20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (2024)

Staying in but still want to enjoy your favorite restaurant’s food? Try making your own at home with these copycat recipes from some of America’s most beloved restaurants!

Everything from iconic side dishes like Cracker Barrel Fried Apples and Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potatoes, to main dishes such as CPK’s BBQ Chicken Pizza and IHOP pancakes. And, of course, we didn’t forget famous copycat desserts like Cheesecake Factory’s Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake.

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (1)

1. Cracker Barrel Fried Apples

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (2)

Nothing brings back memories of Sunday dinner like these copycat Cracker Barrel fried apples! These slow cooked sugar and cinnamon glazed apples are best paired with a salty main dish, like ham.

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2. Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (3)

If you’ve ever been to the Cheesecake Factory you know how delicious their honey wheat bread is, so you’ll be super excited to try this at-home version. The best part? It freezes well so you can make a big batch and always have some on hand.

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3. Instant Pot Honey Baked Ham

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (4)

Buying a Honey Baked Ham can be quite expensive. Save money by making your own at home with this copycat Instant Pot version. It serves up to 10 people and comes out to just $2.26 per serving!

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4. Chipotle Corn Salsa

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (5)

Homemade chipotle corn salsa makes the perfect Netflix and chill snack with tortilla chips, or a delicious complement to homemade burritos or nachos. Don’t like heat? Swap out the jalapeños for sweet red bell peppers.

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5. Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

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This copycat version of Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad tastes just like the real thing, but with a fraction of the calories. There are instructions for making it ahead in case you want to prep it for lunch the next day.

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6. Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (7)

Cheddar Bay Biscuits are easily the best thing on Red Lobster’s menu. This easy homemade version brings all the cheesy flavor you’re used to and can be put together in just one bowl.

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7. Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole

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Crispy sweet pecan topping with creamy sweet potatoes underneath, even a person who doesn’t like veggies will be diving into this dish. It’s one of the most popular side dishes at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for a reason!

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8. CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza

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The BBQ Chicken Pizza is arguably the most iconic pizza from California Pizza Kitchen and now you can make it at home! Crispy crust, BBQ sauce, cheese, chicken breast, red onions, and cilantro make it a pizza to remember.

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9. Olive Garden Breadsticks

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (10)

If you love buttery, garlic breadsticks, then you will swoon for this Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks recipe. Simple to make & tastes just like your favorite Italian restaurant.

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10. Melting Pot Strawberry & Spinach Salad

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Candied walnuts, strawberries, spinach, and feta make this dish so flavorful it could turn anyone into a salad-lover! The lemon poppyseed dressing really brings it all together.

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11. Cracker Barrel Chicken & Dumplings

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This copycat recipe for Cracker Barrel’s chicken and dumplings is practically the definition of home-cooked comfort food! Just like Grandma used to make…

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12. IHOP Pancakes

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These IHOP Pancakes are super soft and fluffy, and amazingly delicious! Make your own at home with this recipe so you don’t have to go out for weekend brunch. You can even make a double batch and freeze half for later.

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13. Cheesecake Factory Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (14)

This decadent Cheesecake Factory Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake Copycat Recipe is simply amazing! The perfect dessert to “wow” your guests for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Birthdays, and dinner parties.

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14. Benihana Ginger Sauce

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (15)

This copycat recipe tastes just like the Benihana’s ginger dipping sauce that everyone loves! It pairs well with hibachi steak, chicken, shrimp, veggies, and rice so you’ll always want to keep some in the fridge.

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15. Famous Dave’s BBQ Ribs

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (16)

Learn how to make sweet & smokey restaurant quality bbq ribs at home with this easy recipe. They’re always a big hit at family dinners and backyard BBQs!

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16. Ruby Tuesday’s Pasta Salad

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (17)

Obsessed with Ruby Tuesday’s salad bar? Now you can make their pasta salad recipe from it in the comfort of your own home! Using pre-diced ham makes it an ultra-quick side dish to prep.

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17. Chili’s Salsa

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (18)

This is the closest tasting copycat recipe for Chili’s salsa you can find. It’s super easy to make and has the perfect consistency and flavor! Warning – it’s highly addictive!

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18. Olive Garden Baked Tortellini Alfredo

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Olive Garden came out with several oven-baked pastas and this copycat tortellini Alfredo version is spot on! It even uses the OG Olive Garden Alfredo recipe as a base. Perfect for any time you’re craving cheese and carbs.

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19. Applebee’s 4 Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (20)

Ultra creamy and savory homemade 4 cheese mac and cheese is topped with incredibly crunchy buttermilk fried chicken tenders, glazed with a lip-smacking honey pepper sauce. The ultimate comfort food!

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20. Outback Loaded Aussie Cheese Fries

20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (21)One of Outback’s most popular appetizers is their Loaded Aussie Cheese Fries. This recipe makes cooking a homemade version super easy by using frozen french fries.

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20 Restaurant Copycat Recipes You Can Make At Home (2024)

FAQs

How to create your own recipes? ›

Tips to keep in mind when writing recipes:
  1. List ingredients in chronological order. ...
  2. Separate ingredients for major steps in a recipe. ...
  3. List steps in order, keeping instructions short and to the point. ...
  4. Give specifics about doneness. ...
  5. Include storage suggestions. ...
  6. Offer extra methods or substitutions (when tested).
Nov 19, 2020

How much do you need to change a recipe to make it your own? ›

The general rule [...] is that three major [emphasis added] changes are required to make a recipe "yours." However, even if you make such changes, it is a professional courtesy to acknowledge the source of or inspiration for the recipe.

How do you list ingredients in a recipe? ›

Remember to list your ingredients in the order they appear in the recipe. It's important to spell out measurements. You also might want to break up ingredients with headings. For instance, if you're making a pie, indicate the ingredients of the crust, and then add another section for the filling.

When was the first recipe written? ›

The earliest known written recipes date to 1730 BC and were recorded on cuneiform tablets found in Mesopotamia. Other early written recipes date from approximately 1600 BC and come from an Akkadian tablet from southern Babylonia. There are also works in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depicting the preparation of food.

Can you legally own a recipe? ›

Recipes themselves are generally not protected by copyright. This is because they are considered to be a collection of facts and ideas, which are not copyrightable. However, the expression of the recipe can be protected by copyright. This includes the written instructions.

Is copying recipes illegal? ›

The first thing to understand is that recipes are not copyrightable. Copyright law protects original works of authorship, and while a recipe may be original, it is not an "original work of authorship." This means that anyone can freely copy and use a recipe without fear of infringement.

How many DIY recipes can you get a day? ›

Up to 3 recipes can be obtained this way over the course of a day.

Is it legal to post a recipe from a cookbook? ›

Even if the description of the recipe is sufficiently creative and copyrightable, the copyright will not cover the recipe's ingredient list, the underlying process for making the dish, or the resulting dish itself, which are all facts. It will only protect the expression of those facts.

What should you always do first to your recipe? ›

Start with the ingredient list. List ingredients with exact measurements and in the order in which they will be used. Leaving out ingredients is the most common mistake in recipe writing.

What are the 3 types of recipe formats? ›

Most recipes are written in one of three forms: standard, narrative or action.

What is the best recipe format? ›

The standard recipe format is the most commonly used — and for good reason. This format checks all the boxes when it comes to what users define as a “good recipe.” It's easy to follow. It gives users a clear list of ingredients that they can quickly reference as they shop and cook.

What is the oldest dish in the world? ›

Nettle Pudding

Originating in 6000 BCE, England; it is the oldest dish of the world that's rich in nutrients. Nettle pudding is made with stinging nettles (wild leafy plant), breadcrumbs, suet, onions, and other herbs and spices.

What is the oldest food known to man? ›

Mesopotamian Stew

The ancient food recipe is from a Sumerian cuneiform tablet in the Yale Cuneiform collections. It is for a fragment lamb stew called Tuh'u that was prepared with certain aromatics, meat chunks, fat, and vegetables.

What is the first food ever cooked? ›

The detailed study of fish teeth unearthed at the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site, situated on the edge of the ancient lake Hula, revealed that some of our early ancestors — most likely hom*o erectus — were able to cook fish, said study author Dr.

Is there an app to write recipes? ›

Recipe Keeper is the easy to use, all-in-one recipe organizer, shopping list and meal planner available across all of your devices. Enter your recipes with as much or as little information as you like. Copy and paste recipes from your existing documents or apps.

How can I make my own cookbook online for free? ›

On myfoodbook, you can create your own free online cookbooks. You can save any recipe on myfoodbook in your cookbooks, and you can also upload your own. Customise your ebooks with your own covers, dedication and recipes today - all for free.

Is it hard to make your own recipe? ›

Creating a recipe is a lot easier than you think. It is also freeing, fun, and very gratifying. I have a five-step process I use to make my recipes and it works really well. You should use these same five steps every time you create your own recipes.

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