Chick-fil-A Copycat Chicken Sandwiches in the Air Fryer
Are you a fan of Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches?
You should definitely consider making this copycat recipe at home in your air fryer! It’s an easy meal idea, plus something I know my entire family gets excited to have for dinner (because they love anything Chick-fil-A)!
In fact, these copycat Chick-fil-A nuggets from a previous post are a big hit with my kids, and they turn out delicious in my air fryer. Today I’m sharing a similar idea, but served up as a crispy chicken sandwich that’s satisfying and so YUMMY.
Hip Tip: Eating keto? Check out our Pickle-Brined Keto Southern Fried Chicken Bites!
Wanna guess the two key ingredients for the BEST copycat Chick-fil-A?
Dill pickles and powdered sugar! Yep, those are two very specific flavors that are in the restaurant’s chicken! Crunchy Vlasic dill pickle slices are my favorite to use with this recipe, and the juice makes a flavorful marinade for the chicken. The powdered sugar makes for a slightly sweet breading that’s delicious, too.
There’s some prep work involved, but it’s simple!
You’re gonna want the chicken to be pretty thin, so this is where a meat tenderizer mallet comes in handy! Thinning out your chicken will help it cook faster and evenly in the air fryer. Then the chicken gets dipped in a milk/egg mixture and dredged in the flour mixture.
Hip Tip: Grease the inside basket of the air fryer first so your chicken won’t stick. I use my handy olive oil sprayer. I also recommend giving the top a little spray before cooking, so it will crisp up nicely.
Air Fryer Copycat Chick-fil-a Chicken Sandwich
yield: 4 SERVINGS
prep time: 10 MINUTES
cook time: 12 MINUTES
total time: 22 MINUTES
These dill pickle marinated chicken sandwiches will have Chick-fil-A fans raving over this simple homemade version of their fried chicken sandwich made in the air fryer!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken boneless skinless breasts, about 12-16 oz.
- 3/4 cup Vlassic dill pickle juice from jar
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 hamburger buns
- fixings like tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, and pickle slices as desired
Directions
1
Filet chicken breasts in half lengthwise using a sharp knife. Pound chicken using a tenderizer until about 1/2 inch thick.
2
Pour pickle juice into a bowl or plastic gallon bag, and marinate chicken for about 30 minutes or so.
3
Grease air fryer basket with cooking spray or oil. I use an olive oil mister.
4
Mix flour, powdered sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside.
5
Whisk together egg and milk in another bowl and set aside.
6
Take the chicken out of the bag, and discard the marinade. Dip chicken in the egg mixture and then in the flour mixture. Shake a little of the flour mixture off, as you don't actually want a ton on there.
7
Place chicken in the greased air fryer. I was able to fit two pieces of chicken in my air fryer at a time.
8
Cook at 370 degrees for about 11-13 minutes, or until desired brown-ness. Use tongs to flip it halfway cook time.
9
Once finished, cut chicken in half, and place on a hamburger bun. Add desired fixings like pickles and mayonnaise. My kids actually enjoy ranch dressing on these.
Alternate Oven Directions: Bake in the oven on a sheet pan at 400 degrees, for about 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through. Turn halfway through cook time.
Chick-fil-A success!
I love the crunchy texture and taste this chicken has – so yum! You can top these however you’d like. My kids wanted ranch dressing, and I added dill pickles, mayo, lettuce, and tomato. Overall, my family enjoyed this easy dinner idea so much! I even served them up alongside some waffle fries from the freezer section.
Looks delicious, Lina! Thanks for sharing.
Awww yes! Thanks so much for the sweet comment. ❤️
Thanks Lina! Im excited to try this one. Love your recipes
Thanks Denise! Enjoy ❤️
How would you make this when following a keto diet??? Any advice??? As always thank you for everything you do!
I would either bread it with almond flour or ground pork rinds. Omit sugar altogether or use the Swerve powdered sugar substitute…You can still do the pickle marinade. 👍 hope that helps!
Can you do a copy cat of the chick-fil-a spicy chicken sandwich next?! Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh thanks for the suggestion!
I know what we are eating tomorrow…thanks Lina! Btw love your nail polish color, too cute.
Ah thanks Jackie!!
Hi Lina, I noticed you’re not using your Power XL airfryer, but a Nuwave in this post. Do you use both or have you switched to the Nuwave? My Power XL airfryer might be on the fritz and I might be in the market for a new one. Just curious on your suggestions since I love all that you do!
Aw thanks!! So I do have both brands- my Nuwave is larger so I find myself using that one more. Funny I had the fries cooking in the Power XL at the same time. LOL -I enjoy BOTH brands 👍
I SO appreciate the “alternative” cooking options!!! (we don’t have an air fryer) looking forward to trying this one out!!!
Now we need a copycat of their chicken salad sandwich! I quit going there when they discontinued it because that was our favorite.
I haven’t tried it but there are several links on pinterest that look the same.
https://themarthareview.com/scrumptious-chicken-salad-sandwich/
Oh interesting! I never tried it but sounds yum!
Thanks for this recipe. When I printed the recipe, I got an ad smack in the middle of the recipe. Can that be fixed?
oh darn I will pass that along to our team!
I had a tough time with this recipe. All of the breading fell off. Any tips?
Hmm I’m not sure what may have happened, as i didn’t have that experience. Wondering if you needed to pat dry the chicken first maybe. I found these tips that may apply : https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/breaded-chicken-tips/
Always put chicken in flour, it doesn’t have to be a lot, just a thin coating, then egg, then flour again. This works for anything breaded. Hope That helps.
Same problem, twice 🙁
I made for supper and it was a huge hit with the family! I consider myself a sub-par cook….so the tips on patting the chicken dry were helpful as clumping is always an issue for me.
I followed the recipe exactly and had a ton of the flour mixture leftover. Next time I will half the four, but keep the other ingredients the same.
Tried the recipe tonight. Tasted good! Just that the chicken doesn’t look appetizing. Thank you!
Could you use this recipe and make chicken nuggets and just cut the chicken into pieces?
We have a recipe here for those: https://hip2save.com/recipes/copycat-chick-fil-a-nuggets-air-fryer/
Thank you so much for adding a oven option for this us that dont have a air fryer. God bless your family I love this site:) Thanks Tina Marie
Oh you’re so welcome – enjoy!
I have tried this recipe twice with high hopes. Both times, my breading has come off. First time it got stuck to my air fryer basket, 2nd time I placed holed parchment paper on my basket and it still peeled off when i flipped the chicken. I’m so bummed, had high hopes
Is it a must that I use powdered sugar can I omit it all together?
Yes you can omit.