19 Copycat Recipes You’ll Want To Make Forever

Make your restaurant favorites at home—for less.

By
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated November 05, 2024
Robin Shreeves
Stack of Copycat Crunchwrap Supreme Cut in Half on Parchment Paper Over a Wooden Board

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

If you've ever wished you could recreate your favorite restaurant dishes at home, here's your chance. These 19 copycat recipes—ones designed to mimic the look and flavor you get while dining out—will start you on your way.

From versions of Olive Garden's fettuccine Alfredo and breadsticks to IKEA's famous Swedish meatballs to McDonald's Shamrock Shake (any time of the year!), here are all the copycat recipes to make at home...and save money while doing so. All of those Panera lunches add up, after all.

  • Copycat IKEA Swedish Meatballs

    Bowl of copycat Ikea Swedish meatballs served over mashed potatoes, and in the surroundings, a table setting with a stack of plates and a sage table napkin

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

    Have you ever gone all the way to IKEA just to buy Swedish meatballs? You won't have to once you realize how easy it is to make these copycats with a creamy sauce that you'll want to serve on top of mashed potatoes.

  • Copycat Pollo Campero Fried Chicken

    Homemade Pollo Campero-Style Air Fryer Fried Chicken

    Marisel Salazar / Simply Recipes

    This air-fried copycat of the popular Pollo Campero fried chicken uses lime instead of buttermilk and adds bold seasonings like oregano, cayenne, sazón, and adobo.

  • Copycat Chipotle Sofritas

    Copycat Sofritas in a Pan with a Wooden Spoon and Lime Wedges, Surrounded by a Bowl of Lime Wedges, a Glass of Water, and a Couple of Forks

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    If you love the vegetarian protein that Chipotle uses in burritos, tacos, and bowls, this is the sofritas recipe you need to recreate it at home using tofu.

  • Copy Cat Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi

    cauliflower gnocchi with sageleaves in a white bowl
    Jessica Gavin

    You'll be amazed at how easy it is to turn fresh cauliflower into gnocchi like the Trader Joe's version. You'll be even more amazed at how much this low-carb gnocchi tastes like potato gnocchi.

    Continue to 5 of 19 below

  • Copycat Crunchwrap Supreme

    Stack of Copycat Crunchwrap Supreme Cut in Half on Parchment Paper Over a Wooden Board

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    It's hard to beat the Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme, but this version might take the cake. Especially when you use higher quality ingredients.

  • Copycake Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

    Copycat Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole in a casserole dish at a table setting with a plate, a basketful of bisquits, a stack of plates, and spoons on the counter

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

    The secret to recreating Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole is using refrigerated hashbrowns, not frozen ones. Once you know the secret, it takes just five minutes to put it together and 30 minutes to cook.

  • Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites

    Bacon and Gruyère Egg Bites in a Muffin Tin

    Simply Recipes / Ross Yoder

    These egg bites are so similar to the Starbucks versions in all but one way. They're much less expensive when you make them yourself. Cream cheese makes them fluffy and Gruyère and bacon make them irresistible.

  • Copycat Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

    Bowl of copycat Olive Garden chicken and gnocchi soup on a beige table napkin

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

    Olive Garden's roasted chicken and gnocchi soup a creamy broth with spinach is a fan favorite. This version is just as good, is a fraction of the cost, and takes just 30 minutes to make.

    Continue to 9 of 19 below

  • Copycat Chipotle Guacamole

    guacamole sprinkled with cilantro and red onion in a black and white bowl
    Marta Rivera

    Chipotle’s guacamole is always fresh and full of avocado chunks and speckled with fresh produce. So is this version made with ripe avocado, garlic, red onion, jalapeños, cilantro, and lime. It tastes remarkably similar to the restaurant's and you won't get an upcharge for it.

  • Copycat Wendy's Chili

    Bowl of copycat Wendy's chili at a table setting with a bowl of saltines on a brown and white kitchen towel, a bottle of tabasco, a drink, and a white table napkin

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

    This recipe tastes and looks like the fast food version—a mixture of three-bean soup and hamburger tortilla soup. Using RO*TEL is the secret to making sure the homemade version is virtually indistinguishable from Wendy's.

  • Copycat Chipotle Chicken

    Bowl of copycat Chipotle chicken with a spoon, and in the surroundings, a bowl of lime quarters, glasses of water, and a scarlet table napkin

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

    It's hard to tell the difference between this copycat Chipotle Chicken and the real deal. With it, you can make bowls, tacos, burritos, and more, and save yourself the expense of eating out or delivery fees.

  • Copycat Shamrock Shake

    McDonald’s Shamrock Shake with green sprinkles.
    Elana Lepkowski

    Now you can enjoy the deliciousness of a McDonald's Shamrock Shake whenever you want by making it yourself with real ice cream. You can add something special you can't at the McD's, too, if you want—vodka, whiskey, or Irish Cream.

    Continue to 13 of 19 below

  • Copycat Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo

    Copycat Olive Garden alfredo in a bowl with a fork, and in the surroundings, a white table napkin, a block of parmesan on a wooden board, and a glass with a drink

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

    It only takes 20 minutes—less time than it takes to get in the car and drive to Olive Garden—to make this pasta with "legit" Alfredo sauce. So creamy. So garlicky. So like Olive Garden's but from your own kitchen.

  • Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Bread

    A loaf of Moist Pumpkin Bread cooling on a rack with a second loaf in the pan behind it.
    Sara Bir

    Starbucks doesn't always have its pumpkin bread, but you can have all the flavors of its moist, pumpkin-y, baking spic-y bread with this recipe that makes two loaves.

  • Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    Pot of copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup with a ladle raising some of it, and in the surroundings, a bowl of shredded cheese, a piece of baguette, and a blue kitchen towel

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

    Panera makes really good soups and its broccoli cheddar is one of the best. This version tastes just like the original with plenty of heavy cream and two types of cheese. Good bread on the side is a must.

  • Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks

    Breadsticks with Garlic Butter on a Plate Covered with a Kitchen Towel

    Simply Recipes / Nick Evans

    Olive Garden's breadsticks are the stuff of legends, in part because they're so fresh and warm. But these copycat breadsticks come out of your oven, hot and ready to brush with melted garlic butter.

    Continue to 17 of 19 below

  • Copycat Neiman Marcus Million Dollar Dip

    Neiman Marcus with Ritz Crackers

    Simply Recipes / Ariel Knutson

    Created in the 1950s at a Neiman Marcus restaurant, this dip is like a "zhushed-up pimento cheese." The bacon, cream cheese, mayo, and cheddar cheese mixture is super easy to make, and the perfect dip for a buttery round cracker such as a Ritz.

  • Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

    Copycat Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuits on a baking sheet with a pastry brush

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    Seasoned with garlic and Old Bay seasoning, these cheddar biscuits are easy to make and taste so much like the famous Red Lobster biscuits. Can't eat the entire dozen at once? Freeze unbaked biscuits to bake another time.

  • Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake

    Slice of Ice Cream Cake on a Small Plate with a Fork with More Cake in the Background

    Simply Recipes / Cambrea Gordon

    Top layers of chocolate ice cream, creamy chocolate fudge, crunchy Oreo pieces, and creamy vanilla ice cream with a whipped cream frosting. It's not hard to make, but it does take some time to build and then 8 hours to freeze. Ultimately, you'll be impressed with this super fresh ice cream cake that rivals Diary Queen's cake.

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