Copycat Fast-Food to Make at Home! {recipe ideas}

COPYCAT FAST FOOD IDEAS

It gets pricey to eat even fast food with a family of six. So over the past few years, I’ve been making my own copycat fast food at home! Which, in my opinion, is even better than the real version. At a fraction of the cost! And, I’m already going to the grocery store every week so there are no extra stops.

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Some of our favorite copycat fast-food hacks include Taco Bell, Arbys, Chick-Fil-A, Chipotle, and Fazolis. You don’t have to be a fancy cook to make these meals at home, all my ideas are easy and simple! No-fuss recipes and options for your family.

Estimated prices will vary (prices were gathered from Walmart and Amazon).

Arby’s

Easy, peasy lemon squeezy. Are you a fan of Arby’s Cheddar Roast Beef Sandwiches and Curly fries? Say no more – you can literally make this for under $12 for a family of 4! And it’s more food, so you just might have some leftovers.

You’ll Need:

French bread
Package of Angus Seasoned Roast Beef
Stadium Style Cheddar Cheese Dip
Package of Arby’s Seasoned Curly Fries, frozen
Horseradish sauce (optional)

To make: Split the French bread in half and lay on a lined sheet pan. Layer each bread half with roast beef and top with cheese dip. Cook in the oven with the curly fries until cheese is melted and “sandwiches” warmed. Cut each half bread into to make 8 total open-faced sandwiches. Serve with curly fries. Try a DIY Arby’s Sauce Copycat recipe here.

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Chick-Fil-A

My favorite is Chick-Fil-A! We make these easy chicken biscuits at home that are a perfect substitution for when we can’t get to our favorite fast-food restaurant. Add some sides for extra fun: waffle fries, macaroni & cheese, or kale salad. See below for how we feed our family with a copycat Chick-Fil-A meal at home for under $15.

You’ll Need:

Canned refrigerator jumbo biscuits
Bag of popcorn chicken (frozen)
Bag of waffle fries (frozen)
Citrus Kale Salad Kit (optional) – I found mine at Aldi
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (optional)

To Make: Cut each biscuit in half and roll into balls. Place balls in sprayed mini muffin pans, add a frozen popcorn chicken to the center of each biscuit ball (press down). Back according to biscuit instructions. Halfway through baking you’ll want to push the popcorn chicken pieces down into the biscuit again to get them to stay. Serve with a Copycat Chick-Fil-A Sauce recipe. Making sides is optional.

Chipotle

It’s a bit pricy for our whole family to eat at Chipotle, sometimes costing up to $10 a person. So, I bring Chipotle to our kitchen by whipping up some fajita chicken for the meat and adding sides to make “bowls” (don’t forget the chips and salsa!).

You’ll Need:

Meat of your choice (I usually make chicken fajitas or taco meat)
Rice
Beans (I use black beans)
Sides (shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, queso, corn, cilantro, diced onions, black olives), optional
Chips and salsa, optional

To make: Cook meat accordingly. Let each person assemble their bowl – enjoy!

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Fazolis

Ever crave the Fazolis breadsticks, or is it just me? My family sure does love a carb-loaded pasta meal complete with breadsticks. This is perhaps one of the easiest meals to make at home. You can make one box of pasta and split it up using a jar of marinara for half of it, and a jar of alfredo for the other half.

You’ll Need:

Box of pasta, of your choice (we prefer farfalle)
Jar of marinara sauce
Jar of alfredo sauce
Parmesan
Box of frozen breadsticks (or refrigerated)
Cheesecake, for dessert (optional)

To make: Boil pasta according to box instructions. Split pasta into two bowls, add marinara to half and alfredo to the other half. Adding meat (ground beef, pepperoni, sausage, etc.) is optional. Sprinkle with parmesan. Make breadsticks according to package (sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan for extra yumminess).

Taco Bell

Whether it’s a late-night craving or a Taco Tuesday, we are doing regular Taco Bell hacks at our house. The kids’ favorite is the Dorito-flavored tacos and the Nacho Fries, both of which we have copycatted at home.

You’ll Need:

Taco meat
Nacho-cheese or Ranch Flavored taco shells
Toppings (shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream), optional
Taco Bell sauces, optional
Bag of seasoned fries, frozen
Velvetta cups

To make: Make meat accordingly for tacos. Baked seasoned fries according to instructions and use Velvetta to make dipping cheese for the nacho fries.