There are few things that I love more in life than Chick-fil-a and their sauces…but the closest Chick-fil-a to my house is all the way across town [and a million street lights away].  Not to mention, I eat no less than 1,200 cals every time I am there.  That is quite the detriment for my waistline and gym sessions.  So, I had a dream about concocting the sauces at home.  Why not, right?  Way easier than I anticipated too…so, there’s that.

Polynesian and Chick-fil-a Sauce are my culprits.  I made them both in about 10 minutes time.  Seal them airtight and they will keep for weeks.  And just like all of my other recipes…if I can do them, then so can you.  Foolproof, really.

yield: alot. about half of a salad dressing bottle’s worth for each sauce.

[NOTE: Store in the refrigerator. Can be kept airtight for several weeks, because it is all bottled items from the fridge and pantry anyway.]

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homemade copycat Chick-fil-a sauce

I combined two recipes to make what I think is a pretty damn close Chick-fil-a copycat.  I Wash…You Dry and Stockpiling Moms both had recipes that seemed accurate to me, so I mixed and matched.

• 1/4 cup coleslaw dressing
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup honey BBQ sauce
• 1/2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• [optional if too sweet] squirt of lemon juice

directions:

1. Whisk everything together. [Be sure to taste and add addition amounts as needed.  I needed more honey…and all coleslaw dressings are a little different.]
2. Use as dipping sauce or a marinade.
3. Enjoy.

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homemade copycat polynesian sauce

For the Polynesian, I used Stockpiling Moms again.

• 1 cup Catalina dressing [I used French Dressing and it wasn’t quite right.]
• 6 tbsps honey
• splash [~1 tbsp or to taste] of apple cider vinegar

directions:

1. Whisk everything together.
2. Use as dipping sauce or a marinade.
3. Enjoy.

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baked panko chicken tenders

yield: 3-4 servings.

• 1 lb chicken breast [trimmed and cut into tenders]
• homemade copycat Chick-fil-a sauce
• homemade copycat polynesian sauce
• 1-2 cups of panko breading crumbs

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Using two separate bowls, put one of the copycat sauces in one and panko breading in other.
3. Using tongs, dip chicken breast tenders into the copycat sauce of your choice.
4. Once tender is coated, toss in the panko breading until completely covered.
5. Place tenders onto a broiler pan to retain crispiness. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until chicken is done.  Do not flip.

[NOTE: You can marinate these tenders too.  I marinated for 24 hours in polynesian, then coated in panko, baked, then dipped in the Chick-fil-a sauce.
So, dip in whichever sauce you didn’t marinate in! When reheating, pop tenders in the toaster oven or back in the oven to keep the panko crispy.]