Fresh boneless chicken breast is marinated in a special buttermilk seasoning mix then breaded and air fried to juicy perfection. Served on a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato and an optional spicy mayo, this air fryer buttermilk spicy chicken sandwich is a delicious dream come true.
It seems like every week there’s a new specialty chicken joint opening up somewhere nearby. And when they do, I can never believe the lines of people! Where I live in suburban Chicago, there’s several within a 10 minute drive and they are always packed. Even the nationwide fast food restaurants have chicken sandwiches that everyone wants to get their hands on. Can we make our own with our air fryer? You bet we can!
We want to start with chicken breasts that are about 10-12oz in size. The first step is to cut them in half. We want our chicken sandwiches to be able to fit on a bun so we’ll cut the chicken breast in half crosswise, then pound them down a bit. We don’t want to pound them thin, just enough to even out the thicker parts. Next we pour 1 cup of buttermilk into a large zip top bag and mix it with paprika, garlic powder and a teaspoon of salt. Place the chicken into the buttermilk mixture, seal the bag and let it sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Several hours is even better and overnight is even best! The buttermilk is a very special ingredient that tenderizes the meat and infuses a juiciness and flavor that’s simply awesome.
After the chicken breast spends some time marinating, we’ll setup our breading station. We let as much buttermilk as possible drip off the chicken, then it gets a quick coating of flour. Next is gets a dunk into the beaten eggs. Finally, we let any excess egg drip off before we place it onto a plate of Panko bread crumbs. Press it right into those breadcrumbs and get it good and coated. Place the breaded chicken on a plate and repeat the process with the remaining chicken.
Spray some cooking spray into the air fryer basket and preheat at 390°(F) for 5 minutes. Then place the chicken into the air fryer and give them all a good spray with the cooking spray. This is important! Even though we’re not deep frying, there still needs to be some oil sprayed on to get a nice golden crisp. Now air fry the chicken at 390°(F) for 12 minutes. Flip halfway through cooking.
Spicy Mayo and Toast Your Buns!
Now it’s time to build your sandwich and one of the foundations of a good spicy chicken sandwich is the bun. I love using fresh brioche buns. They hold up well and keep everything together. Spread a little butter on the inside of the buns and toast them first for optimum results. Then we need a spread on the sandwich which we’ll get by combining ½ cup mayonnaise with a teaspoon of hot sauce. Mix them together and it’s the perfect spread with just enough spiciness to add to the overall sandwich. Finally, add some fresh lettuce and tomatoes and of course… pickles!
Air Fryer Buttermilk Spicy Chicken Sandwich
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 4 sanwiches
Description
Use your air fryer to make the most delicious homemade buttermilk spicy chicken sandwich.
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Breading
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 cups Panko breadcrumbs
Spicy Mayo
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
Instructions
- Pound the chicken breasts to even thickness (about ½″) and cut crosswise to make 2 equal halves. Set aside.
- In a large container or ziptop bag, add buttermilk, garlic powder and salt; whisk until well combined. Add chicken breasts to the buttermilk mixture and marinate in the fridge for 2-24 hours.
- Setup Breading Station: In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, onion powder and salt. In another bowl, beat 2 eggs. Finally on a wide plate add the panko breadcrumbs.
- Take the marinated chicken, one at a time and let the excess buttermilk mix drip off, then coat it in flour. Shake off excess flour and dunk into egg mixture. Let excess egg drip off and then place it on the plate with the panko breadcrumbs. Coat well with the breadcrumbs, pressing in if need be. Set aside and repeat with remaining chicken.
- Spray air fryer basket or tray with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil and preheat air fryer at 390° for 5 minutes. When ready, place chicken into air fryer and use air fry setting at 390°(F) for 12 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- While chicken is cooking, use a small bowl and mix mayonnaise with hot sauce. Set aside. You can also toast the sandwich buns and set aside.
- When the chicken is done, check for internal temp of 165°(F). Then place chicken on buns with the spicy mayo spread, fresh lettuce and tomatoes. And of course, top with pickles! Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Category: Lunch, dinner
- Method: air fryer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: buttermilk, spicy, chicken sandwich, air fryer
Helen Byl
This is the second time I have made this. First time was delicious. The second time I didn’t have pinko so I used corn flake crumbs and this took it to a whole new level. Wonderful recipe. My grandson loves it.
★★★★★
RecipeTeacher
Hi Helen! Corn lakes are such an awesome breading for chicken! Thanks so much for the note and i’m glad you and the grandson are enjoying the recipe!
Cheryl
Made this recipe for dinner this evening. Started marinating chicken last night. Perfect spice level for me. Hubby added more spice to the mayo. Chicken was so juicy. Thumbs up from this household.
★★★★★
Jenny
I made these for dinner tonight. I marinated the chicken for 24 hours. We skipped the cayenne because there are some in my family that can’t do spicy. These turned out amazing! Everyone enjoyed them. We will definitely be making these again! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
★★★★★
RecipeTeacher
Thanks, Jenny! We love these too! Even without the cayenne they’re fun to make and enjoy. I appreciate the feedback.
Susan
This chicken sandwich was amazing. I did not have time to marinate for the 2 hours but still delicious. And the sauce was amazing. I will definitely make again.
★★★★★
RecipeTeacher
Isn’t is good! We love it too! Thanks for the feedback, Susan.