KFC Mac and Cheese is an indulgent creamy cheddar side that pairs perfectly with crispy chicken. Includes how to make it into a KFC Mac and Cheese Bowl!
Skip the drive-thru lines by making popular fast food Copycat Recipes at home whenever a craving hits. Make your own Family Bucket meal by paring this KFC Mac and Cheese with our KFC Original Chicken and KFC Coleslaw copycats.
KFC MAC AND CHEESE
This past summer, Kentucky Fried Chicken decided to take it’s well loved side dish, Mac and Cheese, and turn it into a Famous Bowl. That’s right, they said how can we make this better? Make it an entree!
Because this new Mac was only briefly offered, we knew it was time to master KFC’s Mac. Not only so we can pair with copycat Fried Chicken whenever we want, but also to recreate these limited time only Famous Bowls.
First though, let’s take a minute to gush about the delicious, creamy cheese sauce that is the key to KFC Mac and Cheese. It’s absolutely mind-blowing that a dish this cheesy and flavorful could come from a fast food chain. Yet here it is.
While we certainly love other favorite side dishes like mashed potatoes, and will definitely copycat them in the future, there’s something about Mac and cheese that makes getting a classic fried chicken bucket meal more of a splurge.
MORE FRIED CHICKEN RECIPES
Super Crispy Fried Chicken
Oven Fried Chicken (Super Crispy!)
Chicken Nuggets
Super Crispy Chicken Tenders
This Mac and cheese has a slightly tangy, sharp cheddar sauce gets soaked up into the tender jumbo elbow noodles. When you bite into the macaroni, you get bursts of hidden creamy cheddar that you never want to stop.
Who among us hasn’t scraped the container to get every last drop of this thick and rich cheesy goodness?
Now that your (hopefully) convinced that it’s a must have side dish, you can understand why KFC would take this masterpiece and kick it to the next level by topping with crispy popcorn chicken and even more cheese.
Since Mac and cheese bowls were limited time only, and we don’t know if they will ever be back, we’ve got instructions to make both the regular and spicy versions. If they disappeared off the menu before you got to try one, you no longer have to wonder what you missed out on!
Drop a comment below of more limited edition or lifetime classic KFC Menu Copycats you’d like to see. KFC is one of my favorite fast food places to recreate copycats for.
MORE POPULAR RESTAURANT COPYCAT DISHES:
KFC Coleslaw (Copycat)
KFC Potato Wedges (Copycat)
Boston Market Mac and Cheese (Copycat)
KFC Original Recipe Chicken (Copycat)
HOW TO MAKE KFC MAC AND CHEESE
- Cook the elbow macaroni for 18 minutes then drain.
- Add in the milk, milk powder, mustard powder, cornstarch and salt until the milk is warm, stirring gently.
- Add in the Velveeta and cheddar cheese until smooth and creamy, mixing gently, then serve immediately.
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HOW TO MAKE KFC MAC AND CHEESE FAMOUS BOWLS
So, these cheese bowls are super easy to make, literally just 2-3 toppings depending if you make the regular or spicy versions. It really comes down to what ingredients you use in order to get the taste spot on.
- Popcorn Chicken: The chicken that KFC uses on top their Famous Bowls, including the ones with mashed potatoes, is their popcorn chicken. Little chicken bites with thick crunchy breading. We don’t have a copycat (yet) but we suggest the Tyson frozen brand for the closest version until we do.
- 3 Cheese Blend: The 3 cheese blend in the Mac and Cheese Famous Bowls is a blend of equal parts Low Moisture Mozzarella, Mild Cheddar Cheese, and Monterey Jack Cheese.
- Spicy Mac: To make the Spicy Famous Bowl, you will need to make a Nashville Hot Sauce and drizzle it generously. Nashville Hot Sauce is a spicy sweet hot sauce filled with more spices than your traditional hot wing sauce.
- Make it a Combo: If you want to make this into a full Fill Up meal, for much less, serve your Mac and Cheese Famous Bowls with a Chocolate Chip Cookie and a drink.
HOW TO MAKE NASHVILLE HOT SAUCE
- 3 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. garlic salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil (the kind used for frying)
Whisk all ingredients and pour over your Mac and Cheese Bowls. You can also use this on fried chicken and make into a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich.
FUN FACTS ABOUT KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN
- Not So Kentucky Fried Chicken: Although KFC was founded as Sanders Court & Cafe in Corbin, Kentucky in 1930, the first franchise location was opened in Salt Lake City, over 20 years later.
- Do the Dew: Mountain Dew made a special flavor specifically for drinking with the Colonel’s Original Recipe. The Sweet Lightening flavor is a peach and honey blend, which sounds like the definition of southern flair in soda form.
- Bucket of Facts: Before 1957, you would not be able pick up a KFC Bucket Meal. Created by one of the first franchisees, the same one that would coin “Finger Lickin’ Good”, the first bucket was 14 pieces of chicken, 5 rolls, and a pint of gravy.
MORE POPULAR COPYCAT RECIPES:
Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat)
Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe
El Pollo Loco BBQ Black Beans (Copycat)
Easy Wendy’s Chili Copycat Recipe
HOW TO STORE KFC MAC AND CHEESE
- Serve: This dish is best served immediately. It can sit out for up to 2 hours, but the sooner it’s eaten, the better.
- Store: You can store this Mac and Cheese up to 4 days. Add a bit of milk, a tablespoon at a time, when reheating to get some creaminess back.
- Freeze: You shouldn’t freeze this. The sauce will separate and the noodles will become gummy when defrosted.
Ingredients
- 1 pound large elbow macaroni
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 24 ounces Velveeta cheese
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese , cut into 1" cubes
Instructions
- Cook the elbow macaroni for 18 minutes (this is longer than directed on purpose to keep sauce creamier).
- Drain pasta, then to the pot with the pasta add in the milk, milk powder, mustard powder, cornstarch and salt until the milk is warm, stirring gently.
- Add in the Velveeta and cheddar cheese until smooth and creamy, mixing gently, then serve immediately.
Nutrition
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My daughter loves KFC Mac & Cheese and prior to this recipe I couldn’t make homemade Mac & Cheese for nothing. I was skeptical at first with the dry milk because I’ve never used it at all in anything I make, but I’m glad I trust the process and I can now make homemade Mac & Cheese
Good for you Mary! Kudos for trying something new!
This is the best Mac and cheese recipe I have ever tasted. My family loves it and it’s the only recipe I use now. Thank you.
yess it wars s deliciocous i luvvv
I was so excited to try this recipe, I love mac n cheese (especially from KFC!) but sadly it was one of the worst mac recipes i have tried and I followed the recipe to a T. This tasted nothing like KFC and all I could taste was the velveeta flavor. The sauce was also VERY thin and soupy so it didn’t have the KFC texture either. This tasted like boxed mac n cheese to me except it was was obviously more $. I have used velveeta in mac n cheese recipes in the past and never had this issue with texture or flavor. The deal breaker wasn’t that this didn’t taste like KFC, I don’t care as long as it tastes good..
I will not be making this again. I have tried other recipes here and they were great, this one was just not it for me.
The Mac and cheese I have gotten was a light yellow almost white elbows was this the 3 cheese blend you mentioned in your post? Where is this recipe?
Thanks
Katherine
Delicious!! I think if KFC had a premium Mac and Cheese, this would be it. So good and this is the second time now that I’ve made it. I had no powdered milk and both times I substituted powder coffee creamer. and no block cheese so used an 8 oz bag of shredded cheese. Worked well. My grand daughter thinks I’m some sort of Mac and Cheese Superhero…which I’m now beginning to believe too.?
Haven’t made it yet, but it looks great. I’m curious, though, what type of cheddar block did you use? Sharp cheddar?
Seriously? Making the sauce in a separate pan would have been ideal instead of adding everything to the pasta. Now I have shredded macaroni…
Hi Rhia, were you stirring gently? I haven’t had the issue you are describing.
I’ve made this twice and each time all was eaten.
my family loves it. thanks for the wonderful recipe.
I made this recipe for my daughter’s birthday. She and her cousins LOVED it. I get many compliments. I would have given this 5 stars except that its is just so unhealthy.
First off, I did make this recipe, and it absolutely does taste a lot like the KFC mac and cheese. It’s Delicious! The velveeta really is the secret ingredient.
If you re-hydrate the noodles w/ milk when re-heating in the microwave, it brings back the sauce much better 🙂
It’s decent mac and cheese but not even similar to KFC. I’m sorry but it’s all about the cheese sauce and this is not it. I actually made this, unlike most of the people that left reviews.
Finally! A good mac and cheese copycat that my husband and I both love. Thank you so much for this recipe. Sabrina! This recipe is spot on. We bought some mac and cheese from KFC and I made this. We could hardly tell the difference…except for this one was better! And we could have as much as we wanted!
Yay!! So glad you all enjoyed it.
When you said velveeta cheese did you mean velveeta cheese sauce or the regular cheese?
I mean the Velveeta cheese log. Enjoy!
This is a great recipe! It tastes very good and I’d definitely make it again. But, it doesn’t taste like KFC’s Mac and Cheese…
Glad you still enjoyed it!
Absolutely delicious! Thank you. My daughter and I had this for dinner tonight and we loved it. At first I thought it was too much milk but it all came together magically. This is the best KFC copycat macaroni and cheese ever! I will always make this. Also love that it’s all cooked together on the stove all in one pot. Thanks again. Sincerely, Ms C
So glad you decided to give it a try!
Wow, the mac and cheese looks so good. I’m so happy now I can make this at home. 🙂
Yep, no need to go out for it anymore. Enjoy!
My grandchildren loves this! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome. So glad your grandkids love it.
I love how you re-created this recipe! Always a fan of a good mac n’ cheese. Can’t wait to try this.
Thanks, Emily!
My kids love KFC mac n cheese and I can’t wait to make this for them. It looks so creamy and decadent – perfect for the holidays!
It’s the perfect side. I hope you all enjoy it.
I was thrilled to find this on Pinterest. I loved all the info and tips.
Yay!!