Pimiento Cheese Is The Secret To The Best-Ever Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Grilled chicken sandwiches aren't meant to be boring second cousins to juicy hamburgers. They can—and should—stand on their own, a chance to invite all your favorite flavors and toppings to another dish.

These grilled chicken sandwiches are tender and savory, with a subtle dill pickle juiciness. The dill pickle juice pulls double duty, first flavoring the chicken ever so slightly and also helping to lock in moisture so the meat doesn't dry out during cooking. The pimiento cheese enriches the otherwise very lean sandwich.

Learn how to make grilled chicken sandwiches, and give your family a new weeknight grilled favorite.

Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

We keep the ingredient list for these grilled chicken sandwiches short, but you can mix and match the toppings you want to make the final dish your own:

• Chicken breast cutlets: We prefer cutlets because they cook evenly and don't overwhelm the other toppings and bun. But if you like a bit more meat, use regular chicken breasts.
• Dill pickle brine: The brine infuses the chicken with flavor and helps lock in moisture so the meat won't dry out as easily.
• Olive oil: Brush it on the chicken so it won't stick to the grill pan or grill plate. You can use other oils like canola or vegetable oil, too.
• Kosher salt and black pepper: For seasoning.
• Garlic powder: Adds savory garlic flavor without a longer brine—and without bits of fresh garlic that will burn on the hot grill.
• Green-leaf lettuce leaves: You can substitute these lettuce leaves with arugula, butter lettuce, or iceberg if you prefer.
• Tomato slices: The freshest you can find is best.
• Dill pickle chips: Pull some of the pickles out of the jar you used for the brine, and use them on your sandwich. If you like a different pickle taste, bread and butter pickles would be good here, too.
• Brioche hamburger buns: Toast these if you like. You can also use classic hamburger buns, but the subtle sweetness of brioche is a welcome contrast to the pickle flavors and tangy pimiento cheese.
• Pimento cheese: Store-bought or homemade, it's your call.

How To Make Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

This sandwich isn't much more complicated than grilling the chicken and assembling with your favorite toppings, but we have a few secret steps that will make these the best grilled chicken sandwiches ever:

• Step 1. Flatten chicken: Pound each chicken cutlet until they're evenly thick, then pierce each with a fork. Place the chicken in a ziplock bag with the pickle juice, and let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes. The piercing lets the brine get into the meat more quickly since this is only a 20-minute soak.
• Step 2. Season chicken: Remove the chicken cutlets from the brine, and dry each with a paper towel. Follow that with a generous seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• Step 3. Cook chicken: Grill each piece of chicken on a hot grill pan or grill rack until cooked through. Use a probe thermometer to monitor the temperature of each cutlet. This will help you avoid dry chicken.
• Step 4. Assemble sandwiches: Arrange lettuce, tomato, and pickles on the bottom of a bun. Add the chicken cutlet, and top it all off with the pimiento cheese and bun top. Serve right away.

How To Grill Chicken Without It Drying Out

In this recipe, we use two strategies to avoid dry chicken:

• Brine the chicken: A pickle juice brine adds flavor to the meat, but it also helps to lock in moisture so the chicken won't dry out quickly.
• Check the temps: Using a meat thermometer will help you know when the chicken is cooked so you can pull it before the temps rise too high. Overcooked chicken is likely to be dry and tough.

If you don't want to use the pickle juice brine, follow our method for a baking soda brine like we use in this recipe for Blackened Chicken.

Our Best Tips for Outstanding Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

A few strategic elements of this recipe make these grilled chicken sandwiches extra flavorful and delicious:

• Piercing the chicken all over with a fork helps the pickle brine absorb into the meat in a short amount of time.
• Pounding the chicken increases its surface area and helps it cook more evenly.
• You could vary the flavor and skew it sweeter by using bread-and-butter pickles and pickle brine.

How To Store Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

The most important thing about storing grilled chicken sandwiches is keeping the elements separated until you're ready to enjoy them together again later. Store the chicken in an airtight container up to three days, and separate all the toppings, including the pimiento cheese, for storage.

When you're ready to make another sandwich, reheat the chicken in the microwave or oven until warmed through. Assemble with your preferred toppings, and enjoy.

What To Serve With Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

You can always serve these sandwiches with your favorite chips or fries, but we love great side dishes like Homemade Baked Beans, Loaded Potato Salad, Air Fryer Green Beans, and even Hush Puppies.