13 KFC Copycat Recipes

Who doesn’t love a little finger-lickin’ chicken? The colonel isn’t the only one with secret recipes. We’ve got 13 of them! Ok, so they aren’t exactly secret, but our list of 13 KFC copycat recipes will allow you to make your favorite southern fried chicken (plus a few tasty extras)! Let’s dive straight in!

Homemade KFC Recipes

1. KFC Zinger Burger

The KFC Zinger burger is a sight to behold. A large sesame studded burger bun, filled with crispy lettuce, sliced juicy tomatoes, red onion rings, and lashings of mayonnaise? Have we forgotten something? Ah yes, of course, A juicy and crispy southern fried chicken fillet. The key to this recipe is in the coating. It’s called a zinger burger for a reason. That reason is that it is just a little bit spicy.

This is achieved with a couple of ‘secret’ ingredients. The first is chili powder. The chicken breast is dusted in this along with our second secret ingredient, Chili Heatwave Doritos! These are crushed into a coarse powder and combined with toasted onion flakes to make a coating that starts off crispy and only gets better once the chicken is fried. Give this one a try. We’d say it is exactly like the real thing

2. KFC Mac n Cheese

If you are hungry, then let’s offer this as a great suggestion. This dish is about as filling as it gets. KFC isn’t world-famous for their pasta dishes… Which is s shame as their mac and cheese work really well with southern fried chicken. There are no real secrets or surprises in this recipe. Unlike traditional mac and cheese, we don’t make a roux.

Instead, we combined milk, mustard powder, salt, and cornstarch in a pan and then heat it until thick. From there, we add cubes of cheddar cheese along with a huge helping of Velveeta. From there, it is just a case of throwing in some precooked elbow macaroni and coating in that lovely gooey sauce. Macaroni is perfect because it is hollow. Each tube fills with cheesy sauce in the center.

3. KFC Potato Wedges

Are you a fries or a wedges kinda person?

After you’ve tried these, you might have a hard time deciding. The best bit about this recipe is that they are super simple to create and taste exactly like genuine KFC wedges. We use a few secret tips to make sure that we get a perfect result every time. First, the wedges are soaked in a mixture of egg and milk. This stops the wedges from turning brown. It also works really well as a ‘glaze’ that helps the coating stick to the wedges.

Speaking of the coating, we combine a mix of herbs and spices, namely paprika, black pepper, and garlic powder. Now, you can bake them if you wish… But that’s not how KFC does it. Instead, we deep fry the wedges in hot oil. As a result, they should come out slightly crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.

4. KFC Chicken Pot Pie

We don’t normally associate KFC with baking, but this pot pie is actually one of the best around. Succulent chunks of chicken, in a creamy, savory sauce, with a few vegetables thrown in for good measure. Oh, and of course, all lovingly wrapped in a crisp pastry shell. As with most of our 13 KFC copycat recipes, there are a few little secrets that you must know if you want to make your pot pie like the KFC original. This next tip will save you a lot of time and effort too.

Don’t waste time making a cream sauce. Use a tin of chicken soup instead! Our recipe uses homemade pastry dough; however, if you want to save yourself even more time, you could always use store-bought instead. The best thing about this dish is that once it is assembled, you can freeze it, ready to throw into the oven whenever you like!

5. KFC Chicken Tenders

Ok, enough about mac n cheese and pies. It’s ok, we get it, you are here for the chicken! And this one is a classic! Chicken tender is actually quite easy to make. It is perfect as an accompaniment, a starter, or even as a main meal. We love to serve them with a French fry side (to be all traditional) along with a selection of dipping sauces… It’s got to be BBQ, just saying…

If you want your chicken to stay juicy and tender, you will have to do a little prep. The secret is buttermilk. We soak our chicken breast strips in buttermilk as it keeps them really moist. This is because buttermilk is a mild acid that breaks down and softens the proteins in the meat. From there, it is simply a case of dusting your chicken breasts in a coating of flour and a few carefully selected herbs and spices.

6. KFC Gravy

KFC gravy is world-famous, and it did take us a little while to figure this one out. Whether you are dipping some chicken or soak a few fries, it is perfect for any KFC recipe. Once we’d cracked it, we couldn’t believe how simple it was. Basically, it is a blend of stock. Both chicken and beef. This is thickened with a mixture of flour and butter. Then we add a slightly savory note with the inclusion of powdered onion.

We have a little tool in our arsenal that makes sure the gravy is smooth, and you will want to use it. We are talking about a whisk. Because this recipe contains flour, it is crucial that you give it a good whisk to ensure there are no lumps!

7. KFC Biscuits

Here’s one that would work really well with our KFC gravy! KFC biscuits are slightly savory and are great as a side. Even if you do not have KFC at home, these are great for an accompaniment to most dinners. And we make them entirely from scratch!

 The key to getting a crisp and flaky biscuit lies in the butter. Keep your butter chilled until the very last minute! This ensures that you have tiny dots of fat in the dough that creates little crispy layers. We rub the butter into the flour until it resembles bread crumbs. Make sure it stays the course; otherwise, you’ll end up with a heavy biscuit! We use baking powder and cream of tartar to get these biscuits slightly puffy and well risen. You can freeze them after baking too!

8. KFC Chicken Wings

Ah, another classic! KFC Chicken wings are the food of the Gods… Make sure to cook a big batch as they will be gone in minutes, and once you’ve started eating them, you won’t be able to stop (yes, our record is 15… We are both proud and disgusted in equal measure).

As with our chicken tenders recipe above, we soak the wings in buttermilk to ensure that they stay nice and juicy. We also add a little garlic to the marinade for extra flavor. You will need to be organized when making this recipe. It’s a three-stage process. Marinade, dust, and fry. We get a little production line going in our kitchen, which is exactly how they do it at KFC!

9. KFC Double Down Recipe

Is there a more heavenly combination than chicken and bacon? We doubt it! This recipe is great tasting but not particularly diet-friendly, which is a terrible shame as it’s so darned good! The initial stages are very similar to the zinger burger recipe given above. The differences are that we add bacon, thick slices of Monterey Jack cheese, and finish the entire thing off with a thick lashing of BBQ sauce!

Why is it called the ‘double down’? Well, it actually contains two chicken breasts! That’s going to leave you with a bit of a problem… Getting your mouth around the entire thing, it’s a bit of a stretch… And you probably won’t need to eat for the next week once you’ve devoured it!

10. KFC Original Fried Chicken

Sometimes you just want simplicity, and we couldn’t make a list of KFC copycat recipes without including the ‘original’. Here’s a tip. Remember this recipe, as the techniques used are the same whether you are making wings, burgers, or anything else southern fried. We tried so many variations before we were able to crack the colonel’s secret’ spice coating. This one is absolutely 100% on point.

There are quite a few ingredients that go into it. Still, it includes things like celery salt, paprika, basil, thyme, and oregano! You’ll come across recipes telling you to oven bake your chicken. This is not the way. To get a genuine and authentic KFC chicken fillet, you have to deep fry it! A great tip to ensure a crispy coating is to avoid overcrowding your pan. If you do, you’ll lower the temperature of the oil, which will cause your coating to go soggy. Nobody likes a soggy chicken breast! Also we’ve got some amazing fried chicken side dishes to go with these.

11. KFC Popcorn Chicken

Whether you want some light bites or something to snack on while watching a movie, our KFC popcorn chicken recipe is amazing. The trick to getting this homemade KFC recipe perfect is to ensure that all of your chicken pieces are cut into equal sizes.

That way, they all cook evenly and consistently at the same time. The seasoning that coats the chicken is a little bit different than the other KFC recipes mentioned above. We add a few extras such as garam masala or allspice. While it may be tempting once you begin to fry the popcorn chicken, leave it in the pan undisturbed to cook. Don’t stir it, or you’ll find that the coating tends to fall off.

Leaving you with naked chicken chunks and dirty oil! We add a finishing touch to our chicken by giving it a final dusting with wasabi powder just before serving.

12. KFC Fried Chicken Twister

Don’t you just hate it when fast-food restaurants remove something from their menu? The KFC Chicken twister was a firm favorite for years, and then one day, it just simply vanished! Well, we weren’t going to let KFC tell us what we can and can’t have at home, so we came up with our own recipe! This is a close as we could get, and it tastes identical to the real thing! This is slightly less carb-heavy than some other dishes, too, as it is served in a wrap instead of a burger bun! Oh, and you mustn’t forget one essential ingredient! Make sure that you make the pepper mayo exactly as the recipe says. We forgot it once, and it wasn’t nearly as good!

13. KFC Honey BBQ Strips

We made these as part of a party buffet once. By the time we’d brought the rest of the food out, they had already gone. They are that good! These are strips of tender chicken, lovingly fried until crispy and then topped with a sweet and smoky BBQ sauce.

The coating soaks up some of the sauce, so you get the perfect mix of crunch and flavor. Be sure to serve these with a few napkins or hand wipes. They can get a little messy and sticky, which is just the way we like them. The sweetness in this recipe comes from the addition of one ingredient. The clue is in the name. Honey. We like to make life easy by using store-bought BBQ sauce, and we find Heinz to be the closest to the original recipe.

Conclusion

So, there are at least 13 copycat recipes for you to try. One we didn’t include is this delicious coleslaw from KFC that’s also worth making at home. They are all pretty easy. If you learn a couple of basic techniques, you’ll find yourself well equipped to make most of them (especially any involving fried chicken). There are some of KFC” s newer recipes there as well as some old classics. Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below. We always love hearing from you!