Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe (2024)

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe (1)The next time you feel that undeniable craving for fast food, even though you know it’s pretty much garbage wrapped up in foil, take matters into your own hands and make something just as tasty in your own kitchen. This has been philosophy for years, and became my saving grace when I went vegan.

Today, I am sharing with you my recipe for a Chick-Fil-A Sandwich, thanks to almost a year of begging by James and his friends. There are many recipes on my site and my channel for most of your fast food favorites done vegan style. But this one has probably been requested the most—and actually a dish I myself, have never tried the real version of. So this recipe was created blind with a room full of junk food-loving, male, Omni taste testers. There are 1,950 different places in America that you could be tempted to eat a Chick-fil-A sandwich, and while it would no doubt be delicious—I am confident you will find the vegan alternative just as satisfying, if not, far better in many ways.Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe (2)

This recipe matches the unique flavors of a Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Deluxe sandwich, which using my seitan chicken recipe as the base. You’ve seen me use that in my McChicken Sandwich, McNuggets and Popeyes chicken recipes—so if you’ve made those, then you’ll be a pro at this. To get that pickle-y flavor unique to Chick-fil-A, we are going to marinate our seitan for about an hour in a pickle juice bath. Now DO NOT do this for more than an hour, or else all you will taste is pickles.

Like all my copycat recipes, I do try to keep them as authentic as possible, so to get that signature crunchy breading we are using powdered sugar- Yup! You read that correctly- sugar. The powdered sugar, in conjunction with the baking powder, will give your breading that unique Chick-fil-A crispy, crunchy texture. For this recipe I also researched what type of oil they use for their frying, and found out it was peanut—so sorry for all you nut allergy peeps, you’ll have to use another type of oil and have a less authentic version. Just kidding- I love you. I am just trolling. I always use my deep fryer for these copycat recipes to make as authentic as possible, but if you don’t own one, or refuse to use one; you can always pan fry it in enough oil to make sure it is completely submerged.

James told me that he always loved his spicy chicken sandwich with cheese, so I topped everything with a slice of vegan provolone. And Voila! You have now created the epic world-famous Chick-fil-A sandwich, vegan style. You’re welcome!

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe (3)

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Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich | Vegan Recipe

Prep time

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This is an easy vegan recipe for a Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich that you can quickly and easily make at home. This vegan spicy chicken sandwich is made with battered seitan, tangy pickles, and vegan cheese.

Author: The Edgy Veg

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Serves: 4 Burgers

Ingredients

For the "Chicken Meat"

Marinade

Binder

Breading

Toppings

  • Burger buns, use whatever you want! I used white buns to be authentic
  • Pickles, cut into medallions
  • Your favourite Vegan cheese (I used provolone)

Instructions

Chicken "Meat"

  1. In a mixing bowl, mix together wheat gluten, salt, nutritional yeast, onion powder and poultry seasoning.
  2. In a larger bowl, combine ¾ broth and tahini and whisk until smooth.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet and stir until well combined.
  4. Knead the dough until it is elastic but not dry. Sprinkle some additional gluten flour if you find you have made your dough too sticky.
  5. Divide the dough into small little burgers. Keep in mind they will grow to about twice their size, so make then smaller then you would normally. Place in a casserole dish, covering them completely with vegetable broth.
  6. Cook burgers in broth for 1 hour at 350 degrees, flipping at 45 minutes. Allow to cool.
  7. Mix together the marinade in a plastic bag or shallow bowl and allow the seitan to soak for an hour.

Binder

  1. Mix together pickle juice and almond milk or egg replacer and set aside.

Breading

  1. Combine the flour, powdered sugar, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chilli powder, salt, baking powder, and garlic powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
  2. Warm the peanut oil in a deep fryer, frying pan or pot over medium heat until you reach 325F.
  3. Toss the seitan “chicken” cutlet into the dry mixture and coat completely, then toss it into the wet, again coating evenly on all sides. Toss into the flour mixture again and coat generously. Repeat with the remaining cutlets and set aside.
  4. Place cutlets into the hot oil using a pair of tongs. Flip occasionally to ensure even cooking. Allow to cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until the outside is crisp and golden brown. Allow to drain on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining cutlets and sprinkle with cayenne pepper to achieve ultimate spicy perfection.

Building your burger

  1. Place your buns in a frying pan over low heat until slightly toasted.
  2. Place vegan cheese on the bottom half of each bun, then top with the fried seitan chicken and top with 4-5 pickle medallions. Serve immediately.

Notes

You can also cook your plain seitan in broth on a stovetop, I find that this leaves you with softer seitan. I switch between the two methods depending on my mood.

Nutrition Information

Serving size:1 burger Calories:784 Fat:27.7g Carbohydrates:91g Sugar:14.2g Protein:36.5g


Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe (5)

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe (6)

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich? ›

A boneless breast of chicken seasoned to perfection, freshly breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttered bun with dill pickle chips, green leaf lettuce, tomato and American cheese.

What is the secret ingredient in Chick-fil-A chicken? ›

That ingredient is monosodium glutamate, more commonly known as MSG. While many people think MSG is only found in Chinese (or Americanized Chinese) cuisine, it's prevalent in dozens of all types of food items, including snacks like Doritos and powder mixes like Hidden Valley's ranch dressing.

How did Truett Cathy make the chicken sandwich? ›

He then went on to perfect the “chicken sandwich” by experimenting with different cooking methods, seasonings and spices. When he finally felt it was right he had ended up using a special blend of seasonings and cooking the chicken in a pressure cooker with peanut oil, then adding a pickle to the finished sandwich.

What is Chick-fil-A chicken made of? ›

Because chicken is at the center of our menu, we serve only real breast meat with no fillers, artificial preservatives, or steroids. Like other chicken in the United States, ours contains no added hormones. We source our chicken from farms in the U.S. in accordance with our Animal Wellbeing Standards.

What is the ingredient in the Chick-fil-A sandwich that gives it more flavor? ›

While MSG is present in some of our menu offerings as a flavor enhancer, we also offer a variety of options that do not contain added MSG. To help our customers make informed decisions, we provide ingredient statements on the Chick-fil-A app or on your local restaurant's menu page.

What does Chick-fil-A use to cook their chicken in? ›

Ever since our founder Truett Cathy created the Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich, we've been cooking our hand-breaded chicken exclusively in fully refined, heat-processed peanut oil.

What does Chick-fil-A use to marinate their chicken? ›

There are two crucial ingredients chick-fil-a uses that most recipes dont have- pickle juice and sugar. They also use MSG- but its also ok without it if you dont like it. Just cut up the breasts into chunks and follow recipe for nuggets.

Are Chick-fil-A sandwiches marinated in pickle juice? ›

Yes, it's true that Chick Fil A includes pickle juice in their marinade, but it's not the sole ingredient responsible for the chicken's taste. Pickle juice serves as a flavor enhancer, adding a tangy and slightly acidic note to the chicken.

How does Chick-fil-A make their chicken so moist? ›

Many bloggers and Chick-fil-A regulars believe that the chicken breast is brined in pickle juice before it's breaded and fried. This theory makes sense, because pickle juice contains salt. This key ingredient helps carry moisture and flavor deep into the chicken in the same way it would help flavor a cucumber.

Who is Chick-fil-A owned by? ›

Brothers Dan and Bubba Cathy, and sister Trudy Cathy White, own fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, founded by their father S. Truett Cathy (d.

Did Chick-fil-A actually invent the chicken sandwich? ›

This claim is unsubstantiated, although the Chick-fil-A southern-style chicken sandwich (served with pickles on a steamed roll), introduced on March 21, 1964, was most likely the first chicken sandwich introduced by an American fast food restaurant chain.

Is Chick-fil-A a Mormon? ›

Many of the company's values are influenced by the Christian religious beliefs of its late founder, S. Truett Cathy (1921–2014), a devout Southern Baptist. Reflecting a commitment to Sunday Sabbatarianism, all Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed for business on Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

Does Chick-fil-A batter their own chicken? ›

Many of our menu items are hand-prepared daily, right in our restaurant kitchens. For example, the chicken breast we use to make our sandwiches, strips and nuggets is breaded by hand; it never comes to us as a pre-breaded nugget that needs to be reheated.

Does Chick-fil-A fry or bake their chicken? ›

Our original recipe for almost 60 years. A boneless breast of chicken seasoned to perfection, freshly breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttery bun with dill pickle chips.

Where does Chick-fil-A buy their chicken from? ›

Our chicken is raised in barns (not cages), on farms in the United States, in accordance with our Animal Wellbeing Standards, and with No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM). * No artificial or added hormones are used in the production of any poultry in the United States.

What's the healthiest chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A? ›

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

If you want to keep things healthy while ordering at Chick-fil-A, one trick is to “go grilled.” “It's made with a boneless breast of chicken, marinated in a blend of seasonings and grilled for a tender and juicy backyard-grilled taste,” said Mohr.

Is the Chick Fil chicken sandwich healthy? ›

A Chick-fil-A Sandwich has 440 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 40 grams of carbs. "Enjoy it, as it contains protein, carbs and fat and then balance it out with a super-food side to get some veggies in for variety."

Did Chick-fil-A change their chicken sandwich? ›

According to FOX, Chick-fil-A began to switch to antibiotic-free chicken in 2014, and by 2019 all of its restaurants fell into that category. Now, according to the site, the shift will mean that the restaurant will use chicken that has had antibiotics only if it or other animals around it have become sick.

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