There’s something wonderfully comforting about the sound of crispy chicken breaking apart, the warmth of a freshly baked biscuit, and a spoonful of mashed potatoes covered in savory gravy. KFC has built its reputation around these familiar pleasures, but not every menu item leaves reviewers equally impressed.
In September 2026, Tasting Table ranked KFC’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich third among nine fast-food contenders. Another Tasting Table comparison of ten KFC sides placed mashed potatoes with gravy firmly in first place.
Those results offer a useful starting point if you’re deciding what to order. Of course, taste is personal, and prices and preparation can vary between restaurants.
Here are six KFC menu items that earned favorable attention from reviewers, along with the little details worth knowing before spending your money.
Famous Bowl: A Little Bit of Everything in One Container
Some meals make you choose between your favorite ingredients. KFC’s Famous Bowl brings several familiar favorites together.
According to KFC’s official menu descriptions, it combines mashed potatoes, chicken, sweet corn, gravy, and cheese.
The appeal is in the layers. Soft potatoes meet crispy chicken, while the gravy pulls everything together.
In a November 3, 2026, Tasting Table feature, Samantha Maxwell praised the Famous Bowl’s combination of textures and flavors, particularly its generous gravy.
She even described it as one of her favorite fast-food creations.
But her praise came with a qualification: she believed the bowl’s quality had declined compared with earlier years.
A separate 2021 tasting by 5 Minute Eats also delivered a positive verdict, although its reviewers found their serving somewhat salty.
The Famous Bowl remains an appealing all-in-one option, especially if you prefer several familiar flavors sharing one container.
Spicy Chicken Sandwich: More Crunch Than Fire
A good chicken sandwich should offer more than a soft bun surrounding a piece of fried chicken. Texture, seasoning, and toppings all matter.
KFC’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich brings together an extra-crispy chicken fillet, pickles, spicy sauce, and a brioche-style bun.
And in a recent comparison, it performed surprisingly well.
In her September 8, 2026, Tasting Table review, Blair Gallacher ranked KFC third among nine fast-food spicy chicken sandwiches.
She appreciated the generous chicken portion, tender interior, and coating that stayed crunchy despite the sauce.
However, the sandwich didn’t deliver the intense heat she expected. Gallacher found the spiciness barely noticeable and thought the mayonnaise and pickles occasionally dominated the flavor. That’s an important distinction.
If you want a substantial, crunchy chicken sandwich with a little kick, this might satisfy you. If fiery heat is your main priority, the review suggests looking elsewhere.
Extra Crispy Chicken: The Traditional Order With a Crunchier Personality
Sometimes it’s worth returning to the food that made a restaurant famous.
KFC’s bone-in fried chicken comes in different preparations, and those differences matter more than you might expect.
In an October 2022 Eat This, Not That! comparison, food writer Su-Jit Lin evaluated eight fried-chicken variations from five chains.
KFC’s Extra Crispy chicken finished second. Lin praised its well-seasoned coating, substantial pieces, and particularly enjoyable dark meat.
She also preferred Extra Crispy to the Original Recipe chicken sampled during the same project. But even this favorable review wasn’t without criticism.
Lin noticed that the crunchy coating separated from the chicken more easily than she preferred.
The comparison was also conducted across different visits rather than through one simultaneous tasting.
Still, for diners who enjoy a more pronounced crunch, this reviewer endorses Extra Crispy more strongly than KFC’s Original Recipe.
Mashed Potatoes With Gravy: The Side Dish That Won the Tasting
Sometimes two ordinary ingredients become something memorable when they finally meet.
KFC’s mashed potatoes and gravy demonstrate that beautifully.
In her September 7, 2025, Tasting Table comparison, Samantha Maxwell sampled ten KFC side dishes. Mashed potatoes with gravy took first place.
Maxwell particularly enjoyed the contrast between the smooth potatoes and the rich, savory gravy.
Here’s the interesting part: when she tasted the components separately, her enthusiasm changed dramatically.
Plain mashed potatoes ranked ninth, while gravy ordered alone finished eighth. Together, though, they became her favorite side.
She also questioned the value of ordering gravy separately, given the price and quantity she encountered.
So if you’re choosing between the three options, her results strongly favor the familiar combination.
It’s a reminder that sometimes the magic isn’t in one ingredient. It’s in how the flavors come together.
Buttermilk Biscuit: A Simple Addition That Earned Its Place
A warm biscuit doesn’t need elaborate toppings to make a meal feel complete.
Its appeal can be wonderfully straightforward: a satisfying texture and a rich, buttery flavor.
KFC’s buttermilk biscuit received an encouraging assessment during Maxwell’s September 2025 side-dish comparison. She ranked the plain biscuit fourth among ten options.
Maxwell liked its buttery richness and considered it a worthwhile companion to fried chicken.
However, she described its texture as relatively dense and substantial rather than especially light or airy. That detail matters if you’re hoping for a particularly delicate biscuit. There’s also a practical consideration before adding one to your order.
KFC includes biscuits in certain meals, so buying another may be unnecessary.
If your selected meal already comes with one, you can enjoy the accompaniment without paying separately for an additional serving.
Sometimes a simple biscuit is all the extra comfort a plate of fried chicken needs.
Mac and Cheese: A Dependable Choice With Mixed Reviews
Macaroni and cheese has a special ability to bring a little comfort to the dinner table.
And KFC’s version has earned some favorable comments, although reviewers haven’t agreed that it’s among the best fast-food options.
In her September 2025 tasting of ten KFC sides, Maxwell ranked mac and cheese fifth.
She appreciated the pasta’s texture and creamy, salty cheese sauce, although she didn’t think it resembled homemade macaroni and cheese.
A separate review reached a more restrained conclusion. In December 2024, Eat This, Not That! writer Megan Hageman compared macaroni and cheese from seven fast-food chains.
KFC finished sixth. Hageman did appreciate its more pronounced cheddar flavor compared with Bojangles’ version, but that wasn’t enough to move KFC higher in her ranking.
She paid $2.99 for her individual serving at the time, a historical price rather than a current nationwide offer.
So this is best viewed as a reasonable pasta alternative, not a universally praised side-dish champion.
Which KFC Order Deserves Your Money?
These six selections show why a familiar fast-food menu can still offer a few surprises.
The Spicy Chicken Sandwich earned third place among nine competitors in a September 2026 tasting, while mashed potatoes with gravy topped a dedicated ten-side comparison.
Extra Crispy chicken, the Famous Bowl, and the buttermilk biscuit also received meaningful praise.
Mac and cheese earned a more mixed reception, reminding us that even popular comfort foods won’t satisfy every reviewer.
The six items weren’t evaluated together in one controlled test, and no current local price comparison establishes which provides the best value everywhere.
Before ordering, check your restaurant’s current prices, available meal combinations, and included sides.
After all, the most satisfying KFC order isn’t necessarily the biggest bucket or the newest promotion. Sometimes it’s simply the familiar combination of crispy chicken, savory gravy, and a warm biscuit that makes the whole meal worthwhile.
