After careful consideration, my husband and I finally did it – we tried the infamous Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.
This sandwich went completely viral when it first came out and basically sold out everywhere! I remember being shocked by seeing crazy lines out the door, driving by one of their locations.
After the crowds and lines finally died down, we gave them a try. We both thought the sandwich was really tasty and enjoyed the buttery brioche bun they used, but overall wished it was a little bigger, haha.
My favorite part of the fried chicken sandwich was the flavorful and crunchy breading, that actually didn’t taste greasy, as well as the juicy chicken that was perfectly cooked. The sandwich seemed easy enough to try and recreate so I decided to tackle it at home.
After a handful of tests in the kitchen, I ended up with a copycat Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Recipe that I’m really happy with. It’s crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and finished with a simple spicy mayo with nice kick, salty pickles and a perfectly buttered and toasted brioche bun. Our Popeyes chicken sandwich recipe is fairly simple, don’t require any hard to find ingredients and are really delicious.
How to Make our Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Process
- Pour buttermilk into a baking dish and add chicken breasts, turning to coat.
- Marinate chicken.
- In another baking dish combine flour, cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Whisk together.
- Drizzle a couple spoonfuls of buttermilk from the baking dish with the chicken into the baking dish with the flour mixture and gently stir together.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and dredge into the flour mixture until fully coated.
- Shake off any excess coating and transfer to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack.
- While breaded chicken sits, preheat some oil in a large skillet to 350˚F.
- Carefully slide each chicken breast into the hot oil and fry for several minutes. Gently flip each piece of chicken and continue frying until golden brown, crispy and cooked through.
- Transfer cooked chicken onto a clean baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Season with salt.
- Combine mayo and hot sauce into a small mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined.
- To assemble: Spread the spicy mayo on the tops and bottoms of each bun. Place pickles on top of the bottom bun and top with a piece of fried chicken. Place top buns over chicken and gently press. Serve immediately!
Making the Fried Chicken and Sauce Ahead of Time
Fried Chicken
While we prefer to make and eat this right away for the freshest experience, you can fry the chicken ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
When ready to reheat, place chicken pieces onto a cooling rack lined baking sheet and heat for 10 minutes in a oven preheated to 375˚F. The chicken won’t get quite as crisp from when they were first fried, but will still be delicious and full of flavor.
Sauce
The spicy mayo can be made up to 1 week ahead of time and can be stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator.
Tips and Tricks for our Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Recipe Success
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to regular dairy milk and allowing the mixture to sit for a minute.
- Add some cayenne pepper (1/4 to 1 teaspoon) to the flour mixture to really bump the heat up!
- Allow breaded chicken to sit out for 15 to 20 minutes. It will really help the flour coating to adhere to the chicken better and prevent the coating from falling off when fried. It will also help to dry the dredging mixture out, creating a crispier, crunchier coating once the chicken is fried.
- Although not necessary, I love swiping a small amount of mayo on the tops and bottom of each brioche bun and lightly toasting them, mayo side down, in a skillet. This creates a nice lightly toasted texture to the insides of each bun, while keeping the outside of the buns buttery and fluffy.
Variations for our Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Recipe
- Shredded iceberg lettuce can be added to the sandwich for some fresh, crunchy texture.
- Cabbage slaw is also a great addition to the sandwich for a creamy or vinegar crunch to the sandwiches.
- Spicy mayo can be swapped out for a buttermilk ranch dressing or even barbecue sauce.
- Slices of cheese (we prefer American) can be added to the sandwiches. If you add the slice of cheese to the tops of the freshly fried chicken, the heat should slightly melt the cheese without having to bake them off in the oven.
I love fried chicken sandwiches, and this copycat Popeyes chicken sandwich recipe really hits the spot. It’s a fun splurge meal to enjoy, especially with a side of French fries or potato chips. They’re also so much easier to make than you would think!
For a yummy variation, try our Chick Fil A Sauce on your next chicken sandwich! If you love fried chicken as much as I do you will also love our Chicken Fried Potatoes (a fun vegetarian take on fried chicken!), or our Baked Nashville Honey Hot Chicken Sandwiches!
More Sandwich Recipes You Will Love
- Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
- Grilled Tri Tip Sandwich
- Carne Asada Torta
- Turkey Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Pickled Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Pork Katsu Sandwich
Check out our Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Google Web Story.
Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Recipe
INGREDIENTS
fried chicken
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 2 skinless chicken breasts small, about 5 ounces each.
- 1 cup flour
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1½ tsp salt
frying
- 2 cups fryer oil
spicy mayo
- ⅔ cup mayo
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
assembly
- 2 brioche buns lightly toasted
- ¼ cup pickle chips
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour buttermilk into a baking dish and add chicken breasts, turning to coat. Allow mixture to sit for 30 minutes.
- In another baking dish combine flour, cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Whisk together.
- Drizzle a couple spoonfuls of buttermilk from the baking dish with the chicken into the baking dish with the flour mixture and gently stir together.
- Season each chicken breast with salt and dredge into the flour mixture, on both sides, until fully coated.
- Shake off any excess coating and transfer to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack.
- While breaded chicken sits, preheat 3 inches oil in a large skillet to 350˚F.
- Carefully slide each chicken breast into the hot oil and fry for 5 to 6 minutes. Gently flip each piece of chicken and continue frying for an additional 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown, crispy and cooked through.
- Transfer cooked chicken onto a clean baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Season with salt.
- Combine mayo and hot sauce into a small mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined.
- To assemble spread the spicy mayo on the tops and bottoms of each bun. Place pickles on top of the bottom bun and top with a piece of fried chicken. Place top buns over chicken and gently press. Serve immediately!
NOTES
- What if you don’t have buttermilk? You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to regular dairy milk and allowing the mixture to sit for a minute.
- Why add some of the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture? This will create little pebbles in the dredging mixture, which will turn into thicker patches of fried coating in each piece of potato, which will maximize the flavor and crunchy texture once the potato rounds are fried.
- Can you adjust the spicy levels?Absolutely! We only added heat to the sauce portion of the sandwich, which can definitely be adjusted based on preference. If you want the chicken itself to be spicy, you can stir in a few dashes of hot sauce to the buttermilk that the chicken sits in, or you can add some cayenne pepper to the flour mixture (I recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon on work your way up if you like it pretty spicy!) or you can do both!
- Can this be made ahead of time? While we prefer to make and eat this right away for the freshest experience, you can fry the chicken ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. When ready to reheat, place chicken pieces onto a cooling rack lined baking sheet and heat for 10 minutes in a oven preheated to 375˚F. The chicken won’t get quite as crisp from when they were first fried, but will still be delicious and full of flavor.
- Can the sauce be made ahead of time? Yes! The spicy mayo can be made up to 1 week ahead of time and can be stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator.
- Allowing the breaded chicken to sit out for a little while (15 to 20 minutes), will allow the flour coating to adhere to the chicken better and prevent the coating from falling off when fried. It will also help to dry the dredging mixture out, creating a crispy, crunchy coating once the chicken if fried.
- Although not necessary, I love swiping a small amount of mayo on the tops and bottom of each brioche bun and lightly toasting them, mayo side down, in a skillet. This creates a nice lightly toasted flavor and texture to the insides of each bun, while keeping the outside of the buns buttery and fluffy.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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What hot sauce do you use for the spicy Mayo?
Hi! I like using red rooster or sriracha for this, but something like tapatio, Cholula or even Tabasco (if you like a more vinegary taste) would work great
These sandwiches tasted amazing! So close to Popeye’s I couldn’t tell the difference. I used chicken thighs instead of breast but they would be amazing either way.
what if you don’t have cornstarch?
You can either use tapioca starch or just omit it and you’ll still have a great sandwich!
CRAZY, THERE ARE NO QUANTITIES!!
Hi Jenny, I have read and re read the recipe!!
Why no quantities??
I don’t know much of whatever. I am not a cook and need to know how much.
Why have you not put this in.
I am so looking forward to making :)
Hi Tony – What do you mean no quantities? On the ingredient list?
I’m a beginner cook and have never fried anything, but your video was so helpful! These turned out so crispy and not oily. Thanks for the fantastic recipe
Blame you for making my children addicted to this dish! LOL~
Thanks
This is probably my favorite fried chicken recipe to make. I never fry things at home, but this is the exception. Thanks!
This was so good. Can’t wait to make it again!
These were so so so good. Already planning to make it again next week. Thank you for this recipe!
Wow! One of the best fried chicken sandwiches I’ve ever had!!
Made this for my kids this weekend…fantastic!! Will definitely make again. Thanks!
Best fried chicken recipe I’ve ever made! Adding it to the rotation
As good as the original.
The chicken was so crunchy. The sauce was delicious.
This recipe is great. I loved the treat of having Popeyes chicken at home and it was so easy to make. The sandwich was so crispy and flavorful. My family really enjoyed dinner. This will be a go to recipe often. The notes were very helpful. Thank you!
Uhhhhh, this sandwich was CRAZY GOOD!!
My husband made these earlier this week and I was blown away! He’s made fried chicken one other time and it was just okay. These sandwiches were incredible. I actually requested he make them again next week! Thanks!
I finally bit the bullet and made this! I usually hate frying in my house, but this was totally worth it!! That breading in unreal!!
My girlfriend and I both loved this recipe! We don’t normally like frying at home, but this was well worth it. Already have plans to make it again next week!
Wow! This was delicious! So crunchy and juicy!! My entire family devoured these! They’re now on our monthly dinner rotation! Thanks!
I made this for my family tonight and it is delicious! Num nummmmmssssss
I had all the ingredients for this. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Awesome recipe which I have seen before on another cooking show ( the Kitchen) Sunny Anderson cut the cutlets with kitchen shears at various intervals to get the same crunchy texture ( drizziling the buttermilk in the flour) . I would not change a thing about your version…. to die for!!!!! Totally agree with letting the chicken rest for 15 minutes or so to make flour adhere better. Don’t skip this step. Thanks for a keeper.
Made this last night. The coating on the chicken is so good. I can’t wait to make them again.
I just love the recipes they show, always new ideas.