Chick-fil-A Spicy Deluxe Chicken Sandwich Recipe

The moment you bite into this homemade version of Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Deluxe Chicken Sandwich, you’ll understand why people wait in drive-through lines around the block. The secret lies in the pickle juice marinade, which transforms ordinary chicken into something extraordinary. The hot sauce-spiked breading creates that signature shaggy coating that’s both crispy and incredibly flavorful. What started as my quest to recreate the restaurant’s magic at home has become our family’s go-to comfort food.

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What Makes the Chick-fil-A Spicy Deluxe Chicken Sandwich So Delicious? 

This Chicken fil A Spicy Deluxe Chicken Sandwich recipe is the perfect combination of spiciness, sweetness, and tang. The heat of the hot sauce-flavored egg wash and the tang from pickle juice chicken marinade provides the zip, and the brioche bun offers a sweet counterbalance.

Add a shaggy breading that makes it crunchy and helps keep the chicken perfectly tender, and you have one darn-good spicy crispy chicken sandwich.

Pepper jack cheese bumps it up more to make it cheesy and brings in some more heat. Crisp lettuce and juicy tomato complete the sandwich with their flavors and textures.

Why You Should Try This Recipe 

The magic happens through a three-step process: pickle juice marinade tenderizes the chicken while infusing tangy flavor, the hot sauce egg wash adds heat and helps create superior breading adhesion, and the seasoned flour coating with powdered sugar creates that signature shaggy texture and subtle sweetness that balances the spice. The combination creates the perfect harmony of flavors and textures that made this sandwich famous.

Spicy Deluxe Chicken Sandwich Ingredients 

For this Chick fil A Deluxe Spicy Chicken Sandwich recipe, you’ll need:

Chicken Preparation Ingredients

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts – Provide a lean protein base that absorbs marinade flavors perfectly
• Dill pickle juice – Tenderizes meat and infuses signature tangy flavor throughout
• Whole milk – Creates tender breading base and helps the hot sauce adhere properly
• Hot sauce – Delivers signature spicy flavor and enhances breading adhesion
• Large egg – Binds wet ingredients and creates proper coating foundation

Breading Mixture Ingredients

• All-purpose flour – Forms crispy coating structure and provides perfect texture
• Powdered sugar – Adds subtle sweetness that balances heat and promotes browning
• Salt – Enhances all flavors and helps create proper seasoning balance
• Fresh ground black pepper – Contributes aromatic spice and flavor depth
• Smoked paprika – Adds color and subtle smoky flavor complexity
• Cayenne pepper – Provides additional heat and a signature spicy kick

Assembly Ingredients

• Peanut oil – High smoke point makes it ideal for safe, effective frying
• Brioche hamburger buns – Sweet, buttery flavor perfectly complements spicy chicken
• Butter – Creates golden, flavorful toasted bun surfaces
• Dill pickle chips – Add tangy crunch and authentic restaurant flavor
• Pepper jack cheese – Provides creamy heat that bridges chicken and vegetables
• Fresh lettuce – Contributes cool crunch and fresh contrast to rich flavors
• Ripe tomato – Adds juicy freshness and balances spicy heat naturally

Peanut oil is the best in this recipe because of its high smoke point. However, if you have a peanut allergy or other health concerns, use vegetable oil, canola oil, or your favorite cooking oil instead.

Ingredient Substitutions

You can use a multigrain brioche bun, whole wheat bun, or regular hamburger bun instead of the white brioche bun.

You can use American, Colby-Jack cheese, or Cheddar Cheese instead of pepper jack cheese.

Add some garlic powder to the spice mix for an extra bit of flavor.

How to Make a Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich

To prepare the chicken:

1. Trim any extra skin or fat from the chicken breasts. 
2. Cut the boneless breast of chicken in half horizontally. If you use smaller chicken breasts, use four instead of two and pound them flat to ensure they cook evenly. 
3. Marinade the chicken breasts in a covered bowl of pickle juice for about 2 hours in the fridge. 

To bread the chicken:

1. Place two large shallow bowls and a wire rack on a rimmed cooking tray on the work surface. 
2. Pour the milk, hot sauce, and egg into the first bowl and whisk well. 
3. In the second bowl, stir together the flour, powdered sugar, salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and cayenne.

4. Remove the chicken pieces from the pickle juice brine and pat them dry on paper towels. Discard the pickle juice. 
5. Dip one piece of chicken into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Shake off any excess and transfer the chicken to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Coat the chicken well with the flour mix and lightly shake off the excess. 
6. Place the breaded chicken on the wire rack and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. 
7. Place the baking tray with the breaded chicken in the fridge to set up while heating the oil. 

To fry the chicken:

1. Place a clean wire rack over a rimmed cooking tray close to where you will fry the chicken. 
2. Pour the oil for frying into a Dutch oven-style pot. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot. You can also use a deep-fryer for this recipe.
3. Heat the oil to 350°F. 
4. Remove the chicken from the fridge and carefully add one or two pieces to the hot oil. You will need to work in batches to prevent the oil temperature from falling below 325°F. 
5. Fry the chicken for three to four minutes per side. The chicken should be golden and very crispy. 
6. Remove the chicken from the hot oil using a spider. Use an instant-read thermometer to double-check that the interior of the chicken is at least 165 degrees. If it isn’t, put it back in the oil for a minute or two oil longer. 
7. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. 

To assemble the chicken sandwich:

1. Butter the buns and toast them butter-side down in a skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Place lettuce, sliced tomato, fried chicken, pepper jack cheese, and pickle slices on the toasted bottom bun.
3. Cover with the top bun and serve.

What to Serve With This Deluxe Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Chick-fil-A’s most popular side for the spicy sandwich is waffle-cut fries, but regular fries will taste just as good. You can also serve the chicken sandwich with onion rings, cole slaw, or a salad.

Storage & Reheating Instructions

• Freezing: Wrap cooled fried chicken individually and freeze for up to 2 months in freezer-safe bags.
• Refrigerator Storage: Store fried chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 days for best quality and safety.
• Reheating Method: Heat in an air fryer at 365°F for 5 minutes or in an oven at 400°F for 10-15 minutes until heated through and crispy.

More Chick-Fil-A Copycat Recipes

• Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
• Chick-fil-A Lemonade
• Chick-fil-A Sandwich
• Chick-fil-A Sauce
• Peach Milkshake

Favorite Fast Food Burgers and Sandwiches

• Arby’s Chicken Sandwich
• Baconator
• Burger King Cheeseburger
• Culver’s Burgers
• Krystal Burger
• McDonald’s Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder
• Panera Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt
• Taco Bell Sandwich

Check out more of my easy sandwich recipes and the best copycat Chick-fil-A recipes on CopyKat!