You know the feeling. You order something at a restaurant, take the first bite, and immediately start wondering if you can make it at home. The answer is almost always yes. I’ve put together the copycat recipes I love to cook, from easy copycat recipes you can pull off on a Tuesday night to the ones worth saving for company or Sunday dinner. Olive Garden pastas, Chick-fil-A sides, Wendy’s desserts, Starbucks drinks, and so much more – the restaurant copycat recipes on this page cover dishes you’ll love to recreate in your own kitchen.
My Most-Made Copycat Recipe
Butter, cream, parmesan, and garlic. That’s almost all it takes to make Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce taste exactly like the restaurant version. I have made this recipe more times than I can count, and it comes together in 20 minutes from ingredients I almost always have on hand. The sauce is rich, coats the pasta the way it should, and reheats better than most cream sauces.
Olive Garden Copycat Recipes
Olive Garden is one of those restaurants where people fall in love with specific dishes. I have a few favorites too, and I’ve created spot-on versions you can make at home.
Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
My most requested recipe by far is the Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce, and you’ll find it featured at the top of the page.
Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
A creamy carbonara sauce with crispy smoky bacon, tender chicken, juicy shrimp, and sweet red bell peppers is exactly what makes Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara worth adding to your regular rotation.
Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
The garlic butter wine sauce in Olive Garden Chicken Scampi is bright and savory, and it comes together faster than you’d expect.
Olive Garden Salad Recipe
That signature tangy dressing is the reason people keep coming back to the Olive Garden Salad Recipe, and I’ve recreated the perfect copycat version.
Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta is the Crockpot version of Olive Garden pasta, and it’s the recipe to make on days when you need dinner to handle itself.
Asiago Tortellini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken
Asiago Tortellini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken is the tortellini version of the Olive Garden Alfredo, with the asiago adding a sharper, nuttier note to the sauce.
Chick-fil-A Copycat Recipes
Chick-fil-A has an almost magical way of making people loyal to specific menu items. These are the recipes I’ve tested at home that actually hold up to the real thing.
Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce
That smoky, tangy, honey-mustard flavor that makes you want to dip everything in sight is what the Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce is all about. It takes five minutes to make, and once you have a batch in the fridge, you’ll find yourself drizzling it on everything.
Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets
You’d never guess, but it’s a buttermilk and pickle juice marinade that gives Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets their distinctive flavor and tenderness, and you can make them in your own kitchen in minutes.
Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
My version of Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade is a frozen, creamy lemonade that’s just as refreshing to make at home as it is to order at the counter.
Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese
A four-cheese sauce made with Colby Jack, Gouda, American, and Parmesan is what makes Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese worth skipping the drive-thru for.
Copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Salad
My Copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Salad gets a nutty, slightly sweet flavor from the granola and has an apple cider vinaigrette that makes it the kind of salad you actually want to eat.
Wendy’s Copycat Recipes
Wendy’s has two menu items that people recreate at home more than anything else, and both of them are Frosties.
Wendy’s Strawberry Frosty
My version of Wendy’s Strawberry Frosty is thick, creamy, and bright with strawberry flavor, with just five minutes of effort before it goes into the freezer. Like a classic chocolate Wendy’s Frosty, it’s the kind of frozen treat that feels like much more effort than it actually is.
Wendy’s Chocolate Frosty
This Wendy’s Frosty recipe is the original chocolate version, made with just four ingredients and that same soft, spoonable texture as a Strawberry Frosty.
Starbucks Copycat Recipes
If you’ve ever wanted to skip the Starbucks line and make your order at home, these are the two best recipes to start with.
Pink Drink Recipe
Creamy, cold, and bright with strawberry flavor, the Pink Drink Recipe is one of the easiest Starbucks drinks to recreate at home. It comes together in 15 minutes with no special equipment.
Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino
My Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino is blended, icy, and loaded with chocolate in every sip, topped with whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle. It’s ready in five minutes and tastes just like the drink you’d order at the counter.
15+ Starbucks Copycat Recipes That Will Save You a Fortune
Skip the line and make your favorite Starbucks drinks and bakery treats at home, from iced caramel macchiatos and pink drinks to lemon loaf and egg bites, with simple recipes that actually taste right.
Fast Food Copycat Recipes
Fast food cravings are real, and I’m not here to fight them. These are the copycat recipes I make at home when I want that drive-thru fix without the drive-thru.
Little Caesars Crazy Bread
These breadsticks get that signature garlic and parmesan crust that makes Little Caesars Crazy Bread worth recreating at home. Twenty-five minutes, and they come out of the oven tasting like the real thing.
Dunkin Omelet Bites
These Dunkin’ Omelet Bites recreate those perfect egg white omelet bites with a simplicity that makes them just as easy to pull off on a weekday morning at home.
Taco Bell Frito Burrito
Just like the original, the crunch of Fritos layered inside a burrito is what sets my Taco Bell Frito Burrito apart from every other wrap you usually make.
Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
My Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is everything that made people sign petitions to bring it back. Crispy tortillas, seasoned beef, refried beans, and melted cheddar, made in your own kitchen in 40 minutes.
Benihana Hibachi Chicken
There’s something about that caramelized, savory-sweet char on hibachi chicken that’s hard to replicate at home, but my Benihana Hibachi Chicken actually nails it. Serve it with the fried rice and sautéed vegetables, and it’s the full experience.
More Copycat Recipes
Texas Roadhouse Butter Recipe
My Texas Roadhouse Butter Recipe is that same cinnamon honey butter you slather on fresh rolls at the restaurant. You’ll want to keep slicing more bread just to have a reason to eat it.
Cracker Barrel Meatloaf Recipe
The brown sugar glaze on my Cracker Barrel Meatloaf Recipe caramelizes over a tasty meatloaf, perfectly seasoned, with Ritz crackers in the mix. This is one of the most satisfying comfort food dinners to pull off at home.
Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
My Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole is a cheesy, creamy side dish that tastes exactly like the one that comes with every Cracker Barrel breakfast. Once you see how easy it is, you’ll make this for breakfast every weekend.
Copycat Magnolia Banana Pudding
My Copycat Magnolia Banana Pudding recreates the layered vanilla-wafer-and-banana pudding that made the New York bakery dessert famous.
Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits
These homemade Red Lobster Biscuits are just like those warm, garlicky cheddar biscuits you fill up on at the restaurant. So good, you should make a double batch.
Fuji Apple Panera Salad
My Fuji Apple Panera Salad brings together apple chips, pecans, and gorgonzola in a Fuji apple vinaigrette. It’s the kind of salad that actually keeps you full – no fast food stop necessary.
Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake
This Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake is just like the cake you order at DQ for every birthday. This version holds together when you slice it, and is every bit as pretty.
Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake
My Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake takes the DQ Buster Bar and turns it into a slab cake with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, peanuts, and chocolate magic shell that sets firm on top.
KFC Copycat Coleslaw
My KFC Copycat Coleslaw nails that creamy-sweet buttermilk-and-vinegar dressing and that crunchy texture the restaurant is famous for. Trust this version is just what you’re looking for.
How to Get Copycat Recipes Right
The secret ingredient is usually the simplest one.
After making copycat recipes for years, I’ve learned that restaurant dishes rarely rely on anything complicated. For example, the Texas Roadhouse butter tastes the way it does because of the addition of honey, and the Olive Garden alfredo comes down to butter and the right amount of parmesan. The trickiest part is finding the right ratios.
Rest time matters more than cook time.
The biggest mistake I see with sauces and dressings is serving them too soon. The KFC coleslaw is a good example: it tastes completely different after 30 minutes in the fridge than it does right after you make it. Restaurants have plenty of time to let their flavors develop, so to really nail the flavor, leave time for your dishes to rest.
Use the convenience ingredients the restaurant uses.
Restaurants take shortcuts, and you should, too. Crazy Bread is made from refrigerated pizza dough straight from the can, and that’s exactly what makes it so easy to pull off at home on a weeknight.
Match the texture, not just the flavor.
Before I start any copycat recipe, I think about the one texture that makes the dish what it is. For a Wendy’s Frosty, it’s that thick, spoonable creaminess. For the Chick-fil-A nuggets, it’s the crispy, tender bite that the buttermilk marinade makes possible, so that’s where I focus the technique.
25+ Copycat Recipes You Can Make at Home
Make your favorite well-known favorites at home with these 25+ copycat recipes, including desserts, candies, and fast food–inspired dinners.
There are many recipes on this page worth bookmarking, but if you’re only making one, make it the Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce. It’s the recipe I come back to more than any other, and once you’ve made it at home, you’ll understand why it’s so hard to justify paying restaurant prices for pasta again.
