- In another large shallow baking dish, whisk together remaining 1 cup milk and egg. Stir in chicken to coat and drain excess milk mixture.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken, flour and confectioners' sugar; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve chicken immediately on burger buns with green leaf lettuce, tomato and pickles.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I made this for dinner last night. My fiancé and my son (29) absolutely raved about them. They each ate two. Like many others, I added a little paprika just for color. I also double dredged the chicken breasts before frying. I personally thought my piece was a little too thick to serve on a regular size bun. The next time I make this, I will marinate overnight for more added flavor because it does seem to be lacking something (spices).
I rated it 5 stars because 1) I am a pretty picky eater and 2) My family LOVED them! Good job. Thank you.
By simply adding SPP (salt pepper paprika) to the dredge or coating, you can get the spice profile you’re seeking. To me, it’s a given that the coating should be seasoned, so I didn’t even consider not making this without adding SPP.
So good! I made this twice now. Second time, I air fryer and it was just as good as fried! Marinade plus the bit if confectioners sugar really make this recipe yummy!!
Whole family likes it!!
For how long did you AF? At what temperature? Thanks!
First I have to say my chicken marinated for two days because I was so tired after work, but it was perfect.
So good!
Will the pickle juice give this a pickle taste? I always ask my sandwiches for no pickle as I despise how pickle taste.
I hate pickles and I have made this recipe over and over. It makes the chicken juicy and not dry at all. You should absolutely try it. The first time I bought a jar of pickles and never ate them so I gave them to my brother haha. After that, family started saving the juice for me.
This is absolutely delicious and tastes JUST LIKE Chik Fil A!
I substituted almond flour baking mix because of my gluten allergy and tapioca flour. Worked like a charm. I’ve bookmarked this for future use!
20/10 DEFINITELY Recommend.
How much almond flour and tapioca flour did you use? I’m have celiac too.
This was delicious. I did not change a thing. My husband loves Chik Fil A. And has been craving during pandemic. Wow. We are impressed. Making him again today. Thank you. Pickle juice was cheap on Amazon for those who wondered. Thank you. Happy Hickey House
OK this is cheating! There, I’ve said that. Can we all agree the hardest part is getting the chicken right? I love the chick-fil-A sandwich, but don’t have a location very close; it would be cold by the time we got it home, and in the age of COVID don’t like indoor dining. My solution is to buy chicken strips at a nearby KFC or Popeye’s drive-up (the chicken strips can be reheated in the oven) and use that as your starting point.
Absolutely delicious !!! I added a tiny bit of Panko breadcrumbs for extra crispiness, and my husband added Cayenne and Parpika into his breading for the spicy sandwich option ! This was a total success and super delicious ! Added to the recipe book for sure !!!
I absolutely loved this recipe, it tasted exactly like my favorite place, Chick fil A , my husband and teenager couldnt believe i made it taste like theirs, thank you soo much .
Can someone who air fried it let me know for about how long. I love but really I am trying for a healthier alternative.
Thanks
This recipe may not taste exactly like the restaurant, but it is very close and I think the author is correct, it’s a lot better because I can add to it. I used 8 tenderloins that I beat a little with the meat tenderizer. I marinated for about 3 hours, then I used only 1/2 cup milk to one egg(1 C milk is a bit too runny) then I dipped in the flour mixture and cooked in my cast iron skillet with a mix of bacon grease and veggie oil (no peanut oil on hand) the key to making sure the breading remains is to have a very hot pan(which is why cast iron is good) it cooked up beautifully and it was amazing! I used a copy cat sauce to drizzle on top, used a toasted, buttered bun, lettuce and pickles(we don’t eat tomatoes) and coupled it with tater tots. It was an amazingly easy sandwich to make. It’s now on my list of make again meals!
These were totally delicious! I split the two chicken breasts into 10 small pieces to make sliders, and they came out perfectly. Buttered buns and pickles made them taste pretty much exactly like Chick-fil-A’s.
I lost my old copy cat recipe for these but this was basically the same thing. I never brine in pickle juice. I used to work at Chick-fil-A and they don’t do that. Still came out amazing and very similar to the original. For those having problems with breading make sure your oil is hot enough. I really think it’s the powdered sugar and peanut oil that give it the same taste. So good! Thank you for sharing.
I rarely eat out because i do it better at home and this is a crazy good sandwich amazingly fresh and just as good if not better than your best chic fil a sandwich. Make sure to use a nicely toasted brioche bun for that extra crunch!
This was excellent. I also recommend buttering the buns and getting a crisp on them for a savory taste with it. Very tasty though and very closely resembles chick fil a!
I have a question, what is the peanut oil used for? Is it necessary or can I use vegetable oil
I used vegetable oil and it turned out great
Peanut oil cuts down on smoke and has a higher burn.
I don’t normally do review but I tried this recipe and as an avid Chick fil a customer, I did not see the resemblance and after double battering it still fell apart. It wasn’t a bad tasting chicken sandwich it definitely not chick fil a.
I want to make this but I don’t have pickle juice. Any substitutes?
go buy some pickles for petes sake, there is only three items to make this. Do you want to substitute the chicken too?
You’re a jerk
The brine out of an olive jar??? Caper juice?
Do not use salt based brines. If anything use a 50/50 vinegar water mixture with salt
A brine is salt based.
Yes vinegar is the substitute. The pickle juice turns the milk into butter milk. Which 1 tablespoon of vinegar will do the same.
It’s all about the brine and the rest. Fantastic. I
I added a ton of different spices and then added hot sauce in my milk/egg mixture. After dredging in the flour, put the chicken on sheet pan to rest. 5-10 min.
I had a lot of frying to do as I had tenderloins. Giving the piece a time to rest helps the breeding adhere properly.
I used vegetable oil- it’s what I had on hand. Came out great. Entire family ate them up.