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With a perfectly seasoned, golden brown coating and mouthwatering toppings, this fried chicken sandwich is sure to satisfy your cravings and leave you wanting more. Don’t settle for ordinary, elevate your sandwich game with this finger-licking deliciousness! Once you’ve tried this crispy chicken sandwich, you might will definitely prefer it to the fast food version. It’s the best fried chicken sandwich recipe you can make at home and it beats anything from a fast-food joint hands-down. Try it and I’m sure you’ll agree!
This buttermilk-soaked, Southern-inspired crispy chicken sandwich recipe is so good. Made from scratch, it pairs crispy, juicy fried chicken with herbs, spices and all your favorite toppings for perfection in every bite!
If you love chicken as much as I do, you might want to whip up air fryer buffalo chicken tenders, this chicken and pepper skillet, or any of these easy recipes using rotisserie chicken.
Why You’ll Love these Fried Chicken Sandwiches
- Tasty: These fried chicken sandwiches are just as delicious as Colonel Sanders could make. In fact, I think they’re even better!
- Simple: There aren’t many steps in the recipe. Once the chicken is prepped and coated, you just need to fry it, and then assemble the sandwiches.
- Quick: Once the chicken has been soaked in the brine, all you need to do is add the crispy coating and fry it, making fried chicken at home a great idea for those busy weeknight suppers when you want to rustle up something yummy for the family to enjoy.
Get ready to sink your teeth into the ultimate crispy and juicy masterpiece that is significantly better than the Chick-Fil-A, Popeyes or KFC versions!
Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Ingredients
Along with the boneless skinless chicken breast itself, you will need buttermilk, eggs, pickle juice, oil, butter, and minced garlic. The brine is a mixture of buttermilk, pickle juice, garlic and salt.
Salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, celery salt, mustard, cumin, flour, and cornstarch make the crispy breading. And the finally you need ciabatta buns or brioche buns as well as your favourite toppings, maybe pickles, tomatoes and lettuce.
How to Make a Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich
For more detailed instructions, with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Brine the chicken: Combine the brine ingredients and soak chicken pieces in it.
Make a dredging station: Mix buttermilk, pickle juice, garlic and salt in one bowl, and flour, cornstarch and the seasonings in another.
Prep the chicken: Dip each piece of brined chicken in the wet mixture then in the dry mixture.
Fry the chicken: Fry the chicken until golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Assemble the sandwiches: Add crispy chicken to to toasted buns, add your favourite toppings and serve hot!
Tips for Deep Frying Chicken
When you deep fry, always choose an oil that has a high smoke point. Popular and affordable options include vegetable oil, corn oil, canola oil or peanut oil. When deep frying, never leave the hot oil unattended and always have the lid for the pot at hand. Should the oil ignite, place the lid on the pot to extinguish. Keep children (and pets) way from the deep frying process.
The frying oil temperature should be 350 degrees F. Cook the chicken in a Dutch oven until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion of chicken registers an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
Substitutions and Variations
Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes the best fried chicken sandwich recipe. But when you’ve put crispy and juicy fried chicken on a toasted bun, you can choose the toppings. If you’re feeding a crowd, you can offer the toppings on the side so people can choose what to add to their own sandwich.
Instead of chicken breasts, you could use boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can also change the seasonings in the brine or breading. If you prefer your sandwiches hot, feel free to add cayenne pepper, hot sauce or red chilli flakes to the mix.
If you want to make a healthier option of this homemade fried chicken sandwich for someone, consider this almond crusted chicken as a substitute.
As for toppings, you can add on your favourite such as red onion, sliced dill pickles or butter pickles, iceberg lettuce, guacamole, tomato, BBQ sauce, sliced cheese, avocado, bacon, garlic aioli, grilled pineapple or grilled red peppers. This sriracha aioli would also taste delicious.
What to Serve with a Fried Chicken Sandwich
You are about to make the best chicken sandwich recipe ever, and you need some sides! There are lots of possibilities here. Anything from french fries or polenta fries to bacon potato salad, green salad, Mexican style street corn, or even smoked asparagus would be great. It’s a hearty sandwich, so you might prefer to enjoy it just as it is.
Storage Instructions
- As you might expect, these are much better served hot and as soon as they’re made. But if you do have leftovers, keep the buns, fried chicken and toppings separate. Store the airtight container in the refrigerator.
- The best way to crisp them back up is to give them a couple of minutes in hot oil, but they won’t be quite as good as before.
Fried Chicken at Home FAQs
No buttermilk? No problem. Make your own by adding 3 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to just under 3 cups of regular milk, so you get 3 cups in total, exactly as the recipe calls for.
This chicken sandwich is so easy to make at home and you can even make fried chicken healthier by switching the cooking method. It should take 10 to 15 minutes at 390°F in the air fryer. Another idea is to oven-fry it, which will take about 20 minutes at 410°F.
Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe
The Best Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 Cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tablespoon pickle juice
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- canola oil, for frying
- 3 Tablespoon butter
- 2 Teaspoon garlic, minced
- 6 buns, onion ciabatta
Toppings
- mayonnaise
- pickles, sliced
- tomatoes, sliced
- lettuce
Brine
- 2 Cups buttermilk
- 1 Cup pickle juice
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon sea salt
Breading
- 1 Teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 Teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 Teaspoon black pepper, coarse
- 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Teaspoon celery salt
- 1 Teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 Teaspoon cumin
- 2 Cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Slice the chicken filets in half widthwise to create 6 equal sized breasts.
- First, brine the chicken for 2 hours. Combine buttermilk, pickle juice, garlic powder, and salt in a covered casserole dish.
- Prepare a dredging station. Combine buttermilk, eggs, and pickle juice in a mixing bowl and whisk well. In a separate bowl, mix the breading ingredients. combine flour, cornstarch, and seasonings. Mix well.
- Dredge the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, then coat with the flour. Press flour into the chicken.
- Set breaded chicken aside for 20 minutes as the oil heats.
- Melt butter and mix with minced garlic. Set aside until step 9
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven to 350 degrees F preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Once heated, fry chicken until golden brown, flipping over halfway through. This should take about 5 minutes per side. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion of chicken registers at least 165 degrees F.
- Set chicken on a wire rack lined baking sheet once fried or transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the oil.
- Brush garlic butter over the bread and place into the oven to lightly toast for 3 minutes.
- Add mayonnaise, tomato, pickles and chicken to the toasted buns.
Nutrition
This fried chicken sandwich recipe is one of the tastiest chicken recipes ever. The dill pickle brine seals in moisture and flavour while the finished breaded chicken sandwich is so delicious. Once you make them, you will agree that this is literally one of the best chicken sandwich recipes ever!
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
The dill pickle brine makes it so juicy and flavorful—love it!
I tried this yesterday and omg! It didn’t disappoint! It was sooo good! I’ll make them again soon. 😋
Wow! That was so good, I can’t wait to try it again.
Wow, this is a tasty sandwich. I was a bit concerned about the frying but the chicken came out nice and golden brown. Great recipe!!
This chicken sandwich was so good! The batter was nice and crispy, and the chicken stayed perfectly juicy.
I usually can’t fry to save my life but the kids love fried chicken so I gave this one a try and it turned out amazing! They loved it and have it on the menu again this week!
Omg the crispy fried chicken was so good. And turning it into this delicious burger was so much fun. I set up a diy burger station and the kids loved it.
I love the pickle juice ingredient, I think it made it different from other chicken sandwiches I made in the past.