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My favorite Grilled Chicken Sandwich, made with tender, pickle-brined grilled chicken breast with a zesty slaw and spicy mayo – so good!!
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Grilled chicken breast can be boring, but if you marinate it and add other flavors and textures, you’ll have a recipe for success. This combination of pickle-brined chicken breast, zesty slaw, and spicy mayo is so good and easy for weeknight dinners or weekend cookouts. Plus, it’s high in protein. If you love a good sandwich, make sure to try my Pulled Pork, Air Fryer Chicken Sandwich, Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Avocado and Tomato, and Air Fried Shrimp Sandwich.
Why You’ll Love These Chicken Sandwiches
- High Protein: Each sandwich is made with one organic chicken breast, 45 grams of protein each.
- Pickle Brine: Adds flavor to the chicken breast.
- So delicious! Any easy meal you can make any night of the week!
- So tender! This tenderizer is a game changer for grilled chicken breast!
- Healthier than McDonalds, Chick Fil A or Wendys: Making chicken sandwiches from scratch allows you to control the ingredients used. I opt for organic humanely raised chicken and organic ingredients.
Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: Four six-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the tenderloin removed
- Grilled Chicken Marinade: All you need is pickle juice!
- Grilled Chicken Seasoning: Garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper
- Slaw: Thinly sliced red and green cabbage, shredded carrots, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, red wine vinegar
- Spicy Mayo: Sriracha, mayonnaise
- Pickles: Top each sandwich with dill pickle chips.
- Bread: I love a whole wheat potato roll for a chicken sandwich, but any whole wheat bun or roll will work.
How to Make a Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Marinate the Chicken: Pound out the thicker ends of the chicken breasts to make them more of the same size so that they will cook evenly. Marinate the chicken in pickle juice, and refrigerate it for four to eight hours.
- Make the spicy mayo by combining the sriracha and mayonnaise.
- Slaw: Whisk vinegar, oil, salt, and Dijon in a bowl and stir in the cabbage and carrots. Cover and chill until you’re ready to assemble the sandwiches.
- Season the Chicken: Preheat the grill to high, and combine the spices in a small bowl. Rub olive oil spray on both sides of the chicken breast and then coat with spices.
- How long does it take to grill chicken? Once the grill is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low and oil the grates by rubbing paper towels soaked in oil over them. Add the chicken and cook for four to five minutes on each side or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165°F.
- Assemble the Sandwiches: Spread the spicy mayo on both sides of the rolls and top each piece with slaw. Then add the chicken and pickle slices.
What to Serve with Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Serve this easy grilled chicken sandwich with air fryer sweet potato fries, macaroni salad, coleslaw or potato salad, or for some lighter options, go with a cucumber salad or corn salad.
How to Store Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Grilled chicken will last up to four days in the fridge. Store the sandwich ingredients separately and assemble them before eating for the best results. You can toast the bread and microwave the chicken if you prefer a warm sandwich.
What toppings are good on a chicken sandwich?
The toppings are what take this grilled chicken sandwich from basic to amazing. I topped mine with spicy mayo, dill pickles, and coleslaw with a red wine vinaigrette.
Variations
- Spicy Chicken Sandwich: For more heat, add extra sriracha. If you’re not a spice fan, decrease the sriracha or just use plain mayo.
- Slaw: To save time, buy a bag of coleslaw mix instead of prepping the cabbage and carrots.
What You'll Need
More Grilled Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Grilled Chicken Panini with Zucchini, Tomato, and Mozzarella
- Grilled Chicken Breast
- Houston’s Grilled Chicken Kale Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette
- Chicken Arugula Provolone Panini with Chipotle
- Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
Grilled Chicken Sandwich Recipe
My favorite Grilled Chicken Sandwich, made with tender, pickle-brined grilled chicken breast with a zesty slaw and spicy mayo – so good!!
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 1 sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts, preferably organic, 6 oz each (tenderloin removed)
- 2 cups pickle juice, or enough to cover
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- olive oil spray
For the sandwich:
- 4 tablespoons light mayo
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 12 dill pickle chips
- 4 whole wheat rolls, such as 647 Rolls or Martins potato rolls
Slaw:
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red and green cabbage
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
Instructions
- Pound out the thicker end of the chicken breast to make the thickness even on both ends, about 1/2-inch thick, this will ensure the chicken cooks even. Use the tenderizer to tenderize the breast (this is optional, but will give you the most tender chicken breast).
- Add chicken to a shallow bowl and pour enough pickle juice to cover. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or up to 8 hours.
- Make the spicy mayo: Combine mayo and sriracha, set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk vinegar, 1 teaspoon olive oil, Dijon and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add cabbage and carrots and toss to combine. Cover and chill until ready to assemble sandwiches.
- When ready to cook, preheat the grill on high.
- Combine garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Rub chicken on both sides with olive oil spray then spread the spices all over both sides.
- When the grill is hot, reduce heat to medium-low, oil the grates and add the chicken.
- Cook 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165F, careful not to overcook so you don’t dry out the chicken.
- To assemble sandwiches, place the spicy mayo and slaw on both sides of the rolls. Add the chicken and pickle slices.
Last Step:
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Nutrition
Serving: 1 sandwich, Calories: 406 kcal, Carbohydrates: 29.5 g, Protein: 45 g, Fat: 11.5 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 124 mg, Sodium: 847.5 mg, Fiber: 2.5 g, Sugar: 7.5 g
I am not a big fan of chicken but I love these sandwiches! Super tasty and easy to make. We don’t go though pickles fast enough to have a bunch of juice on hand, but we have found that we can buy pickle juice in the cocktail mixers section of our grocery store.
Okay, “stupid question” but what kind of pickle juice?? Currently, I have bread & butter pickles, kosher dills, and gerkins in the frig. Each one of those has a much different flavor profile.
Not a stupid question! I use dill pickle brine.
What kind of vinegar can I use if I am allergic to red wine wine vinegar?
Apple cider vinegar would work!
This recipe was so good that my teen claimed the leftovers and said it was better than Chick-fila’s grilled chicken sandwich. I bought the bag of chicken breasts that are wrapped individually and used all 6. He eats a lot of grilled chicken as a runner and this recipe will get made frequently.
Teen approval! Love it!
Delicious! The whole family loved!
So good!!! Best chicken sandwich recipe ever!!
Where do I find pickle juice? Just buy a big jar of pickles and take all of it’s juice?
When I finish a jar of pickles, I save the juice and plan to make this recipe.
Very, very good. My husband ate all the leftovers.
My whole family loved it (three teenage boys and my husband & I). My oldest said it was one of the best meals I’ve made and my youngest, picky eater says it was his favorite sandwich (no slaw though). It’ll definitely be on our regular meal rotation.
Perfect!
So yummy, I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to making it again!
I have made this several times and the chicken turns our so flavorful and juicy (I prefer thighs but this had made me eat more breast). What is a good/healthy side to go with this for dinner?
Love, love this! We just made it for dinner and this is a keeper.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Chicken is perfect with the coleslaw and pickles! We also add pickled jalapeños to give more spice. This sandwich is on repeat at our house!
The chicken was so moist and flavorful ! Easy to prepare. Will definately add this one into the rotation of weekday meals. Thank you for sharing another amazing recipe.
Thanks Laura!
The chicken was terrific! We had it as grilled chicken, not the sandwich, but are looking forward to doing the sandwiches next time. The chicken was so juicy and flavorful. We gave the marinated breasts a little veg oil rub, a sprinkle of salt and hot pepper flakes (Flatiron Pepper Co – YUM) and cooked them off on our Blackstone flat top grill. Crispy on the outside, super juicy on the inside!
Gina, I’ve been making your recipes since the beginning and own all of your cookbooks. I think this is my favorite you’ve ever done. It’s like a Popeye’s spicy chicken sandwich without the guilt! So good. 🙂
Thank you Kacie! I’m so glad you enjoy it! 🙂
Delish. Made exactly as stated but cheated by using pre-shredded cabbage. Added red onion and a tomato slice and served with sweet potato fries.
This chicken sandwich was absolutely delicious. I made one changed. I bought prepackaged coleslaw and added a little salt and vinegar that was called for in the recipe. The addition to the packaged dressing, with the other ingredients in the original recipe, made it really creamy. And, BTW, you can buy dill pickle juice, on line at Amazon to brine your chicken, if you incline to be making them often, which I intend to do. Thank you for the BEST chicken sandwich recipe ever.
My whole family (including my 2 picky boys) loved these! Thanks for another great recipe added to our rotation.
Glad everyone enjoyed it!
So good! Juicy chicken, perfect amount of heat!
great!!
Oy I didn’t fully read so I added paprika and garlic to the brine….will it still be good?!
Im sure
Has anyone air fried the chicken? It’s raining….
So juicy and flavorful!! Made it with sweet potato fries.
My family absolutely loved this recipe! My son said this was the first time my grilled chicken sandwich wasn’t dry and it was easier to eat. The pickle juice marinade is definitely the key and using cutlet thick chicken. My picky child skipped the slaw, but otherwise loved it too.
This was so good!
My chicken sat in the pickle juice for 3 days. The spicy mayo and coleslaw make this a perfect grilled chicken sandwich.
YAY
How much will it taste like pickle? I don’t like them.
Chick-Fil-A sandwiches are pickle brined as well, just to give you a reference. So if you think those taste fine, you should be good.
The whole family loved it – super easy with great tastes. Served with air fryer sweet potato fries. Thank you!!
Delicious! The chicken is moist and well seasoned. A rarity…I make no modifications to this recipe. A family favorite!
I didn’t love this as much as I do some but it was still very good.
SO GOOD. I hate grilled chicken usually, but the tenderizing + pickle brine + seasoning made it sooo tasty! Like a guilt-free Wendy’s sandwich! Pre-made coleslaw mix made it even easier. Love it, thank you!
So glad you loved it!
This was a hit. Thank you!
Delicious!
I made the slaw and served it with the pulled pork.
So easy and delicious! A change of plans for us meant the chicken brined for 24 hours and both the slaw and sriracha mayo had extra time for those flavors to meld. Then we had pouring rain, so we air fried the chicken. Easily adaptable and so good! Definitely goes into the rotation!
Had someone said chickfila came out with a low cal chicken sandwich and handed this to me, I would have believed them. It’s that good
Thank you!
We loved this sandwich and will make again. Thank you Gina for another super recipe!
I am so glad!!
What kind of pickle juice? Dill pickle or sweet pickle juice? These taste totally different. Regards, Josee
Dill
Excellent! I did not have cayenne pepper so I subbed chipotle powder. I brined the chicken for 10 hours. I left the seasoning off one piece for my 4 year old. As soon as he took a bite he said “This tastes like pickles! This is so good!” He devoured his with ranch. We served them bunless. Definitely a keeper recipe!
Great!!!
I love this recipe! We didn’t make the slaw, we just made the chicken sandwich and added provel cheese and bacon. Going to make these for lunch without the bun. So so good!
These were amazing!! So flavorful and super easy! My entire family ate it up!
Is there a way to “make” pickle juice? I don’t eat enough pickles to have a lot of brine. I love the flavor though!
There are some homemade recipes but I have never tried any of them. They do sell just the juice. 🙂
I’m trying Mrs. Wages pickle mix today. You just add water and vinegar and dissolve. I put the chicken in this morning. I had some extra so I threw in some cucumbers to eat in a day. Can’t wait to try it later today.
This was so so so good and definitely a make again. I marinated the chicken for about 8 hours, patted dry then seasoned. I cooked them on a grill pan to get marks and popped them in the oven to cook through. They remained juicy, tender and full of flavor. The slaw was a great addition and the sandwich that tied the flavors so well. Bonus for looking so pretty!
I make so many of your wonderful recipes, but this is the first one I won’t make again. I did over cook the chicken a bit, but I didn’t find the sandwich that flavorful. I am sticking with the pickle brined chicken tender recipe next time.
This was excellent. All the flavors came together and made this sandwich very tasty. I’ll definitely make this again
Mind boggling good! Wow! This outdid all my local restaurants with chicken sandwiches.
I’m using a grill pan but the chicken always dries out. How can I prevent that?
Make sure to not overcook it and maybe try the tenderizer.
This is fabulous! Made as directed, used coleslaw mix. I sliced the chicken and put on grilled French bread. Delicious! Will be a weekly staple.
Such an absolute tasty moist grilled chicken sandwich. Definitely going to make on repeat. I cheated and bought a bag of coleslaw mix with both red/green cabbage and shredded carrots. Love the ingredients you mix in the coleslaw.
Made as listed and it was delicious. Pickle juice for the win!
I made this last night. Delicious!
These grilled chicken sandwiches were amazing! Everyone loved them! My husband, oldest son, and I ate exactly as recommended, the younger two just used pickles and chick fil a sauce. haha! Thanks for another amazing recipe, Gina!
Great!!
Yowza! This recipe looks yummy! Wondering if it is possible to ‘grill’ the chicken breasts in an air-fryer. Can’t wait to make this!
Sure! Use the time from my air fryer chicken breast recipe.
Do you use juice from sweet or dill pickles for the brine
We’re making this for dinner tonight and we’re using dill pickle juice. I’ll post a review afterwards. Good luck!
dill pickles
Gotta’ say this is another delicious recipe! The only change that I made was to increase the quantity. We’re not dieters but I prefer to cook healthy meals. I’m sure I’ll be making this again so have the remaining of the huge bottle of pickle juice in my fridge lol.
I hope no one mistakes the “dill pickle chips” as potato chips! They’re quite popular in Canada! 🤣
lol I am sure that would still be tasty : )
I LOVE pickle brine for chicken, can’t wait to try these! I don’t like the meat thermometer I have now, it isn’t instant read and the temp just doesn’t ever seem reliable, so definitely checking that one out!
enjoy!
I don’t know why I waited so long to make this sandwich because I was initially so excited to. WOW though, worth the wait lol fantastic. I do really like fast food chicken sandwiches but this sandwich beats every single one I’ve ever had hands down.
I made exactly as stated, except I did cut back a little bit on the siracha in the Mayo cause we are heat lightweights hahaha
Also I did used bagged coleslaw because I knew I’d be a little short on time preparing. Served with baked zucchini sticks and it was all a huge hit.
Just to note, my hubby usually doesn’t like coleslaw on his sandwiches but I wanted to do this right and we both were fans of it. Yay! I just can’t recommend this chicken sandwich enough. My top five SkinnyTaste recipes of all time for sure!
Oh wanted to add I used my cuisinart indoor grill/griddler for the chicken. So close to the taste of outdoor grilling imo when you can’t!