Copycat Chick-Fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich Recipe

It's hard to beat a Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich — like, really hard. Just reading Chick-fil-A's own description of the sandwich is enough to cause hunger pangs: "A boneless breast of chicken seasoned with a spicy blend of peppers, freshly breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttered bun." What do you do if you can't beat 'em? That's right — join 'em. Or in this case, copy 'em, because this recipe yields a copycat of the Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich so close, you'll never have to go another weekend without having one.

Just follow the recipe closely, and in less than 30 minutes, you'll be enjoying a DIY Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and quite frankly, that's about as long as you might have waited in the drive-thru line, anyway.

Now, one thing to note here: Many recipes call for adding the hot spices during the cooking process, but this one does not. Why? That's because chef and recipe developer Erin Johnson of Probably in the Kitchen is thinking about all sorts of different palates. "One of the reasons I don't spice the chicken before frying is so that if you have spicy averse people in the house, they have a delicious Chick-fil-A original copycat without any extra work." So boom, two copycat recipes in one. No need to say thank you, because it's our pleasure. Now, let's get cooking!

This recipe lays out the ingredients needed to make four Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich copycats, because if you make just one, you may resent yourself, and, more to the point, if anyone nearby catches wind (or scent, rather) of what you're cooking without getting a sandwich themselves, there will be trouble.

You'll need 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin (or 2 larger breasts, butterflied and halved), milk, an egg, flour, powdered sugar, kosher salt, ground pepper, paprika, oil for frying, hot sauce (Texas Pete, ideally), and buns for serving.

"Chick-fil-A doesn't disclose their exact pepper blend," says Johnson, "but after trying a few different nationally available hot sauces, Texas Pete is the closest I've been able to find."

Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl, and then pour the mixture into a plastic bag or a larger, shallow bowl that can accommodate the chicken. Then, add chicken to the mixture and make sure it's coated in whatever vessel you opted to use.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika, and mix until they are all blended. Then, spread the breading out on a plate.

Meanwhile, start to heat the oil in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat until the oil reaches 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dredge each piece of the milk-and-egg-coated chicken in the flour mix on both sides, and press the chicken down into the dry ingredients to coat the pieces well. Repeat if you want a thicker breading by coating each piece in the egg and milk and then more breading mixture.

Next, ease the coated chicken (as many pieces as fit without touching) into the hot oil, and fry the pieces for approximately six minutes on each side or until golden brown. Check to be sure the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, fill a shallow bowl with hot sauce.

Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oil with tongs or a slotted spoon, then drain the chicken on a paper towel for a minute. Next, dip each piece into the hot sauce, coating both sides.

Allow the spiced-up chicken to rest for five minutes before putting on a bun for serving. Meanwhile, lightly toast said buns, and butter both sides. Then, assemble the sandwich (you can add or omit pickle slices), and enjoy! And don't forget — you can just leave out the hot sauce for a classic Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich without the kick.