kfc style coated chicken

So what are the KFC herbs and spices?

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Martin (Dad What Cooks)
By Martin (Dad What Cooks) Created January 13, 2023 Updated December 17, 2025

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FAKEAWAY RECIPE
5 MIN ⭐

We all have heard about the 11 herbs and spices in the KFC chicken recipe, but exactly what are the KFC herbs and spices used?

This post is an attempt to recreate the KFC herbs and spices mix recipe. It is no way claiming to be the recipe, just my attempt at recreating it.

Contents

🍗 Introduction

Is this fact, or fiction? Who knows... but I do know that the recipe I've put together tastes a lot like the real deal. So let me put an initial disclaimer at the top of this post - this is not the recipe. It is a recipe which I think tastes like it and is the closest one I've made yet.

As part of the trial and error, I made some halloumi fries which are coated in the KFC style herbs and spices. I recommend you try that some time as well as chicken.

Ultimate KFC style halloumi fries.

👨‍🍳 Ingredients for my KFC Herbs and Spices recipe

In my mix, I use the following list of ingredients.

  • Table salt - regular plain old table salt will suffice here.
  • Dried thyme - Thyme is a herb which can be bought in a dried variety. It is commonly found in the UK in herb gardens too.
  • Dried basil - Use dried basil for another herb in the mix. This can be found in the supermarket herbs and spices aisle. Use either a branded version or the shops own brand.
  • Paprika - Made from dried out red peppers, paprika is a staple ingredient in many spicy dishes and adds a really powerful punch.
  • Dried oregano - Oregano is used in a lot of Italian cooking and offers a perfumed flavour to the dishes it is a part of.
  • Celery salt - This salt is made from regular table salt mixed with ground celery seeds to form a flavoursome salt.
  • Garlic salt - As the name suggests, garlic salt is made by infusing garlic with a salt.
  • Black pepper - The ground pepper corns add a seasoning flavour to the dish to help balance the salt and herbs.
  • Dry mustard powder - I use Colman's English Mustard powder with my mix for the added punch required to give the KFC taste.
  • Ground ginger - Ginger offers an earthy spice taste from this amazing root. Ginger also features in a lot of Asian cooking and offers a great taste.
  • Plain white flour - A simple white flour such as this basic Homepride flour will be perfect for the KFC ingredients.

MSG In KFC Herbs and Spices mix?

I've counted that there are 11 herbs and spices here however there is also some methods which use monosodium glutamate otherwise known as MSG. This is a flavour enhancer which is added to a lot of foods. They say it enhances the flavour of the mix, however I've omitted this for now. However, if you do want to try it then add half a teaspoon.

For the full amounts of ingredients used, take a look at the recipe card towards to end of this post or use this link:

Jump to Recipe

Instructions to make the herb and spice mix

Quite simply, add all the dry ingredients together as per the allocated amounts in the recipe card. Once you have them all place them in a tub which has an air tight lid. Then close the lid and shake all ingredients together.

Making sure that non of the KFC herbs and spice mix have leaked, you can store this as per the instructions below for up to 6 months.

The mix will be enough for around 4 whole chickens or 6 batches of KFC halloumi fries.

❄ Storage of KFC Herb & Spice Mix

All these combined and stored in an air tight container will last for a while. It will give you enough to coat a full chicken, but if you want to try is as you buy it in the shop you'll need to separate the chicken into logs, breast and wings.

🍽 Recipes to try the KFC coating on

Check out my halloumi fries recipe to try this coating on.

Try the herbs and spices on anything. If you can fry it, you can add the KFC herbs and spices on it. I quite like to add it to chicken pieces and pop them in the air fryer. These take about 12 minutes to cook, but are well worth the effort.

You could also try adding this coating on to some BBQ chicken skewers and getting the KFC taste on so BBQ chicken.

If you are looking for the ultimate KFC experience, you need to try using a real deep fat fryer and cooking the chicken in the KFC herbs and spices coating for a few minutes before serving. Not quite as healthy as the air fryer, but a bit more like the real thing.

FAQ's

No its not the official KFC secret recipe from the Colonel but it is a very close match to it.

  • Salt
  • Thyme
  • Basil
  • Oregano
  • Paprika
  • Celery salt
  • Garlic salt
  • Black pepper
  • Mustard powder
  • Ginger
  • Flour

The Recipe

Deep frying ultimate KFC style halloumi fries

KFC herbs and spices recipe (fakeaway)

My take on the KFC spice mix
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Save Rate
Course: BBQ, Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: KFC herbs and spices mix, KFC ingredients
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 44kcal
Author: Martin (Dad What Cooks)
Cost: £4

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Table salt
  • ¾ teaspoon Dried Thyme
  • ¾ teaspoon Dried Basil
  • ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
  • 2 tablespoon Paprika
  • ½ tablespoon Celery salt
  • 1 tablespoon Garlic salt
  • ½ tablespoon Black pepper
  • ½ tablespoon Dry mustard powder
  • ½ tablespoon Ground Ginger
  • 1 Cup Plain white flour (120g)

Instructions

  • Mix all the dry ingredients together. Store in an air tight tub.

Notes

In the recipe, I have grouped the ingredients by amounts required (teaspoon vs table spoon).
tsp = teaspoon
tbsp = tablespoon
Be sure not to mix them up as the amounts will be off and the flavour will be very imbalanced.

Nutrition

Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1164mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 579IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

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One response to “So what are the KFC herbs and spices?”

  1. Dad What Cooks avatar
    Dad What Cooks

    5 stars
    Cheeky copycat recipe but tastes just like the real thing.

5 from 1 vote

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