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air fryer chick fil a sandwich
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5 from 1 vote

Air Fryer Chick-fil-A Sandwich Copycat Recipe

You won’t believe these copycat Chick-fil-A sandwiches are air fried! From the juiciness of the chicken, flavor of the crispy coating, to the buttery bun (and the fact that they are a much healthier take), these taste 100x better than the restaurant. Everyone you serve them to will adore these and want two, so plan accordingly! 
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Marinating4 hours
Total Time40 minutes
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Author: Mallory Austin

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts pounded to 1/4" even thickness and halved
  • peanut oil enough for frying or spritzing
  • 4 brioche hamburger buns
  • toppings: dill pickle slices optionally: green leaf lettuce, tomato and cheese
  • 1/4 cup butter for buttering buns

Chicken Brine

  • 1 cup pickle juice
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Wet Chicken Coating

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg

Dry Flour Coating

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Step 1: Marinate Chicken

  • Combine and whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl; pickle juice, buttermilk and seasonings. Submerge the chicken into the bowl, cover tightly with plastic and marinade for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

Step 2: Prepare Coating for Chicken

  • In a shallow dish, combine all the breading ingredients; flour, powdered sugar, and seasonings. In a medium bowl whisk together milk and egg until smooth. If frying, add 5-6 cups oil into a skillet and heat oil to 350 degrees.

Step 3: Coat Chicken

  • Remove chicken from marinade and dunk directly into the egg-milk mixture to coat well. Then transfer each drippy piece of chicken into the flour coating, pressing in the flour mixture to all sides of the chicken coating it well.
  • For extra crunchy chicken, you can "double dip" by placing it back into the egg mixture and again into the flour coating. Shake off excess flour.

Step 4: Pan Fry or Air Fry

  • Air Frying: Place chicken in air fryer basket that's been sprayed with oil. Spritz or brush the tops of each chicken breast several times with peanut oil**.
  • Cook for 4-5 minutes at 400 degrees, flip and repeat by spritzing with oil and cooking another 4-5 minutes or until it's a crispy golden brown and the internal temp reaches 165 degrees.
  • Pan Frying: Place a few pieces of chicken at a time into the hot oil, cooking about 3-4 minutes per side or until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Remove and drain on a cooling rack.

Step 5: Assemble Chicken Sandwiches

  • Toast the brioche buns (I like to use a little butter), then assemble the sandwiches by adding pickles then topping with the chicken. Of course if you'd like to make the Deluxe version, you can add lettuce, tomato, cheese, etc.

Notes

**Spritzing with oil: Be sure to spritz chicken thoroughly, about 10-15 times per air fryer basket of chicken - or until you no longer see dry flour spots on the chicken.