An explosion of flavor with each bite!

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My ultimate crispy fried chicken sandwich is the best you’ll ever taste! It’s crispy, juicy chicken with shawarma sauce and light coleslaw salad on a brioche bun. It’s so easy to put together and to die for delicious. I can put shawarma sauce on anything, but it really highlights the crispy chicken in this recipe. The coleslaw salad can be served on the sandwich and as a side dish. It’s lighter than mayo coleslaw and adds freshness to each bite. You’re going to love it!
Why your family will keep asking for this!
- Crispy, juicy chicken
- Slightly sweet coleslaw
- Tangy fresh pickles
- Warm spiced shawarma sauce
- Toasty brioche bun
- The best crispy fried chicken sandwich you’ll ever have with shawarma and coleslaw!

What you’ll need
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts –presliced cutlets or tenderloins are a great substitute
- All-purpose flour for dredging
- Oil for frying -a light vegetable oil is best
- Eggs, beaten with about a quarter cup of milk and a pinch of salt and pepper
- Unseasoned Panko breadcrumbs -to avoid preseasoned flavors that may not blend well
- Dried thyme
- Cayenne pepper (optional) -gives just a bit of heat
- Salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Granulated garlic powder
- Shawarma Sauce -check out how to make it here!
- Brioche Buns
- Cheddar cheese slices -or your favorite cheese
For the Coleslaw:
- Half of a green cabbage, shredded
- Half of a purple cabbage, shredded
- Carrots, shredded
- Olive oil –the best quality I’ve found is straight from Crete. You can get it in our shop!
- Vinegar -whatever you have on hand. I usually have red wine in the cabinet.
- Honey -Greek honey has the best flavor!
- Dijon mustard -stone ground or any mustard you have on hand will work
- Salt and pepper
Shortcut tip!
I like to buy already prepared coleslaw mix. It’s a blend of shredded green and purple cabbage with carrots. The work has been done for you, and you can save the time of cutting and shredding cabbage. It’s so convenient!

Extra Tender Chicken instructions
It’s a well-known trick to soak the chicken in buttermilk for extra tender chicken. It works with this recipe, too! Whisk together buttermilk, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs, like oregano or thyme. Then, soak the cutlets in the mixture overnight in the refrigerator. You will not believe how tender, juicy, and full of flavor the chicken is after doing this.
How to make my ultimate crispy fried chicken sandwich
Make the coleslaw salad
- Add the cabbage and carrots to a large bowl.
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until emulsified.
- Pour over the cabbage and toss.
Cut the breasts into cutlets
- Using a sharp knife, cut each breast horizontally into two equal pieces.
- Pound them to even them out and tenderize them.
Fry the chicken
- Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with salt and black pepper, and then dredge in flour.
- Whisk together the eggs and milk in a shallow pan until smooth, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Mix together the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme, and garlic powder in a shallow pan.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add a layer of oil.
- Allow the oil to heat to about 350-360°F.
- Then, dip the chicken in the egg mixture and coat in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Fry 3 cutlets at a time for about 3 minutes per side or until golden. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Place the fried cutlets on a tray lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil or on a tray with a cookie rack over it.
- Preheat the oven to 250 °F, and place the chicken cutlets in the oven to keep them warm.
Assemble the sandwiches
- Toast the Brioche buns and make the sandwiches
- Add a slice of cheese, the chicken, shawarma sauce, pickles, and some coleslaw on top.
- Add the top bun and serve.

Crispy oven-baked option
Baking the chicken in the oven means slightly less crispy chicken, but still very delicious. Preheat your oven to 350˚-400˚F and put the coated chicken on a cooling rack placed on a sheet tray. Bake for 10 minutes on each side until the internal temperature reaches 165˚F. If you’ve made this in the air fryer, let me know how it went and if you liked the results.

Serve
These sandwiches are so delicious, and I enjoy extra coleslaw on the side. If you like pickled onions as much as I do, you can add those for an extra briny bite. No matter how you tweak it, you have to make this sandwich. Your family will thank me for it. Kali Orexi!

My Ultimate Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- all-purpose flour for dredging (about a cup)
- oil for frying
- 2-3 eggs, beaten with about a quarter cup of milk, a pinch of salt and pepper
- 3 cups unseasoned Panko breadcrumbs
- 2-3 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- salt, to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2-3 teaspoons granulated garlic powder
- Shawarma Sauce
- Brioche Buns
- Cheddar cheese slices
For the Coleslaw:
- half of a green cabbage, shredded
- half of a purple cabbage, shredded
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut the breasts into cutlets: Using a sharp knife cut each breast horizontally into two equal pieces. Pound them to even them out and to tenderize them.
- Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with salt and black pepper and dredge in flour.
- Combine the eggs and milk in a shallow pan and season lightly with salt and pepper. Whisk together until smooth.
- In a shallow pan, combine the breadcrumbs, salt, peppers, thyme, and garlic powder. Mix together.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat and add a layer of oil. Allow the oil to heat to about 350-360°F.
- Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Fry 3 cutlets at a time about 3 minutes per side or until golden. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Place the fried cutlets on a tray lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil or on a tray with a cookie rack over it.
- Preheat the oven to 250 °F and the chicken cutlets can be placed in the oven to keep them warm.
- Make the coleslaw salad: Add the cabbage and carrots to a large bowl. Combine the dressing together in a bowl and mix until emulsified. Pour over the cabbage and toss.
- Toast the Brioche buns and make the sandwiches: Add a slice of cheese, the chicken, shawarma sauce, pickles and some coleslaw on top. Add the top bun and serve.
- Kali Orexi!
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Had to chuckle when I read your directions. When I lived in Israel, I learned to make schnitzel using turkey breast. Except for the milk (we used an egg with water), it’s made exactly the same way.