Healthy Grilled Chicken Sandwich
You can create a healthy grilled chicken sandwich that is incredibly tasty. This recipe has an incredible flavor with the ingredients that are in the sandwich and the marinade that makes the chicken tender and delicious.
I am going to walk you step by step to create this sandwich. Don’t be afraid of the word “healthy” you are going to love this sandwich!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 4 kaiser rolls
- 1 red onion
- 1 vine ripe tomato
- 2 cups of spinach
- 4 tbs avocado mayo
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lime
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
Healthy Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Follow these 5 simple steps to get a chicken sandwich that you’re going to love. Not all sandwiches need to have unhealthy amounts of cheese or bad mayo and dressings.
You can create a clean healthy sandwich that you will thoroughly enjoy.
Prepare the chicken breast
If you are using chicken breast from a whole chicken then remove the tenderloin from the chicken. You can leave the rib meat if you’d like.
You will also want to remove the skin if there is some. This will make it more healthy.
Take your chicken breasts and remove any unwanted fat. Then you want to slice the chicken the long way to make 2 pieces out of the one breast.
This is going to give you 4 pieces of chicken for 4 sandwiches. I prefer this way then pounding the chicken with a mallet. If that is your thing you could pound them out and then cut them in half to get 4 pieces.
Grilled chicken sandwich marinade
It is key for a good marinade to use the best ingredients that you can get. The best results of all recipes tend to lean towards the quality of your ingredients.
Grab yourself a bowl and juice the entire lime into the bowl. Choose a lime that is a little tender but not mushy. You do not want a lime that is hard as a rock. The lime is the star ingredient in this marinade.
Add a good quality extra virgin olive oil to the bowl.
Chop up 4 garlic cloves with a rough chop and add it to the bowl. This garlic is for the marinade and will not stay on the chicken when you grill it.
Finally, add the fresh cracked black pepper and the kosher salt to the bowl and mix it all together.
Marinate the chicken
Get the dish that you like to marinade in. If you have one that seals completely this is best because you can shake it and turn it upside down to spread the marinade around.
Add the chicken to your marinade dish and pour your marinade over the top. You are looking to marinate the chicken in your fridge for 2 hrs.
After an hour flip or shake your dish to move the marinade around. You want to make sure that all the chicken gets the marinade on it.
Grill the chicken and buns
Preheat the grill
You want to get the grill nice and hot to get those beloved grill marks on your chicken. I preheat my grill to 450°F to let the grill grates to get nice and hot.
Grill the chicken
Add your chicken to the grill and leave it in the spot that you first put it down on. Keep an eye on the chicken to make sure you are not getting flare-ups.
After you get good grill marks on one side and the chicken has released from the grates go ahead and flip your chicken to the other side. This typically depends on your grill and the thickness of the chicken usually around 5-7 minutes.
You really want to make sure that your grilled chicken is fully cooked. Grill the chicken until you hit an internal temp of around 162°F and while the chicken rests it should come up to the temp of 165°F.
Toast the buns
Toasting the bun is a big part of this sandwich. Not only does toasting add flavor to a sandwich but it also gives some rigidity to the sandwich. Toasted buns are key!
Build this healthy grilled chicken sandwich
Now, this grilled chicken sandwich is only as good as the ingredients that you put on the chicken. Buy the best tomatoes, onions, and spinach that you can. If you can buy organic or local the ingredients will be more healthy for you.
Prepare the vegetable
Cut up the red onion into nice ring slices. I like to add a lot of red onion as it brings great flavor and a crunch factor to the sandwich.
Cut some good size slices of tomato. If you can buy vine ripe tomatoes you are going to see the incredible flavor that they will provide to this sandwich.
Tip
Buy tomatoes that still have the vine on the tomato. I have been told that the vine help keeps the flavor in the tomato.
Condiments
Add the avocado mayo to the top of the bun. Give it a good spread but don’t overdo it. You will get moisture from the juiciness of the chicken and the tomato.
A key part of keeping this sandwich healthy is the avocado mayo. If you do your research you will find most mayo is made of some type of vegetable oil.
Vegetable oil is not the best oil for your health. When you think vegetables you think healthy but the fact is vegetable oils are highly processed and are really bad news. The two oils I use all the time are avocado and extra virgin olive oil.
Now go ahead and build the sandwich. First, lay the chicken breast on the bottom bun then, add the onion and tomato and finish off with the spinach for a bit of that crunch and greens.
Throw that bun with the avocado mayo on top and you have yourself a healthy grilled chicken sandwich!
Some of my grilled chicken recipes you might also enjoy like my
FAQ
Is grilled chicken healthier than fried?
Grilled chicken is absolutely more healthy than fried chicken. When you fry chicken you batter it and deep fry it in oil and typically people use an oil that is not healthy. When you grill the chicken the fat drops away and when you have a breast with no fat or skin you are increasing the healthiness of the chicken.
Should I use chicken thighs or breasts for a chicken sandwich?
This is up to you but if you want a healthier chicken sandwich then I would go with breast meat. This will have less flavor but if you marinate the chicken it should come out delicious.
What type of bun is best for a chicken sandwich?
Kaiser rolls work great for a chicken sandwich. They add some size to the sandwich to carry the chicken and all the condiments and veggies that you add. Don’t use hamburger buns they don’t have enough integrity for a chicken sandwich.
Healthy Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast
- 4 kaiser rolls
- 1 red onion
- 1 tomato
- 2 cups spinach
- 4 tbsp avocado mayonaise
- 1 lime
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken by cutting the breast into 2 pieces cutting it through the width of the chicken. This should yield you 4 pieces that are thinner than a typical chicken breast.
- Create the marinade by adding the olive oil, juice of 1 lime, chopped garlic, salt & pepper and combine it in a bowl. Pour over the chicken in a container with a lid.Marinate the chicken for 2 hours in the fridge.
- Preheat the grill to 450°F for 20 minutes.Grill the chicken and flip it after it has grill marks on one side and has released from the grill grates. Depending on the thickness should be about 7 minutes.Finish grilling until the internal temp hits 162°F and pull it from the grill.Let it rest for 10 minutes as the temp inside the chicken gets to the proper 165°F.
- Build the sandwich with the bottom first then add the chicken breast. Add your tomato and onion and then the crunchy spinach leaves. Add the top with the avocado mayo and you are good to go! Enjoy!