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Platter of elegant chicken sandwiches with creamy herb and nut filling, garnished with arugula.

The Ultimate Creamy Chicken Sandwich: Gourmet Deli-Style at Home

Indulge in a gourmet deli-style chicken sandwich right from your kitchen with this ultimate creamy recipe. Featuring tender shredded chicken, a rich and tangy sauce, and fresh mix-ins, it's perfect for a satisfying lunch or a special occasion.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Servings 10 sandwiches
Calories 420 kcal

Equipment

  • Stand mixer
  • Large bowl
  • whisk
  • Knife
  • Platter

Ingredients
  

Sauce Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup Whole egg mayonnaise (S&W best in Aus)
  • 2/3 cup Sour cream (sub full fat yogurt)
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice (sub white wine or cider vinegar)
  • 1/2 tsp Onion powder (or more garlic powder)
  • 1/4 tsp Garlic powder (or more onion powder)
  • 3/4 tsp Cooking/kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper

Filling Ingredients

  • 500g/ 1 lb Cooked chicken meat from 1 large store bought roast chicken
  • 1 Celery stem sliced 3mm/0.1″ thick then into 0.5cm/0.2″ pieces
  • 1 Green onion stem finely sliced
  • 3/4 cup Walnuts roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp Cornichon/dill pickle finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Dill finely chopped

Sandwich Assembly

  • Salted butter for spreading on bread
  • 20 slices White sandwich bread day-old, (or more slices for less filling)

Instructions
 

Making the Filling

  • Shred the cooked chicken meat as finely as possible, using a stand-mixer with a paddle attachment for about 1 minute, or a handheld beater/your hands.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together all the sauce ingredients until smooth.
  • Combine the prepared sauce with the shredded chicken and the remaining filling ingredients, then stir until everything is well combined.

Assembling the Sandwiches

  • Butter one side of each bread slice, then spread the chicken filling generously (approximately 100g or 1/2 cup per sandwich) on the unbuttered side.
  • Optionally remove the crusts from the sandwiches, then cut them in half; for cleaner cuts, refrigerate briefly before slicing to firm up the filling.

Serving

  • Serve the sandwiches immediately or chilled, optionally garnished with fresh greens.

Notes

For an authentic 'gourmet' experience, consider removing the bread crusts. To achieve perfectly neat cuts, refrigerate the assembled sandwiches briefly before slicing, allowing the filling to firm up. The recommended deli-standard filling quantity is 100g (1/2 cup) per sandwich, yielding 10 sandwiches. For a more generous serving, use 130g (1/2 cup) per sandwich (makes 8), or for everyday lunchboxes, 80g (1/3 cup) per sandwich (makes 15).