After the ruckus I caused a few weeks ago by posting the ~100 ingredients in a Chick-fil-A sandwich on my Facebook Page and writing an article entitled “Chick-fil-A or Chemical-fil-A” about the harmful effects of those ingredients….I did some thinking about one particular comment I received regarding how someone didn’t want to give up Chick-fil-A because they had already given up so many other food vices in their life.
I wanted to expose Chick-fil-A because I find it atrocious that companies can legally feed you a combination of chemicals that are known to have disastrous effects on your health. I find it even more disturbing when very smart people are easily fooled into thinking something may be a healthier option because of misleading marketing. Well I am here to tell you – You can have your Chick-fil-A and eat it too! Even on Sunday! All without any life threatening chemicals…. You don’t have to go in life without – I really think you can have it all – especially if you have the right tools and information to navigate through the food world. As a firm believer of this statement…..I found a way to make a Chick-fil-A sandwich with the least possible harm to your body. This Chick-Fil-A sandwich won’t give you a sugar high. Or destroy your brain cells from MSG. Or give you toxin induced sluggishness after you eat it. Or more cravings for food even though you are full. Or cause you life long struggles with autoimmune disorders, diabetes, or heart disease. IMO, this recipe isn’t the best thing you can put in your body, but it won’t slowly kill you overtime either. So if you really are craving Chick-fil-A and don’t want to give it up – Make my “Open on Sunday Sandwich.” It takes a total of less than 30 mins to prepare. It takes more time to drive to Chick-fil-A than to make this sandwich. And the best part – It tastes very close to the real thing. Pretty amazing, huh?
- 2 chicken breasts equaling about 1 pound
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup pickle juice
- 12 pickle slices
- 3 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- 1 cup flour of your choice (I used spelt)
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp dry mustard
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- olive oil or coconut oil
- 4 sprouted whole wheat hamburger buns or buns of your choice
- 1 tbsp butter
- Marinating:
- About 4 hours before or the day before – Cut chicken breasts in half making 4 similar size pieces
- With a meat tenderizer or small hammer pound the chicken to ½ inch thick
- Sprinkle salt, pepper and ½ tsp paprika to both sides of chicken
- Place chicken in 1 cup pickle juice and let marinate for at least 4 hours to one day prior to baking
- Baking:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Place pickle slices in vinegar and let marinate while you prep the chicken
- In a bowl, combine and stir flours, sugar, baking soda, 1 tsp paprika, dry mustard and set aside
- In another bowl, whisk egg and almond milk together
- Remove chicken from marinade and dredge one piece of chicken at a time in egg bath, ensuring each side is wet and dredge in flour mixture coating each sidePlace each flour coated chicken piece on a wire rack with pan on bottom
- Spray each piece liberally with olive oil or coconut oil covering both sides
- Place tray of chicken in oven
- After 12 mins, turn each piece of chicken over mid way through baking
- After about 25 mins – 30 mins, chicken should be completely cooked and crispy
- Take out of the oven and let rest at least 5 mins
- While chicken is resting, butter buns and place in oven for 3-5 mins
- Take buns out of oven, place 3 pickles on bottom bun and chicken on top and ENJOY!
- If you really like white flour buns – pick ones with just the minimal ingredients, no harmful additives and organic if possible.
If you know a friend or family member who still frequents Chick-fil-A – please share this recipe with them, you could be a life saver!
Xo,
Vani
Nice recipe. Most of the fast food chains serve unhealthy food.
Cheers,
Your first post really opened my eyes; thank you for shedding light on a topic that I think about often. I have never enjoyed fast food but found that I tricked myself into thinking that Chick-fil-A was a healthier option. I can’t wait to try this make-at-home alternative. Really enjoying your blog!
Thank you Megan! Sorry it took me so long to reply! Have you tried making it yet? Let me know how it goes!
Hurray for a new chick fil a!
I am glad I have no craving to eat any type of meat.
Continue with your journey.
Love
Mom
Awesome job, Vani! Way to give all those Chick-fil-a lovers another options… if you can’t beat’em, feed ’em. 🙂
I really love(d) chick fila and was pretty heartbroken when I read your earlier post. However, this recipe may just save my life! I can’t wait to try it with quorn chick’n for my veggie hubs. Thanks for posting!
Wow – I just saved someone’s life!? 🙂 So happy to make you happy! Please let me know when you try it! Love to hear what you think!
i will show this to my kids fer sure!
And then make them this version!!! 🙂 Thanks for checking in on my Facebook Page!
I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this recipe!!! Chick-fil-A is one of my vices. A “vacation meal” of choice. But it was your Chick-fil-A or chemical post that really turned me off.
I’m happy you are so excited – have you tried it yet? Thanks for stopping by Lori!
The owner of Chick-Fil-A, once upon a time prided himself on “keeping the sabbath holy.” I guess capitalism prevailed over christianity?
What would Jesus do?… He wouldn’t sell you chemicals or hypocrisy.
Chick Fil A is still closed on Sundays, at least here in California. The name of her blog thread means her own version of Chick Fil A is open at her own house. Some of you look for any reason to bash religious people.
I think my family is going to love this! FUN! 🙂 Thanks for posting this recipe! I am new to your blog (just a few days now, found you from “100 days of real food”). I love it. My sister and I have turned into organic food snobs in the last 4+ years and we love a good food blog. Keep it up baby! 🙂
Hi Heather! Welcome! Thanks for the encouragement. I am totally organic food obsessed as well – but for all the right reasons! Health is the truest form of Wealth, ya know? 🙂
I am SO happy that one of my FB friends posted this on her wall! Our kids LOVE chik-fil-a and it was our go-to vacay food when we’re on the road. I am so happy for this recipe and will DEFINITELY try it out-maybe even tonight!!
Hi Welcome to Food Babe! So glad you found me. Let me know if you try the recipe – I’d love to know what you think!
Made these tonight-very very tasty!!! Huge hit with everyone-including my 16 month old son- just cut the chicken up for him 🙂
Yeah!!! and it wasn’t even Sunday 🙂
Can’t wait to try these!! Have you tried freezing the breasts after baking so I could pull them out and heat them in the mic for a quicker-than-fast-food type meal?
I wouldn’t be putting real food in the microwave.
Nope haven’t tried freezing them – but that’s a great idea… might get soggy though! Oh and I don’t use a microwave either so can’t offer any help there.
You could always reheat them in the oven, that way they wouldn’t be soggy. You can freeze anything, just make sure you put it in a container that will protect the meat from the dreaded freezer burn. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe, will definetly try it. My comment though in reading the ingredients on the buns…. The Canola oil!? It’s toxic so it kind of defeats the purpose doesn’t it?
I agree – Canola oil isn’t the best (actually I don’t really ever buy anything with it anymore). I tried to find a “white” bun that tasted like Chick-Fil-A’s – You’ll see that I preferred the Sprouted Grain Bun over the Breadsmith one… I wanted to show both versions.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/canola-oil/AN01281
I haven’t had chick-fil-a in a long time. Mainly because the closest one is an 8 hour one way drive. After reading your post about their ingredients, that’s probably a good thing. I’m going to have to try your recipe. My family is just getting started on “real” food eating although we ate pretty well before (at least I thought we did.) I’m not on the organic bandwagon yet – I need to do some sourcing and some budget juggling first. I think one of the hardest things will be having a taste for a particular food that is difficult for me to cook – sauces in particular are my trouble spot. I’m working on gathering new recipes and this one will definitely help. I have a 21 month old. I want him to grow up eating real food and that starts at home.
Katelyn – Thanks for sharing your story! I’d like to think eating organic is on the “highway to health” not a band wagon 🙂 I recently wrote an article about how to choose organics and some tips on this post… Check it out – you might find it helpful.
http://clclt.com/eatmycharlotte/archives/2012/04/04/eat-with-your-dollars-with-the-food-babe
Looks delicious! I really miss Chick-fil-A. Do you have any thoughts to gluten free subs for the spelt and whole wheat flour?
Yeah – I think Udi’s makes a good one that is half decent. I find some of the gluten free “bread” products pretty terrible – unless they are dessert type items… Check the freezer section of natural food stores for more options.
Hi, my husband was diagnosed with Celiac a year and a half ago. We have tried numerous GF products and really narrowed down the ones that are good. We LOVE Schar rolls and pasta. The bread and rolls we usually have to buy at an organic market or specialty shop, but the pasta is starting to show up in the grocery stores. They also sells amazing shortbread cookies, wafers, breadcrumbs. We have tried some other bread, but it’s best to used for french toast!
One other thing….not sure what Chick Fil A’s ingredient list is for the grilled items, but you can ask for the nuggets not breaded.
Saw this on a friends Facebook. Love the recipe plan on making it tonight. Thanks for all your insights love the blog.
Mmmm… excited that you are going to try it! Let me know how it goes!
These turned out great my house loved them. The only thing that I think I would do it really make sure the rack is greased because half of my breading came off. Bummer but not the end of the world. still pretty yummy and delicious.
Yes – greasing the rack is definitely important. Thanks for sharing and so happy you still enjoyed them!
Ditto on the canola oil in the buns. Curious for a response on that.
Just replied – definitely not the best ingredient…That’s why I prefer the sprouted grain bun.
I love Chick Fil A. Worked there for three years and so these sound amazing and I will probably try them. However, they do not marinade the actual Chick Fil A Sandwhiches. They do marinade the grilled filet’s , but not the original CFA Sandwich. But, I will def use your recipe because it sounds amazing!
Thanks for the hidden scoop Bekah! Let me know what you think.
Someone passed this onto me on FaceBook. Can’t really say that I ever thought of Chic-Fil-A as healthy. I mean I grew up in the South eating all kinds of Southern delicacies but I never thought it was healthy. Other than what we grew in the garden out back. Anyway, I love to cook so I think I’ll start following your posts.
I am so proud of you and we’ve never met! I have been aware of the toxic foods at restaurants and will never eat anywhere but my house. I buy organic, no msg, no gmo, etc. Thank you for the recipe. At one time in my life I was addicted to toxic-fil-a but I’ve been free from cravings for years now. Thank you for helping others see the truth. I wish we were friends 🙂
Awe – Robbie – you are so sweet. We can be online friends! You and this community I’ve connected with are so awesome. Thanks for leaving this note – hearing things like this is what keeps me going!
I’m wondering why you marinate the pickles in vinegar? Wouldn’t they be fine just as they are? Thanks!
This adds that extra vinegary taste that Chick-Fil-A has… I learned this trick from another recipe!
Sugar goes through a major chemical process does this not bother you
Yet I love it so. This recipe will save my husband and I because the closest chic-fil-a to us is probably 600 miles away! So instead of pining for bad food, we can make our own! yippeee – can’t wait to try it.
Do you think I could freeze these after cooking & reheat?
Thanks!
sorry – saw that you already answered this one : )
It was so disheartening to feel let down by Chick-fil-a after reading your post. But it really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Lately, I’ve become a better cook and the kids complain if we mention fast food. Gotta love my beginner foodies (ages 6, 5, &4). =]
Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe! Looking forward to making it!
I have a few recipes that call for sprouted buns but I can’t find them anywhere. Where can you get them? Thanks
Curious why the chicken is marinaded in pickle juice. I hate pickles & have always ordered my chick-fil-a sandwich without pickles. I’d love to try this recipe but wonder if leaving that step out would be a bad idea? It would be great to have an alternative version so similar to chick-fil-a though!
The marinade is crucial for the “Chick-Fil-A” taste… don’t skip it – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Does it taste like pickles? I am with the other post-er, I always order mine without pickles because I hate that “dill”, picklely taste.
My family loves Chik-Fil-A so I was really disappointed to find out about the ingredients they use. Made this recipe for tonight for dinner and it got raves…I don’t like pickles at all but didn’t mind the chicken marinated in pickle juice – I just skipped them on my bun. Wondering what I did wrong because our chicken’s coating slid right off…followed everything in the recipe.
Brooke – I’ve made these twice and both times my coating slide off, too. It was very sad (although still tasty). The first time the bottom was soggy when I flipped the chicken and the second time the coating came all the way off. I wonder what we are doing wrong?! Next time, I might just spray the olive oil on the bottom side when I turn the chicken. Any other ideas?
Couple of tips to try – Make sure you pat the chicken dry after marinading it and before drudging it in the egg wash. Also – are you using a wire rack like in the picture above? Having the air between the chicken – really helps it get crisp and not fall off.
Definitely using the wire rack — the coating is sticking to the rack, actually. I’ll try patting the chicken dry before the egg wash. Thanks for the tip. SO GOOD.
Couple of tips to try – Make sure you pat the chicken dry after marinading it and before drudging it in the egg wash. Also – are you using a wire rack like in the picture above? Having the air between the chicken – really helps it get crisp and not fall off.
I just made this dish and it was so good. I think it tastes better than Chick-fil-a. Definitely making this again to satisfy my fast food craving.
Yeah! So happy you loved it! Did the coating stay on fine for you? A couple of others have some trouble with this.
Where is your scientific research on the harm of these things? Which ingredients etc?
There is plenty of scientific evidence if you know where to look – and if you choose not to believe the “experts” that are paid by big business and governments to tell us that these chemicals are safe. Personally I don’t need any scientific evidence – I just don’t eat (or feed my family) NUMBERS or anything I can’t pronounce. Thanks for the recipe – look amazing!! Will definitely be trying it this week 🙂
Well said Bam Bam! Let me know how the recipe turns out!
Ah! Patting dry! I am making it now, I just flipped them in the oven and the breading is coming almost completely off. So disappointing! Guess I’ll have to try making it again’
Do you think the Almond milk is necessary, or do you think regular milk could be used as a replacement flavor-wise? We have a nut allergy in our house! Thanks!
Regular milk will work just fine – I used Almond because we don’t buy cow’s milk anymore.
I am new to real food and organic, over the last year, our family has been adding in more and more good real foods in hopes of one day overcoming the processed junk foods. Being a southern girl, I am so excited to try this recipe on my family tonight. Thank you for all your hard work and for sharing your knowledge …I will let you know how it goes. =)
How did it turn out?
Made these today, really good!! I did strips instead of sandwiches for my kids. To help the flour coating stay on, I did a double dredge. I gave the chicken a quick rinse after marinating in the pickle juice, patted them dry, dredged them in the four mixture patted off any excess, then dropped them in milk and egg wash, and finally back into the four mixture. Dredging in the four mixture first gives the egg wash and flour mix something to stick too, and helps prevent the coating from slipping off.
If you have to bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes how can you say it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare? Not to mention the marinade time …
Regardless, I’m excited to give it a shot soon.
Hi there! Great tasty recipe. It really did the trick for my husband – who used to work at Chick-fil-A in his youth. He thinks the taste is very much the same!
I followed your recipe except for I used all spelt flour instead of adding any whole wheat flour. (Our family does much better having spelt only occasionally and avoiding wheat all together). And I drizzled the breaded breasts with coconut oil instead of olive oil as the coconut oil stands up better to the higher heat in the oven. I’m sure with the drizzling – instead of the spraying of the oil – that I didn’t get my chicken breasts covered as well in oil.
But I did have a problem with a lot of the breading falling off when flipping the breasts. Perhaps this is due to the two changes I made? Do you have any tips for getting the breading to stay on better?
Thank you for sharing!!
Hi! I have never made this particular sandwich before, but in my past experience with making anything that requires a breading, it is VERY helpful if you can put the breaded chicken in the fridge for an hour (on the wire rack). The cold temp helps the breading “stick” to the chicken and results in a better finished product. So, maybe this method would work for these chicken breasts? Just a thought! Thank you for the recipe, Food Babe!
Wow great tip. I think I need to modify the recipe with this one! Thank you.
Just made these tonight! They tasted great! Pretty moist as well. But I also had a problem with the batter falling off. I patted the chicken dry before coating. I’m wondering if there just wasn’t enough olive oil on them? The kids still gobbled them up quick! I’ll be making these again.
I LOVE Chick-fil-a! I was devastated when I read your blog about all the chemicals. So when I saw that you posted this recipe, I had to give it a try! We made them last night and LOVED them! WE also recently tried a nugget recipe from the Six Sister’s blog. Now we are all set to avoid Chick-fil-a as much as possible. Thank you for opening my eyes and providing a healthier alternative! You are awesome!
You are welcome April! Glad I can help…
Isn’t powdered sugar bad for you???
Great article on Chick-fil-A! I’m an addict, but will be changing my habits soon.
I grew up on Long John Silvers, starting in the mid-70s. I never noticed until 2011 that after I eat an LJS meal, I feel sluggish, like my body wants to shut down. Food is not supposed to have this effect, so I have stopped eating at LJS. But can you do a report on LJS like you did on Chick-fil-A? I’d be most anxious to read up on that.
I made these sandwiches for dinner tonight. All I can say is wow! They were even better than Chick fila if you ask me. I had a hard time finding organic pickles, we don’t eat pickles often and it surprised me to find that even Kosher dills had yellow dye in them! Crazy! I ended up geTting an “all natural” pickle instead, I had to settle. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe, I am looking forward to future recipes!
I have not made these yet, but am nervous about the use of powdered sugar. Is this ingredient essential to the recipe and what brand did you use? And in general, did you follow another recipe to come up with this one or did you just wing it? Thanks!
This looks delicious! I am really impressed by how much you are trying to eat fresh and healthy! Keep it up!
KC
Thanks so much for taking the time and spending the effort to enable us all to make edible and guilt-free Chick-fil-A sandwiches! Am definitely going to use this. I also contacted Chick-Fil-A with your fantastic FYI with hopes they’ll (eventually) change their ways. Heck, if EVERYONE boycotts them and declares why, maybe it’ll actually happen! 😀
Can’t wait to try this! Thanks so much for educating me on this topic. I just started following your blog and Facebook page and changing my eating habits. I feel better already!
Any other suggestions if we do not want to use powdered sugar? Or do you recommend a “healthy” powered sugar brand?
I make my own powered sugar, by grinding either evaporated cane juice or coconut palm sugar and adding a tsp of arrowroot starch. I use a simple coffee grinder. Good Luck!
Wow, I had no idea about Chick-Fil-A thinking they were somewhat healthy since its chicken! I can’t wait to try your recipe soon.
Also I saw your posts about green juices with kale…I still can’t get used to the taste of kale and I always substitute spinach instead.
Have you tried juicing with Kale? I find the taste doesn’t matter much between the two once you add in cucumber, celery and lemon.
This is great!! Could you demonstrate how to make healthy waffle fries?
You could bake them certainly. Try coating them in a little bit of melted coconut oil and sea salt and pop them in the oven at 425 degrees for 10-15 mins each side. Good Luck!