Coronation Chicken Toastie

By toastiemaker.com · Updated 16 Oct 2026

Coronation chicken makes a brilliant hot toastie, but cold coronation chicken goes into a sealed machine badly. The mayo splits and the sugary mango chutney burns onto the plates. For the toastie version, use half mayo and half thick Greek yoghurt so the sauce holds when it's heated, stir the chutney through rather than leaving it in blobs, keep sultanas away from the edges and add a little mild cheddar to bind it all together.

The technique: a sauce that survives heat

Coronation chicken was created as a cold dish, and most recipes for it (and most supermarket versions) are loose and mayo-heavy. Mayo is an emulsion of oil and egg yolk. Heated hard, it can split back into oil, and in a sealed toastie that oil soaks the bread and seeps out of the edges.

Half mayo, half yoghurt

Thick Greek yoghurt replaces half the mayo. It thickens the sauce and adds tang, and the mixture is less likely to separate into a pool of oil. Use full-fat strained yoghurt: low-fat yoghurt is watery and makes the bread soggy. It's a similar balancing act to the mayo ratio in our tuna melt toastie.

Sugar control

Mango chutney and sultanas are both high in sugar, and sugar caramelises and then burns at the temperatures toastie plates reach. That's why coronation chicken leaves dark, sticky spots on the plates. Mixing the chutney evenly through the sauce means no sugary blobs end up at the edges, and keeping sultanas in the centre stops them burning onto the plates. If your plates already stick, read why is my toastie sticking.

Why add cheese?

Traditional coronation chicken has no cheese, but a little mild cheddar melts through the filling and helps hold it together as it heats. Without it, the shredded chicken tends to fall out when you cut the toastie. Avoid strong cheddar here, as it competes with the curry. For mild melters, see best cheese for toasties.

Using shop-bought coronation chicken

Ready-made coronation chicken is usually too saucy for a toastie. Add 1 tbsp of Greek yoghurt and extra shredded chicken to thicken it, and mix in 20g of cheddar per toastie.

Other appliances

In a frying pan, cook on medium-low with a lid for 3 minutes per side. Lower heat matters more here because of the sugar (see frying pan toastie). In an air fryer, cook at 175°C for 8 minutes, turning halfway. For a microwave toastie maker, use half the filling per toastie and follow our microwave toastie recipes timings.

Variations

• Coronation turkey: perfect for Boxing Day. See also the Christmas leftovers toastie.
• Coronation chickpea: for a vegetarian version, roughly mash 120g of drained chickpeas instead of the chicken.
• Coronation tuna: press the tuna dry first, as in the tuna melt.
• Toasted almonds: add 1 tbsp of flaked almonds, toasted in a dry pan, for crunch.
• Spicier: use medium curry powder and a pinch of chilli flakes.

Mistakes to avoid

• All-mayo sauce: it splits into oil and the bread turns greasy.
• Chutney and sultanas at the edges: they burn onto the plates.
• Raw chicken: always use fully cooked chicken, chilled and within its use-by date.
• Overfilling: 60g of filling per toastie in a standard machine. See how to stop toasties leaking.

For another chicken toastie with a different approach to oil, try the chicken pesto toastie. More ideas are in toastie filling ideas, and machines are compared in best toastie maker.