Copycat Chick-fil-A Sandwiches are every bit as tender and juicy as the original. Chicken is brined in pickle juice, dredged in an egg mixture and coated in seasoned flour-breading before being fried in peanut oil.
Never stand in a fast food line again after tasting this amazing copycat Chick-fil-A sandwich. Serve with fried mashed potato balls, sweet potato fries, or a Mediterranean pasta salad.
Copycat Chick-fil-A Sandwich
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How to Make a Chick-fil-A Sandwich
Copycat Chick-fil-A may seem like a somewhat elaborate sandwich to prepare, but it’s actually quite easy and the results are so worth it! It requires brining skinless boneless chicken cutlets for about an hour, then coating in a seasoned flour-breading before deep-frying in peanut oil.
- Brine the pounded chicken breasts in pickle juice for about an hour.
- Mix eggs & milk in bowl and flour, sugar and seasonings in another.
- Dredge chicken in egg mixture, then coat in seasoned flour breading.
- Fry each side until golden and browned.
Let rest on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil from frying. Then serve on lightly toasted hamburger buns, with the toppings of your choice.
What Is On It?
Copycat Chick-fil-A sandwiches are served on broiler-toasted hamburger buns with sliced pickles. You can also include a slice of American cheese, tomatoes or leaf lettuce according to your preference.
Mayonnaise is the classic condiment for a Chick-fil-A sandwich, but here’s where you can get creative. Top with honey mustard, Heinz 57 sauce, or ketchup.
A simple and delicious spread can be made by mixing a ½ cup of mayonnaise with 1 ½ tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Thousand Island dressing is also delicious on this sandwich.
How to Reheat a Chick-fil-A Sandwich
Refrigerate your copycat chicken sandwich (if there are any leftovers) but to enjoy this classic chicken sandwich fully, it should be served hot!
- For best results, reheat the chicken portion in a hot oven to crisp up the coating.
- Avoid using the microwave to heat because it will just make the coating soggy and toughen the chicken.
- Top with pickles or your favorite toppings and serve on lightly toasted hamburger buns!
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Copycat Chick-fil-A Sandwich recipe
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup dill pickle juice
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 cup peanut oil for frying
- 4 hamburger buns buttered and toasted
- pickle slices for topping
Instructions
- Put chicken in zip top bag and pound gently with the flat side of a mallet until about 1/2" thick.
- Cut each breast into 2 equal pieces. Marinate chicken in the pickle juice for about an hour.
- Beat together egg and milk in a bowl.
- Mix together the flour, sugar, and spices in another bowl.
- Heat the oil in a skillet to about 350°F.
- Dip each chicken piece into the egg covering both sides, then coat in flour on each side.
- Fry each chicken piece for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through.
- Place on paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Then serve on toasted buns with pickle slices.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
©The Shortcut Kitchen. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
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I was wondering if you can use chicken thighs?
Absolutely, chicken thighs are great in this recipe.
I would just like to say that this recipe is amazing. I did pat the chicken after marinating in the pickle juice. I also seasoned the flour AND the egg wash generously (with my lil heart)
Used HEB BBQ style pickle juice and pickles for garnish. Air fried some waffle fries and it was like I stepped into a chicky fil a ♥️
Homemade Chick fil A at home is always a treat! Thank you for some of your cooking suggestions. Have a great rest of your day!
Has anyone done this in the airfryer with positive results?
I haven’t tried this recipe in an air fryer. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. Just make sure that the chicken is cooked until it reaches 165°F. I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
❤️This is awesome!
Hi. Glad that you enjoyed this copycat sandwich.
Could you freeze the chicken after it’s been breaded and before cooking?
Hi Merri, we have never tried freezing the chicken after breading. My only concern is that the breading would not crisp up the same after being frozen. We would love to hear how it turns out for you though! Or maybe another reader can offer some guidance.
My suggestion for after freezing the cooked chicken is to take the chicken breast out-let thaw- and crisp for about 3-4 minutes in air fryer – I do this type of thing with my home cooked chicken strips and works like a charm.
Thank you for sharing, Debbie!
I have made this several times. To prevent the breading from falling off after brine pat dry dust in flour then into egg then into final flour. Without letting pieces touch on parchment paper place in refrigerator for 15 minutes before frying and make sure your oil is to temperature. When finished place on a cooling rack to allow oil to drip away
Thanks for the tips Judy!
Flavor was spot on!! Had a little trouble with the breading falling off (my bf suggested I “double coat” it so I did and it worked out better)! I also ate leftovers in a salad and ditched the bun – flavor was still soooo good – I didn’t even miss the bun 🙂 Will be making this again!
Glad that worked for you, Sarah. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe works really great! I’m dairy free and soy free right now and even with adaptations it taste just like chick fil a!!
Thank you for sharing Lara! So happy to hear that!
Delicious and easy recipe.. my breading was falling off after I fried it.. any tips on how to stop it from coming off?
Oh no! Sorry to hear that Lidiya. We find it helps to make sure the chicken breast is fully covered in the egg mixture before dipping it in the flour mixture.
This happened to me too Lidiya! My boyfriend suggested I do a “double coat”, so I did egg then flour, then egg then flour again. Some breading still came off but it worked a lot better!
You have to pat dry off the pickle juice really well.
Making this now, my daughter in law made yesterday, was delicious. I’m making today for me and hubby
I am gluten and dairy free, so I substituted the flour with gluten free flour and the milk with almond milk. Best chicken sandwich I’ve ever made! My gluten and dairy eating family loved it too! So happy to find something so close to a meal I haven’t had in 7 years. Thank you!
We made it as one of those; “Let’s give this a shot” ideas. Oh my dear Lord; you want to talk about spot on. We are now doing this recipe once every other week. Now I need to find one for their Spicy Chicken Sandwich.
Yay! So happy to hear that Douglas 🙂
can you make this in an airfryer
I haven’t tried this recipe in an air fryer. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. Just make sure that the chicken is cooked until it reaches 165F. Let us know how it works out for you Colleen!
I just made this. It is very good. Will make this again
So happy to hear that Debbie!
I’m from Canada, never had chick-fil-a. My husband is from Philadelphia had it on a regular basis growing up. I could eat this every day, such a great flavor, he said this is amazing and is now a regular thing we make!
That is awesome Heather! So happy you guys can enjoy this all the time now!
OMG!!
This is amazing. Trying ASAP.
Thank you <3
Enjoy Valerie!
Do you have to use peanut oil?
Peanut oil tolerates high heat, so it is a great oil for frying. You could try another oil, but you may find it smokes. Enjoy, Kristine!
Was so good! And much cheaper than Chick-fil-A. Thank you!!
So glad you loved it Ashley!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. The ingredients list on the first window was different than the directions section list. Where does the powdered milk come in.
Its powdered sugar..
No idea if it is authentic or not tastes very good though
What kind of pickle juice (dill, hamburger, sweet,)
Love this recipe. Tasted super close to Chick-fil-A! There seemed to be something missing, but I didn’t notice it until we actually went to Chick-Fil-A and my husband pointed it out. We love this one! Thanks for posting it!
I’ve had this pinned for a long time and finally decided to try it today for lunch. I was amazed! It really does taste just like Chik-Fil-A! Thanks so much for sharing! We’ll definitely add this into our rotation!
My breading falls off. How do you stop that ?
Can’t use peanut oil will it taste the same if I use canola oil.
Made these tonight and they were delicious! The hubs said he couldn’t tell the difference!
I tried this Chick Fil A sandwich a few months ago and it is definitely worth making. I’ve been Chick-Fil-A deprived since I moved to Arizona. I finally found my replacement.
If a subpar cook like myself can make this, anyone can.
Cheers,
Sabre P.
What brand and flavor of pickles? There are all kinds of dill, classic, kosher, hambuuger slices etc. Hienz/valasic mount olive..?
I have been wondering about marinating in pickle juice and will try that next! I have made other recipes using peanut oil, canola oil, and a combo of oils. The peanut oil tastes the most authentic.
does it need to be peanut oil? or can i use vegetable oil?
Chick-fil-a uses dill pickles
Do you use sweet or dill pickle juice?