Bring on the flavor with this veggie loaded chipotle chicken sandwich recipe! Chipotle chile is the star in this easy recipe. Between toasted sourdough bread, we add a piece of chicken seasoned with chipotle powder, a crunchy broccoli slaw, tomato slices, and fresh lettuce leaf plus chipotle mayonnaise. This recipe brings the heat! If you’re serving it to kids, read on below to see how to adjust the heat for everyone to enjoy it.
Chipotle Chicken Sandwich Recipe on Sourdough Bread
This sandwich is so delicious!
You’re getting crunch from the toasted bread, flavor, and a medium heat from the chipotle chicken, and so many veggies stuffed between those 2 slices of bread.
The cooling slaw pairs perfectly with the seasoned chicken.
The next time you’re cooking up a spicy season chicken, pair it with a creamy slaw like this one!
How spicy are these chipotle chicken sandwiches?
These sandwiches are medium heat. If you are used to some spice, they will be just perfect.
If you are not used to spicy foods or are serving to kids who don’t enjoy foods with some heat, adjust the spice down with the instructions below.
How to adjust the heat
The heat comes from the chipotle chili powder that seasons the chicken and the chipotle lime mayo spread on the sourdough toast.
Here are 2 ways to adjust the heat for less spice.
- Use less chipotle powder when seasoning the chicken. You can reduce it in half to cut down on the heat or use no chipotle powder for part of the chicken to have the option of less heat.
- Instead of using chipotle mayo, use regular mayo or roasted red pepper hummus as your bread spread.
What you need for this chipotle chicken sandwich recipe
Scroll down to view the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions.
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- avocado oil
- chipotle powder
- sea salt
- garlic powder
- pepper
- avocado oil mayonnaise
- lime juice
- coconut aminos
- broccoli or cabbage slaw
- sourdough bread
- chipotle lime mayonnaise
- tomato
- lettuce
How to make this chipotle chicken sandwich recipe
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2: Slice the chicken breasts into 2-3 thin pieces with even thickness to allow for quicker cooking and add to a large bowl. Drizzle the avocado oil onto the chicken and toss to coat.
Step 3: In a small bowl combine the chipotle powder, sea salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir to combine, then add to the chicken and toss to combine. You can also add the seasoning to a large freezer bag, then add the chicken in, close the bag, and shake to combine.
Step 4: Add the chicken to the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers to 165 degrees F. Set the cooked chicken aside to cool slightly.
Step 5: In a medium bowl add the mayonnaise, lime juice, coconut aminos, sea salt, and pepper. Whisk together and then add the slaw. Stir to coat.
Step 6: To build your chipotle chicken sandwiches, toast the sourdough bread, spread the chipotle lime mayo on each piece, then add a single layer of the slaw, the cooked chicken, tomato slices, and lettuce. Top with the other toasted bread, cut in half, and enjoy!
Watch me make this chipotle pepper sammy recipe!
Watch the full how to video below, or over on YouTube!
Different ways to cook the chicken
Baking the chicken in the oven is simple and hands-off, but there are many different ways to cook the chicken!
On the stovetop – use a grill pan or large skillet and cook the chicken over medium-high heat on both sides until fully cooked through.
On the barbeque – heat the grill grates before adding the chicken to get nice grill marks. Use a quick-read thermometer to check for doneness.
Substitutions, optional variations & dietary adjustments
Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this chipotle chicken sandwich recipe.
If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!
Chicken breast – This recipe works well with chicken thighs, thinly sliced pork chops, and also white fish! If you don’t want to cook a protein, grab a rotisserie chicken, or use canned shredded chicken and season with the chipotle seasoning.
Avocado oil – Use extra virgin olive oil instead
Chipotle powder – If you can’t find chipotle chili powder, use regular chili powder instead. You can also add more using cayenne pepper. To get the smoky flavor you get from a chipotle sauce, you can blend 1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce and use that to replace the chipotle powder.
Garlic powder – Use onion powder as a substitute here
Chipotle lime mayonnaise – Make your chipotle lime mayo by blending mayonnaise with 1 chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, plus 2 tbsp lime juice. You can also reduce the heat by using regular mayo without the chile pepper flavor.
Coconut aminos – A couple of substitutions for coconut aminos include soy sauce, or some sweet maple syrup or brown sugar can be used.
Slaw – You can omit the slaw and add other vegetables like roasted bell peppers, avocado slices, or red onion.
Sourdough bread – Use your favorite type of bread here – you could try focaccia bread, ciabatta bread, hamburger buns, or even a whole grain slice of bread.
Extra flavors – Feel free to add bacon slices, sliced avocado, or cheese melts into this sandwich.
More healthy recipes you’ll love
- 50+ healthy side dishes for sandwiches
- Healthy chicken burger recipe
- BBQ turkey burgers
- Buffalo chicken salad
- Skillet Chicken Pomodoro
- Healthy Mediterranean hummus wrap recipe
- Pickle chicken salad stuffed bell peppers
Chipotle Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
Chipotle Chicken Ingredients
- 1.25 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp avocado oil
- 1.5 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp pepper
Slaw Ingredients
- 3 tbsp avocado oil mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- 2 cups broccoli slaw or cabbage slaw
Sandwich Ingredients
- 8 slices sourdough bread
- 3 tbsp chipotle lime mayonnaise
- 1 tomato sliced
- 4 lettuce leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.Slice the chicken breasts into 2-3 thin pieces with even thickness to allow for quicker cooking and add to a large bowl. Drizzle the avocado oil onto the chicken and toss to coat.
- In a small bowl combine the chipotle powder, sea salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir to combine, then add to the chicken and toss to combine. You can also add the seasoning to a large freezer bag, then add the chicken in, close the bag, and shake to combine.
- Add the chicken to the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers to 165 degrees F. Set the cooked chicken aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl add the mayonnaise, lime juice, coconut aminos, sea salt, and pepper. Whisk together and then add the slaw. Stir to coat.
- To build your chipotle chicken sandwiches, toast the sourdough bread, spread the chipotle lime mayo on each piece, then add a single layer of the slaw, the cooked chicken, tomato slices, and lettuce. Top with the other toasted bread, cut in half, and enjoy!
Nutrition
If you try this chipotle chicken sandwich recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!
XO
Heather
Originally published June 2022. Updated March 2024.
