You’re going to love my Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. The tender, juicy chicken breast, wrapped in a crunchy coating and brushed with the Nashville hot sauce, is legendary and not to be missed.
The star of the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich recipe is definitely the crispy chicken cutlet. Marinated in a spicy buttermilk mixture, it’s breaded and then deep-fried to a golden brown, crispy perfection. The chicken isn’t merely ‘hot’; it’s a culinary experience.
The Nashville hot chicken sandwich originated at Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, Tennessee, and has since grown to be one of the most popular sandwiches in the state.
Making this sandwich may seem daunting, but It’s more than just a sandwich; it’s a taste of Nashville’s fiery soul.
Ingredients to make Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
I used chicken breasts to make the sandwich, but you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs to make this traditional Nashville fried chicken sandwich.
How to make Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
- Cut the boneless chicken breasts into 5-6 ounce cutlets.
- Pound the chicken breasts lightly. Just enough to have a uniform thickness.
- Combine buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce in a shallow bowl.
- Whisk the ingredients until fully combined.
- Place the chicken cutlets into the bowl with the buttermilk mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the chicken for 2-4 hours.
Add the flour to another bowl and mix in the black pepper and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside until needed.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let it sit in the buttermilk brine for 10 minutes to come to room temperature before breading.
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture and dredge the chicken breast in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour.
- Dip the piece of chicken back into the buttermilk mixture. Letting excess buttermilk drip off.
- Dredge the buttermilk-dipped chicken breast back into the dry flour mixture for the second coating of flour. Make sure to get a good coating of flour on the chicken.
Continue the process until all the chicken has been breaded.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
- Add the cayenne, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, brown sugar, and honey to the saucepan. Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper to suit your preference of heat levels.
- Whisk the ingredients to combine and heat the hot sauce mixture over medium heat for one minute or until the brown sugar has somewhat dissolved.
- Add two inches of cooking oil to a deep skillet or Dutch oven over high heat. Heat the oil until it has reached 350 degrees F. Then add the breaded chicken breasts to the hot oil, deep frying the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side. Cook the chicken breasts until golden brown and crispy and until the internal temperature is at least 165°F.
*Cook in two batches if the pan is not big enough for all four. I prefer using vegetable oil to fry the chicken, but you can also use canola oil or peanut oil.
- Remove the cooked chicken cutlets from the pan and place them on a wire rack (or paper towels) to drain.
- Add two tablespoons of hot cooking oil from frying the chicken to the Nashville hot sauce mixture.
- Whisk the oil in until the mixture is smooth.
- Brush the fried chicken with the Nashville hot sauce or dip it into the spicy sauce.
- Butter and toast the brioche buns. Then spread one tablespoon of mayonnaise on the bottom of the toasted brioche buns.
- Place the pickle chips on top of the mayonnaise.
- Place the coated fried chicken on top of the pickles.
- Add shredded lettuce (or creamy cole slaw) on top of the chicken. Top with the bun and serve.
Although you won’t see it included in many Recipes, I like to add a slice of American cheese to the sandwich.
Serve the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches with a small tossed salad, potato chips, cole slaw, or your favorite sides. For a real Southern experience, serve the sandwich with potato salad or macaroni salad.
How to air fry Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
- Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees F. For the best results, make sure to preheat the air fryer for at least 5 minutes, it makes a big difference in crisping up the chicken.
- Add the chicken to the preheated air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may have to cook the chicken in batches.
- Spray the top of the breaded chicken with cooking spray to coat the breading.
- Air fry the chicken for 7-9 minutes. Then flip the chicken and spray the the flipped side with cooking spray.
- Continue to air fry the chicken for an additional 7-9 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads at least 165 degrees F.
- When fully cooked remove the chicken and let cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Make sure to let the chicken cool for the full 5 minutes, otherwise when you apply the Nashville hot sauce, the sandwich will be soggy.
Recipe FAQ’s
The main difference between this sandwich and most other chicken sandwiches is the level of spiciness. Nashville hot chicken tends to be one of the spiciest chicken sandwiches you’ll find and is served with a variety of toppings.
Absolutely, substitute a plant-based alternative like tofu or a meat substitute for the chicken. Follow the same process for marinating and coating, but adjust the cooking time as necessary.
I like to serve sides like coleslaw, macaroni salad, or potato salad. A cold, creamy side dish often works well to balance out the spiciness of the chicken. French fries, tater tots, sweet potato fries or a salad are also great side dishes.
JM
Fantastic sandwich! All the flavors complemented each other and the buttered brioche buns were delicious. I opted for the slaw suggestion instead of shredded lettuce and the creaminess and slight sweetness of the slaw was great with the spice of the chicken. This recipe is definitely a keeper! We loved it!
Chef Dennis Littley
I love the sandwich with coleslaw too. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the sandwich.
Trisha Dunham
My family gives this recipe 10/10!!!
Moop Brown
This sandwich was very juicy and crispy. Love the spicy flavors and addition of the hot sauce.
Hayley
The flavours in your recipe looked so good! I followed your recommendations for a veggie option and made it tofu and it came out amazing! Will be making this again and again!
Tristin
I made these spicy chicken sandwiches with your potato salad. This was an excellent weekend dinner!
Ann
I love Nashville Hot Chicken and this sandwich looks amazing! Excited to give it a try soon! Thanks for the recipe share!
Susan
Wow!! These sandwiches were amazing with the variety of flavors and textures. And that Nashville Hot Sauce would be fabulous on sooooo many things!!
Monica
So delicious! These are such a fun change-up from our regular routine, and especially delicious with sweet potato fries. I think the contrasting flavors are perfect!
Alex
Love the bread on this! I think I’ll make all my chicken with this breading from now on. The sauce was also delicious! Thanks so much.
Katie Crenshaw
This is the best chicken sandwich ever! That crispy crust topped with the Nashville hot sauce is INCREDIBLE!
Amy
The crispy chicken, zesty sauce, and buttery bun is packed with flavors. It’s crispy, spicy, and it was delicious!
Gloria
You can never go wrong with a great chicken recipe and your sandwich was mouthwatering and delicious. My family devoured them!
Joanne
Another amazing recipe! My family stumbled upon your recipe looking for a cannoli cake recipe and we started with that as our first recipe. We’ve gone on to try another four of your recipes in the past two weeks and all have been five stars! This chicken sandwich was easy to put together and my boys loved it! We did the air fryer instead of frying it in oil and it turned on amazing!
I can’t wait to try more recipes! My boys know you by name now! 🥰Thank you for sharing your knowledge and creativity with us!