Spicy Cajun Crispy Chicken Sandwich
A Spicy Cajun Crispy Chicken Sandwich that will give any fast food restaurant a run for its money! With a little added heat from the Cajun spices, Louisiana Hot Sauce, and Sriracha, this double-stacked fried chicken sandwich recipe will leave you fulfilled and satisfied.
I’ll be honest. When the craze around Popeye’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich came to an end, I knew everyone would be sharing their version of a homemade crispy chicken sandwich. And because I too believe you can make a better recipe in the comforts of your home, I’m here to share my twist.
With my version, I kept things simple and kicked it up a notch with more flavor and spice. You still get that tasty buttermilk crust and tender chicken, but I’ve also added a homemade honey-mustard-BBQ sauce that was inspired by the infamous dipping sauce at Chick-fil-a.
Disclaimer: If you aren’t up for the double crispy chicken sandwich challenge you can easily downsize to a single chicken breast. Your secret will be safe with me.
So let’s jump right into this recipe.
Ingredients you’ll need to make my crispy fried chicken sandwich:
- Organic boneless chicken breasts because it’s the highlight of this recipe.
- I went with pretzel buns for my sandwich buns. They have that soft and chewy texture on the inside with a golden brown outside. Bun perfection.
- The marinade is one of the most important steps for this recipe. Eggs, buttermilk (of course), Louisiana Hot Sauce, Sriracha sauce, black pepper, and paprika make up the spicy marinade.
- To coat the chicken, I season my flour with cornstarch, Creole seasoning, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, cumin, onion powder, and Himalayan salt.
- And the homemade “Chick-fil-a” sauce copycat is an easy combination of mayo, barbecue sauce, honey, yellow mustard, black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano.
Why use a buttermilk marinade?
Great question! That tender chicken you love so much. Marinade. The extra crispy exterior crust. Marinade. That seasoned chicken breast that just gets better with every bite. You guessed it, marinade.
First, buttermilk is slightly acidic, which means it is an ideal ingredient to tenderize the chicken. Buttermilk basically acts as a brine and enhances the texture, flavor, and moisture. On top of that, it allows the flour to coat and sticks to the chicken giving you that crunch you want.
Making a Crispy Chicken Sandwich:
Split and cut each chicken breast in half. I find that splitting your chicken breast allows the chicken to cook evenly and keeps you from overcooking it — no one wants dry chicken.
Place your chicken to the side and let’s work on the marinade.
Combine your eggs, buttermilk, hot sauce, sriracha, black pepper, and paprika in a bowl. You’ll place your chicken in the marinade and refrigerate from at least 1 hour.
It won’t hurt if you marinate the chicken for a longer period of time. I have been known to marinate meats up to 8 hours and sometimes overnight.
When the chicken has been soaking for long enough, you’ll want to season the flour that will coat the chicken. Combine flour, cornstarch, and remaining chicken seasonings into a large zip lock bag. Using a zip lock bag makes this process much easier. You can dredge all the chicken at one time and shake it once. Simple.
Add your cooking oil to the medium-heated pan. Once the oil has reached the appropriate temperature, pan-fry each chicken breast piece for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. You’ll want to adjust the frying time depending on how thick your chicken breast is.
Once the chicken is done, you can quickly make your sauce. Feel free to make this ahead of time.
Add all sauce ingredients into a bowl and whisk (paid link) until smooth.
Because choosing the bread for any sandwich is an important decision, I chose to use pretzel buns with this recipe simply because of the buttery flavor and soft texture.
Place fried chicken breast between your pretzel buns and add a sliced tomato (on the top or the bottom). Isn’t it interesting that depending on where you grew up you place your tomato, lettuce, and pickles on the bottom or top of your chicken breast or hamburger? #whoknew
The finishing touch is the Honey Mayo BBQ “secret sauce” added to the top before taking your first bite.
So there you have it! My take on a tender and flavorful Cajun Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Perfect for lunch and/or dinner paired with a side of sweet potato fries. Enjoy!
Here are a few more sandwich recipes you can enjoy:
- Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
- Italian Grilled Chicken Panini Sandwich
- Crispy BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich
- Brisket Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Crispy “Ritz” Fried Fish Sandwich
- Cajun Chicken Sausage Po Boy
- Italian Meatball Sub Sandwich
Spicy Cajun Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
A Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich that will give any fast food restaurant a run for its money! With a little added heat from the Cajun spices, Louisiana Hot Sauce, and Srchracha, this double-stacked fried chicken sandwich recipe will leave you fulfilled and satisfied.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Boneless Chicken Breast
- 2 Pretzel Buns
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp. Creole Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Oregano
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Ground Thyme
- 1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin
- 1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp. Himalayan Salt
For the buttermilk marinade:
- 2 Large Organic Brown Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1/4 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce
- 1 tbsp. Sriracha Sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp. Paprika
For the honey-mayo-BBQ secret sauce:
- 1/3 cup Mayo
- 1 tbsp Barbecue Sauce
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp. Yellow Mustard
- 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp. Oregano
Optional Condiments:
- Tomato Slices
Instructions
- Split and cut each chicken breast in half.
- In a large bowl, add your eggs, buttermilk, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Sriracha sauce, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/2 tsp paprika. Whisk (paid link) until smooth. Place your chicken into the bowl and marinate for 1 hour.
- When you’re ready to fry your chicken, heat cooking pan to medium heat and cover the bottom of the pan with an inch of cooking oil.
- Add 1 cup of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and remaining chicken seasonings into a large zip lock bag. Shake to mix. Remove chicken from bowl and add to bag. Coat chicken.
- Fry each chicken breast piece for 3 to 4 minutes on each side (depending on the thickness). You’re looking for a crispy golden-brown crust.
- For the sauce, add all sauce ingredients into a bowl and whisk (paid link) until smooth.
- Place chicken between Pretzel buns, add tomato and top off with sauce.
Notes
You can slightly toast your bread by adding butter and placing it into a hot buttered pan.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 581
- Sugar: 2.1g
- Sodium: 458mg
- Fat: 17.2g
- Carbohydrates: 42.6g
- Fiber: 3.9g
- Protein: 64.8g
- Cholesterol: 164mg
The seasoning on the chicken was on point but it’s really the sauce that pushed it over the top. This was so good I could go swimming in that sauce 🙂
Listen. This chicken sandwich is definitely better than Popeye’s! I went searching for a homemade alternative after their unfortunate campaign contributions came to light and am so glad I found your recipe. It’s easy to follow and the sandwiches came out perfectly.
These pictures had me drooling so bad I just had to try the recipe! And I am sooo happy I did! This spicy chicken sandwich is delish!!
Okay, so I’m not proud of this, but I slapped my husband’s hand when he reached for what he “Thought” was my leftover sandwich. So, yeah. This chicken sandwich is also worth fighting over.
This chicken sandwich was delicious!! I can’t wait to make it again!
Great recipe with rich flavours and the crisp of the chicken is amazing.
Every week I choose a splurge meal, and this was mine this week. ABSOLUTELY incredible flavor and texture. i can’t wait to have it again.
Made this recipe for my husband and he was HEAD OVER HEELS in love!! Will be making it again!!
Whenever we go to a restaurant my husband orders a spicy crispy chicken sandwich if one is on the menu. Now I can him a homemade one that is sure to taste better than the rest! Your food photography is amazing! I hope my sandwhich comes out as tantalizing as yours
Love buttermilk chicken sandwiches. I’ll add this to my meal plan next week!
My husband loved this sandwhich. Great recipe. We’ve added to our Sunday lineup.
That’s awesome Renia! Glad you guys enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know how it came out!
I love your recipes. You use creole seasoning often. What brand do you prefer?
Hello Mesha! I have three favorites that I use: Justin Wilson’s Cajun Seasoning, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, and Slap Ya Moma Cajun Seasoning.