KFC Mac and Cheese
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Servings: 6 servings
KFC added mac and cheese to their menu and it immediately became one of their most popular sides. It’s smooth, creamy, and unmistakably cheesy — the kind of mac and cheese that feels like it was made for fried chicken. The sauce is intentionally velvety rather than chunky, coating each noodle in a uniform blanket of cheese.
The Velveeta base is what gives it that ultra-smooth, fast-food consistency. KFC doesn’t use artisan aged cheddar — they use processed cheese blended with real cheddar, and the result is a sauce that’s impossibly smooth and never grainy. The small amount of real cheddar mixed in adds depth that Velveeta alone can’t achieve.
The Perfect Side for Fried Chicken
- Velveeta plus real cheese is the formula. Velveeta alone is too bland. Real cheese alone won’t get smooth enough. The combination gives you both texture and flavor.
- Don’t boil the cheese sauce. High heat makes cheese sauce grainy and oily. Keep it on low heat once you start adding cheese.
- Al dente pasta absorbs sauce. Slightly undercooked pasta soaks up the cheese sauce as it sits, reaching perfect doneness by the time you eat it.
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More KFC Copycat Recipes to Try
Mac and cheese is KFC’s most indulgent side — here’s what it goes with:
- KFC Famous Bowl — the layered mashed-potato-and-chicken bowl; mac and cheese and the Famous Bowl together make a full KFC comfort-food table
- KFC Mashed Potatoes and Gravy — the other creamy KFC side; serve both for a proper KFC-at-home spread
- KFC Original Recipe Fried Chicken — the main event that mac and cheese was designed to sit alongside; the 11-herb seasoning in the chicken cuts right through the cheddar richness
See all KFC copycat recipes →
