Vegetarian Chick-fil-a Chicken Sandwich

I’m obsessed with this Vegetarian Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich. A foraged Chicken of the Woods Mushroom made into a copycat Chick-fil-A sandwich. I can’t even tell the difference, it’s crazy good!

Vegetarian chick-fil-a chicken sandwich on a blue plate, topped with pickles and the top bun laying on the side of the bottom half of the sandwich

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I have been a forager for a very long time & have fond memories of going foraging for such things as blackberries, ramps, mushrooms, & poke salad with my grandparents as a kid. I feel like I know a good bit in the foraging world, but I am no means an expert and I want to learn more.

Recently, I made a new friend who happens to have a strong passion for all things foraging. Anne-Marie of Forager Chick eats, sleeps, and breathes it! I have been hanging out with her, taking some of her in-person and online classes, and learning so much.

Not long ago, she brought over a chicken of the woods mushroom that she foraged. After showing me her mushroom treasure, Anne Marie said, “Let’s make some copycat chick-fil-a sandwiches with these!”. Naturally, being the foodie that I am, I was all in. I’ve had chicken of the woods mushrooms before, but never have I had them prepared in this way. They taste exactly like a chicken sandwich that you get from Chick-fil-A. I even fooled my 12 year old son with it. Watch the video at the bottom of this post all the way to the end to see his reaction, he didn’t know it wasn’t chicken until I told him!

I can’t wait to make these sandwiches for myself. I’m not a vegetarian/vegan but I could eat these regularly. They are absolutely delicious and a great meatless recipe.

Vegetarian chick-fil-a chicken sandwich on a blue plate, topped with pickles and the top bun laying on the side of the bottom half of the sandwich

Ingredients

  • Chicken of the woods mushrooms – this is really the only mushroom that tastes/has the texture of chicken
  • flour
  • panko breadcrumbs – this gives a great crunch
  • eggs – beaten
  • pickle juice – this is the ’secret’ ingredient
  • sliced pickles – I like bread and butter but you can use dill too
  • hamburger buns
  • mayonnaise
  • oil – to fry in. I use vegetable or canola.
  • salt and pepper – to taste

What are Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms?

For those of you unfamiliar with Chicken of the Woods mushrooms (also called hen of the woods mushrooms), they have the flavor and the texture of chicken. It’s kind of crazy how similar they taste & the mouth feel of it too. They’re one of the safest, widely available mushrooms out there. They begin fruiting around the end of spring, and will continue into the fall. It is a shelf fungus, so it forms individual fruiting bodies that are fan-shaped or bracket-shaped on the side of hardwood or conifer trees.

A half eaten vegetarian chick-fil-a chicken sandwich, being held in a hand

How Do I Make Vegan Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches?

  1. Slice the cleaned chicken of the woods mushrooms (if need be) into chicken filet size pieces.
  2. Marinate the mushrooms in the pickle juice for 15-30 minutes.
  3. Drain the pickle juice from the mushrooms.
  4. Season the flour with salt and pepper.
  5. Dredge the mushroom pieces in the seasoned flour, then in the beaten eggs, and then into the panko bread crumbs.
  6. Fry the coated chicken of the woods mushrooms in hot oil in a skillet, flipping halfway though, until lightly browned on both sides – about 3-5 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
  7. Spread mayonnaise on the inside of your bun. Place your chicken of the woods mushroom inside & top with sliced pickles.
Fried chicken of the woods mushrooms on a silver plate that has floral designs on the rim of the plate

What do I serve with these Vegetarian Copycat Chick-fil-a Sandwiches?

These are great all on their own! You can pair them with a small salad or some chips – or french fries or tater tots. Here’s some other great suggestions!

More about Forager Chick

You can find Anne-Marie of Forager Chick’s website by clicking here.

She can also be found on:

Just click the corresponding words to go to those pages.

She also has a foraging cookbook out and it’s ah-mazing! It is available on her website as well as on Amazon.

You can find information on her online classes here. She also offers in person classes (Monroe, Georgia area) and that information can be found on her website.

Vegetarian chick-fil-a chicken sandwich on a blue plate, topped with pickles and the top bun laying on the side of the bottom half of the sandwich
Vegetarian chick-fil-a chicken sandwich on a blue plate, topped with pickles and the top bun laying on the side of the bottom half of the sandwich
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5 from 1 vote

Vegetarian Chick-fil-A Sandwich

Ingredients

  • chicken of the woods mushrooms cleaned & sliced into chicken filet sized pieces
  • pickle juice to cover the mushrooms
  • all purpose flour
  • panko bread crumbs
  • eggs start with 2, add more if need be
  • vegetable or canola oil for frying
  • hamburger buns
  • mayonnaise
  • sliced pickles
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Slice the cleaned chicken of the woods mushrooms (if need be) into chicken filet size pieces. Marinate the mushrooms in the pickle juice for 15-30 minutes.
  • Drain the pickle juice from the mushrooms. Season the flour with salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge the mushroom pieces in the seasoned flour, then in the beaten eggs, and then into the panko bread crumbs.
  • Fry the coated chicken of the woods mushrooms in hot oil in a skillet, flipping halfway though, until lightly browned on both sides – about 3-5 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel lined plate
  • Spread mayonnaise on the inside of your bun. Place your chicken of the woods mushroom inside & top with sliced pickles. 

Notes

There are no real measurements here. Just dredge the chicken of the woods mushrooms in the ingredients in the appropriate order, adding more of each ingredient to your dredging containers as needed. 

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