Creamy Chicken Mayo Sandwich Two Ways - Pakistani Bakery Style

Chicken Mayo Sandwiches are a bakery classic across Pakistan and India - the creamy white sandwiches rely on two secret ingredients for their unique flavour and texture. Traditional version plus a veggie version below along with tips on prepping chicken, slicing bread neatly, making them ahead, and serving menus!

In stores here (Canada) it is gum and candy that's the impulse buy, but in bakeries across Pakistan it was actually chicken sandwiches.

They would be sitting on top of the bakery cases, wrapped in plastic wrap, a clear sign that they had to be grabbed and eaten even before you got home. They were simple, creamy, and hard to not devour. These sandwiches are very much the same.

For a karachiite like me, these sandwiches are just as big a part of my culinary DNA as a great chaat.

What makes bakery style Chicken Sandwiches special?

You can see all the ingredients below, but the two standouts that make them what they are are the cream and white pepper. The cream adds a soft, sweet note and texture and that little bit of white pepper makes them interesting. Without them the chicken sandwiches just feel boring.

Speaking of boring, while I adore the regular sandwiches if you want to mix it up it's as easy as adding a small amount of whatever veggies you have handy. I had carrots, green onions/scallions, and a bell pepper/capsicum, but shredded cabbage works too!

You can also add veggies to half the mix and leave the other half plain for a 2-for-1 that'll impress!

Making and Shredding the Chicken

While you can absolutely use any shredded chicken you may have, or even a rotisserie chicken, here are two ways of cooking your chicken breast for sandwiches.

Instant Pot

For each chicken breast (250g) add the following ingredients to the instant pot, pressure cook for 14 minutes, and natural release. This chicken comes out so soft it practically shreds itself.

• 1 ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 6-8 peppercorns
• 1 green chili (optional)
• ½ a small onion

Stove top

Boil the same ingredients as above together with the chicken until it's super tender. This can take an easy 25 minutes so please keep an eye on water levels. Once you are done you can shred it by hand, using two forks, or for larger batches you can use a hand mixer or stand mixer and shred the chicken.

Storing your Boiled Chicken

If you are planning on using it within 2-3 days you can refrigerate the chicken. If you are using it later then ALWAYS freeze the chicken in the broth you made to protect it from drying out!

Talking Bread

In bakeries they always use white bread aka double roti. I don't make them rules you know. When I serve these at iftars, on Eid, or just for tea time or snacks I use white bread too. However, you can absolutely use whatever bread you prefer.

Cutting neat Bakery Style Creamy Mayo Sandwiches

This falls firmly in the category of things I overthink so you don't have to. Here are my tips for making the neatest looking sandwiches

1.) Use cold bread, easier to spread on, easier to slice

2.) If you plan on removing the crust then trim your bread using a serrated knife BEFORE adding the filling. This ensures that you don't "waste" any filling, and that you can run the ends through a food processor to make your own bread crumbs.

3.) After your trim the crusts off your first sandwich use that bread as a 'template' to make the other ones so they're all the same size. While you can try cutting a higher stack of the time I find it best to cut a pair (one sandwich) or two pairs (two sandwiches). High stacks tend to get a little wobbly and uneven.

Prepping & Storing

Depending on the space you have you can store the chicken mix in the fridge or the prepped sandwiches. While they can keep for up to 5 days the flavour is best in the first two.

What to serve with Bakery Style Chicken Sandwiches

Ohmigoodness, I thought you'd never ask! I have given two options below. If you are vibing tea time then you can go with 1 and for iftar there is option 2!

Made this recipe? I'd LOVE it if you would leave a review below! You can also tag me in your recreations on Instagram @flourandspiceblog