Hey there, sandwich lovers! If you’ve been curious about Chick-fil-A’s unique Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich, you’re in the right place I’ve been obsessed with this flavor-packed creation since it first appeared, and today I’m breaking down everything that makes this sandwich special
The Magical Components of the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich
This isn’t just another chicken sandwich – it’s a carefully crafted combination of flavors that somehow work perfectly together Let’s look at what’s actually in this delicious creation
- Spicy Chick-fil-A Filet – The foundation of this sandwich is a perfectly cooked spicy chicken filet with that signature Chick-fil-A crispiness
- Pimento Cheese – A creamy, tangy Southern classic spread generously on the sandwich
- Honey Drizzle – A sweet touch that balances the heat and adds complexity
- Mild Pickled Jalapeños – Bringing a manageable kick without overwhelming your taste buds
- Warm Toasted Bun – The perfect vessel to hold all these amazing flavors together
Why This Sandwich Stands Out From the Crowd
What makes the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich so special is how it brings together contrasting elements that shouldn’t work but totally do. The sandwich delivers:
- Savory chicken with a spicy kick
- Creamy, tangy pimento cheese
- Sweet honey that cuts through the heat
- A zingy bite from the jalapeños
- The perfect textural contrast between crispy chicken and soft bun
It’s basically a flavor party in your mouth! The sandwich represents Chick-fil-A stepping outside their comfort zone while still delivering on what they do best – amazing chicken sandwiches.
The Flavor Experience
When you take your first bite, you’ll notice how the crispy, savory chicken fillet provides a solid foundation. Then the creamy pimento cheese kicks in with its distinctive tang. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, the jalapeños deliver their heat, quickly balanced by the sweet honey drizzle. It’s this dance of flavors that makes the sandwich so addictive.
The textural contrast is just as important – the crunch of the fried chicken against the smoothness of the cheese and the slight crispness of the toasted bun creates a satisfying mouthfeel with every bite
Make Your Own at Home: Copycat Recipe
Can’t make it to Chick-fil-A? Or maybe the sandwich is no longer available at your local restaurant? Don’t worry! I’ve put together a copycat recipe so you can enjoy this treat at home:
Ingredients:
- 1 boneless chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons pimento cheese (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5-6 slices of pickled jalapeños
- 1 brioche bun
- Butter for toasting
- Salt, pepper, and spices for chicken breading
Steps:
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Prepare the chicken: Season your chicken breast with salt, pepper, and spices. Bread it in seasoned flour and deep-fry until golden and crispy. Let it rest on paper towels to remove excess oil.
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Make pimento cheese (if doing homemade): Mix shredded cheddar, mayonnaise, and diced pimentos until well combined.
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Toast the bun: Lightly butter both halves of your brioche bun and toast until golden.
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Assembly time: Spread pimento cheese on the top half of the bun. Place your fried chicken on the bottom half, drizzle with honey, and arrange jalapeño slices on top.
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Put it all together: Close your sandwich and enjoy!
This homemade version might not be exactly the same as Chick-fil-A’s, but it’ll definitely satisfy that craving!
The Nutritional Side of Things
I gotta be real with you – this isn’t exactly health food. But sometimes we need to treat ourselves, right? If you’re curious about the nutritional content, here’s a rough breakdown:
- Calories: Around 650-700
- Fat: Approximately 35g
- Carbs: About 60g
- Protein: Roughly 31g
- Sodium: About 1,500mg
So yeah, maybe don’t make this an everyday thing. But for an occasional treat? Totally worth it!
Availability and Limitations
Unfortunately, the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich isn’t a permanent menu item. Chick-fil-A offered it as a limited-time special, available only at participating restaurants while supplies lasted. This means you might not be able to find it at your local Chick-fil-A anymore.
The sandwich was part of Chick-fil-A’s strategy of introducing exciting seasonal items to keep their menu fresh and interesting. If you missed your chance to try it, you can either hope it makes a comeback or try making it at home with our recipe above!
What People Are Saying
The reviews for this sandwich have been mostly positive. Many people appreciate Chick-fil-A for taking a risk with these flavor combinations. Food critics have called it “a refreshing departure from the typical chicken sandwich” and praised how the honey balances the heat from the jalapeños.
Some reviewers did mention that the sandwich could be a bit too sweet for their taste, but that’s the beauty of making it at home – you can adjust the honey level to your preference!
FAQ About the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich
What exactly is pimento cheese?
Pimento cheese is a Southern spread made with cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and pimentos (a type of mild chili pepper). It’s creamy, tangy, and slightly spicy – perfect for this sandwich!
How spicy is this sandwich?
I’d say it’s medium spicy. The jalapeños definitely bring some heat, but the honey and pimento cheese help balance it out. Even if you’re not big on spicy foods, you might still enjoy this sandwich.
Can I customize the sandwich at Chick-fil-A?
When it was available, yes! Chick-fil-A is generally accommodating with special requests. You could ask for extra jalapeños if you wanted more heat, or fewer if you preferred a milder experience.
Is the sandwich available year-round?
Sadly, no. The Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich was offered as a limited-time item. It might return in the future, but there’s no guarantee.
Final Thoughts
The Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich represents what happens when a restaurant isn’t afraid to experiment with flavors. By combining Southern comfort food elements with sweet and spicy components, Chick-fil-A created something truly unique in the fast food landscape.
Whether you were lucky enough to try it during its availability or you’re planning to make your own version at home, this sandwich demonstrates how contrasting flavors can come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
If you’re a fan of bold flavors and aren’t afraid of a little heat balanced with sweetness, this sandwich is definitely worth experiencing. And even though it might not be available at your local Chick-fil-A anymore, our copycat recipe should help satisfy that craving!
Plus: RIP Jimmy Buffett, the best to ever do it
Hey, we’re back! Been awhile. I missed y’all a lot. Big welcome to all my new readers who’ve shown up since my last dispatch. Let’s have some fun again, huh?
[Note: Just before I published this, word came over the coconut telegraph that Jimmy Buffett died. I’ll go deep on the Margaritaville worldview next week. Today, raise a cold beer and a frozen drink to the man who brought the beach to the world.]
A new front has opened up in the endless Chicken Sandwich Wars, and it’s cheesy as hell.
Last week, Chick-Fil-A announced its “Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken,” and brother, that was like standing on an Appalachian mountaintop and daring God to smite you. You throw around the word “pimento,” it’s like a young musician with a single gold record comparing himself to Elvis. You earn the right to serve pimento cheese to the public, you don’t just claim it.
Chick-Fil-A specializes in a commodified, brand-safe version of the South, the “Live-Laugh-Love” version of authenticity espoused by Buc-ees. It’s about as genuinely Southern as Taco Bell is Mexican or Panda Express is Chinese, but it’ll do for the drive-thru.
Southerners have a bit of a sideways relationship with Chick-Fil-A anyway. It’s local to Atlanta, so there’s a provincial protectiveness there. The restaurants offer clean booths and reliable wi-fi, which is a godsend to those of us who sometimes need to work from somewhere other than home. The closed-on-Sunday thing is one of those cute quirks that people have grown to accept, even though a biscuit sure would be nice on the way to church. The Chick-Fil-A across the street from Daytona International Speedway regularly gives up a good six months’ worth of revenue by staying closed on the day of the Daytona 500.
But here’s another side of the Chick-Fil-A truth. To start, the fabled chicken sandwich is, well … kind of dull now. I know, this is heresy to say in the South, but it’s true. Popeye’s has caught and passed Chick-Fil-A, and Zaxby’s is hot on the red-and-white trail in the Chicken Sandwich Wars. Plus, the restaurant’s avowed conservative leanings are a rallying point for some, but a dealbreaker for many across the country, even in an increasingly-blue South. Saying “it’s complicated” is table stakes for the SEC’s geographical footprint, but in short, Chick-Fil-A is much more than just a sandwich.
You can understand, then, why Chick-Fil-A would want to take a big swing, and it doesn’t get any bigger than pimento cheese, one of the foundational foods of the South. Sharp cheddar, mayo, pimentos, spices, a few other secret ingredients … everyone who makes it has their own spin on the recipe, and one bite of good pimento cheese will transport your mind right to a summertime picnic table or beneath the pines at Augusta National.
So … is Chick-Fil-A making good pimento cheese?
Here’s what mine looked like on Wednesday:
The first issue is that the cheese melts into neon orange sauce if it’s in contact with the warm chicken breast for too long. There’s a reason the sandwich comes wrapped tight; try to eat this out in the open and you’re liable end up covered in droplets that will glow with the lights out.
The flavors — sweet honey, spicy pepper, the thick cheese — have all the subtlety of an oar to the face. If a good meal is a slow dance, the Honey Pepper Pimento Sandwich is a backflip off the top rope through a folding table. You’re not meant to savor the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich; you’re meant to devour it and wash it down with a half-gallon of Coke.
Which brings us to the chief problem with this sandwich: it hits your gut like a depth charge and keeps you full — or at least feeling that way — for most of the rest of the afternoon. If you’re looking for a fast route to unconsciousness, power down a couple of these bad boys and find the couch.
Look, if you want authenticity, you’re probably not in line at a Chick-Fil-A. And if you want real pimento cheese, hell, just make your own, it’s not hard. (Here’s a good recipe from the great Action Cookbook.) But if you’re looking to do Cheat Day up right, well, make peace with your gastrointestinal system and grab you a Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich. It’s better than another damn burger.
Song of the Week: ‘Boat Drinks,’ Jimmy Buffett
“Margaritaville” gets everyone singing, “Cheeseburger In Paradise” gets everyone grinning, “A Pirate Looks At Forty” gets everyone feeling sentimental, “Come Monday” gets everyone wistful and hopeful. But for me, the best of Jimmy Buffett’s big-dog songs is “Boat Drinks,” a song that isn’t about beach life at all. It’s about watching hockey in a bar somewhere very cold and very far from the beach, a place that has our narrator blasting away at his own freezer. He’s barely holding it together, and he knows he’s got to get the hell out of the cold to survive. “I’m heading south ‘fore my dream shrinks,” our singer declares, “I gotta go where it’s warm.” Gentle breezes and calm seas, Jimmy.
This section needs a better title, but the perfect is the enemy of the good, so we’ll send it now and come up with something catchy later. For now, some reading recommendations:
“Raylan,” Elmore Leonard: “Justified” is one of my favorite TV shows ever, a dead-bang adaptation of an old Elmore Leonard thriller that grew far beyond its literary origins. This is a strange little artifact, a collection of three barely-connected stories based on the TV version of Leonard’s character. Don’t think about it too hard, just enjoy the equivalent of three episodes of kidney stealers, horse racing blue-bloods and heavily-armed coal miners. You can find “Raylan” and the other books I’ve recommended here at the Flashlight & A Biscuit bookstore. Clean, comfy, and we don’t throw you out for reading the magazines without paying.
College football begins in earnest this weekend. I love this ridiculous sport that sprawls in so many different ways. For Yahoo this year, I wrote about the last year before college football vaults into a new era of sleek, amoral professionalism, abandoning rivalries and traditions in favor of money and frequent-flyer miles.
Over at Garden & Gun, Amanda Heckert has a hysterical pieece about sweating your way through southern football game days. (Beware the Peel Factor.) And, as always, Spencer Hall begins the college football year over at Channel 6 with the latest version of the magnificent essay he calls “The Opener.” This one, “Maybe It Was Utah,” is about the University of Florida, “Raising Arizona” and trying very hard to be better than you are. Always a must-read. (Yes, it’s behind a paywall. It’s worth it.)