This recipe to make a Buffalo Grilled Chicken Sandwich at home takes under 30 minutes and is an easy, summer grilling dinner. Season chicken breasts with simple spices, grill, then slather in buffalo sauce.
I like to serve this recipe with fries (like these crispy Air Fryer Frozen French Fries), carrots and celery sticks to dip into the ranch or blue cheese dressing, or a simple green salad.
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Why I Love It:
- Grills in 10 Minutes - Using thin sliced chicken breasts mean they cook on the grill super fast!
- Classic Buffalo Flavor in Sandwich Form
- Easy Grilled Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients:
- Thin Chicken Breasts - You can buy thinly sliced chicken cutlets at the store or pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a thin and even thickness. Using thinner chicken makes the sandwiches much easier to eat vs biting into a large, thick piece of chicken.
- Spices - Smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper
- Buffalo Sauce
- Buns - For serving
- Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing - For serving. Try making a batch of Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing!
- Lettuce - for serving. I like to use romaine or butter lettuce leaves
Substitutions and Variations
- Chicken Thighs - You can follow this recipe using boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts. They will take a little longer to cook, grill until the internal temperature reads at least 165 degrees F.
- Other Serving Ideas - Instead of serving the grilled buffalo chicken on sandwiches, you can use it to make lots of other meals. Such as a Buffalo Chicken Wrap, Buffalo Chicken Salad, with a side of potatoes and veggies, shredded on top of a pizza or nachos.
Step by Step Instructions:
- Preheat Grill - Start by getting your grill preheating for direct heat to Medium-High (about 450 degrees F).
- Prep Chicken - If you didn't buy thinner pieces of chicken, then cover the regular chicken breasts with plastic wrap before using a meat mallet to pound the chicken to a thinner, even thickness. Season the chicken pieces on both sides with the spices.
- Grill Chicken - Place the seasoned chicken on the grill and grill on the first side for about 5 minutes, flip and grill for about 4 minutes more, then brush with the buffalo sauce and cook for 1 more minute before flipping and repeating to other side. The chicken should read 165 degrees F on an internal thermometer.
Equipment:
- Meat Mallet (optional) - If you don't buy thin chicken cutlets, you'll want to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness. If you don't have a meat mallet you can use something else like a rolling pin.
- Grill or Grill Pan - For best results, cook the chicken on a gas or charcoal grill. But you can also use a grill pan not the stove. If you don't have either, you can cook the chicken in a skillet but you won't get the pretty grill marks.
Leftovers and Storage:
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Recipe Tips:
- Thinner Pieces of Chicken - Thinner pieces are much easier to bite into on a sandwich.
- Even Thickness - This helps for even cooking on the grill.
- Adjust Grill Heat, if necessary - If you find the outside of the chicken is getting charred sooner than the chicken is fully cooked, you can turn down the heat or move the chicken to indirect heat to finish cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Buffalo sauce is traditionally made up of hot sauce, melted butter, vinegar, and a few spices.
Buffalo and hot sauce are not the same thing and generally cannot be used interchangeably. Hot sauce is a spicy sauce made of vinegar and cayenne pepper. While buffalo sauce contains hot sauce but also butter and other ingredients to tame the spice.
What does Direct vs Indirect Heat mean on the grill?
What does it mean when a grilling recipe says “direct heat” or “indirect heat”? When a recipe says to set up your grill for ‘zone grilling’ that means you should have both a direct and indirect heat zone.
- Direct Heat – This means the the cooking is done directly over the flame. Direct heat is best when you want good grill marks and a nice char. It’s higher heat than indirect
- Indirect Heat – This means that the cooking is done next to the flame. Indirect heat is best for cooking food lower and slower. For chicken, it’s a good option if your chicken is well browned on the outside from the direct heat, but not cooked yet in the middle (this happens with really thick chicken breasts). You can move the seared chicken to the indirect side of the grill to finish cooking without burning the outside.
Related Recipes:
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PrintRecipe
Buffalo Grilled Chicken Sandwich
This recipe to make a Buffalo Grilled Chicken Sandwich at home takes under 30 minutes and is an easy, summer grilling dinner. Season chicken breasts with simple spices, grill, then slather in buffalo sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 sandwiches
- Category: Main
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 large, thin boneless chicken breasts, cut in half to make 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- Brioche buns, for serving
- Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing, for serving
- Lettuce Leaves, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat Grill - Start by getting your grill preheating for direct heat to Medium-High (about 450 degrees F).
- Prep Chicken - If you didn't buy thinner pieces of chicken, then cover the regular chicken breasts with plastic wrap before using a meat mallet to pound the chicken to a thinner, even thickness. Cut them in half so you have four 'sandwich-sized' pieces. Season the chicken pieces on both sides with the spices.
- Grill Chicken - Place the seasoned chicken on the grill and grill on the first side for about 5 minutes, flip and grill for about 4 minutes more, then brush with the buffalo sauce and cook for 1 more minute before flipping and repeating to other side. The chicken should read 165 degrees F on an internal thermometer.
- Serve - Allow chicken to rest for a few minutes before placing on buns, with lettuce, and dressing of choice. Enjoy!
Notes
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 464
- Sugar: 5.1 g
- Sodium: 834.9 mg
- Fat: 9.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.8 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 66.1 g
- Cholesterol: 201 mg
Katie says
I love to make extra buffalo chicken to use on sandwiches and in salads.