Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich
I’m bringing you another restaurant dupe! This is my Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich recipe, which is SO DELICIOUS! And FYI, you don’t have to frequent fast food chains to have the kind of food that they serve. You can make these items at home! You might even find that you like them better because you can control the seasoning, quality of ingredients, and variations to your already-loved recipe.
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For the month of LOVE (February), I’ve decided to highlight some of the most important people in my life. One of those people is my daughter Ava. Ava loves fried chicken. It doesn’t matter if it’s wings, nuggets, strips, on a sandwich, or a salad.
If it’s fried chicken… she’s in!
And because she is such a fan of fried chicken, we have spent many lunches and dinners on our travels at fast food restaurants that offer that very thing. We have a couple of favorite places and Raising Cane’s is one of them. I think it’s because they just do chicken and they do it right.
Raising Cane’s
You know how some places can get too many things on their menu and the quality seems to go down? It’s almost like they are spreading themselves too thin. Now don’t get me wrong, some restaurants offer a variety of items on their menu and do them all well, but it’s a challenge for sure. I appreciate Raising Cane’s being singularly focused. They simply offer fried chicken tenders and a delicious sauce.
Now, back to Ava…
Ava is full of life and adventure! She is always up for anything that I introduce to her. If it’s a new food that’s unfamiliar to her it doesn’t matter, she will try it. A new place that she’s never been to, that’s alright, she’s all in. If it’s an activity that might seem intimidating or scary, no worries, Ava is up for the challenge.
She is so willing to just EXPERIENCE things and I LOVE that about her.
And not because it reminds me of myself, but also because I know that she will live life to the fullest. And that’s what it’s all about!
Now back to the Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich
What makes my version of this fried chicken sandwich a copycat version of Raising Cane’s sandwich is the sauce. Once you taste their sauce, there’s no turning back. It reminds me of a jazzed-up version of Thousand Island dressing.
I know that might sound crazy to hear, but it’s true.
The main ingredients are pretty much the same. They both start with mayonnaise and ketchup. After that, the flavor depends completely on whatever acids and seasonings you add.
The Raising Cane’s sauce is what makes this sandwich for Ava. You see… she’s a sauce person. In raising Ava and cooking for Ava, I’ve come to understand that there are two types of people in this world, the dippers and the non-dippers.
What am I talking about, you might ask?
I’m talking about people who need to have a dipping sauce with every.single.meal. and the other group of people who don’t want condiments to cover up the delicious flavor of the food they are eating.
(There may be some people who fall into the middle ground… I’m there. We prefer to taste the food, but if a condiment compliments it, it can be added.)
However, I have two other people in my house who are dippers and are obsessed specifically with ketchup. (UGH!) But this post isn’t about them so we will move on! (HA)
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Tips for the Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich:
- Toast your buns. This will keep the sauce from making your bread soggy.
- Use a cutting board lined with paper towels to drain excess grease instead of a dish. You won’t have to wash it and the wood will absorb the extra oil and get conditioned without any extra effort.
If you don’t have a thermometer to check the temperature of your oil, no worries.
- You can either put in a small piece of “test” chicken to see if it’s hot enough or you can sprinkle a little bit of flour into the oil to see if it sizzles.
- Make sure your eggs are cold for a super crispy crunch on your chicken strips.
- Don’t dredge all of your chicken strips at once. This will result in the flour becoming sticky, gummy, and soggy. This will not give you a light, crispy crust on your chicken. Dredge the pieces of chicken right before you cook them. Work in batches.
You can make your sauce in advance and have it chilled in the fridge.
- This will give it more time to develop flavor and it will add a nice refreshing bite to the warm sandwich.
- Here’s a tip for cracking eggs. Crack the eggs against each other and you will minimize the chance of getting shells in your recipe.
Make the Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich with me on YouTube!
Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Ingredients:
- 5 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1/2 tablespoon Tony’s seasoning
- 8 hamburger buns
- Romaine lettuce
- Sliced tomato
- Pickle slices
For the Sauce:
- 3 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons of ketchup
- 1 tablespoon of Pepperoncini pepper juice
- 2 teaspoons of Cavender’s Greek Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Instructions:
- First, pour vegetable oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed pot (a Dutch oven) and turn it on to medium-high heat. (I would put enough oil to be at least 3 inches deep.)
- Second, take the chicken breasts, cut them into strips, and place them into a medium-sized mixing bowl. I usually get about four strips out of each breast. Of course, this will depend on the size of your chicken breasts.
- Third, crack the eggs straight into your mixing bowl with the strips of chicken.
- Next, place the onion powder, garlic powder, and Tony’s into the mixing bowl with the eggs and chicken and give a good mix until all of the chicken pieces are coated in the egg mixture and seasonings. I like to mix with clean hands that way I can make sure every piece of chicken is coated on all sides.
- Then, pour your self-rising flour into a separate mixing bowl for dipping.
- Once the temperature of the oil has reached 350 degrees (or sizzles when you sprinkle flour into it), it’s time to start dipping your chicken strips into the flour mixture. Make sure to shake off any excess flour and don’t overcrowd your pot.
Also, DO NOT pre-dip your chicken strips!
- You only want to dip them in flour when they are going straight into the hot oil. If you go ahead and dip them all, the flour will become soggy and sticky and not give you the crust that you are looking for. So, you will dip and fry in batches.
- While your chicken strips are frying, take some paper towels and lay them across a plate or cutting board to prepare a place to put the fried chicken strips when you take them out of the oil. The paper towels will absorb the extra grease. (I prefer to use my cutting board because there’s no need to wash it when I’m done, and the oil can seep into the wood.) You could also use a wire rack if you prefer.
- Cook the chicken strips until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Set them on the paper towel-lined plate or cutting board to cool.
- While the chicken strips are cooling, get your sandwich ingredients ready: tomato slices, romaine lettuce, and dill pickle chips and prepare the Raising Cane’s sauce.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, Cavender’s, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper juice, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
- Next, toast your hamburger buns. I toast my hamburger buns for this recipe because otherwise, the bread is going to get soggy with the sauce on it and you don’t want that.
- Spoon enough sauce on each half of the toasted hamburger bun to coat.
- Then, place romaine lettuce on the bottom bun and the pickles on the top bun. (If you find that your pickles are so wet that they are going to make your sandwich soggy, you can place them on paper towels ahead of time to absorb the extra liquid. This will make a huge difference in your sandwich.)
- Next, place your tomato slice on top of the lettuce.
- Then, take another small spoonful of the sauce and spread it on top of the tomato slice.
- Now, it’s time to place the chicken strips onto the sandwich. I don’t like my chicken strips sticking out too far, so I break them in half and layer them on top of the tomato. This recipe should make 8 sandwiches, but you can pile as much fried chicken on the sandwich as you would like.
- Finally, place the top bun on the sandwich, give it a little press with your hand to make it come together, and enjoy!
Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe Variations: (for the bread)
- Brioche Buns
- Potato Rolls
- Hot Dog Buns
- Yeast Rolls
- Pretzel Buns
- Jalapeno Buns
Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe Variations: (for the sauce)
(You might be one of the few people who just isn’t a fan of the Raising Cane’s sauce and that’s okay!)
- Hot sauce – for some heat (I prefer Louisiana Hot Sauce)
- BBQ sauce – for a little smoky sweetness
- Buffalo sauce – for a kick (another favorite of Ava)
- Spicy mayo – for an Asian twist
- Blue Cheese dressing – for some creaminess and tang
- Ranch dressing – for the people who can’t live without it (HA)
Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe Variations: (for the cooking method)
(If you are not a fan of deep frying, then there are other options for your fried chicken sandwiches.)
- Baking – I haven’t done a lot of experimenting with frying in the oven, but I know it can be done. I’m sure that you would want a baking sheet with a wire rack to keep the surface of the chicken crispy.
- Air Fryer – I have an air fryer and I love it! Again, I haven’t used it for egg and flour-breaded foods, but I have friends that do. It would certainly be worth a try for a healthier option.
Storage for the Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich:
I would not store these sandwiches. I would store the ingredients for these sandwiches and assemble them when I was ready to eat.
- Copycat Raising Cane’s sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.
- Fried chicken strips can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.
- When warming the chicken strips back up, pop them into an air fryer to crisp them back up!
- Toasted hamburger buns can be kept in a Ziploc bag on the counter for 1 week.
Check out some of my other chicken recipes!
Cheddar Bay Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie
Sticky, Sweet, and Spicy Asian Chicken
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Copycat Raising Cane’s Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich
Equipment
- 1 heavy-bottomed pot (Dutch oven)
- 2 medium-sized mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 5 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1/2 tablespoon Tony’s seasoning
- 8 hamburger buns
- Romaine lettuce
- Sliced tomato
- Pickle slices
For the Sauce:
- 3 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons of ketchup
- 1 tablespoon of Pepperoncini pepper juice
- 2 teaspoons of Cavender’s Greek Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- First, pour vegetable oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed pot (a Dutch oven) and turn on to medium-high heat. (I would put enough oil to be at least 3 inches deep.)
- Second, take the chicken breasts, cut them into strips, and place them into a medium-sized mixing bowl. I usually get about four strips out of each breast. Of course, this will depend on the size of your chicken breasts.
- Third, crack the eggs straight into your mixing bowl with the strips of chicken.
- Next, place the onion powder, garlic powder, and Tony’s into the mixing bowl with the eggs and chicken and give a good mix until all of the chicken pieces are coated in the egg mixture and seasonings. I like to mix with clean hands that way I can make sure every piece of chicken is coated on all sides.
- Then, pour your self-rising flour into a separate mixing bowl for dipping.
- Once the temperature of the oil has reached 350 degrees (or sizzles when you sprinkle flour into it), it’s time to start dipping your chicken strips into the flour mixture. Make sure to shake off any excess flour and don’t overcrowd your pot. Also, DO NOT pre-dip your chicken strips. You only want to dip them in flour when they are going straight into the hot oil. If you go ahead and dip them all, the flour will become soggy and sticky and not give you the crust that you are looking for. So, you will dip and fry in batches.
- While your chicken strips are frying, take some paper towels and lay them across a plate or cutting board to prepare a place to put the fried chicken strips when you take them out of the oil. The paper towels will absorb the extra grease. (I prefer to use my cutting board because there’s no need to wash it when I’m done, and the oil can seep into the wood.) You could also use a wire rack if you prefer.
- Cook the chicken strips until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Set them on the paper towel-lined plate or cutting board to cool.
- While the chicken strips are cooling, get your sandwich ingredients ready: tomato slices, romaine lettuce, and dill pickle chips and prepare the Raising Cane’s sauce.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, Cavender’s, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper juice, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
- Next, toast your hamburger buns. I toast my hamburger buns for this recipe because otherwise, the bread is going to get soggy with the sauce on it and you don’t want that.
- Spoon enough sauce on each half of the toasted hamburger bun to coat.
- Then, place romaine lettuce on the bottom bun and the pickles on the top bun. (If you find that your pickles are so wet that they are going to make your sandwich soggy, you can place them on paper towels ahead of time to absorb the extra liquid. This will make a huge difference in your sandwich.)
- Next, place your tomato slice on top of the lettuce.
- Then, take another small spoonful of the sauce and spread it on top of the tomato slice.
- Now, it’s time to place the chicken strips onto the sandwich. I don’t like my chicken strips sticking out too far, so I break them in half and layer them on top of the tomato. This recipe should make 8 sandwiches, but you can pile as much fried chicken on the sandwich as you would like.
- Finally, place the top bun on the sandwich, give it a little press with your hand to make it come together, and enjoy!
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