Vegan Honey Pepper Pimento Sandwich

Let’s make a Vegan Honey Pepper Pimento Sandwich! Fried Chick’n, some amazing PIMENTO CHEESE, VEGAN HONEY and JALAPEÑO PEPPERS! It’s like Chick-fil-A but VEGAN!

I made this Vegan Honey Pepper Pimento Sandwich a few years back when Chick-fil-A first tested it out. Fast forward to this past month and they’ve released it nationwide. And now my social media feeds are filled with people trying it out!

It seems to be getting mostly good reviews, and since I loved it back then, I decided to make another one this week and I’m glad I did! The original Vegan Chick-fil-A Sandwich is pretty dang good, but something about putting Pimento Cheese, Pickled Jalapeños and Honey on a sandwich makes it ridiculously delicious!

is the honey pepper pimento sandwich good?

I mean, every component of it is good on their own. But that said, they also work perfectly in harmony with each other on this sandwich. You got the cheesy, salty, slightly spicy Pimento Cheese, the acidic kick of the pickled jalapeños, the sweetness of the honey, all on top of an already savory filet of fried vegan chick’n!

ingredients for a vegan honey pepper pimento sandwich

• Vegan Pimento Cheese – I have a recipe for this (which I’ll also include below). This is a cheese spread made with Vegan Mayo, Cream Cheese, Cheddar Shreds, Pimentos of course and then some other seasonings. I also included some fresh jalapeños for some extra heat!

• Vegan Honey – I have a Vegan Honey recipe, but you can also feel free to use agave or maple syrup. They will be good too!

• Pickled Jalapeños – The first time I made this I used fresh jalapeños as I think Chick-fil-A did. Well they switched to pickled and I think this is a great move!
• Vegan Fried Chick’n – The Fried Chick’n itself is identical to my other Chick-fil-A recipe. Feel free to add 1 – 2 Tbsp of cayenne to the seasoned flour to make a spicy fillet!

What vegan chicken should I use for vegan fried chicken?

We have a lot of options for the chick’n fillet. You can go with some Tofu Fried Chick’n or some Seitan Fried Chick’n.

You can even just get something like the Gardein Chick’n products (Scallopinis, or the Chick’n Strips). Let those thaw overnight in the fridge (or an hour or so on the countertop). Then shape them into patties. I recommend going for about 5 oz per patty.

Freeze them for at least 30 minutes so they firm up. They can be delicate and have a tendency to fall apart when dredging otherwise.

does chick-fil-a brine their chicken in pickle juice?

This is an age old myth that’s been debunked numerous times, but to be clear, no, they don’t brine their chicken in pickle juice. I’m sure it’s delicious if you do, but we’ll be skipping it as Chick-fil-A doesn’t do it.

One thing they do use however is MSG, so we’ll be adding some of that in there.

I know MSG has a bad reputation with some folks, but it’s unwarranted and not supported by science. MSG occurs naturally in many foods, like tomatoes and mushrooms, so if you eat those, you are eating MSG!

Check out Know MSG for more info if you need more convincing!

how to make a vegan honey pepper pimento sandwich

The Vegan Pimento Cheese is very easy to make, simply combine everything in a bowl and taste for seasoning.

Like I said, I have a recipe for Vegan Honey, it’s a pretty simple process as well!

For the Fried Chick’n, all we need to do is get a dredging station together. We’ll have some seasoned flour, and then a vegan buttermilk mixture. I also like to add some flour to the vegan buttermilk to help it get nice and thick.

Then we simply need to dredge our vegan chick’n in both mixtures.

I prefer going in the dry, then wet, then back to dry.

But you can do a wet to dry two times to double dredge for a thicker breading. Just make sure you shake the excess batter and flour off each time, and ensure that it’s fully coated.

Next, carefully add the chick’n to a pot of neutral, high smoke point oil once the heat is at 375 F / 190 C.

Protip: Fry a nugget to test out the seasoning and adjust as needed!

Fry for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Then we simply need to assemble our sandwich and dig in!

TIPS FOR VEGAN FRIED CHICK’N

• Use a heavy bottomed pot (Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Carbon Steel etc)
• I highly recommend a Deep Fry Thermometer to monitor the oil temp.
• Use a neutral tasting, high smoke point oil (Canola, Vegetable, Peanut etc.)
• Make sure to use UNSWEETENED plant milk. I like RIPPLE the best.
• Add flour as needed to thicken the vegan buttermilk mixture.
• Shake off the excess flour and batter when you dredge.
• Fry a test nugget to test the seasoning and adjust as needed.
• Let the chick’n rest on a Wire Rack after frying to prevent soggy chick’n.

SAFETY TIPS FOR DEEP FRYING

• Don’t leave the pot unattended.
• Keep children away from the pot.
• Don’t fill the pot more than halfway with oil. Don’t overcrowd it as well.
• Turn the handles of the pot away from you to avoid accidental spills.
• Keep a lid nearby so you can cover the pot if it catches fire.
• Never use water to put out an oil fire.
• Get a Fire Extinguisher just to be extra safe. This isn’t just good for deep frying, but for having in the house in general!

DEEP FRY ALTERNATIVES

If you want to see about alternatives to deep frying, check out my BEST WAYS TO FRY VEGAN CHICKEN post!

Storage

Store the Pimento Cheese in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just like non-vegan fried chicken, vegan fried chicken is best the fresher it is. If you do have leftovers, I recommend reheating them in an air fryer at 380 F, for about 6 minutes or until heated through and crispy again.

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