Move over, Popeye’s! There’s a new “Fried” Chicken Sandwich in town, and this one is much healthier than the fast food version!
I’m not sure that there is a more beautiful food combination than crispy chicken, soft bread, creamy mayo, and tangy pickles. This hits all of the flavor and texture notes out there. So simple yet so delicious!
I tried to maintain all of the best parts of that traditional fried chicken sandwich, while cutting back on the fat and oil. Just small changes like turns something like this from an occasional treat into a weekly staple. We’ve already made these 5 times in the two weeks I’ve tested the recipe out!
The star, of course, is the chicken. My goal was to get as close to the coated texture of a deep fried version. I mean, it looks pretty close to me!
I’ve found that the key to getting that chunky kind of breaded coating is to add a bit of milk to your flour mixture. That creates clumps that mimic the thicker batter and fried quality.
I also opted for a thickened egg wash instead of a traditional buttermilk marinade. This makes for a thicker coating, as the buttermilk and flour combo tends to slide off if you’re not deep frying.
This is what my version looks like before it’s cooked.
The breading looks just like real fried chicken, thanks to those small hacks! Just coat with cooking spray, and then you’re ready to cook it up.
What is the best way to cook the chicken?
If you have an air fryer, that is definitely the best way to cook these up. Don’t worry if you don’t, though. I’ve tried making it in the oven and skillet. Both are doable!
The air fryer is the quickest, easiest, and most consistent method. The oven also works, though it takes longer and requires that you flip halfway through.
The skillet is my least favorite way to make these. It requires more oil and the breading can tend to cook unevenly. But you can definitely make it work!
Assembling the sandwiches
You have a lot of different options for making the sandwiches to your taste. We prefer spicy sandwiches in this house, so I add cayenne to the breading and hot sauce to the mayo. The pickles cut through the richness of the chicken, making for the perfect combo!
These are also great served burger-style, with regular mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The points won’t change, and the macros will basically remain the same if you eat them this way.
The buns depend on what you like. Brioche buns are great here, but regular hamburger buns will obviously work, too. Sesame buns could add a little extra flavor and crunch.
We’re going to get creative with these in the future, too. We’ve talked about chicken parmesan sandwiches, Korean fried chicken sandwiches, Nashville hot chicken sandwiches. I mean, the list goes on! I’ll definitely share our (successful) experiments with you. For now, enjoy the classic!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there.
If you like fast food copycat recipes, you have to try out my Fast Food-Style Chicken Nuggets!
“Fried” Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 large ones, cut in half)
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional for a spicy chicken sandwich)
- 3 1/2 tbsp almond milk, divided (or skim milk)
- 1 large egg
- oil cooking spray
- 4 tbsp light mayo
- 1-2 tbsp hot sauce
- 4 hamburger buns
- dill pickle slices
Instructions
- Pound the chicken breasts out to even thickness. Pat chicken very dry with paper towels. Set aside on a cutting board.
- Create your breading station. In one bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, and seasonings. In another bowl, whisk together egg and 2 tbsp almond milk. Whisk 1 tbsp of the seasoned flour into the egg/almond milk mixture.
- Coat chicken in seasoned flour mixture. Set chicken aside.
- Add remaining 1 1/2 tbsp of milk to the seasoned flour blend. Mix the milk through the flour with a fork or your fingers until you see some small clumps of flour in the mixture.
- Dip flour-coated chicken into egg mixture and let excess drain off. Place chicken into seasoned flour mixture and press the flour into chicken. Gently shake off excess and set on cutting board. Let set for about 5 minutes. Then spray both sides of the chicken with cooking spray–enough to lightly coat the breading.
- FOR ALL METHODS, make sure you let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before eating. This will set the juices of the chicken and the breading.
FOR THE AIR FRYER (recommended method)
- Cook at 400F for 18-24 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken.
FOR THE OVEN
- Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400F for 20 minutes. Gently flip chicken, then bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
FOR THE SKILLET
- Add 2 tsp oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Swirl to coat the pan with the oil, then add chicken. Cook for 7-10 minutes, flip and cook for a remaining 7-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Check the crust often to make sure it doesn't burn.
ASSEMBLE THE SANDWICHES
- Mix together mayo and hot sauce.
- Lightly toast hamburger buns. Spread mayo mixture evenly across all 4 bottom buns. Lay pickle slices on top of mayo.
- Place chicken on pickles. Top with more hot sauce, if desired. Place bun on top and enjoy!
OMG. This was so good. Best chicken I’ve had from the air fryer hands down! This will be in the regular rotation.
Hi! I love this recipe BUT the first time, the breading slipped off chicken in the oven??? What did I do wrong? Should I pat the chicken dry first maybe?? Making this tonight again though, very excited. Thank you!!!
Definitely pat the chicken as dry and you can get it. Also, make sure you let the egg mixture drip off quite a bit. Hope it turns out great!!
Thanks!!! Loved your live show 🙂 and you really cleared it all up!!! You’re wonderful!!! Thanks, Janeen
Thank you, Janeen!!
Best Air Fryer Chicken Sandwich that actually is crispy!! So glad I found this recipe as I will be making it over and over! Thank you!
Have you ever tried to make this with gluten free flour? Looks amazing just have some celiac over here 🙂
I just did that on my Instagram TV on Sunday!! Turned out great. I used Bob’s Red Mill flour in place of the regular all purpose.
Do the points include the bun? Thank you!
Yep! A 4-point hamburger bun is included in the points.
Made this tonight after watching your live show how to make it on Instagram and omg it’s the most amazing sandwich and chicken is so tasty!!!!! Thank you for creating such wonderful recipes!!
So good to hear, Deanna! I’m glad the live show helped. Thank you for your support!
Made two batches of these tonight – one spicy and one not just to suit everyone’s tastes at our house. We did some in the air fryer and some in the oven – the air fryer version won by a very slim margin! They were all delicious!! Excited to try these reheat it tomorrow and crisped back up a bit in the air fryer.
I made this recipe and your special sauce for dinner. Super delicious! I’m so impressed with your technique on the coating. Crispy!! I sliced my chicken breasts in half and used my air fryer. The special sauce…. oh my!!! I did re-watch your live which helped with everything. Thanks so much!!
Yay!! Thank you for the wonderful comment.
I just tried this out using my air fryer for the very first time! It was amazing! My entire family including picky kids loved it! The outside was perfectly crisp and the inside moist! Will definitely be making this again!
I’ve made this recipe 3 times and it comes out great and really hits that fried food craving! It’s nice to eat something WW friendly and not feel like its diet food!
What brand of buns did you buy? They look amazing!
Brioche Buns from Aldi!
Really enjoyed this. I have been craving fried chicken sandwiches and this definitely hits the spot! I had an extra chicken breast, so I chopped it up and made nuggets too. The breading technique is perfect for this! Can’t wait to have them on my salad tomorrow. So great. Thank you!
This sandwich was so flavorful! Amazing quality (even good for lunch the next day). Already planning to try the buffalo version next week
I made these last night and my entire family loved them, my son said they were, “bussin’ “-that’s a good thing:). I made some in the air fryer and in the oven, both were amazing taste wise, but the air fryer cooked them more evenly. Thank you for making me look like a super chef!
This is so good to hear, Maria! It’s always a plus when you can impress the fam. The air fryer is definitely my preferred cooking method, too. Thank you for sharing the love!
Crispy and delicious! Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Yay!!! Thank you for the review. 😀
Your picture of the chicken looks so good. Not sure what happened when I made mine in the air fryer. I have a small air fryer that only held 2 pieces. I probably cooked my chicken too long. I cooked it for 17 minutes. The crust came out so hard (like jerky). The chicken wasn’t over cooked, but I could see a little flour on the coating, and it wasn’t golden brown. I did spray with cooking oil before adding to air fryer. I fried the other 2 chicken breasts in a skillet. They came good. The breading is very good, and the sandwich was not dried out.
I’ve heard other say that if they have smaller air fryers, their cook time is less. I have a large convection air fryer, so that might be the difference. Good ot know you liked them in the skillet, though.
I made this tonight but mine wasn’t super flavorful so what did I do wrong also it didn’t look like yours lol
With all of the spices in the mix, I’m not sure why it didn’t turn out as flavorful as you’d like. Maybe try seasoning the chicken breast with salt and pepper before breading it? Sorry it didn’t work for you!