The KFC recipe is the biggest culinary secret we’d all love to know. For years people have tried and tested their own versions, never getting it perfect. But, today might just be the day that you can finally make your own bargain bucket at home – if you can be bothered.
A relative of Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of KFC, has leaked a copy of the blend of 11 herbs and spices used in the restaurants to the Chicago Tribune.
Joe Ledington, the Colonel’s nephew, took the recipe from a scrapbook that he says belonged to his dad’s sister Claudia Ledington, who married Colonel Sanders in 1949.
Pictured below, the flavour is made from ingredients that you’ll find in your kitchen cupboard.

Ledington told the Tribune, “The main ingredient is white pepper. I call that the secret ingredient. Nobody [in the 1950s] knew what white pepper was. Nobody knew how to use it.”
Of course, KFC are insisting that the recipe isn’t correct. A spokesperson said, “Many people have made these claims over the years and no-one has been accurate – this one isn’t either. Though, we imagine that might make some tasty fried chicken, too.”
Leadington responded with, “I don’t want to get in an argument with Yum! Brands about it but … I’m pretty sure that it’s pretty close to the original.”
KFC’s website reads that the secret recipe is locked inside a 770-pound digital safe that is hidden within 2 feet of concrete and motion sensors.
They stated,
“And the secret blend of KFC’s 11 herbs and spices is so secret that not even the company that produces the blend knows the exact formulation. The spice blend is shipped from different locations in the United States before the final blending. We’ve got to keep it a secret from those imirators creating KFC copycat recipes that just don’t come close to the real deal.”
Better get to the kitchen then, there’s only one way to find out the truth…