I bet you’ve never had a spicy chicken sandwich with yogurt in it before! Sounds weird, but stick with me. I love using basic pantry staples in fun new ways, so I created these Spicy Chicken Sandwiches to show how versatile yogurt can be and how it can be used in both sweet and savory recipes. Because the more versatile an ingredient it, the less likely it is to go to waste, and we don’t like food waste around here!
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After having success using plain yogurt in place of buttermilk to bread my Homemade Baked Chicken Nuggets, I knew I had to do it in sandwich form. The process is basically the same, except I added spicy heat in three layers to the chicken! YES! And then I made a simple Honey Yogurt Coleslaw that is every so slightly sweet, to balance the heat of the chicken.
Can These Sandwiches be Reheated?
These Baked Spicy Chicken Sandwiches are definitely best when baked fresh, hence the small two sandwich batch size, but I have had decent luck reheating the baked chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat. They aren’t as crispy as they are when freshly baked, but the hot skillet does get rid of some of the moisture making the breading less soggy.
Slaw Options
If you’re not into a sweet slaw, try making a batch of my Homemade Ranch Dressing to use as your slaw dressing instead. Ranch pairs great with spicy chicken. P.S. the ranch dressing recipe also uses plain yogurt. ;) Or you could just make it easy and use some store-bought ranch dressing.
Baked Spicy Chicken Sandwiches
Servings 2Ingredients
Baked Spicy Chicken
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs ($0.13)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 1.5 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.06)
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt ($0.25)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1 tsp hot sauce ($0.04)
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2/3 lb.) ($3.99)
Honey Yogurt Slaw
- 3 cups shredded cabbage slaw mix (pre-bagged) ($0.65)
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise ($0.17)
- 1/3 cup plain whole milk yogurt ($0.33)
- 1/2 Tbsp honey ($0.06)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.06)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
For Serving
- 2 buns ($1.00)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet to hold the breaded chicken.
- In a wide shallow bowl or container, combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper for the chicken's breading. Once combined, add the cooking oil and stir until the seasoned breadcrumbs resemble damp sand.
- In a separate wide shallow bowl or container, combine the yogurt, salt, and hot sauce.
- Place the chicken breast on a cutting board, cover with plastic, then use a mallet or rolling pin to gently pound the chicken breast to an even thickness, no more than 3/4-inch thick. Cut the chicken breast in half, then season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the yogurt and hot sauce mixture, making sure to fully coat the chicken, then into the seasoned bread crumbs, again coating both sides. Place the coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet with wire rack.
- Bake the chicken for 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF, carefully flipping the chicken once half way through.
- While the chicken is baking, prepare the honey yogurt slaw. In a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, yogurt, honey, Dijon, vinegar, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
- Place the shredded cabbage slaw mix in a large bowl, pour the prepared dressing over top, and stir until the cabbage is coated in dressing.
- Once the chicken is finished baking, build the sandwiches. Place one piece of spicy chicken on each bun and top with a generous pile of the honey yogurt slaw. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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How to Make Spicy Baked Chicken Sandwiches – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 425ºF. Place a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet to hold the breaded chicken. To a wide shallow bowl or dish add 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/8 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir the breadcrumbs and spices together until combined, then add 1.5 Tbsp cooking oil and stir until the mixture resembles damp sand.
In a separate wide shallow bowl or dish, combine 1/4 cup plain yogurt with 1/8 tsp salt, and 1 tsp hot sauce.
Place one boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2/3 lb.) on a cutting board and cover with plastic to prevent splatter. Use a rolling pin or mallet to gently pound the chicken to an even thickness, no more than 3/4-inch thick.
Cut the chicken breast in half and season each side with a pinch of salt and cayenne.
Dip each piece of chicken into the spicy yogurt mixture, making sure it’s completely coated, then into the seasoned breadcrumbs, again making sure they are completely coated. Place the breaded chicken on the prepared baking sheet with wire rack.
Bake the chicken for about 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF, flipping the chicken once half way through (I usually do it at the 15 minute mark). The best way to flip the chicken without the breading falling off is to use tongs and pinch the sides of the chicken pieces, rather than pinching top and bottom.
While the chicken is baking, prepare the honey yogurt slaw. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1/3 cup plain whole milk yogurt, 1/2 Tbsp honey, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and a little freshly cracked pepper. Stir until smooth.
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Pour the dressing over 3 cups shredded coleslaw mix (pre-bagged shredded cabbage and carrots). Stir until the cabbage is coated in dressing.
Then just build the spicy chicken sandwiches. Place one piece of baked spicy chicken on each bun and add a generous pile of the honey yogurt slaw. Enjoy!
Another husband approved dish! I made the chicken nuggets recipe for my kids. Both my husband and I are not big slaw fans but we really liked this one. I didn’t have a slaw mix so I used some cabbage and a carrot. I put pepper jack cheese and pickles on my sandwich like they do at Chick-fil-a and ooooo its so good and is very close to the fast food sandwiches. Super easy!
I make my own yogurt with organic whole milk and it worked perfectly! My husband couldn’t believe this chicken had yogurt in it. I marinated my chicken for over an hour.
Very easy & very tasty! I used Greek yogurt, didn’t feel the need to thin it out and it worked perfectly. I was on the fence about the slaw – I prefer a tangy slaw – but the honey was perfect with the spicy chicken. Husband topped his with a slice of Swiss cheese & I with American, and it was so good! Can’t wait to make again.
This recipe is awesome! Super easy and delicious.
I’ve made hundreds of recipes from online sources, but this is my first review. It was that good!!! Thank you! Extremely versatile recipe. The yogurt marinade and wet crumbs make for a perfect crisp. It will be my go-to chicken tender recipes from now on. Made it in the air fryer.
I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a recipe before, but I really wanted to leave a comment here to say “thank you” for this delicious recipe! I’ve been a regular Budget Bytes visitor for years, but I found this recipe through the recent BB collaboration with The Financial Diet. I’m so glad I tried these out! They were very straightforward to make, and they taste just as indulgent as a fast food sandwich, except with a richer variety of flavors due to the freshness and the slaw. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe probably 5 times already and it is a hit!! I was even told it was better than Popeyes, Mcdonalds, etc. The spice is perfect, the chicken is super juicy.
I do have a few tweaks:
I leave the chicken marinated in the yogurt for awhile.
I add panko bread crumbs to give it a crunch.
But other than that, this recipe is freaking amazing. You know what you’re putting in and it’s much healthier considering it isn’t fried.
Thank you <3
Very delicious and very easy to make!
Thank you!
The chicken aspect of this recipe is wonderful. I’ve made it with greek yogurt and diluted it with a little milk until it was runny. I did this because I already had the greek yogurt on hand. I’m eager to try these again sometime but with different sandwich fixings. This is a very versatile recipe!
Thanks Kim!
These were fantastic! Made them just as written and honestly the proportions were perfect, including the slaw. A good heap on each sandwich and just the right amount for 2 sides. For the chicken, it’s definitely spicy – in a good way, although I think I may cut back on the hot sauce by 1/2 (I used sriracha because it’s all I have). I’ll probably also use regular, rather than smoked paprika next time and see which I prefer. But as written it was still wonderful.
NOTE for those who can’t do lactose/dairy: Silk Vanilla Soy Yogurt works wonderfully here. You don’t notice the vanilla in the sandwich at all, and the other slaw ingredients work really well with it. You can up the vinegar or mustard if you want more tang, but I like sweet coleslaw. Definitely adding this to the rotation!
Great tip!
Oh, wow! Thank you for this amazing recipe! I can’t believe how easy it is to make!
Happy to hear it Suzie!
Made this the other night and I was SO excited! These taste right like Chick Fil A’s spicy chicken sandwiches (but with breadcrumbs instead of batter and healthier)!
A really good easy one for after a long day’s work!
Another delicious recipe! I had Greek yogurt in my fridge so that’s what I used and it turned out great. Thank you so much for all your great recipes I know no matter which one I try it will be awesome!!
Absolutely delicious!
I’m going to preface this by saying I hate to cook. As in, would almost rather starve than cook. On that note, this was super easy and super tasty. I didn’t make the slaw, just paired the chicken with a salad. I used sour cream in place of yogurt since that’s all I had and used panko bread crumbs for the coating. The flavor definitely has a kick to it. But all in all, incredibly easy to throw together and will make again.
Can Greek yogurt be subbed for plain yogurt?
If you use Greek yogurt you’ll need to thin it out a bit with water so it’s more like the consistency of heavy whipping cream.