Simple Copycat Recipes To Make At Home (2024)

Estimated reading time: 32 minutes

Craving your favorite restaurant meals? Save money and make them at home with our collection of copycat recipes from Pinterest.

Copycat recipes are great to recreate, especially if you spend too much money on fast food, restaurants, and coffee shops.

Believe it or not, many copycat recipes are recreated by current and ex-employees of fast-food and dine-in restaurants across Canada and the United States.

They give us first-hand experience because they’ve made these recipes with some holding secrets that only staff and corporate might know.

Discover copycat recipes that make you feel like eating at a restaurant without breaking the bank.

Save money with our favorite copycat recipes from Pinterest, including keto and non-keto recipes.

As you may already know, we don’t eat out at restaurants often because of the high costs.

I enjoy making recipes from some of our favorite restaurants. It saves us money but makes us feel like we’re not missing out.

Today, you will find more of our favorite copycat recipes, which are regularly updated from Pinterest.

I’ve also included creations from our kitchen, both keto and non-keto recipes.

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Copycat Recipes Without The High Price Tag

One of the main reasons people eat out is convenience, either because of time barriers or lack of meal planning.

Eating out can drastically alter your monthly budget if you don’t know it already, especially if you spend more time at restaurants than grocery stores.

Media Marketing Works

How often have you seen an advert on the television or in a magazine for food and said, “I want to try that,” quite a few times?

I know because I do that quite often; the art of marketing does work.

Factor in the costs of tips and drinks for the meal, and you’ve just spent enough for a week’s worth of groceries for one meal.

Consider how much it costs to make a batch of your favorite muffins, subs, or take-out chili compared to a drive-thru.

What doesn’t work is the prices that keep us at home working on ways to create mouth-watering meals in our kitchen.

Grocery shopping for some people is just B.O.R.I.N.G., but I don’t know many people who shop to party.

Of course, it’s not the most exciting chore, but it should be the smartest when it affects your finances.

What Is A Copycat Recipe?

Well, it’s a recipe you love, but there is no recipe, or if there is, you aren’t going to get your hands on it because it’s a SECRET.

If you want your favorite foods at home to save money, you must determine the ingredients used in the original recipe.

Is it easier to eat out than make it? Yes and No

For the home cook, creating recipes might be a fun way to get creative in the kitchen.

Not everyone likes to cook, but sometimes it takes ‘effort’ to increase enthusiasm.

Too often, we depend on others for our meals, but I bet you’d have to figure it out yourself if you were alone.

Eating at restaurants comes into play for people who are alone and enjoy the atmosphere and conversation more than the savings.

Related: Eating out Vs. Eating in

Eating Out Influences

Anyone influenced by co-workers, family, or friends to frequent fast food and eat-in restaurants should ask themselves whether it impacts their financial goals.

The hardest thing to get out of your mouth might be no, but it must be if you’re running on credit card swipes for money.

It’s not until someone creates and uses a budget for more than a month do they see the damage eating out can cause.

Related: The costs of coffee and lunch between co-workers- Take-out vs. Homemade

Costs Of Eating Out Can Become A Debt Trap

I can’t tell you the last time we went to a restaurant apart from the UK, and it cost us a fortune.

The reason was that I wanted to treat my UK family to dinner as it’s so expensive back home.

With a family of 4 to feed, my sister has a tight grocery budget, so she makes copycat recipes at home.

After eating out, we went grocery shopping at Aldi’s to help offset the extra food costs of having us there.

KFC Potato Wedges

These delicious KFC Potato Wedges are lightly battered in a thin KFC chicken seasoning and double-fried until crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

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Milestone’s California Spring Salad

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A copycat recipe of Milestones’ California spring salad, including the dressing recipe and a link to the spicy glazed pecans.

In-N-Out Animal Style Burger

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Make your favorite restaurant burger at home with this Copycat In-N-Out Animal Style Burger. Easy, juicy, and flavorful double burger.

Copycat In and Out Burger Animal Style: In and Out Animal Burger is a must when we go to our favorite fast food burger restaurant.

This burger is loaded with caramelized onions, mustard, grilled…

Replica Swiss Chalet Sauce

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Chalet Sauce is a Canadian institution. This recipe is an accurate replica of Swiss Chalet sauce, suitable for chicken, fries, shots… etc!

Delicious Sweet Heat Salad From Swiss Chalet

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Simple Sweet Heat Salad – A little heat and a lot of sweetness!

This salad is vibrant, healthy, and delicious. It’s my version of the Sweet Heat Salad from Swiss Chalet.

Auntie Anne’s Copycat Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites

Cute little cinnamon sugar pretzel bites with a cream cheese dipping sauce that everyone will love!

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KFC Copycat Spicy Popcorn Chicken

These KFC-style spicy popcorn chicken bites will satisfy your KFC popcorn chicken cravings sitting at home!

These are very close to the real thing, super easy to make, and so much healthier!

Copycat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

These doughnuts are light, airy, and covered in a barely-there glaze, reminiscent of the famous Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

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McDonald’s Copycat Chicken Sandwich

No need to wait in the Golden Arches drive-thru. This classic chicken sandwich copycat recipe will give you your fast food fix right at home. Chances are, you’ll be loving it even more!

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Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists

This cinnamon twist recipe makes twists that taste just like the ones at Taco Bell without the drive-thru experience.

They’re crunchy and super light. Plus, the sugar/cinnamon mixture perfectly balances spice and sweetness. And they’re really easy to make.

Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists are delicious, sugary cinnamon snacks.

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Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup

This deliciously creamy chicken gnocchi soup is the best way to end a cold day.

This comfort food soup is just like the one served at Olive Garden and tastes even better made from scratch at home!

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Crispy Burger King Copycat Chicken Nuggets

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These BK chicken nuggets are a delicious treat to enjoy from the comfort of your home.

This copycat recipe is quick and easy to make.

Enjoy this Burger King chicken nugget recipe in under 30 minutes.

Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Orange Scones

ThisStarbucks Cranberry Orange Scones Copycat Recipeis easy to make on your first try, and you’ll love the sweet orange glaze drizzled over thesebuttery scones.

They’reperfect for the holiday season!

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Classic Burger King Chicken Sandwich

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This recipe elevates the classic with high-quality ingredients and a touch of home-cooked care.

It offers a satisfying crunch, tender chicken, and a harmony of flavors that promise to bring your taste buds to life.

Whether you’re a fan of the original or looking to recreate a fast-food favorite with a gourmet twist, this recipe is a delightful venture into the world of homemade comfort food.

Joe’s Crab Shack Copycat Recipes – Great Balls Of Fire

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This is a Joe’s Crab Shack recipe guide to preparing your favorite dishes from the Joe’s Crab Shack menu at home. These copycat recipes are typically not …

Wendy’s Vanilla Frosty Recipe

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Wendy’s Vanilla Frosty (Copycat) is just as thick and creamy as the classic frozen treat made easily from home with just 5 ingredients.

Inspired By Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

This deliciouscopycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Breadrecipe tastes just like the famous Cranberry Bliss Bars, only better!

It’s light and fluffy, with sweet cranberries and creamy white chocolate baked right in.

It’s just the right amount of sweetness, with a touch of tartness that only cranberries can bring to the table. Topped with homemade vanilla icing, it’s fabulous!

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Clone Of A Cinnabon

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You have got to try this Cinnabon recipe. The first time I made these rolls, I thought of how much money I could save by making my own!

Taco Bell Nacho Fries

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CopycatTaco Bell Nacho Friesrecipe is easy to make at home to enjoy whenever the craving strikes. It doesn’t get much better than crispy seasoned fries dipped in cheese sauce.

Copycat Taco Bell Chalupas

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These copycat Taco Bell chalupas are better than the fast food favorite and loaded with all your favorite taco toppings!

Using a homemade fried dough “boat” to house delicious taco meat, cheese, and lettuce, these chalupas will quickly become a family favorite.

Starbucks Lemon Loaf

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Our favourite is the Starbucks Lemon Loaf that went viral on Canadian Budget Binder.

Although eating out is excellent, doing it too often can lead to high grocery bills and higher eating-out expenses in your entertainment budget category.

Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread

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Suppose you have ever been to the Cheesecake Factory to eat and have scarfed down basket after basket of their delicious honey wheat bread.

In that case, you will be excited to hear about my newest recipe — Copycat Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread.

Chick-Fil-A Copycat Waffle Fries

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These copycat Chick-fil-A waffle fries will bring the food chain into your home!

Learn to make this easy recipe and have tasty, crispy Chick-fil-A fries anytime.

Burger King Whopper

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Will this Burger King Whopper recipe made in your backyard live up to the original?

No, you’ll probably make it better.

But check this recipe out and let us know what you think. If you do something differently, then let us know.

Easy Burger King Onion Ring Sauce

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Copycat Recipes Are An Eating-Out Fix

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I realized that people who are mindful of their grocery budget or want to eat out but can’t still want to make copycat recipes.

They are saving money and getting the restaurant or fast-food cravings that used to cost a fortune.

Kudos to you because you’re the winner enjoying all the benefits of cooking foods you love but can do without the extra “convenience” expenses.

Why Choose Copycat Recipes?

To choose copycat recipes that pique your interest, you may consider the following;

I tried the product before but can’t or don’t want to keep buying it—for example, Tim Horton’s Chocolate Chip Muffin CopyCat version is the MOST popular recipe in my copycat section.
They look mouth-watering.
Copycat recipes are easy to follow.
Copycat ingredients are inexpensive in comparison to eating out.

Now that I’m looking at this list and other copycat recipes, I’m finding that people are recreating their favorite packaged foods at the grocery store—oreo cookies, Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, etc.