Food Review: KFC Spicy Chicken Mac & Cheese Bowl
04/18/2023
KFC recently brought back a fan favorite, the Chicken Mac & Cheese Bowl. I'm one of those fans and I've been looking forward to re-introducing myself to a bowl, especially because KFC recently replaced their popcorn-ish bite-size chicken with meatier all-white meat chicken nuggets.
Here's the description of the bowls from the KFC website: Great for a quick lunch or dinner, our Chicken Mac & Cheese Bowl features our signature rich, creamy macaroni and cheese, topped with our crispy fried chicken nuggets and a three-cheese blend. Available in classic or spicy for a limited time!
My appreciation for the bowl was restricted to the classic version when it was first put on the menu as a meal option back in 2019, but today, I went spicy.
I wish I hadn't.
What I received was saturated in a not-so-spicy chili oil-ish sauce, taking away from the dish, rather than adding to it. It wasn't the Nashville hot sauce either. Just look at the pic, the chicken and pasta are swimming in the red concoction KFC put in my bowl! The oil/sauce itself wasn't all that spicy, there was just enough spice hint to let you know it was there, but it was an overall mild addition to the bowl, no sweating, no reaching for water. There was a decent portion of chicken but it was overcooked and dry. A disappointing chicken upgrade. The breading that wasn't saturated in the KFC spice sauce concoction which made for a soggy bite, was otherwise seasoned well and crispy. There was an ample amount of mac & cheese which makes this bowl a meal and the pasta was properly cooked, not mushy. But the oily sauce conflicted with the creaminess of the cheese sauce, rather than complimenting it. The shredded three-cheese blend topper was nicely melted and provided a good cheese pull.
Costing $5, I'm giving the KFC Spicy Chicken Mac & Cheese Bowl 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. Reasonably priced, the chicken and mac & cheese flavors were drowned out by the pool of not-so-spicy oily sauce, but it's not repeat buy worthy. I'm going to chalk this up to a poorly executed dish. The mac & cheese was on point, but the chicken was overcooked and the bowl was WAY overdressed with that not-so-spicy sauce. I'm thinking I can do a far better copycat version. If I buy another KFC bowl, which is a perfect portion for lunch, I'll either try a second spicy bowl at a different KFC location, or I'll go classic.
$pend Wisely My Friends...
~ Mike
The KFC visited on this occasion is located at 1251 S Woodlawn St, Wichita, KS 67218. I hit the drive-thru at about 10:45 am for an early lunch (skipped breakfast) and with no vehicles ahead of me was able to immediately place my order. Michelle was super friendly and I received my order before I could get carried away playing air drums while listening to some classic rock on 104.5 The Fox.
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