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This Grilled Chicken Sandwich is a classic recipe your family will love! Tender grilled chicken, bacon, avocado and topped with a tangy homemade mayo. YUM!
This Grilled Chicken Sandwich is a delightful alternative to your ordinary summer barbecued burgers and hot dogs. Grilled chicken is so easy to make and is so delicious! This grilled chicken sandwich recipe offers classic layers of flavor that just cant be beat in the summertime: tender chicken, crisp bacon, smooth avocado, juicy tomatoes and fresh lettuce between a soft ciabatta bun and slathered with a tangy aioli mayo.
Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Sandwich
This is one of the easiest sandwich recipes out there and one of the most versatile too! Mix and match toppings to make your favorite.
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves – Place chicken in between two sheets of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to pound the chicken until it’s about half an inch thick. you can use boneless chicken thighs for this recipe, too.
- Chicken marinade – see below
- Thick-cut bacon – about eight slices to start, for four sandwiches
- Provolone cheese – this mild, yet slightly tangy cheese pairs perfectly with chicken. Cheddar cheese tastes delicious too.
- 4 fresh ciabatta rolls – lightly toasted. You could also use hamburger buns, brioche buns, any kind of rolls you like. Toast them up until nice and golden.
- Spicy Aioli Mayonnaise – see below
- Fresh baby spinach – you can use any greens you like, but I love the mild taste of the spinach leaves.
- Tomatoes – sliced
- Avocados – sliced
- Pickles – optional
- Salt and Black pepper – to taste
- Sliced onions – optional
Easy Tangy Chicken Marinade
This marinade is so yummy and is virtually foolproof! In a bowl, combine and whisk three ingredients:
- Good Seasons Italian dressing – one packet
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Juice of one lemon – you can also use lime juice if you have that on hand.
Spicy Aoli Mayo
This homemade mayo is so yummy! Here’s what you need:
- Mayonnaise – I like Hellman’s or Best Foods
- 2 cloves garlic – crushed. You can also use garlic powder for extra flavor
- Lemon juice – half a teaspoon or so
- Paprika
- Dijon mustard
- Sriracha sauce
- Dash of pickle juice – optional
Suggestions for this Recipe
- You can make these sandwiches into sliders! Just cut up the chicken into smaller pieces, grill and serve in slider buns. Kids love these because they can actually fit into their little mouths!
- If you are serving these with ciabatta bread, be sure it is pretty soft. You can cut the bread open, butter slightly, and place on the grill to crisp up a little bit, but still have that delicious softness inside.
- Try melting any cheese you like! I love a good Pepper Jack cheese for spice, but I usually make my kids’ sandwiches with provolone, cheddar, Swiss or Monterrey Jack cheese.
Fire up the Grill
When preparing the chicken to grill, place the chicken breasts in a Ziploc freezer bag and pound flat (no too much because you don’t want the chicken to tear). You just want even thickness so it will cook evenly on the grill. If you want to be ambitious with the bacon, feel free to cook it up on the grill (or even wrap the chicken in it). If you are doing it on the grill, I suggest wrapping it in paper towels and zapping the in microwave for just 30 seconds to one minute to get some of the grease off. This will prevent excess grease from getting into your grill and causing flames to rise and burn your bacon. Keep an eye on it closely because bacon tends to burn extra quickly on the grill!
Frequently Asked Questions
With this sandwich you can use our delicious unique mayo spread or try bbq sauce, pesto, soy sauce or honey mustard.
You can always put a light coat of olive oil directly on the chicken or spray the grill grate lightly with cooking spray. Also check your grill temperature; if the temp is too high the chicken could stick.
READ NEXT: 35+ Chicken Breast Recipes
More Great Grilled Recipes
Keep that grill hot, because we have so many delicious recipes to keep you cooking outside all summer long!
How to Make a Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Video
Equipment
- Outdoor Barbecue Grill
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- Chicken marinade see below
- 8 slices thick-cut bacon
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 4 fresh ciabatta rolls lightly toasted
- Spicy Aioli Mayonnaise see below
- fresh baby spinach
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 2 avocados sliced
Chicken Marinade:
- 1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
Spicy Aioli Mayonnaise:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- Pound chicken breasts flat and place in plastic Ziploc bag.
- Combine marinade ingredients and add to chicken. Seal bag (pressing as much air out as you can) and marinade in refrigerator for at least an hour.
- In the meantime, pan-fry bacon until most of the grease is cooked off but not completely cooked through. Remove from pan and place on paper towels to soak up grease.
- Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and grill over medium heat until cooked through.
- Top chicken with cheese and remove once cheese is melted.
- Add bacon to grill while chicken is cooking– watch the bacon closely so it doesn’t burn. Once the bacon is nice and crispy, remove from grill.
- Combine Spicy Aioli Mayonnaise ingredients and spread over toasted ciabatta rolls.
- Add chicken and bacon to each roll and top with remaining ingredients.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
- You can make these sandwiches into sliders! Just cut up the chicken into smaller pieces, grill and serve in slider buns. Kids love these because they can actually fit into their little mouths!
- If you are serving these with ciabatta bread, be sure it is pretty soft. You can cut the bread open, butter slightly, and place on the grill to crisp up a little bit, but still have that delicious softness inside.
- Try melting any cheese you like! I love a good Pepper Jack cheese for spice, but I usually make my kids’ sandwiches with provolone, cheddar, Swiss or Monterrey Jack cheese.
Your recipe’s sound and look very delicious.
The zesty marinade and garlicky aioli make this recipe a total keeper. I served it at ladies lunch and they loved it.
I loved this sandwich! The perfectly spicy sauce takes it to the next level!
I just found this recipe, making tonight for dinner. Using romaine lettuce instead of spinach bc I like the crunchy texture. Serving with broccoli n cheese soup. Something different for dinner love it!
Oh yum! That sounds like a tasty combination! Let us know how you liked it!
Yum! This looks so good! It reminds me of my favorite sandwich from my favorite restaurant, Sally Tomatoes http://sallytomatoes.com/1/. I’m definitely going to have to try this! Thanks for sharing 😀
This sandwich was amazing!! The spicy mayo is now a condiment I have on hand all the time now. Thank you for this recipe! YUM!
So glad you liked it! We LOVE that aioli, too. YUM! It’s so good on fish tacos 😉
I’m making it now …so far so good!
Love, love, love the spicy mayo recipe! I will use on more than just chicken (altho I did use tonight for this recipe of chicken sandwiches)…so good!
Made these for a picnic lunch at the apple orchard/winery. They were so delicious and everyone raved! Big Hit! thanks!!!
The guys at the fire station LOVED these and said they were the best chicken sandwiches they ever had. Thanks!
Wow! That is awesome! Thank you for sharing!
I didn’t follow the whole recipe because I was just looking for a quick fix for my boring chicken sandwich idea. All I had was chicken marsala, tomatoes, muenster cheese and baby spinach. It turned out great! I love the spicey sauce as well, it made my hungry fiancé and I happy and full!
I’m so glad it was a success! Thanks for sharing!
What is siracha sauce? Where can I buy it?
It is a hot sauce that can be found at any whole foods or just about every health food store… Probably most grocery stores as well. Comes in a yellow and red bottle.
I used all the regular bacon by mistake this morning, so I’ll have to use natural bacon pieces/bits and put it in the sauce. Hopefully it works for the flavor to balance out!
Made it for the family as per directions…definitely a keeper five star all the way
Love hot chicken ciabetta, so handy for a snack.
This was amazing!!! I did not have bacon so I left that out but it would have been even more amazing if I had used it. I changed it just a little. I used lite mayo so it would be a little healthier and I didn’t have the dressing in the pouch so I used light italian dressing. Thank you and my husband loved it.