How to Make a Homemade Chicken Big Mac
When the Chicken Big Mac appeared at McDonald’s, Ben was very keen to try it. I’m vegetarian so I wasn’t going to be doing the taste testing myself, but I was intrigued by the idea and, as Ben enjoys a good fakeaway, we decided to have a go at making our own version at home.
The nice thing about making a homemade Chicken Big Mac is that you don’t really need a complicated recipe. You can make as much or as little of it from scratch as you fancy. Use homemade chicken patties if you want to, or buy crispy chicken burgers and concentrate on getting the sauce, fillings and layers right.
Here are my tips for putting together your own Chicken Big Mac-style fakeaway at home.
What do you need for a homemade Chicken Big Mac?
The basic idea is two layers of crispy chicken with lettuce, cheese, gherkins and burger sauce, separated by that distinctive extra piece of bread in the middle.
You’ll need:
- Crispy chicken burgers or chicken fillets
- Sesame seed burger buns
- An extra bottom bun for each burger
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
- Cheese slices
- Sliced gherkins
- Burger sauce
You can make the chicken and sauce yourself, but you absolutely don’t have to. If fakeaway night is supposed to save you money compared with ordering a takeaway rather than turn into a three-hour cooking session, shortcuts are allowed!
What chicken should you use?
This depends on how much cooking you want to do.
The easiest option is ready-made crispy chicken burgers or breaded chicken fillets. Cook them according to the packet instructions and you’ve got the most time-consuming part of the burger sorted.
You could also use chicken breast. A thick chicken breast isn’t ideal for a burger like this, so slicing it horizontally into thinner pieces will give you something much easier to stack.
Another option is making patties from minced chicken. These give you more control over the seasoning and the size of the patties, although obviously they involve more preparation.
Whichever option you choose, you need two pieces of chicken per burger if you want the proper double-layer effect.
If you’re using raw chicken, make sure it is thoroughly cooked before assembling your burger.
An easy homemade burger sauce
You can buy burger sauce, which is probably what I’d do if I wanted the quickest possible version, but it’s also easy to mix one yourself.
For a simple Big Mac-style burger sauce, try mixing:
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped gherkins
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- A pinch of paprika
Mix everything together and keep it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the burgers.
You can play around with the quantities to get it how you like it. Add a little more mustard if you like the sharpness, more chopped gherkin if that’s your favourite bit, or use reduced-fat mayonnaise if that’s what you normally buy.
How do you make the middle bun?
This is probably the bit that makes an ordinary chicken burger look most like a Chicken Big Mac.
You need three pieces of bread rather than the usual top and bottom bun.
The easiest way is to buy enough burger buns to use an extra bottom half in the middle of each burger. If you’re making two Chicken Big Macs, for example, you’ll need three complete buns.
That does leave you with spare top buns, but I’m sure you’ll find something to do with them. Breadcrumbs, another burger tomorrow, feeding them to Stuart… actually, maybe not that last one!
Lightly toasting the cut sides of the buns before assembling everything can also help stop them becoming soggy once you add the sauce.
How to layer your Chicken Big Mac
If you’re going for the full double-decker effect, I’d build it in roughly this order:
- Bottom sesame bun
- Burger sauce
- Shredded lettuce
- Cheese
- Crispy chicken
- Middle bun
- More burger sauce
- More shredded lettuce
- Sliced gherkins
- Second piece of crispy chicken
- Top bun
You don’t need to follow that with military precision. If you want cheese on both layers, add it. If you’re obsessed with gherkins, add considerably more than any sensible person would consider necessary.
That’s half the point of making your own.
Which cheese works best?
Processed burger cheese gives you that familiar fast-food style because it melts very easily over the hot chicken.
Mild cheddar is an easy alternative if that’s what you’ve already got in the fridge, and Monterey Jack would work nicely too.
I’d avoid anything too strongly flavoured because you still want the chicken, gherkins and sauce to come through.
Can I make a Chicken Big Mac in the air fryer?
Yes, if the chicken you’ve chosen is suitable for air frying.
Rather than giving you one cooking time that can’t possibly be correct for everything from a frozen chicken burger to a fresh chicken breast, follow the cooking instructions for the chicken you’re actually using.
If you’re relatively new to air frying, have a look at my air fryer recipes and cooking tips too.
Easy Chicken Big Mac shortcuts
There’s no prize for making every component yourself.
Ready-made crispy chicken burgers save loads of preparation. Bottled burger sauce replaces the homemade version. Pre-shredded lettuce saves another job, and frozen air fryer chips mean you’ve basically created fakeaway night with very little effort.
You could also prepare your lettuce, gherkins and homemade sauce earlier in the day so there’s very little to do when everyone is hungry.
What to serve with a homemade Chicken Big Mac
Chips are the obvious choice.
You could make homemade chips, use frozen fries in the air fryer or go for wedges. Onion rings would be good too if you’re embracing the full fakeaway theme.
If you want something lighter alongside it, add some salad, corn on the cob or coleslaw.
Personally, if I’m going to the trouble of making a double-decker burger with an extra piece of bread in the middle, I’m probably having chips with it and calling it fakeaway night!
Can you make a vegetarian version?
This is the version I’d actually eat.
Use two crispy vegetarian chicken-style burgers and assemble everything else in exactly the same way. Just check that the cheese, mayonnaise, burger sauce and whatever chicken alternative you’re using are suitable for your diet.
This is one of those meals where making a vegetarian version alongside the chicken one is really easy because most of the ingredients are shared. I don’t want to cook two completely separate dinners if I can possibly avoid it.
Have a look at my vegetarian recipes if you’re cooking for a mixture of meat-eaters and vegetarians too.
Is a homemade Chicken Big Mac healthier?
Not necessarily, and I don’t think it needs to pretend to be.
Making one at home does give you control over what you put in it. You can choose how much sauce and cheese you use, cook the chicken without deep frying it, choose a different bun or pile in more lettuce if you want to.
Equally, you can make it exactly as indulgent as you fancy. One meal doesn’t need to tick every nutritional box.
For me, the bigger advantage of a homemade fakeaway is that you can adapt it to your family and make something fun at home without paying takeaway prices.
More fakeaway ideas
If Ben’s idea of a good dinner sounds suspiciously similar to yours, have a look through my fakeaway recipes for plenty more ideas.
I’ve also got lots of healthy chicken recipes if you’ve bought a pack of chicken and need ideas for the rest of it, along with my air fryer recipes if that’s your preferred way of getting something crispy without standing over a frying pan.
