The KFC Famous bowl is the ultimate comfort meal the WHOLE family will love. Breaded chicken bites fried until crispy and golden brown. Served with fluffy mashed potatoes, homestyle gravy, corn and cheese.
This dish is for my meat and potatoes lovers! It’s completely customizable. A great weeknight meal the whole family will love! skip the fast food, we got food at home!
It brings me so much joy to recreate food that I loved as a kid. Nostalgic vibes all the way. As a kid I loved this bowl. I remember ordering it many times after school. So I decided to make it at home, buttt better. Because everything made at home is better.
What is a Famous bowl?
A classic meal on the KFC menu; made with silky mashed potatoes, corn, homestyle gravy topped with fried chicken bites and cheese. I made two versions, a hot honey bowl and the original famous bowl. They were sooooo good. The hot honey was my favorite.
Let’s get started-
Start off by cleaning and cutting your chicken tenderloins into chunks. Then, marinate them in a seasoned buttermilk bath for at least an hour. Toss them in seasoned flour and deep fry until crispy and golden brown.
For the potatoes– you can make instant potatoes if you’d like. I paired this bowl with my White Truffle Mashed Potatoes. The recipe will be featured in my e-cookbook, coming very soon!
For the corn, I drained some sweet yellow corn, added a knob of butter and seasoned to my liking.
For the gravy –
If it’s one thing I remember about KFC is the gravy. It used to SMACK! Paired with the mashed potatoes, with a little hot sauce. immediately yes! You can use package gravy but I recommend making it. It’s pretty simple to make.
In a skillet melt 1 tbsp of butter, 2 tbsp of the chicken oil drippings and allow it to heat up. Add in 2 tbsp of flour and mix continuously. The flour will begin brown. Keep mixing. Once it gets to your desired color, pour in 1/2 cup of water. Mix and season to your liking. Add more water, depending on the consistency you like your gravy to be.
Wanna make it hot?
To some melted butter, add Frank’s Red Hot sauce, honey, red pepper flakes and bring to a low simmer. Pour over the crispy chicken and toss until fully coated. Assemble your famous bowl and enjoy!
Looking for more weeknight recipes? Here are a few to try
Creamy Sausage and Kale Rigatoni
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Better Than Take-out Mongolian Beef
If you make any of these recipes I would love to hear from you and your thoughts! Don’t forget to tag me on IG @cookwithci
Buttermilk Chicken + Mashed Potato Bowl (KFC Inspired)
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken tenderloins cut into chunks
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Tony's
- 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 cups oil for frying
Flour
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Hot Honey
- 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup Frank's red hot use more if needed
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Homestyle Gravy
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp oil from chicken
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup water
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- seasoned salt
- pepper
- chicken bouillon
For the bowl
- mashed potatoes
- gravy
- corn
- cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Wash chicken and pat dry. Cut into chunks and add to a bowl. Add buttermilk and season with garlic powder, onion powder, Tony's and seasoned salt. Cover and marinate for at least 1 hr.
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper and Tony's creole seasoning.
- In a pan or deep fryer heat up oil to 350 degrees.
- Add chicken to the flour and coat well. Shake off excess flour and allow to sit for about 5 minutes before adding it to the grease. Fry on both sides until golden brown. About 5-7 minutes on both sides this will vary depending on how large your chicken bites are.
- In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, add drained corn, 1-2 tbsp of butter and season to your liking. Cook for about 7 minutes stirring occasionally. If needed add about 1/4 cup of water.
Hot Honey Sauce
- In a sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. add in Frank’s red hot, honey and red pepper flakes. Bring to a medium simmer. Pour sauce over chicken bites.
Homestyle Gravy
- Add 1 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of the chicken oil to a small skillet over medium heat. Once the butter begins to bubble, add in 2 tbsp of flour whisking continuously. The roux will begin to brown. Once it becomes desired color pour in 1/2 cup of water.
- Continue to mix. The gravy will begin to thicken. Add more water if needed. season with onion powder, garlic powder, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper to taste. Once it becomes your desired thickness, remove from heat.
Assemble bowl
- To a bowl, add a layer of mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, chicken bites and top with cheese and more gravy.
Did you make it?
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