I Swear by This Copycat Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Recipe

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I consider myself a fried chicken sandwich aficionado, bordering on sommelier. Having eaten countless crispy cutlets I can tell you that the Popeyes chicken sandwich ranks up there with some of the best. That said, getting one of them delivered to your door is a gamble. The humidity that can build in the bag really destroys some of its greatest qualities, including the much prized crunchy crust. It’s a risk that you just shouldn’t take. I consider it my great duty and honor to present you with the secrets of how to make the best copycat Popeyes chicken sandwich at home. 

What is the Popeyes chicken sandwich made of?

The Popeyes chicken sandwich seems basic—on paper. It’s a breaded and fried chicken breast tucked inside of a soft bun with mayonnaise (or spicy mayo) and a few sliced pickles. However, the greatness is achieved with two principal details. The chicken, obviously. It must be utterly juicy inside (achieved easily with a buttermilk marinade) with a rugged landscape of crunchy batter encasing it. Less obvious is the importance of the bun. You might think any hamburger roll will do, but there’s a decidedly right choice here. I’ll go into that at the end, and how to prepare it properly. 

The internet will smother you with the secret recipe for flavoring the marinade, or the “right” combination of spices and hot sauce, but I truly believe those factors play a minimal role compared to the basic treatment of the chicken and the bun. Follow these steps and you'll have a Popeyes chicken sandwich that Popeye would be jealous of. Away we go.

How to make Popeyes chicken sandwich

1. Start with the chicken breast

Place a whole, raw chicken breast, about an eight-ounce piece, on a cutting board and butterfly it with a sharp knife to make two thinner pieces of chicken. If you leave the breast whole it will take forever to cook through when you fry it, likely over-browning on the outside—and, take my word for it, a whole fried chicken breast is surprisingly just too much for a well balanced fried chicken sandwich. Trust me, I’m a FCS sommelier, remember? Next, we’re on to the marinade.

2. Popeyes chicken uses buttermilk (in some capacity) 

Popeyes suspiciously describes that its chicken goes through a “buttermilk system.” While I have no doubt there’s something up with its “system” I use a simple buttermilk marinade. I know as well as anyone, if a recipe gets too complicated or uses seriously inaccessible ingredients then I’m not doing it.

Pour about a cup of store bought buttermilk into a deep container. Stir in some salt and hot sauce. Again, I do not think it matters what hot sauce you use. What matters is that you like it. Buttermilk is the clutch ingredient here. The lactic acid tenderizes the proteins and results in a truly juicy chicken breast. All you need to do is try it once and you’ll taste the difference. Take your butterflied chicken breasts and tuck them into the buttermilk. Pop the covered container into the fridge for at least four hours, but it's best if they can get 12 to 24. Make sure they’re submerged, or just try to flip them halfway through.

3. Achieving the perfect breading

If you’re wondering how the crust of a Popeyes chicken sandwich gets so crispy, it’s because of how clumped up the flour dredge gets after multiple cuts of marinated chicken have dunked in it. The drips of loosened liquid mix with the flour and form small clumps and flakes. Those bits then cling to the next chicken that passes through and you get cutlets with irregular clusters and crags of breading attached. Those fry up into extra crunchy ridges and ripples.

There’s an easy way to duplicate this at home.

When you’re ready to fry, make the flour dredge. I add mostly flour, and then boost the starch content with a couple tablespoons of potato starch, but you can use cornstarch if you like. Add salt and spices like cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. You can explore savory spices that you like, or use my recipe below. 

Take the buttermilk chicken container out of the fridge and add a few spoonfuls of the buttermilk marinade directly to the dredge. Just the liquid, not the chicken yet. Pinch the liquid into the mixture until you have lots of flakes and chunks throughout. (You can do this technique with other copycat recipes, or with my hot chicken slider recipe too.)

Take out a chicken breast from the container, shake off some of the liquid and put it in the flour mixture. Scoop the dry mix up and over the chicken and press down for good contact. Flip the chicken as needed to coat any wet spots. You want lots of clumps stuck to the chicken. Move the coated chicken onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Repeat with the other chicken breast. Let the breaded chicken sit on the rack for at least 10 minutes. This will give the flour a chance to hydrate and set on the meat.

4. Frying the chicken

As you wait, heat about an inch of neutral frying oil (like corn or vegetable oil) in a heavy pot or skillet. Use a thermometer to see when the chicken reaches 350°F to 360°F. Once it comes up to temperature, gently lower the chicken into the oil. I fry them one at a time so the temperature doesn’t drop too low. Fry the chicken for about three minutes per side. It should look well and evenly browned. Use a meat thermometer to test the thickest part of the chicken for 165°F, once it’s out of the oil. Dab the chicken onto a paper towel, or any of these other oil draining materials, and let it cool on a different wire cooling rack (not the one that had raw chicken on it).

5. The importance of the buttered bun

The last thing you must do is properly treat your bun. Sure, there are the pickles and the mayo, but this is the detail that really sells a copycat Popeyes chicken sandwich. Grab two brioche hamburger buns. Euroclassic makes a great one that happens to be the perfect size, and I usually find them in six packs at my local Shoprite.

In a frying pan, add a slice of butter, about a quarter of a tablespoon, and melt it over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt. Use a pastry brush to swipe the salty butter all around the pan. Split the brioche bun and put the two sides cut-side down in the frying pan. Toast the bottoms, and use the pastry brush to brush excess butter over the tops. Once the cut-sides have some color, take them out of the pan. Repeat with the other bun.

6. Assemble your Popeyes chicken sandwich

The second-most fun part has arrived! (Eating is number one.) Smear a spoonful of mayonnaise onto both cut sides of a buttered, toasted brioche bun. If you want it to be more like Popeyes spicy chicken sandwich, then just mix a teaspoon (or more, for a bigger kick) of your favorite hot sauce into two tablespoons of mayonnaise. Place a single gorgeously fried chicken breast onto the bottom bun and layer on slices of your favorite pickles. I would walk 500 miles for Grillo’s half sours, so that’s what I used. Press the buttery top bun on top. Take a deep breath and dive in.

It is a tower of fried chicken perfection. The crunch. The juicy chicken. The pan toasted bun that gently, but thoroughly, masks any remnant oil flavors with luscious salted butter.

Besides the benefits of not eating a delivery sandwich—steamed, wilted, and cold—making your own Popeyes fried chicken sandwich is likely always going to be better. Maybe even better than eating it in the store. It’s as fresh as possible, you’ve sourced your own ingredients, and you get to personalize it in ways the fast food chain never will. For example, I basically match my chicken to pickle ratio, ounce-for-ounce. Have some fun with it and add a slice of pepper jack cheese, a fried egg, or pickled jalapeños. 

Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich Copycat Recipe

Ingredients:

8-ounce raw chicken breast (makes two sandwiches)

2 brioche hamburger buns

1 tablespoon of butter (for toasting the buns)

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Sliced pickles

Enough neutral cooking oil for frying

For the marinade

1 cup of buttermilk

1-3 teaspoons hot sauce

½ teaspoon salt

For the breading

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons potato flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon MSG

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne

½ teaspoon garlic 

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon mustard powder

1. Butterfly the chicken breast to make two thinner pieces, about four ounces each. Pour the marinade ingredients into a container. Submerge the chicken pieces into the marinade. Cover the container and put it in the fridge for at least four hours and up to 24 hours.

2. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine all of the breading ingredients. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet nearby. Take the chicken container out of the fridge. Scoop two or three spoonfuls of the buttermilk liquid into the flour mixture. Use your fingers to pinch the liquid into the flour so you make flakes of breading.

3. Take one piece of chicken breast out of the marinade, shake off the excess and drop it into the flour mixture. Thoroughly coat the chicken with the breading, pressing lots of the flakes onto the chicken. Move the breaded chicken to the wire rack. Repeat with the other chicken breast. Let the breaded chicken dry for 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, heat an inch of neutral oil in a heavy pot or skillet. Aim for 350°F to 360°F. Fry the breaded chicken in the oil for about 3 minutes per side. The chicken should be well browned. Use a meat thermometer to test the thickest part for 165°F. Repeat with remaining chicken.

5. Melt about a quarter to half a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan with a pinch of salt. Spread the butter all around the pan. Open one burger bun and place the sides cut-side down in the pan. Brush butter over the tops while the bottoms toast. When the bottom has picked up some color, take it out. Add more butter and salt for the next bun. 

6. Assemble the sandwich by smearing mayo onto both sides of the brioche bun. Place a piece of buttermilk fried chicken on the bottom bun, top it with pickle slices, and press the top bun on top. Your copycat Popeyes chicken sandwich is complete.