Juicy, spicy, and simple! If you’re looking for a quick, no fuss dinner this is it. We love these grilled chicken sandwiches layered on brioche buns with a smokey, spicy chipotle mayo on top.
Hello, all.
Summer is ticking away here and that means I’m alternating between NO COOK meals and ALL GRILL meals. Either way it’s time to keep the kitchen cool in the evenings and opt for no fuss dinners. Are you with me? š
Tonight it’s one of those all grill meals which came about when I thought ‘okay chicken, grill, something spicy, oooh brioche buns’ and here we are! I pulled out spices, decided between breasts and thighs, and went for my favorite spicy mayo – which you will also see in my black bean burgers.
An hour later (since I had to go shopping for ingredients first) we were eating to thumbs up all around.
So, in keeping with my loose theme of the year for low fuss, usually quick dinners, once we tried and approved this recipe I knew I had to write it down and share it with all of you! Now onto the recipe info…

What do you need?
- Chicken Thighs – Four boneless skinless thighs.
- Spice Rub – This is a nice mix of sweet, smokey, and spicy.
- Chipotle Mayo – Creamy, spicy, and smokey with a good squeeze of lime!
- Brioche Buns – These are sweet and rich and have enough heft to stand up to the spice.
- Toppings – I like some combo of lettuce, tomato, and onion here.

How to make this
To make grilled chicken sandwiches cover the meat with a spice rub and then grill until cooked through and charred. Layer on brioche buns with chipotle mayo and the toppings of your choice.
1. Rub/Prep
If you are going to brine, do that first. Just sprinkle with kosher salt and let the meat hang out for at least 45 minutes, up to overnight. Then blot the chicken dry and continue.
Now mix your spices up – paprika (smoked and regular), chipotle, cumin, and brown sugar. Salt if you didn’t brine. And rub the mix all over the chicken. Boom. Done!

2. Grill
Get your grill hot and cook the thighs through, first on high and then on low. Follow the thighs with the buns to toast them.
3. Eat
Mix up the chipotle mayo and then layer the meat with the buns, add the mayo, and put on your choice of toppings.

If you try my recipe, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
– Stay Safe, Annemarie
Spicy Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 4 brioche buns
- toppings: sliced tomatoes, lettuce, sliced onion
Rub
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Chipotle Mayo
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2-3 tbsp adobo sauce
- 1 chipotle in adobo, minced (optional)
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Instructions
- Heat grill on high until fully hot. Rub the grates with oil.
- Mix together all the rub ingredients and evenly coat the chicken.
- Grill on high for 3-4 minutes, then turn and grill 3-4 minutes more. Reduce the heat to low/move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill, then cover and cook until the meat reaches 165F on an instant read thermometer, about 5 minutes more.
- Mix together the ingredients for the chipotle mayo.
- Take the chicken off the grill and put on the buns. Grill the buns until they are toasted and have grill marks.
- Assemble the sandwiches, layering each thigh on a bun with chipotle mayo and your choice of lettuce, tomato, and onion.
Notes
- Brining: For extra juicy meat, sprinkle the thighs with kosher salt at least 45 minutes before you are going to cook (up to overnight), then blot them dry, make the rub without salt and continue with the recipe.
- Buns: While brioche is great with the spice, feel free to switch to your favorite style of bun.
- Chicken: I like to leave the thighs whole, my daughter prefers to slice them up. Either is great!


Mad Dog says
What’s not to like about Spicy Grilled Sandwiches, especially with chipotle mayo!