Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Sandwich with Spicy Mayo
This chicken sandwich is EVERYTHING you want in a chicken sandwich without the grease! It is crispy, crunchy, and juicy with a kick of spice. It is the perfect bite and an all-time family favorite.
This recipe was modestly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s cookbook Air Fryer Perfection: From Crispy Fries and Juicy Steaks to Perfect Vegetables, What to Cook & How to Get the Best Results.
🥘 Ingredients
- Panko Bread crumbs & Extra Virgin Olive Oil – used for the coating. Panko bread crumbs provide the best crunchy coating.
- Egg, Hot Sauce & All Purpose Flour – adding some spice here
- Salt & Pepper
- Boneless Skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
- Mayonnaise & Hot Sauce
- Hamburger Buns – recommend using Potato Rolls here such as the Martin’s brand
- Iceberg Lettuce, Jalapeños, Pickles – Optional Toppings
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Stir panko with oil in a bowl until evenly coated. Microwave until lightly golden brown, stirring frequently. This will take 1 to 3 minutes. Keep an eye on this as it will burn (I know from experience). Check it in 30 seconds increments and stir. Allow to cool.
Do not skip this step! This process is the game-changer as without pre toasting the crumbs, the air frier simply dries out the crumbs instead of giving you the crunch you crave!
Whisk egg, 2 tablespoons of hot sauce, flour, garlic powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper together in a shallow dish.
Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag, using the flat side of a meat tenderizer tool, pound chicken to uniform thickness as needed about 1/2 inch.
Halve each breast crosswise, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.
Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then coat with panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere.
Lightly coat the air-fryer basket with vegetable oil (I dap oil on a paper towel and run it over the basket). This helps the coating not stick to the basket. Arrange chicken in a basket, spaced evenly apart.
Cook at 400 degrees until chicken is crisp and registers 160 degrees, 12 to 16 mins. Check after 7 mins as it will depend on the thickness of the chicken. Flip the chicken halfway through cooking.
To make the hot sauce: Combine mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon hot sauce in a small bowl.
Place chicken on bun and top with lettuce, hot sauce spread, pickles, and/or jalepaños. Enjoy!
Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Sandwich with Spicy Mayo
Equipment
- air fryer
- tongs
- meat tenderizer
Ingredients
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons hot sauce separated, 2 tablespoons for dredge, 1 tablespoon for sauce
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breats, trimmed
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 4 hamburger buns
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- sliced jalapeños for topping
- sliced dill pickles for topping
Instructions
- Combine panko with oil in medium sized glass bowl until evenly coated. Microwave, stirring frequently until light golden brown. This will take 1-3 mins. Stop to stir every 30 seconds.
- Whisk egg, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, flour, garlic powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, together in shallow dish.
- Pound chicken to uniform thickness about 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut each breast in half crosswise, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.
- Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge the chicken into the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off then coat with panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere.
- Rub or spray base of air-fryer basket with a light coating of vegetable oil. Arrange chicken pieces in basket, spaced apart evenly.
- Set temperature to 400 degress and cook chicken until crisp and registers 160 degrees, 7 to 12 minutes. Flip chicken pieces halfway through cooking to ensure crispness on both sides.
- Combine mayonnaisse and remaining one tablspoon hot sauce in a small bowl.
- Place a chicken piece in bun and top with sauce, lettuce, pickles and/or jalapeños.
The best chicken sandwich, our kids loved them!
So easy and great tasting! Not greasy and everyone loved them. Thanks for the great recipe.
would’ve been nice if you would’ve got the recipe right!! 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt & 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper whisked in with the batter.