The American restaurant business has been shaped by many entrepreneurs, so determined to realize their dreams of owning a hot dog cart or starting a restaurant, that they sell everything they own to raise cash. Food lore is littered with these stories, and this one is no exception. This time the family car was sold to pay for one month's rent on a converted World War II army tent, an oven, refrigerator, rolling pin, and some hand tools. It was 1948, and that's all Marie Callender and her family needed to make enough pies to start delivering to restaurants in Long Beach, California.

It was the pies that started the company, but soon the bakeries became restaurants and they started serving meals. One of my favorites is the Famous Golden Cornbread and whipped honey butter that comes with many of the entrées. What makes this cornbread so scrumptious is its cake-like quality. My Marie Callender's cornbread copycat recipe below requires more flour than traditional cornbread recipes, making the finished product soft and spongy, just like Marie's.

Check out my other Marie Callender's hacks here.

Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

Chick-fil-A’s popular Frosted Lemonade is a delicious, blended combination of lemonade and the chain’s trademarked Icedream soft serve product. Just like Dairy Queen’s famous soft serve, Icedream looks and tastes like ice cream, but it contains considerably less butterfat since it’s made with milk, rather than cream.

For my Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade copycat recipe, cream-less ice cream is not a necessity. Regular ice cream works just fine here, although light ice cream, which is usually made with a milk base (Blue Bell Vanilla Light Ice Cream is one example), also makes a great clone.

Give the fresh lemonade you make here a little time to chill in your freezer before adding it to your blender with the other ingredients. In a matter of seconds, when all the ice is crushed, you’ll have two frosty 16-ounce drinks that taste just like the real deal, but at a mere fraction of the cost.

Try more of my Chick-fil-A copycat recipes like their famous chicken sandwich here. 

Filled with carrots, onions, garlic, bell peppers, and herbs—this is definitely one of the tastiest meatloaves I've cloned so far, and it's one of Cheesecake Factory's signature dishes. While most meatloaf creations are coated with a tomato-based sauce, such as ketchup or barbecue sauce, this one is doused with rich mushroom gravy, and then topped with a pile of caramelized onions (those secret formulas are included here as well). 

My Cheesecake Factory meatloaf copycat recipe will yield exactly three ginormous dinner-size portions—that's three thick slices of meatloaf at the restaurant. But you could easily fill the bellies of four or more famished folks with more reasonable serving sizes.

Find more of your favorite Cheesecake Factory copycat recipes here.

Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

The huge muffins sold at Costco’s bakeries had been one of my longtime favorite picks from the big box store, partly because they were so deliciously big. But in late 2024, the chain altered its portion size to the chagrin of many muffin fans, and now the store’s famous jumbo muffins are not so jumbo. Today, Costco’s muffins are roughly half their former size. The muffins still taste great, but if you prefer the original massive muffins in all their supersized splendor, you’ll need to take matters into your own hands.

My previous hacks for Costco Blueberry Muffins and Costco Almond Poppyseed Muffins each produce giant muffins, so I designed this recipe the same way. To make my Costco Lemon Raspberry Muffins copycat recipe, you’ll need a jumbo, or Texas-size, muffin pan that will re-create the bigness of the store’s original version. If you don’t have one of those pans, you can still make regular-sized muffins using this recipe and a standard 12-cup muffin pan.

Find more favorite famous bread recipes here. 

To help fill the void left by a lack of dine-in customers when the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S. in early 2020, restaurant operators had to get creative. That spring and summer we saw a surge in ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants where all the food was prepared for delivery only. Ghost kitchens are kitchens without seating and minimal, if any, signage. Virtual restaurants are delivery-only services where food is prepared in established restaurant kitchens.

It's Just Wings is a concept cooked up by Brinker, the team behind Chili’s and Maggiano’s, with a menu limited to wings in three styles—bone-in, boneless, and smoked—tossed in your choice of eight creative sauces or two dry rubs. Since I've already hacked a variety of traditional wings and boneless wings, I chose to clone It's Just Wings stand-out smoked wings which are prepared in the same pecan wood smoking ovens (called Combitherms) Chili’s uses to make baby back ribs. 

The secret is to brine the chicken first, then blot it dry and rub the skin with oil to help make it crispy while it smokes. If you don’t have a smoker, you can smoke the wings on your grill by heating one side of the grill and placing the wings on the other side. Set wood chips or pellets in foil over the heated side, then close the lid.   

Below you'll find my recipe for It's Just Wings Smoked Wings and three of their most notable sauces: Honey Sriracha, Honey Chipotle, and Truffle Hot Sauce. Pick one (or more), toss your wings in it, and dive in. Or maybe you just want to go naked? These wings also taste great without any sauce at all.

I've hacked a ton of famous fried chicken wings. See if I cloned your favorite here. 

The real thing found in the deli section of your market is used on crackers, as a dip for raw vegetables, or even as a spread on sandwiches, burgers, and wraps. Now I've come up with an easy way to duplicate Rondele using a 12-ounce tub of whipped cream cheese—so you'll happily get three times the amount of the 4-ounce original! Just be sure when mixing your version that you don't over mix, or you will destroy the fluffiness of the whipped cheese. The Italian seasoning included here is a dried herb blend (usually marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil) found near the other bottled herbs and spices in your market. I used McCormick brand for this Rondele garlic & herbs cheese spread clone recipe, but any brand should work fine. Since the herbs are dried, the flavor is more subtle than it would be with fresh herbs, even after the dried bits soak up moisture from the cheese. And that's just want we want for a good clone.

Find more of your favorite famous dip recipes here. 

Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

Taco Bell boldly goes where it’s never gone before with the introduction of the chain’s new chicken nuggets. To make nuggets that stand out from the offerings at other fast food feeders, Taco Bell’s version is made with sliced chicken breast marinated in jalapeño buttermilk and breaded with crumbled corn tortilla chips. The nuggets taste great on their own, but add one of the chain’s new dipping sauces, and you’ve got an undisputed flavor bomb.

For my Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Nuggets copycat recipe, I created a brine with buttermilk, chicken broth and diced jalapeño, and I let the chicken chunks have a nice soak. For the breading, I grabbed a rolling pin and wacked on a ziptop bag full of Tostitos Cantina thin corn tortilla chips until I had a bag of crumbs that combined perfectly with the other breading ingredients.

As for the dipping sauce, I cloned the chain’s ranch sauce with attitude, since it appears to be the most popular pick. I created my Taco Bell’s Fire Ranch Sauce copycat recipe using Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing as the base, just like the original, then mixed in several other ingredients, including sriracha and cayenne pepper, and allowed it to sit until needed. After the flavors had a chance to mingle, I had a half cup of delicious spicy ranch dipping sauce that made these tasty nuggets unforgettable.

Check out all of my Taco Bell copycat recipes here.

When building your burritos, tacos, or tostada salads, there are several delicious fire-grilled and pulled meats to choose from at Café Rio, but the signature dish that everyone raves about is the Sweet Pork Barbacoa. The slow-braised pork is fork tender and comes in a sweet sauce that is flavored with a certain popular soft drink. Over the years I have debunked several culinary rumors of Coca-Cola being used in some secret recipes like Maid-Rite Loose Meat Sandwiches, but in this case I have confirmed that the rumors are indeed true. Coca-Cola is the secret ingredient that helps give this pork its sweet flavor.

For my Café Rio Sweet Babacoa copycat recipe, you'll need a total of 72 ounces of Coke, or the same amount that's in a six-pack of cans. It's best if you can find Mexican Coke, which is made with real sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup found in the U.S. version, but any Coke you've got will work here. 

After several hours of braising, your pork will be fork-tender and filled with flavor to use in homemade burritos, tacos, and bowls. 

Source: Top Secret Recipes Step by Step by Todd Wilbur.

One of the most protected, discussed, and sought-after secret recipes in the food world is KFC's Original Recipe Fried Chicken. Long ago I published my first hack of the famous formula, but the recipe, which was based on research from "Big Secrets" author William Poundstone, includes only salt, pepper, MSG, and flour in the breading, and not the blend of eleven herbs and spices we have all heard about. The fried chicken made with my first recipe is good in a pinch, but it really needs several more ingredients to be a true clone. 

That is why, over twenty years later, I was happy to get another crack at the secret when we shot the pilot episode for my CMT TV series Top Secret Recipe. In the show, I visited KFC headquarters, talked to friends of Harlan Sanders who had seen the actual recipe, and even checked out the Corbin, Kentucky, kitchen where Harland Sanders first developed his chicken recipe. During that four-day shoot I was able to gather enough clues about the secret eleven herbs and spices to craft my new KFC Original fried chicken copycat recipe—one that I believe is the closest match to the Colonel's secret fried chicken that anyone has ever revealed.

Try my KFC Coleslaw copycat recipe here. 

Source: Top Secret Recipes Step-By-Step by Todd Wilbur.

When Smashburger opened its first restaurant in Denver, Colorado, in 2007, the concept of creating a flavorful crust by smashing a hamburger patty onto a flat grill was not new. However, this chain, which has expanded to over 240 locations across seven countries and 34 states, significantly popularized this burger patty cooking style.

What sets Smashburger’s hamburgers apart from other smashed patty burgers is the addition of a top secret sauce slathered on the face of the top bun. A good clone of the special sauce is an excellent addition to your home burgers and also serves as a tasty dipping sauce for finger foods. My Smashburger Smash Sauce copycat recipe below is a simple combination of mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, plus a few other crucial ingredients, and it will take you less than five minutes to make.

You can use the sauce on your home burgers or for dipping clones of the chain’s signature Smashfries and Smash Tots, which I’ve also hacked for you here. Both the menu and servers will tell you that the fries are tossed with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic, but they all stop short of describing anything else about the recipe. A quick examination of the fries makes it clear that there are other herbs in the mix, so I took a closer look back at the lab and eventually came up with a blend of three fresh herbs that gave the fries and tots the perfect flavor.

The herbs on the real fries, including the rosemary, were tender, indicating they had been cooked. After testing several methods to soften the herbs for my Smashfries and Smash Tots copycat recipe, I finally settled on blanching the freshly minced herbs in simmering water and then straining them. I rehydrated garlic granules and simmered them in olive oil with the herbs just long enough for the all the water to evaporate. You’ll know that the garlic and herbs still contain water if they clump together in the oil. When they separate, the water has cooked off.

To finish your hack, toss the herb-infused oil you made with crispy French fries or potato tots and dig in. 

Find more copycat recipes for your favorite famous french fries here.

Similar to Chinese sweet-and-sour sauce, but spicier and with more tomato in it like barbecue sauce, mumbo sauce (with a “u”) came to fame in the 50s when it migrated from Chicago to D.C.-area take-out restaurants to be used on practically everything from chicken wings to fried shrimp.

Washington D.C.-area entrepreneur Arsha Jones created the currently most popular version of the sauce and originally called it Capital City Mumbo Sauce. But the name was already taken, and a 2013 trademark decision forced Arsha to slightly alter the name of her product—to Mambo Sauce.

Because the sauce is so good on fried chicken, KFC began testing Arsha’s sauce in several restaurants in 2021 for a potential chain-wide rollout, and now you can test out some uses for your own home version. This original hack recipe will take you just five minutes to make and will give you one cup of the iconic sauce to use on fried chicken, wings, shrimp, French fries, Chinese food, or anything that needs a good dose of great flavor.

It has a perfectly flaky crust, a filling that is sweet and sour and not too firm, and a lightly browned meringue that is delicate and fluffy. Marie Callender’s beloved Lemon Meringue Pie is one of the best, so for my clone, it’s important to get each part right.

For the pastry crust, I’m using my recipe that creates a 9-inch shell from scratch with both butter and shortening, but you can also use a prepared pie crust from your store’s freezer aisle. Just know that these pre-made shells are approximately 8 inches in diameter, so if you choose that option, you likely won’t use all the filling and meringue.

There are several different ways to make meringue, and each method produces a different type of meringue. For my Marie Callender’s Lemon Meringue Pie copycat recipe, I decided that an easy French meringue would create the closest match. French meringues don’t become stable until they are cooked and are prone to splitting or weeping. Therefore, I’m adding a cornstarch slurry to the mix to stabilize it. Make the meringue before preparing the filling so it can be added on top of the pie when the filling is hot, which helps seal the underside of the meringue and prevents leaking.

The filling formula—with egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and just enough cornstarch in the mix to keep it in shape when sliced—may be enough to fill your pie shell all the way to the top, but don’t. Leave a little room, or the filling might overflow when displaced by the meringue when you add it on top.

Just to be sure your clone comes out great, I’ve included LOTS of step photos. The hardest part of the entire process will be waiting 6 hours until your pie is chilled through and firm enough to slice.

Try more of my Marie Callender's copycat recipes here.

Of the four enchiladas served at this popular national Mexican chain, the cheese enchilada and chicken tinga enchilada stand out. They are filled with good stuff, and the sauces on top make them special. The cheese enchilada is doused with slow-cooked chili con carne sauce, while the tender chicken tinga enchilada is topped with a flavorful sour cream sauce and Jack cheese. And because I couldn’t decide which enchilada was better, I hacked them both.

For my On the Border Cheese Enchiladas copycat recipe, I’ll show you how to make a perfect con carne sauce and how to stuff the enchiladas with a blend of perfectly melted cheese. For my On the Border Chicken Tinga Enchiladas hack, I’ll show you how to make moist and flavorful chicken tinga with a grocery store rotisserie chicken and how to copy the great sour cream sauce with just four ingredients.

Using either of these secret recipes, you’ll make ten enchiladas in one 9x13 baking pan, so there should be enough to go around. The hardest step is deciding which to make: chicken or cheese? These enchiladas go great together on one plate and complement each other nicely, so I say, make ‘em both!

Find more of your favorite On the Border copycat recipes here.

In Maggiano’s hit starter, large slices of zucchini are breaded and fried until crispy, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and served with a bright lemon aioli for dipping. This is the top pick from the appetizer menu, according to servers at the upscale Italian chain, and I had to be sure my hack could satisfy even the most fervid fans of the original.   

The first order of business for my Maggiano’s Zucchini Fritte copycat recipe was to figure out how to replicate the ultra-crispy coating that is a standout feature of the real thing. It’s clear that the zucchini is breaded with panko, but I needed a batter to make the panko stick to the zucchini. My first batter, made with flour, didn’t produce the standout crunchiness of the real thing. So, I called in the cornstarch. Cornstarch batters are notoriously crispy, so I combined cornstarch with the flour for the batter and finally discovered the crunchy breading I was searching for.

After the breading was cracked, I focused on the formula for a dipping sauce made with variations of mayo, sour cream, cream, and lemon juice until I had the ratios right for a perfect match. I brought it all together on a plate, finished it off with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and freshly minced Italian parsley, and my mouth thought I was at Maggiano’s.

If you like Maggiano's, you'll also love my copycat recipe for Maggiano's Beef Tenderloin Medallions. 

Crumbl co-founder Sawyer Hemsley used to beg his mom to bring home his favorite pink sugar cookies, sold at a local Utah hospital by a group called The Pink Ladies. This chewy vanilla cookie, topped with pink almond icing and inspired by Sawyer’s childhood favorite treat, is now among the top three most popular cookies at the national chain, and customers anxiously await its appearance in the featured cookies of the week.

My Crumbl Classic Pink Sugar Cookie copycat recipe begins with a buttery vanilla dough that bakes slowly and is done cooking before you see any browning. The center stays slightly undercooked, ensuring that the cookie, which is served cold, remains chewy in the middle. Keeping the moist center fresh and the soft frosting firm may explain why these cookies are served chilled.

The secret to the flavor of the simple buttercream frosting is just a touch of natural almond extract, and the color comes from four drops of red food coloring. Spread it on with a small frosting knife and place the dozen cookies you make with this secret formula into your refrigerator before serving, just like the real ones.

Try my Crumbl Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk cookie copycat recipe here.

This menu replacement for the chain’s Stuffed Chicken Marsala offers a tasty variation on the popular theme. It features breaded chicken tenderloins arranged on fettuccine pasta with wilted spinach and sautéed mushrooms and doused with plenty of delicious creamy marsala sauce.

For my Olive Garden Chicken Marsala Fettuccine copycat recipe, I paid special attention to the mushroom marsala sauce, which I originally hacked for the Stuffed Chicken Marsala and then improved for this hack. The sauce contains mushrooms, and you’ll also need more to sauté later. An 8-ounce tub of mushrooms is the perfect amount for the whole recipe.

Give yourself an hour to brine the chicken for flavor and juiciness, and 30 minutes for the coated chicken to sit in the fridge so that the breading stays put. This recipe makes two huge servings but can easily be split into four more modest portions.

Find all of my Olive Garden copycat recipes here.

Hot honey-flavored foods are having a moment right now, and Wingstop joins the party with this new hot-and-sweet wing rub. Rather than creating a hard-to-manage sticky honey sauce, the chicken wing chain wisely developed an easy-to-apply rub packed with the perfect combination of salty, sweet, and spicy flavors.

Hacking the rub was the primary goal of this mission, so when I got my wings I ordered plenty of the seasoning on the side for analysis. But back in the underground lab, my work went slowly. The overwhelming spiciness of the red pepper numbed my tongue, and I continually lost the ability to distinguish flavors to make a decent copy. I was forced to take multiple breaks, many of which included chugging whole milk, until my tastebuds recovered. Despite the slow go, I was eventually able to crack it.

The secret ingredient in my Wingstop Hot Honey Rub Wings copycat recipe is powdered honey, which you’ll have no trouble finding online. That sweet powder, plus several other common ingredients from your spice rack, will make a rub that sticks nicely to fried chicken wings after they’ve been tossed with melted margarine.

This recipe will make a batch of ten wings, like a standard order at Wingstop, with just enough rub left over for another batch of ten.

Find more of my Wingstop copycat recipes here.  

In March of 2024, Taco Bell introduced Cantina Chicken, a versatile menu item that can be ordered on tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and bowls. The slow-roasted chicken is seasoned with chilies, onion, and garlic and is often paired with the chain’s Avocado Verde Salsa, which I’ve already cloned for you here.

For my Taco Bell Cantina Chicken copycat recipe, I’ve made the process quick and easy by using a cooked rotisserie chicken, which can be found in most supermarkets and big box stores. Once you’ve chopped the chicken into bite-size pieces, combine it with chicken broth and the secret combination of spices below in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

When the liquid has cooked off, you’ll have four cups of chicken, which you can use in your homemade tacos, burritos, bowls, or whatever you’re craving.

Find more of my Taco Bell copycat recipes here.