Spicy Chicken Sandwich
The same crunchy fillet and brioche with a spicy Cajun mayo in place of the regular one. The heat is creamy and builds slowly, and it pairs perfectly with the Louisiana seasoning in the crust. For many people this, not the classic, is the one that won the war.
The story
Popeyes is a spicy chain because its first version failed. Al Copeland opened Chicken on the Run in a New Orleans suburb in 1972 selling ordinary fried chicken, closed within days, and reopened with the chicken seasoned Louisiana-style. That pivot is the whole company. The spicy sandwich is the same argument in modern form: the fillet and the brioche are identical to the classic, and the Cajun mayo carries the heat, which is how the chain has always preferred to do it — seasoning first, novelty second.
What’s inside
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares chicken and heat
KFC Spicy Chicken Sandwich (Copycat) - Shares chicken and heat
KFC Zinger Burger (Copycat) - Shares chicken and heat
McDonald's McSpicy (Copycat) - Shares chicken and heat
KFC Cheetos Chicken Sandwich (Copycat)
The Spicy Chicken Sandwich on YouTube
Everyone who has cooked, copied or taste-tested it on camera.
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Spicy Chicken Sandwich.- McDonald's · chicken and heat
Spicy McCrispy - KFC · chicken and heat
Spicy Chicken Sandwich - Chick-fil-A · chicken and heat
Spicy Chicken Sandwich - Huxtaburger · chicken and heat
The Burner Chicken
More from Popeyes
About Popeyes
Al Copeland opened a fried chicken restaurant called Chicken on the Run in Arabi, a suburb of New Orleans, in 1972. It did not sell, so he reopened it days later with spicier, Louisiana-style chicken under a new name: Popeyes, after detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in the film The French Connection, not the cartoon sailor. He joked that he was too poor to afford the apostrophe.
Thousands of restaurants in the US and dozens of other countries. Owned by Restaurant Brands International, the parent of Burger King.
Not affiliated with Popeyes. Trademarks belong to their owners.