This sandwich blog post started as a very focused attempt to create a recipe for a handheld meal wrapped in dough and then it evolved into a deep dive into how you can make a Costco-style Chicken Bake even better at home. The version of a Chicken Bake that I have come up with isn’t a one-for-one copy of Costco’s because I tested a whole bunch of different variations to find out the things you can do right and wrong to make this calzone or almost-hot-pocket much more enjoyable.
What is this sandwich?
Well, first, it’s not a sandwich. This is a handheld food item and the end result is my version of a very popular menu selection that you can find in the food court at Costco Wholesale stores all across the planet. The Costco food court is known for its loss leader menu items that effectively reward shoppers with some fairly inexpensive food items that are either fully prepared or quickly prepared after you order them. The Costco hot dog, pizza, and Chicken Bake are three of the more popular items that you can order and eat at tables right in the store.
A Costco Chicken Bake is made from what is basically pizza dough wrapped around chicken, bacon, Caesar salad dressing, and cheese. Then the whole thing is covered in a little bit more cheese and baked until brown and crispy.
Note: this is all unsponsored content. Costco hasn’t paid me a dime, but they are free to email me and send me some cash if they want.
Where can I find a Costco Wholesale store?
According to the Wikipedia page for Costco, “As of November 2024, Costco operates 890 warehouses worldwide: 616 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 109 in Canada, 41 in Mexico, 36 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 19 in South Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, 7 in China, 5 in Spain, 2 in France, 1 in Iceland, 1 in New Zealand, and 1 in Sweden.”
In 2019 I got a chance to visit the only Costco in the country of Iceland. I did not get a Chicken Bake at that time, but I did take a couple of photos of the food court menu signs. They call a Chicken Bake a Kjúklingabaka over there. The food court items in that country are similar to what you might find in the United States with prices that are much lower than they would be at other restaurants.
In Icelandic:
Kjúklinga = chicken.
Baka = pie.
Back in the United States
When I was working on this blog post and homemade Chicken Bake recipe, I went over to my local Costco in Chicago and bought a couple of Chicken Bakes for the low, low price of $3.99 apiece. Costco requires a paid, yearly membership to enter the store or the food court which is partly how they can keep items like the Chicken Bake and the $1.50 hot dog so affordable.
Is the Costco Chicken Bake any good?
When you factor in the price and the amount of food you’re getting, I think a Chicken Bake is good. It’s not great. Maybe things have changed over the years, but the two Chicken Bakes I’ve gotten recently were mostly bread with just a small amount of chicken, cheese, and sauce. The most recent Chicken Bake—that I got just a couple of days ago specifically for testing purposes—contained almost zero bacon. The chicken is chopped up into super small pieces and altogether with the Caesar dressing, it almost becomes something akin to a smear of chicken salad.
If I am headed to Costco, I would probably choose a slice of pizza or a hot dog over a Chicken Bake. I would not specifically go to Costco just to eat anything at the food court but if I am there and it happens to be a meal time I would take advantage of the cheaper prices.
I think Costco’s Chicken Bake could be better with a bit larger chicken pieces and more crispy bacon.
What are we doing?
I’m going to make a unique Chicken Bake of my own creation and throughout this blog post, I hope to cover some issues that I experienced and some tips I’ve discovered to make a better Chicken Bake at home. But first I want to cover the main ingredients.
Chicken bake dough
The dough I use to create Chicken Bakes is a very versatile dough that I make for New York-ish-style pizzas and calzones. It’s basically my generic house dough for pizza or pizza-adjacent menu items like calzones or the pizza melts I have made for this sandwich blog so far.
This dough is easy to make and super easy to work with. I have made it with and without a stand mixer (use the mixer if you have it) and once the dough is completed it goes directly into the fridge for at least 4 hours. After spending time in the fridge, I divide the dough into the number of pieces I want, ball it up, and move it back to the refrigerator until it’s time to use it. I have used it six days after originally creating the dough and it works just fine. I’m pretty sure it could go a lot longer than just six days if needed.
Here’s the dough recipe I used, but I also have added the ingredients and directions to make this dough in the full Alabama white chicken bake recipe at the bottom of this blog post.
New York style pizza dough
24 hours and 34 minutesRoasted chicken thighs
My favorite part of the chicken to cook is definitely the thigh. It’s practically indestructible. This recipe, like a lot of sandwich recipes involving chicken, simply needs cooked chicken pieces that can be cut or broken down into bite-sized pieces. So you don’t need to follow what I did, you could just go the easy route by buying a rotisserie chicken (another Costco loss leader) or you can use leftover chicken from another meal.
I’ve shared my oven-roasted chicken thigh recipe down below, but again you can procure your cooked chicken for this Chicken Bake however you wish.
This is an easy way to cook chicken thighs. I don’t add any cooking methods to the full Alabama white chicken bake recipe down below, so this is just a suggestion on how to get cooked chicken. You can buy a rotisserie chicken if you want or just use your favorite method to cook a chicken breast.
Crispy oven roasted bone-in chicken thighs
This is a simple way to prepare bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in your oven. The skin on top renders out a bit during the cooking process leaving you with a seasoned and slightly crispy exterior crunch on each juicy bite.
Get RecipeAdd some crunch
I think the bacon is pretty important in a homemade Chicken Bake. The official Costco versions that I’ve had barely have any bacon which basically contributes no texture to the final experience. But when we make these ourselves, the bacon texture is very noticeable alongside the super tender chicken and gooey cheese.
So, we want some crispy bacon.
Here’s my oven-baked bacon recipe, which is a super easy way to get really crispy bacon.
Oven-baked bacon
Want a super easy way to make a lot of bacon for sandwiches with very little effort or cleanup?
Get RecipeChicken skin?
I suggest bacon in my Alabama white chicken bake recipe, but I did enjoy replacing it with crispy chicken skin in one version.
I pulled off the skin of the chicken thighs that I baked and then I baked the skin pieces on a sheet pan until it was crispy like bacon. You can also do this with the skin from a rotisserie chicken if that’s the chicken you plan to use in your Chicken Bakes. The crispy skin is a great substitute for bacon, but unfortunately, the chicken skin shrinks a lot during the crisping process so you will only get enough crunchy skin pieces out of 4 chicken thighs to use in one Chicken Bake.
Sauce or dressing
For my Chicken Bake recipe down below I am using an Alabama white sauce. If you’ve never heard of Alabama white sauce, it’s basically a mayonnaise-based sauce that has a lot of twang from vinegar and a bit of pepperiness from the ground black pepper. Yes, I said mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise in barbecue sauce has to be one of the stranger ingredients you’ll hear about in the barbecue world but trust me, it really works on smoked or grilled chicken. And it works great inside a really long hot pocket like the Chicken Bake too. The vinegar in the sauce helps to cut the richness in all of the melty cheese, bringing some balance to the whole thing.
Costco uses Caesar dressing in their Chicken Bakes and that works well at home too. You also can—and I did—use something like Ranch dressing in a Chicken Bake as well. The main thing to think about is to try to find a sauce/dressing that isn’t too watery. A watery dressing might add too much moisture to the interior of the Chicken Bake that might make things a bit too wet. If you’re making your own dressing for a Chicken Bake you might want to keep that in mind and hold back on some of the liquid in the dressing so that it turns out a little bit thicker and less liquidy.
Here’s my Caesar dressing recipe.
Caesar dressing
20 minutesAnd here’s the Alabama white sauce that I typically make. I have all the ingredients and directions in the full Alabama white chicken bake recipe at the bottom of this blog post as well.
Alabama white sauce
Originally invented in Alabama as an accompaniment to smoked chicken, this tangy, peppery, and creamy sauce is a great addition to any sort of smoked or grilled chicken.
Get RecipeCheese
I chose to use shredded white cheddar for most of my Chicken Bakes. I believe that Costco is using provolone or mozzarella. It’s a white-colored cheese for sure. I don’t think this part is super important, just use a cheese that you like and can get your hands on. Shred it yourself if possible and it should melt during the 20+ minute baking process.
If all you have is sliced cheese, I tried that as well and it works just fine. Just break the slices into 8 or 9 smaller pieces and spread them around evenly inside the dough.
Veggies?
The Costco Chicken Bake does not include vegetables. But I added some small slices of red onion to my Alabama white chicken bake and I think it worked really well. I also added cilantro because I had some in my kitchen and thought it might look good. It didn’t really contribute much in the way of flavor though so I left it out of my official recipe.
I could also see pickled onions or even some strips of roasted red bell pepper as good options to add to a Chicken Bake, but you’ll have to experiment with that yourself because I only tried the raw red onion and that was something I was very happy with.
Chicken Bake tips
After making quite a few homemade Chicken Bakes over the past couple of weeks I gathered a few of the more important tips here in the hopes that it can help you out if you try to make some.
Scroll along for 4 tips to make better Chicken Bakes along with some visual aids that hopefully will help explain some of the strategies and reasoning for sharing them.
1. don’t roll the dough too thin
A Costco Chicken Bake has very thick dough. I’m not sure if it’s always been this way or if this is a cost-cutting measure, but they roll their dough out fairly thick which leads to a thick layer of doughy crust. I like to have thinner dough, and I roll it out somewhere more than 1/8 inch but a little less than 1/4 of an inch thick. Anything less than 1/8th of an inch thick will simply be too brittle to wrap the Chicken Bake without tearing the dough.
2. cut slits in the top
Cutting slits in the top of a fully stuffed, but unbaked Chicken Bake will give steam a place to escape during the baking process. I found that if you do not cut slits in the dough, you will end up with the dough blowing up a bit and leaving big air pockets between the filling and the dough. You can see examples in the following two photos.
3. use a silicone mold or baguette pan
This is the most optional of all of the tips that I have for Chicken Bakes, and it’s also the only tip I have that requires you to buy something. I found the most consistent homemade Chicken Bakes that I could make were baked in a $17 silicone mold that I typically use to bake sub rolls. This mold simply gave the Chicken Bake structure to keep it from flattening out during the baking process. You could also use a baguette bread pan which you can find for around the same price. I do not have personal experience with this baguette pan though, so try it at your own risk.
I would suggest that you try to make a Chicken Bake without either of these helpful tools and if you are successful and want to try again you might want to up your game, buy another tool for your kitchen, and add some consistency to the finished products.
Here are four more photos that display the subtle differences between baking Chicken Bakes with and without the silicone sub roll that I own. These first two photos are without the sub roll mold after the Chicken Bakes have fully cooked and have been moved to a cooling rack to rest.
These two photos will show you two views of a Chicken Bake that was baked and shaped in a sub roll mold. You should be able to tell that these are a bit rounder and less flat when sliced or bitten into. Again, this first photo is after the Chicken Bake has been cooked and moved to a cooling rack so that you can see the shape of the sides.
4. make sure your sauce isn’t too watery
A watery sauce will not be the end of the world, but it might mean that your Chicken Bake will suffer from a soggy bottom. Make sure to rest each chicken bake on a wire rack while it cools as well. This will keep any soggy bits from making the whole bottom side soft. Air will help to cook the Chicken Bake and it will also help to dry everything out.
If you’re making your own sauce for a Chicken Bake, hold back on the liquid ingredients just a little bit to create a thicker sauce that will be less likely to run out during the baking process.
The build process
If you are comfortable handling dough for pizzas you will have no struggle making a Chicken Bake. It basically involves rolling out the dough to a certain shape and size (7×5-inch rectangle) adding all the fillings and carefully wrapping everything up.
If you have all the ingredients ready to go, this is just a process of adding all ingredients in any order you wish and then pinching a seam by sealing the dough and wrapping the Chicken Bake. Keep the sealed seam on the bottom, out of sight which will also hopefully help to keep things tightly closed.
Roll the dough out to about 5 inches by 7 inches. 
Top with shredded cheese or small pieces of sliced cheese. 
Then add the Alabama white sauced chicken pieces. 
Top with bacon or in this case, crumbled up crispy chicken skin. 
Sprinkle on some red onion. 
Top with more cheese. 
And a few pieces of diced up cilantro if you’re feeling fresh. 
Pinch the Chicken bake closed, creating a seam. 
Make sure the seam is fully sealed by pinching everything tightly. 
Bake your Chicken Bakes with the seam side down.
Alabama white chicken bake photos and recipe
Here are a few more photos of Alabama white chicken bakes and just below that you’ll find the full recipe and instructions to make your own.
Alabama white chicken bake
This is a version of a Costco Chicken Bake that you can easily make at home. The chicken is tossed in Alabama white sauce which brings a bunch of tangy and creamy flavor to eat bite.
Ingredients:
Chicken bake dough- 450 grams bread flour (3 3/4 cups)
- 12 grams sugar (1 tablespoon)
- 11 grams salt (2 teaspoons)
- 3 grams instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
- 284 grams water (1 1/4 cups)
- 12 grams vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- pinch of cayenne pepper powder (optional)
- 1 dough ball (from above)
- 1⁄2 cup cooked chicken in bite sized pieces (around 4 ounces)
- 1⁄4 cup Alabama white sauce (from above)
- 1⁄3 cup white cheddar, shredded (or regular cheddar, Monterey Jack, provolone)
- 2 slices cooked bacon, chopped (around 1 ounce)
- 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced (optional)
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- a bit more shredded cheese to top the exterior of the chicken bake
Suggested Equipment
A silicone sub sandwich roll mold (optional)
Directions:
Chicken bake dough: combine all chicken bake dough ingredients in a stand mixer and using the dough hook knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until a smooth dough forms.
Hand kneading? You can knead this by hand too. Stir the ingredients until no dry flour spots remain and then knead by hand on a counter or surface for 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is smooth.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled and sealed container in your fridge overnight.
Around one hour before it's time to cook the chicken bake, pull the dough out and divide it into five portions. Shape each portion into a ball and place the balls that you are not using back into a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 or 5 days. Leave the dough ball you are using under a clean kitchen towel while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
Alabama white sauce: add mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, ground black pepper, garlic powder, sugar, prepared horseradish, salt, and lemon juice to a medium-sized bowl and whisk until fully combined. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper powder if you would like to add a little spice to the sauce.
Add your Alabama white sauce to a sealed container and store it in the refrigerator for around a week or so.
Build process: preheat your oven to 400 F (205 C).
Chop the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces, add it to a small bowl with spoonfuls of Alabama white sauce, and toss to combine.
Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough ball and roll it into a rough 5 x 7-inch rectangle (about 1/4 inch thick).
Reserve 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese off to the side for use on top of the Chicken Bake. Sprinkle 1/2 of the remaining cheese on top of the middle of the flattened dough.
Cover the cheese with the bite-sized pieces of sauce-coated chicken and then sprinkle on the small bacon pieces. Sprinkle red onion and cilantro (if using) on top and then cover everything with the other 1/2 of the shredded cheese.
Carefully fold both of the long sides of the dough over the top of all of the ingredients and pinch the dough together attempting to close everything up. Do this a few times up and down the length of the longest direction until you have created a seam. Pinch the seam closed until you have sealed up the ingredients inside the dough. Pinch the seam again until it's fully closed and fully sealed including the ends. This seam will now be the bottom of the Chicken Bake.
Flip the ingredient-filled dough over and place it on a silicone sub sandwich roll mold or parchment-lined sheet pan.
Egg wash: create an egg wash by adding one whole large egg and 1 tablespoon of water to a small bowl. Whisk to combine well. Paint the egg wash on the top of the dough with a pastry brunch or a spoon/spatula. This egg wash will help the top of the Chicken Bake to be nice a golden brown.
After painting on the egg wash, sprinkle some ground black pepper on the top of the dough and cover it with the 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese that you reserved before.
Cooking: bake the Chicken Bake for 20 to 25 minutes rotating the sheet pan 90 degrees at the halfway point of baking.
Remove the Chicken Bake from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 5 minutes on a cooling rack so that the bottom doesn't get soggy. The interior of the Chicken Bake will be extremely hot, so be careful cutting it or biting into it.
Check back next week
Next week we’ll be recreating a sandwich that eventually ends up in a trashcan. Come back and see how it turns out!
