THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES

THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES

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Re-create your favorite restaurant dishes with copycat recipes you won't find anywhere else from America's most trusted food hacker, Todd Wilbur. Browse by dish here. New recipes added every week.

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Show: 24
  • Score: 4.57 (votes: 7)
    Outback Steakhouse Tangy Tomato Dressing

    Try my Outback Steakhouse Tangy Tomato Dressing copycat recipe below. You just mix it together, heat it up, cool it down, and store it in the fridge until salad time.

    Now, how about a Toowooma Steak, or Alice Springs Chicken for the main course? Check out more of my Outback Steakhouse copycat recipes here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 4)
    Panda Express Honey Sesame Chicken Breast

    Menu Description: “Honey Sesame Chicken Breast is made with thin, crispy strips of all-white meat chicken tossed with fresh-cut string beans, and crisp yellow bell peppers in a sizzling hot wok with our new delicious honey sauce and topped off with sesame seeds.”

    The limited-time-only availability of this entrée is unfortunate for those who claim it as their top choice at America’s biggest fast Chinese chain. But now, with my Panda Express Honey Sesame Chicken Breast copycat recipe, you can make your own homemade version anytime you want, and it won’t matter if the real one's yanked off the menu.

    The success of this clone depends almost entirely on how good the sauce is. The sauce needs to be sweet, but when I used too much honey the honey flavor overpowered the dish, so it was clear that some of the sweetness would have to come from sugar. Eventually, I found the right balance for a good sauce hack: sweet, salty, and sour, with a light back-end hit of red pepper.

    For the batter, I tweaked the coating in my hack for Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp, increasing the yield of the batter, so you won’t run out.

    After your sauce is done and the chicken is finished, build the dish by tossing green beans, yellow bell peppers, and crispy chicken in a wok or large sauté pan with the sauce, then spoon it over rice, and grab some chopsticks.

    Click here for more of my Panda Express copycat recipes. 

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  • Not rated yet
    Leonard's Bakery Malasadas

    “Biting into a cloud” is how many describe the lightly crisp browned shell and fluffy, custard-like middle of Leonard’s malasadas. Hawaii has become known for the best malasadas in North America, but the hole-less doughnuts aren’t originally from Hawaii. Malasadas were brought to the islands in the late 1800s by Portuguese immigrants who worked on the sugarcane plantations, and today malasadas are sold in bakeries all over Hawaii. But for the best malasadas, everyone knows you must brave the long lines that always go out the door at Leonard’s Bakery in Honolulu. And that’s okay because it’s always worth the wait.

    Leonard’s has been making malasadas since 1952 using a well-protected secret recipe that many have unsuccessfully tried to duplicate. The chain will ship malasadas from Hawaii to your house on the mainland for a pretty hefty fee (nearly $100), but even after following strict reheating instructions, eating a two-day-old malasada is not the same heavenly experience as consuming a fresh one. A fluffy, fresh malasada turns into a tough and chewy malasada in just a few hours. That’s the nature of fried dough. It quickly became clear that if I were ever to properly clone these, I would have to experience them fresh, from the source. So, I hopped on a plane to Hawaii.

    I visited two Leonard’s locations in Honolulu: the original brick-and-mortar bakery and a Leonard’s Bakery food truck parked in a shopping mall lot. I watched them make malasadas in big vats of oil, lowering dozens of doughnuts at once into the oil with a metal screen pressing down on them so that they were fully submerged in the hot fat. I observed the process, noted the temperature, watched the malasadas come out of the oil and get sugared, and timed everything.

    Back home I made malasadas for weeks, using intel gathered in Hawaii. Dozens and dozens of versions later, after altering variables such as proofing methods, mixing methods, flour types, fat types, sweetness, saltiness, and many others, I landed on this one. I believe it was number 92 out of 93 attempts.

    Before we start, let me offer a few tips about equipment you’ll need. It’s best to have a stand mixer. The dough starts loose, but it eventually gets too tough for a handheld granny mixer. I’m sure it’s possible to mix and knead the dough by hand when it gets to be too much for the little mixer, but a big mixer is much better.

    Also, a deep fryer is helpful. You can fry these in a pot of oil with a thermometer if you want, but it’s so much easier to regulate temperature with a deep fryer. And you must devise a way to keep the malasadas submerged so that you won’t have to flip them, and they won’t get a white line around the middle where the dough isn’t in the oil. Deep fryers typically have a basket that you can use to put on top of the malasadas to hold them down. Rather than placing the dough in the basket when frying, carefully lower the dough into the fryer without the basket and use the basket on top of the dough to hold it under the oil. If you are frying on your stovetop, you can use a spider or strainer to submerge the dough.

    Try my Leonard's Bakery Malasadas copycat recipe below, and find more famous breads hacked here.

    Source: "Top Secret Recipes Unleashed" by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Capital City Sweet Hot Mambo Sauce

    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.

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  • Score: 4.00 (votes: 1)
    Arby's Curly Fries

    According to polls, these fries are considered the #1 or #2 best fast-food fries in America—they flip-flop with McDonald's for the top spot. 

    Much of what I know about how Arby's makes these fries comes from an episode of Food Network's Unwrapped that reveals what the potatoes go through during the automated prep process at a ConAgra Foods processing plant in Southern Washington. The potatoes are sliced at high speed, then they rush down a conveyor where they are blanched in hot water for 20 minutes to deactivate an enzyme that turns them brown and to help create the perfect texture when the potatoes are fried. The potatoes are then battered, par-fried for 30 seconds, frozen, and shipped to each Arby's restaurant, where the cooking process is completed with a final frying step.

    My process at home is simple and incorporates all these steps, but you'll need a curly fry slicer if you want your fries to look like they came from Arby's. The one used here in my Arby's Curly Fries copycat recipe is from Progressive, which makes perfect curly slices and costs around 30 bucks. If you don't want to pay for a slicer, you can still use my recipe with fries sliced on a mandoline or by hand. They won't be curly, but they'll still have the same fantastic flavor and crispiness as the original curly fries. 

    Find more famous french fries copycat recipes here.

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

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  • Not rated yet
    Carrabba's Pollo Rosa Maria

    The secret to the signature flavor of the most popular grilled dishes at Carrabba's, including the Pollo Rosa Maria, is a top secret grill baste applied to the food as it cooks. According to servers at the chain, the base formula contains butter, oil, vinegar, and seasoning, and it flames when applied to the grilling chicken, giving the dish a fantastic smoky flavor.

    The chain's famous lemon butter sauce and mushrooms top the Fontina cheese and prosciutto-stuffed chicken breasts for an impressive signature entrée you can perfectly duplicate with my easy Carrabba's Pollo Rosa Maria copycat recipe below.

    This is my #3 most popular recipe of 2025. Check out the other most popular recipes of the year: On the Border Enchiladas (#1), Taco Bell Cantina Chicken (#2), Taco Bell Meximelt (#4), and Crumbl Classic Pink Sugar Cookie (#5).

    And here's the list of our most popular recipes of all-time.

    Source: "Top Secret Recipes: Step-by-Stepby Todd Wilbur.

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  • Not rated yet
    Dickey's Barbecue Pit Potato Salad

    America’s largest barbecue chain is famous for its great smoked meats. But Dickey’s Barbecue Pit also deserves a major shout-out for tasty potato salad that even potato salad haters will like. It’s sweet, sour, creamy, and speckled with just a bit of bell pepper and celery to make it interesting. And it’s easy to make a perfect copy at home with this handy Top Secret Recipe.

    For my Dickey’s Potato Salad copycat recipe, you’ll start by mixing a simple dressing and stir it into diced potatoes that cook in just 10 minutes. Add some minced red and green bell pepper—both cook al dente in under 5 minutes—plus a little minced celery, and your work is done. And you made it for much less than it would cost to buy the real thing.

    After it chills, give it a good stir, and your potato salad hack is ready for hungry mouths.

    Fans of Dickey's will also love my original BBQ sauce and coleslaw copycat recipes here.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 2)
    Costco (Kirkland) Almond Poppyseed Muffins

    The real Costco muffins taste great, but they may not be as wholesome as you’d like. The dough has been conditioned with gums to thicken it and ingredients to emulsify it, and to preserve their shelf-life, the muffins contain no butter. The flavors you taste—butter, almond, and vanilla—are artificial.

    I attempted to stay true to the original ingredients in my first take on the famous muffins with this copycat recipe for Costco’s Blueberry Muffins. In that hack, I chose to avoid butter like the real muffins do, opting instead for margarine. And since the Costco muffins contain no buttermilk, I also stayed away from that ingredient, even though I love its magical properties in baking.

    This time though, I’m taking a different approach by using more whole egg, real butter, and, yes, buttermilk to bring great flavor and a better crumb to our finished product. Without all the dough conditioners found in the original, these cloned muffins have a pleasant homemade charm, and the flavor is more appealing because it’s real.

    Find more favorite famous bread recipes here

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Barbacoa

    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.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 3)
    Cheesecake Factory Stuffed Mushrooms

    Despite years of numerous requests to clone the stuffed mushrooms at The Cheesecake Factory, I never ordered the popular appetizer before embarking on this food hacking mission. But let me tell you, once I had my first bite of these mushrooms, with the perfect stuffing, creamy Madeira wine sauce, and crispy Parmesan topping, I understood all the big raves. Not only is this one of the best appetizers on the chain's menu, but these are far and away the best stuffed mushrooms I've ever had. And my Cheesecake Factory Stuffed Mushrooms copycat recipe would have to be just as good, no matter how long it took. 

    After many hours in the lab washing mushrooms, chopping mushrooms, and eating them, I finally worked up this hack that I'm convinced would fool even the biggest fans of the dish in a side-by-side taste test.

    I've duplicated many popular dishes from Cheesecake Factory. See if I cloned your favorites here.

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

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta

    The menu describes this dish as "Parmesan-crusted chicken served over pasta with mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions in a spicy New Orleans sauce." Of the many great pastas on The Cheesecake Factory's menu, this one consistently ranks as a top choice, so a Top Secret Recipes hack was inevitable. 

    Your homemade Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta copycat starts with the delicious yet straightforward New Orleans sauce, made like Alfredo sauce, with paprika for color and cayenne pepper for zing. The chicken is breaded with a combination of panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and pan-fried to a golden brown. 

    In true Cheesecake Factory style, this recipe makes four very large servings, but you can also serve this dish on one big platter for a nice family-style feast.

    Now, how about dessert? Find my copycat recipes for Cheesecake Factory's signature cheesecakes here.

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

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  • Not rated yet
    Legal Sea Foods New England Clam Chowder

    This phenomenal clam chowder, made with lots of fresh littleneck clams, was chosen to represent the state of Massachusetts at the first inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1981—just a year after first being served at the restaurant—and has been served at every presidential inauguration since. I think it's the best clam chowder you'll get at any casual restaurant chain in America, making it a perfect home clone candidate.

    I could glean only minimal information from servers at Legal Sea Foods in Philly where I first tasted this fantastic chowder. Fortunately, the company has an online seafood store where I could order a quart of the soup—for a whopping 45 bucks with shipping—which provided me with an ingredients list on the package to aid in the hacking. The restaurant has its cookbook, which provides a few more clues, but the recipe there does not produce a soup that is anything like the version in the restaurant. Many of the ingredients I found on the label of the restaurant version are not listed in the cookbook recipe. 

    The real soup includes a little salt pork, which I have replaced here with bacon since such a small amount is used. For the best flavor, you'll want to use fish or seafood stock, which I found at Walmart, but you can substitute with chicken broth if seafood stock is unavailable. My Legal Sea Foods New England Clam Chowder copycat recipe makes over 2 quarts of the soup and will cost you a fraction of what I paid for just a single quart through the company's website. 

    Find my Legal Sea Foods Crab Cakes copycat recipe here.

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

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  • Not rated yet
    BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse Ahi Poke

    This West Coast chain's take on an ahi poke appetizer features beautiful ahi tuna marinated in a sweet-and-sour poke sauce, presented over wasabi guacamole and drizzled with creamy sriracha aioli sauce. It may be the best version of the dish I've had at any casual chain, so a home clone was inevitable.

    For my BJ's Ahi Poke copycat recipe, each part requires just four to five ingredients: the creamy sriracha aioli, wasabi guacamole, and poke sauce. The crispy wontons served on the side are easily made with half circles cut from eggroll wrappers, fried, and sprinkled with Japanese rice seasoning (nori komi furikake).

    If you're looking for an easy and delicious way to use an ahi tuna filet, this popular appetizer hack is the bomb. 

    Find more of your favorite copycat recipes from BJ's Brewhouse here.
     

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Original Pancake House French Crepes

    It's not clear when Original Pancake House changed its French crêpes recipe. Old menus say the crêpes are filled with strawberry preserves and served with tropical syrup, but the current version switches out the preserves for fresh sliced strawberries, and the dish now comes with homemade strawberry syrup on the side. I can't say which is better since I never had the former version, but the current variation is as great as you would expect from this beloved pancake chain, and it's a dish well worth a home clone. 

    For my Original Pancake House French Crêpes copycat recipe, I started with the strawberry syrup, and with only three ingredients it took just a couple batches to perfect, then I cleared the deck for the more daunting task of cloning the fantastic crêpes.

    But after a dozen or so attempts, I was still not happy with my crepes, so I headed back over to the Original Pancake House to hopefully obtain more intel. While polishing off a huge serving of three French crêpes, I chatted up the server for any information that might improve my batter and I got a great tip: add more cream. Back at the hack lab, I replaced the milk in my formula with half-and-half and was thrilled to have finally produced a great clone of the original dish.

    And I discovered another secret: use clarified butter in the pan before pouring in the batter. That's how they do it in the restaurant according to my informant, and I've made sure to include that step in the recipe so yours will come out looking and tasting just like the real thing.

    You might also like my recipe for the Original Pancake House German Pancake aka "Dutch Baby".

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  • Not rated yet
    IHOP Cinnamon Bun Crepes

    One of IHOP’s creative new crêpes is this cinnamon bun/cheesecake mashup that’s probably more dessert than breakfast food, although no one at my house complained. Two delicate crêpes are filled with cheesecake mousse and drizzled with cinnamon bun filling and cream cheese icing, and it looks beautiful on the plate.

    For my take on the IHOP Cinnamon Bun Crêpes recipe, I reworked the cinnamon topping which I previously hacked for IHOP’s Cinn-A-Stacks to hold its shape better when applied with a squirt bottle. And I’m including two easy new hacks for the cream cheese icing and cheesecake mousse.

    Once your mousse and icings are done, use this original crêpes formula to make eight beautiful, delicate crêpes for four servings, topped with sliced strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar.

    Find more of my IHOP copycat recipes here.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    IHOP Classic Eggs Benedict

    In 2023, IHOP introduced some creative new eggs Benedict dishes, including one with bacon jam and another featuring shredded beef and poblano hollandaise sauce. I can certainly appreciate the chain’s novel approach to the traditional recipe, but your taste buds may not be ready for those bold flavors in the early a.m. That’s why, for this hack, I'm turning to the classic version of the chain’s Benedict, which will be gentle on your palate, no matter the time of day.

    For my IHOP Classic Eggs Benedict copycat recipe, I’ll show you how to make hollandaise sauce from scratch in just a few minutes and how to poach perfect eggs just as quickly. Hopefully, this recipe will be one that you return to whenever you want an impressive breakfast that doesn’t take much work.

    Once the poached eggs are done, stack them on black forest ham (a much better choice than Canadian bacon) and English muffins, douse them with the great hollandaise, and serve the dish with crispy hash browns or fruit on the side.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 3)
    Chick-fil-A Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich

    Chick-fil-A becomes the first fast food chain to feature pimento cheese—a traditional Southern spread made with cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and pimentos—on a sandwich. The chain’s Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich features a regular or spicy crispy chicken breast fillet­ stacked on sliced jalapeños, then drizzled with honey and topped with a healthy portion of their exclusive pimento cheese formula.

    For the chicken fillet, I was able to use my previous Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich copycat recipe, but the chain’s excellent pimento cheese spread is a new creation that needed to be hacked from scratch. Rinsing the real spread through a strainer revealed some hidden secrets, including tiny bits of green pepper, which I copied by adding a small amount of minced jalapeño.

    The chicken requires four hours to brine, and that’s a good time to make the pimento cheese so it can rest for a bit to improve its color and flavor. The recipe included here is for the original chicken fillet, but if you prefer the kicked-up spicy version of the sandwich, I’ve got the tweak for that variation down in the Tidbits.

    Try my Chick-fil-A Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich copycat recipe below, and find more of my Chick-fil-A copycat recipes here.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) Hot & Spicy Wings

    If you like chicken wings with a strong, spicy punch that doesn't overwhelm the great flavor, these are the wings for you. The Colonel's new extra-crispy chicken wings don’t rely on a zesty sauce for heat because it’s built into the delicious extra-crispy breading. And by soaking the wings in a chili brine, you'll get great flavor that goes through to the bone.

    The secret ingredient in my KFC Hot & Spicy Wings copycat recipe is ground habanero pepper, which you can find online. For wings as hot as the originals, you'll need this ground pepper to add to the breading and the brine.

    Another secret to re-creating the KFC experience is to let the fried wings rest in a warm, but not hot, oven for at least 20 minutes before serving as soon as they're done frying. An oven set to 250 degrees simulates the holding station at the restaurant where fried chicken pieces rest until an order comes in. This simple step is a crucial one for crispy wings that taste just like the real deal.

    How about some famous coleslaw or wedge potatoes? Check out my collection of KFC clone recipes here.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    See's Candies Chocolate Walnut Fudge

    Fudge can be finicky. It's created by combining hot candy syrup with chocolate, which can result in a grainy mess if the chocolate seizes and gets clumpy. This undesirable situation can be avoided by closely monitoring the temperature, but even then your chocolate could still lock up, and your fudge will be ruined. I couldn't let that happen in my recipe re-creation of the famous fudge from the 100-year-old West Coast candy chain. 

    For my See's Chocolate Walnut Fudge copycat recipe, I made over 56 pounds of fudge on my quest to develop a recipe that works every time, even if the chocolate seizes. And in most of my batches, it usually did. So I came up with a secret trick: reserve a little cream for later, then after the hot candy syrup is mixed with the chocolate and the chocolate begins to seize, send the cream to the rescue and the fudge will become smooth, as if by magic. 

    Stir in some walnuts, then pour the fudge into a wax paper-lined pan, and when it cools, you'll have over 3 1/2 pounds of thick fudge that tastes just like the real thing. That's more than $110 of fudge if you buy it at the candy store!

    Fans of the cinnamon lollipop will love my See's Cinnamon Lollypop recipe here.

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  • Not rated yet
    McDonald's Sweet & Spicy Jam

    Sugar and spice make this rare McDonald’s sauce very nice, but it was only available for a limited time at the chain. Fortunately, that short time window was long enough for me to procure several samples of the new McNuggets dipping sauce, and reverse-engineer a sweet copycat that can step up now that the tasty original is gone.

    This flavorful jelly brings the heat with ground cayenne pepper and cayenne pepper sauce, which, along with the minced red bell, give the sauce its red tint. The real thing also contains Szechuan peppercorn extract which adds a magical numbing effect to the flavor profile. So, for my McDonald's Sweet & Spicy Jam copycat recipe, I’m including just a bit of ground Szechuan peppercorn, which you can grind from whole peppercorns, or buy pre-ground.

    When your cooked sauce cools, it will thicken and become jelly, thanks to the magical properties of pectin. Loosen it up by stirring it before serving alongside a variety of finger foods, including crispy chicken strips and nuggets, fried shrimp, eggrolls, jalapeño poppers, baked brie, and lamp chops.

    Find more McDonald's famous dipping sauces here.

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  • Not rated yet
    McDonald's Mambo Sauce

    One of two new sauces McDonald’s debuted in late 2023 is inspired by the famous Washington D.C.-area sauce originally offered at chicken wing restaurants and Chinese takeout joints in the 1960s. The sweet, sour, and spicy mambo sauce—also called mumbo sauce—is used as a dip for all kinds of finger foods including fried chicken, chicken wings, chicken nuggets, French fries, and eggrolls.

    But McDonald’s only offered the sauce in small blister packs, which were available for about a month. So, if we want to bring back the great flavor of the limited-time-only sauce we'll need a handy home hack. Fortunately, I got my mitts on enough of the sauce before it went away to whip up this exclusive knockoff.

    My McDonald's Mambo Sauce copycat recipe is super easy, requires only common ingredients, and will make 1½ cups of the versatile stuff you can use for dipping anything that needs to be perked up.

    You might also like my clones for McDonald's sweet and spicy jam, hot mustard, sweet and sour, honey mustard, and Szechuan dipping sauces. Find all my McDonald's copycat recipes here.

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  • Not rated yet
    7-Eleven Salted Caramel Cookies

    The in-store freshly baked cookies 7-Eleven tested in a few select markets in 2020 were a big success, so the convenience store chain rolled out the “Baked In-Store” concept to more markets across the country—perhaps even to a 7-Eleven near you. The cookies are baked daily in a small oven and sold near the register, like the popular cookies offered at Subway, the success of which may have inspired 7-Eleven.

    Just like Subway, 7-Eleven’s cookies are chewy and underbaked. They also come in chocolate chip and white chocolate macadamia nut flavors, but neither is the best flavor. That honor goes to salted caramel, which has a slightly saltier dough than the other flavors and is speckled with chewy caramel bits and chopped chocolate toffee.

    For my 7-Eleven Salted Caramel Cookies copycat recipe, we’ll use Kraft's handy caramel baking bits, which are a perfect match to the caramel in the real cookies, and we’ll chop up four Heath bars to make the toffee bits. If you can’t track down Kraft caramel bits, you can dice Kraft wrapped caramels into smaller bits with a sharp knife.

    Just be sure to remove the cookies from the oven when they still appear underbaked in the middle. This will ensure that they are soft and chewy when they cool.

    Find more of my cookie and brownie copycat recipes here

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  • Not rated yet
    Bonefish Grill Imperial Dip

    It’s creamy and cheesy and doesn’t skimp on shrimp and scallops. Bonefish Grill’s Imperial Dip might be the best seafood dip at any chain, and after several visits in the early evening to take advantage of the Happy Hour price, I got even happier when I could construct a great clone. 

    Sitting at the restaurant’s bar allowed me to chat up the bartender and extract several helpful preparation tips. That’s when I discovered that the secret to the dip’s great taste is shrimp stock. And that’s why my Bonefish Grill Imperial Dip recipe starts with an easy way to make your stock with shells harvested from the shrimp. 

    After sauteing the shrimp and scallops, you can prepare a sauce with shrimp stock, cream, and cheese in just minutes. Then, combine everything and pour it into a cast-iron skillet. After a quick broil to brown the top, you’ll have a great match to the real thing, except your version will be three times bigger.

    You might also like my recipes for Bonefish Grill's Saucy Shrimp and Citrus Herb Vinaigrette.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 4)
    Cheesecake Factory Steak Diane

    Fans of Cheesecake Factory’s Steak Diane don’t seem to mind that the dish isn’t a traditional interpretation of the classic recipe. The restaurant chain’s version includes mushrooms and medallions of beef tenderloin, similar to the old-school version, but you won’t find Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cognac, or cream typically associated with a traditional Steak Diane. Instead, the chain tops the steak with the same Madeira sauce served on its Chicken Madeira entrée, and it's delicious.

    I hacked the chain’s Chicken Madeira many years ago in Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 but was happy for the chance to go back and improve the great sauce. After some fiddling, I developed an improved formula that uses less wine and incorporates a longer reduction to intensify the flavors. When shopping for ingredients, it's okay to pick the least expensive Madeira wine on the shelf. Just know Madeira wines have different characteristics, so your final flavor may vary slightly from the restaurant version.

    For your tenderloins, begin with thick steaks, as you will be slicing the portions in half through the middle to make them thinner. You will need 7 to 8 small steak portions sliced in half to yield 14 to 16 medallions. 

    This was my #4 most popular recipe of 2024. Check out the other most popular recipes of the year: Old Spaghetti Factory Rich Meat Sauce (#1), Cracker Barrel Country Fried Steak (#2), Crumbl Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookie (#3), Portillo's Chocolate Cake (#5).

    Check out this list of our most popular recipes of all-time.

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Products: 124 of 1373
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  • Not rated yet
    Wendy's Cinnabon Pull-Apart

    The best part of a cinnamon roll is the center, so Wendy’s and Cinnabon have teamed up to create a monkey bread-style cinnamon pastry where each bite is like eating the gooey center of the roll. I thought this would be a great hack for home cooks wanting a cool cinnamon roll twist that uses about half the ingredients of a typical cinnamon roll recipe.

    My Wendy’s Cinnabon Pull-Apart copycat recipe starts similarly to a traditional cinnamon roll recipe, but for this version, you’ll slice the dough into small strips, fold them into mini cinnamon rolls, and tuck them into the cups of a jumbo muffin pan. After baking, each pull-apart is generously coated with the creamy cream cheese icing I’ve also replicated here for you.

    I tweaked my earlier hack of Cinnabon Rolls to improve flavor and streamlined the process for quicker preparation. Unlike the restaurant version, these are big—this copycat hack is about twice the size of the original Wendy’s pastry. But so far, nobody has complained about the heftier serving.

    Try my Wendy's Cinnabon Pull-Apart copycat recipe below, and find more of my Wendy's copycat recipes here.

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  • Not rated yet
    Starbucks Holiday Gingerbread

    As you have probably figured out by the name, this moist spiced loaf of gingerbread was once available at Starbucks during the holiday season, but has since been retired to the land of dead foods. Thankfully, I was able to work up this sweet copycat recipe before the pastry went away forever, so you can create a spot-on home version for the holidays, or anytime you want. 

    The secret ingredient to my Starbucks Holiday Gingerbread copycat recipe is applesauce in the batter, which helps make the loaf moist and flavorful. Ground ginger and bits of candied ginger add the perfect ginger flavor to the loaf, and orange flavors come in from the zest, orange extract, and candied orange peel on top. With such an overwhelming aroma coming out of your oven as this bakes, the toughest step is waiting for the loaf to cool before frosting it so that you can dig into a slice.

    Check out my other copycat recipes for more Starbucks favorites here.

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

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    Red Lobster Pumpkin Pie in a Jar

    After the success of the chain's Strawberry Cheesecake in a Jar, Red Lobster introduced the Pumpkin Pie in a Jar for the 2013 fall holidays. The dessert, which the menu describes as "layered pumpkin and cream cheese mousse with a graham-cracker crust, topped with sugared pecans," quickly became a hit with customers and the online cooking blog community. I found a few interesting recipes posted online, but none got it all right, so I thought it was time to break down my own Pumpkin Pie in a Jar to find out exactly what's going on in there. 

    After getting the dessert back to the lab and separating all the components, I hacked each layer, one at a time, so that I could now present you with this, my Red Lobster Pumpkin Pie in a Jar copycat recipe. 

    You'll have to make several parts for this recipe, but they are each pretty easy, and you can make them several hours or even a day ahead of when you plan to serve this. Once you've got all the parts whipped up, it's just a matter of layering everything into 6-ounce canning jars (or drinking glasses if you don't have jars) for an impressive dessert or holiday meal finisher.

    Find more Red Lobster recipes here.

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

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    Nordstrom Roma Tomato Basil Soup

    Before, during, or after a shopping trip at Nordstrom, you may have indulged in a hot bowl of this signature soup from the department store's restaurants and cafés that many say is the best tomato basil soup they've ever had. It's creamy, and it's slightly sweet with the perfect balance of basil in the mix. 

    Now you can make a clone version yourself at home with very little effort using canned tomatoes, dried basil, and fresh carrots and onions. I've even included the hacked recipe here for the crispy Parmesan toasts that are served on the side. If you're a fan of great tomato soup, you've gotta try this one.

    Try my Nordstrom Roma Tomato Basil Soup copycat recipe below, and find more of my soup copycat recipes here.

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

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    Melting Pot Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue

    Cheddar cheese fondue may be the most popular cheese fondue selection at this forty-year-old niche chain, but I've always been a fan of the more traditional Swiss cheese version. Emmentaler and Gruyère cheeses are the stars here, melted into a very dry wine such as Chablis – the cheaper, the better. An inexpensive Chablis will not upstage the flavorful cheeses, and that's exactly what you want. It's a great dish to serve for a small get-together, maybe paired up with a nice white wine to drink. I'm all for that.

    You'll need a double boiler-style ceramic fondue pot (the kind for cheese and chocolate fondue, not broth) to prepare this very easy recipe that makes a great appetizer for a cheese-loving group of four to six.

    Try my Melting Pot Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue copycat recipe below, and try my Melting Pot Cheddar Cheese Fondue recipe here

    Source: "Top Secret Recipes Step-by-Step" by Todd Wilbur

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    The Great Greek Baklava

    When choosing which baklava to clone from the top Greek chains, I conducted a taste test, and The Great Greek’s version came out on top. The chain's pastry had a satisfying crunch, two layers of spiced walnuts, and was soaked with just enough honey syrup so each bite was perfectly sweet. I also discovered a clever trick to ensure all the walnuts are soaked in the sweet syrup.

    For my Great Greek Baklava copycat recipe, I started by making the honey syrup, flavored with a cinnamon stick and orange peel. I then finely chopped the walnuts in a food processor and mixed them with butter, sugar, cinnamon, and clove. Next, I layered and buttered my sheets of phyllo dough in a baking pan. After placing the final sheet on top, with the walnut mixture in the middle, I sliced through the phyllo with a sharp knife and baked the baklava for just over an hour until it was golden brown.

    Right after the baklava came out of the oven, I poured honey syrup over the slices and around the edges of the dessert. I also drizzled some syrup into X-shaped cuts I made in the middle of each piece. This trick helped the syrup reach the top layer of walnuts in the middle for a better bite.

    After about 6 hours, the syrup soaked into the phyllo, and the baklava was ready to serve. I added a little extra syrup to each slice of my home version before serving, and sprinkled it with almonds for a finished product that resembled the Greek chain’s famous dessert in every way.

    Find more of your favorite dessert copycat recipes here.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Olive Garden Meatballs Parmigiana

    Chicken Parmigiana is one of the most popular choices at any Italian restaurant, just like meatballs, so it makes sense to combine the two dishes for this appetizer that filled me up as much as any entrée. The dish at the restaurant comes with five meatballs, and this recipe makes ten meatballs, giving you enough for two appetizer-sized servings.

    The first step in making my Olive Garden Meatballs Parmigiana copycat recipe was to figure out the best way to replicate the chain’s meatballs. According to the chain’s nutrition info, only ground beef, and no pork, is used in the meatballs. After trying several batches, I found a great match using ground beef with 20% fat. Any less fat, and the meatballs turned out too tough.

    I already hacked the chain’s marinara sauce for the chain’s Chicken Parmesan, which I spooned into a serving dish, then added the meatballs, cheese, and breadcrumbs. After baking until the cheese was melted, I had a delicious match to the restaurant's original that just needed a little sprinkle of parsley before serving.

    Find more of my Olive Garden Copycat Recipes here.

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    North Italia White Truffle Garlic Bread

    The pile of buttery, toasted ciabatta garlic bread topped with melted mozzarella would be satisfying enough on its own, but this dish becomes even better when drizzled with truffle oil and crowned with a scoop of homemade ricotta cheese.

    For my version of North Italia’s White Truffle Garlic Bread, I knew store-bought ricotta wouldn't match the smooth and creamy texture of the fresh stuff from the restaurant. The only solution was to make my own ricotta, which turned out to be a simple process using just four ingredients. After one taste of my homemade ricotta, I knew it was the way to go.

    The process involves heating whole milk to 185 degrees, then adding an acid to coagulate the proteins that form the cheese. You’ll strain the cheese using a cheesecloth to separate it from the whey, then mix in a little heavy cream to give it a creamy texture like the restaurant version. The restaurant adds minced white truffle to the ricotta, which you can find online, or you can just use white truffle oil.

    Chill the ricotta cheese until it’s cool, then use an ice cream scoop to place it on top of your broiled garlic bread. Drizzle truffle oil over everything and finish with fluffy microplaned cheese.  

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Shake Shack Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake

    The Dubai chocolate bar was created by Sarah Hamouda, a British-Egyptian engineer living in Dubai, who conceived of the bars while pregnant in 2021. However, Sarah didn’t discover the right mix of sweetened pistachio paste, tahini, and shredded phyllo dough to fill the milk chocolate bar until 2023. Soon after the bars were perfected in 2024, a social media campaign on Instagram and TikTok went viral, transforming the Dubai chocolate bars into a worldwide sensation.

    Noticing the trend, Shake Shack locations in the Middle East introduced this milkshake version of the candy bar in February 2025. The shake was so popular there that Shake Shack brought it to U.S. outlets for a limited run in the summer, where it received rave reviews. Before it disappeared, I snagged several of the shakes and stashed all but one in my freezer. That one went into my belly, and it was worth every calorie.

    To make this shake, Shake Shack uses their famous custard as a base. For my Shake Shack Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake copycat recipe, you can either use my hack of the chain’s custard (here) or choose a good store-bought vanilla ice cream (such as Häagen-Dazs). You’ll add pistachio paste, which is easily found online, along with toasted, shredded phyllo dough called kataifi.

    The most ingenious part of this recipe is the Magic Shell chocolate sauce that coats the inside of the plastic cup before you add the shake. When you squeeze the cup, the chocolate cracks into the frozen shake, recreating the experience of eating the famous chocolate bar. Use a clear 18-ounce plastic cup (like Solo) for the best re-creation of the original shake.

    Try my recipe for the Shake Shack Burger here.

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    Cracker Barrel Fresh Berry French Toast Bake

    In this creative twist on traditional French toast, sliced sourdough bread is dipped in vanilla custard, then layered with cheesecake filling, and baked until lightly browned. It's sliced and served warm, with fresh berries and strawberry syrup on the side. If you’re a fan of French toast and bread pudding, you’ll really love this.

    For their French toast, Cracker Barrel uses soft sourdough from Bay’s Southern Bread, a Nashville-based bakery. And that’s the only place you can buy it. So, for my hack of the Cracker Barrel Fresh Berry French Toast Bake, I found a thick-sliced sourdough bread from Nature’s Own. That bread isn’t quite as soft as Bay’s Southern Bread, but it still works great. If you want your French toast even softer, you can use Nature’s Own thick-sliced brioche bread, as long as you don’t mind giving up the tangy sourdough flavor of the original.

    If you aren't serving all six slices at once, leftovers can be stored for several days, and reheated in a microwave for 1 to 1½ minutes on high.

    Find more of my Cracker Barrel copycat recipes here.

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    Chipotle Chipotle Honey Chicken

    Hot honey is currently trending, and Chipotle Mexican Grill has responded to the demand with Chipotle Honey Chicken, a new limited-time item featuring a sweet and spicy sauce that's receiving rave reviews. Creating a TSR copycat hack of this new item was an obvious next mission choice.

    My version of the dish starts with the same chipotle marinade as the chain’s Pollo Asado chicken. After marinating the chicken for four hours, I grilled it, chopped it, and mixed it with a copy of the chain’s new chipotle honey sauce. The real recipe includes a mysterious new seasoning blend that's sprinkled over the chicken just before it comes off the grill. When I was at the restaurant a key ingredient in the formula was revealed when a cook told me he smelled cinnamon each time he sprinkled the seasoning on the chicken.

    I couldn't obtain a sample of that secret seasoning, so, using his tip, I added cinnamon to my sauce, made with red and green peppers, seasoning, lime juice, sugar, and honey. It tasted great, with a flavor that matched the original. Once the chopped grilled chicken was mixed with the new sweet sauce I had a spot-on copy of Chipotle’s new hit chicken to use on burritos, soft tacos, bowls, and salads.

    Try my Chipotle Honey Chicken copycat recipe below, and find more of my Chipotle copycat recipes here.

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    Taco Bell Caliente Sauce

    Ramping up the heat, Taco Bell introduced a new creamy hot sauce in 2024 to top the chain’s successful slow-roasted Cantina Chicken (check out my Taco Bell Cantina Chicken clone). The new menu rollout, dubbed Caliente Cantina, was created by adding the red pepper sauce to several of the chain’s Cantina Chicken items. However, these few items are the only way to get the special sauce, and it doesn’t come in blister packs that you can grab to take home. So, if you want the great taste of this new sauce on your homemade taco and burrito creations, you’ll need to clone it. Fortunately, it’s easy.

    The TV ads specify that the bright orange sauce is made with red jalapeño peppers, but the ripe red ones can be hard to find unless you grow them yourself. To address that issue, I created my copycat batch of Taco Bell Caliente Sauce using red Fresno peppers. These peppers are commonly found in grocery stores in their ripe red form, and Fresno peppers have a similar Scoville rating to jalapeños, so the heat of your cloned sauce should be close to the heat of the original.

    The first step is to make a purée from the peppers. When you mix the puree with the other ingredients, your sauce is nearly ready. Let the sauce rest in your refrigerator for a bit so that the flavors will improve and the sauce will thicken, and it’s ready to use on anything that needs a burst of citrusy heat.

    Find more of your favorite Taco Bell sauce recipes here

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  • Not rated yet
    Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Nuggets and Fire Ranch Sauce

    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.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Chipotle Adobo-Marinated Grilled Chicken and Steak

    The main ingredients in most burritos and burrito bowls at Chipotle are the flavorful adobo-marinated chicken and beef, which, according to servers, are marinated overnight in a secret adobo sauce.

    For my Chipotle Adobo-Marinated Chicken and Beef copycat recipe, recreating the flavors of the adobo marinade is key, but it's also important to use the right chicken and beef cuts. Chipotle only uses dark meat chicken, so use skinless thigh fillets if you're making chicken. If you choose beef, get a pound and a half of New York strip steaks.

    Chipotle uses toasted cumin seeds to create a more flavorful ground cumin for this recipe, so I included that technique in the first step (you can also use bottled ground cumin if you prefer). You'll need a coffee/spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the toasted cumin seeds–you'll recognize they're ready when your kitchen fills with a toasty aroma. Start this recipe a day ahead to give your chicken or steak 16 to 24 hours to soak in the marinade.

    Try my Chipotle Adobo Grilled Chicken and Steak copycat recipe below, and find all your other favorite Chipotle copycat recipes here.

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

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Chipotle Black Beans

    With over 1,400 units and counting, Chipotle Mexican Grill is one of the top ten fastest growing chains in the country and the biggest Mexican food chain behind Taco Bell. But unlike the typical fast-food model, servers at Chipotle build you a custom burrito or bowl with your choice of the meats, sides, and sauces on display in front of you. 

    With my Chipotle Black Beans copycat recipe, you can enjoy a great side of mildly spicy black beans at home anytime. And you can use my other Chipotle copycat recipes to build your own homemade Chipotle burrito or bowl.

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

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I'm Todd Wilbur, Chronic Food Hacker

For over 30 years I've been deconstructing America's most iconic brand-name foods to make the best original copycat recipes for you to use at home. Welcome to my lab.

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