Air Fryer Chicken Sandwich
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This Air Fryer Chicken Sandwich recipe is an easy Chick-fil-A copycat that you can make right at home! The chicken is soaked in a flavorful buttermilk pickle brine for extra juicy, tender bites, then air fried to crispy perfection. It’s a simple recipe that delivers the restaurant flavor you love, right in your own kitchen!
Bring the flavor of Chick-Fil-A into your kitchen!
One of my husbands favorite foods is the Chick-Fil-A original crispy chicken sandwich. I knew that I could make a version at home in the air fryer that was just as good, but it took some testing, that’s for sure!
I’ll give you all of the tips and tricks that I learned along the way while testing and perfecting this recipe in my own kitchen. I can guarantee you’ll feel like you’re sitting in a Chick-Fil-A after your first bite of this sandwich!
It’s perfect for when:
- You want a crispy chicken sandwich that tastes lighter because you’re air frying it, instead of deep frying!
- You want to save money and make 4 chicken sandwiches for the price of one!
- You get the craving for Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday!
Key ingredients
Above I show you all of the ingredients for this air fryer chicken sandwich recipe to give you a good visual for your shopping list. Below I’ll give you some notes on specific ingredients in the recipe. You can find the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card.
- Dill pickle juice – you’ll need one cup of juice. You can strain this out of a new jar of pickles, or do what I do and save the pickle juice after you’ve eaten all of the pickles in a jar. That pickle juice is brining gold!
- Buttermilk – I highly recommend using buttermilk, instead of another type of milk. The mild acidity in the buttermilk helps tenderize the chicken as it soaks in the brine. Buttermilk will also add moisture to the chicken, it adds more flavor, and because it’s thicker than traditional milk, it will help the breading stick to the outside of the chicken.
- Chicken seasoning – this homemade seasoning blend is my favorite way to season the flour for breading the chicken. It only takes 5 minutes to mix up with pantry staples, or you can use store-bought chicken seasoning. In a pinch, you can also just season the flour with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Prepare and brine the chicken.
Place two chicken breasts on a cutting board. Cover with plastic wrap and use a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to pound the chicken breasts until they’re 1/2 inch thick.
Slice the chicken breasts in half, so you have four pieces of chicken total.
Add the chicken to a large zipper bag with pickle juice and buttermilk. Brine the chicken overnight.
Bread the chicken.
After the chicken has brined for 12-24 hours. Spoon two tablespoons of the brining liquid into a shallow bowl. Whisk in two eggs. Remove the chicken from the remaining brine and pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Discard the remaining brine.
In another shallow bowl, combine flour, chicken seasoning, powdered sugar, and baking powder.
Dip each piece of chicken in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then back into the flour mixture.
Air fry the chicken.
Preheat an air fryer to 400°F. Once the air fryer is heated up, spray the basket with cooking spray.
Place the chicken in a single layer in the oiled air fryer basket, spray the chicken with cooking spray. Air fry for 8-10 minutes. Open the air fryer, use tongs to gently flip the chicken, and air fry for another 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove the chicken from the air fryer. Spray the inside of each of the brioche buns with cooking spray. Toast them in a skillet on the stove, or in the air fryer at 400°F for 3 minutes.
Assemble your sandwiches however you like them. My husband just goes straight pickle slices. I like pickles and my homemade dill pickle ranch dressing. You can also add Chick-Fil-A sauce, lettuce, tomato, cheese, the chicken sandwich world is your oyster!
What to serve with the sandwiches
I cooked frozen waffle fries in the air fryer, seasoned them with my fry seasoning, and served them alongside the sandwich, to get the real Chick-Fil-A feeling. Yes, I own two air fryers. If you don’t, you can cook the french fries in the oven, while you make the chicken sandwich recipe in the air fryer.
What I learned while testing this recipe
- Always spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray before adding the chicken. If you don’t spray the air fryer basket before adding the chicken, it will stick and the breading will pull off when you flip it.
- I adjusted the amount of flour on every attempt until I got just the right amount. Since all of the seasoning is in the flour, we don’t want to waste any of it! By the end, I had reduced the flour and increased the chicken seasoning to give the breading really great flavor.
- I increased the amount of pickle juice in the brine after the first attempt. This is what gives Chick-Fil-A sandwiches their signature flavor, and one that I wanted to recreate perfectly at home.
- Make sure to brine for at least 12 hours. Yes, this does require you to plan for this recipe the day before, but without a long brine, the chicken is not nearly as juicy, tender, or flavorful.
Air Fryer Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
Chicken Brine
- 1 cup dill pickle juice
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Chicken Batter
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons chicken seasoning
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the sandwiches
- 4 hamburger buns, I recommend brioche buns
- ½ cup dill pickle slices
Equipment
Instructions
- Pound the chicken breasts to ½ inch thickness using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin, then cut each piece of chicken in half horizontally.
- Add the chicken to a large zipper bag. Add the pickle juice and buttermilk. Brine overnight (between 12-24 hours).
- In a shallow bowl, whisk two eggs together and add 2 tablespoons of the pickle/buttermilk brine.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and discard the remaining brine. Use paper towels to pat the chicken completely dry
- In another shallow bowl, combine the flour, chicken seasoning, powdered sugar and baking powder.
- Dip the chicken in the flour mixture, then into the eggs, then back into the flour mixture.
- Preheat an air fryer to 400°F. Spray the air fryer with cooking spray.
- Add the chicken to the air fryer, making sure there’s room around each piece of chicken for air to flow. Spray with cooking spray.
- Air fry for 8-10 minutes. Open the air fryer, use tongs to gently flip the chicken, and air fry for another 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Toast the buns in the air fryer for 3 minutes at 400°F.
Notes
- If you don’t have the ingredients for the chicken seasoning, you can simply substitute in 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
- Leftover air fried chicken can be reheated in the air fryer at 400°F for 5-6 minutes. Store the leftover chicken in the fridge in an airtight container and enjoy it within 5 days.
- To make a spicy chicken sandwich, add 1-2 teaspoons of hot sauce to the egg mixture, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper to the flour mixture.
Nutrition Facts
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