Mashed potatoes, sweet corn, gravy, cheese, and crispy chicken all stuffed into a bowl. That’s the genius mixture of the KFC Famous Bowl. They’re amazing but as you’d expect from a lineup like that, they’re not the healthiest meal option around town.
The original KFC Famous Bowl has 720 calories, 26 grams of protein, 79 grams of carbs, and 34 grams of fat. While this recipe makes two copycat bowls, I’ll combine their macros for comparison, bringing the total to 600 calories, 48 grams of protein, 52 grams of carbs, and 22 grams of fat. So, if you eat this recipe in its entirety, you’ll still save 120 calories and gain an additional 22 grams of protein. Nice.
How to Make a Lower Carb KFC Famous Bowl
If you’re familiar with low carb recipes, especially in the mashed potatoes replacement arena, you can probably guess one of the key ingredients—cauliflower. Before you curse my name and run for the hills, I promise these are ridiculously easy to make, combining frozen cauliflower rice with butter and pepper. That’s it.
And if you absolutely hate cauliflower, I’ll include a few potential swaps in the recipe notes below.
Mashed Cauliflower
I prefer using frozen cauliflower for multiple reasons but in this case, it’s super easy to remove most of the moisture from the cauliflower. You can pop it in the microwave, drain, and squeeze the daylights out of the bag to wring out the remaining moisture. No cheesecloth or fancy strainers necessary.
Then it’s as simple as adding some butter and pepper before blending to make mashed fauxtatoes.
Side note: You can find pre-made mashed cauliflower in most stores these days. For those that don’t like cauliflower, I always recommend using a blend of potatoes and cauliflower to hide it. Check out my ground beef with mashed potatoes and gravy for an example.
Corn, Gravy, and Cheese
You know I like to keep things simple. Well, unless you’re new around here. In that case, welcome! I like to make recipes with ingredient lists I can count on one hand. It’s nice to have you here.
I opted for a gravy straight out of the jar, canned corn, and reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese. As always, you can use fresh corn, shred your own cheese, and make your own gravy if you prefer. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Low Carb Spicy Popcorn Chicken
I used my low carb spicy popcorn chicken for these bowls, but you’re more than welcome to use any popcorn chicken or bite-sized chicken product you’d like. That said, the macros, flavor, and crunch of my popcorn chicken is 2L2Q (too legit to quit). I’d highly encourage you to try it out!
Update: Perdue Farms makes a great lightly bread chicken breast chunks product. I’ve used it in recipes like my chicken and protein waffles, honey sesame chicken, and chicken parmesan pasta bake. I typically get mine at Target, but you can use my affiliate link for Perdue Farmsto get 15% off and have it shipped directly to your door.
If you’re comparing popcorn chicken, the macros for my version are 105 calories, 15 grams of protein, 12 grams of carbs, and 0.3 grams of fat for eight pieces. You’ll need sixteen pieces for these low carb KFC Famous Bowls so double the numbers in your comparison.
Side note: If you wanted to use an even lighter chicken, you could use something like my pan fried naked chicken tenders cut into pieces, air fried chicken nuggets, or cook diced chicken breast on the stovetop like in mychicken fried cauliflower rice recipe.
That covers the chicken, potatoes, and everything else. You’re all set. If you make these low carb KFC Famous Bowls, I’d love to see them. Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @mason_woodruff or jump in my free Facebook group and share them with the crew!
Healthier KFC Famous Bowls Copycat
Yield: 2 Bowls
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
A lower calorie, lower carb recipe for the classic Famous Bowl from KFC.
Ingredients
- 12 oz Frozen Cauliflower Rice
- 2 Tbsp (28g) Light Butter, I used Land O' Lakes
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 C (125g) Whole Kernel Corn, drained
- 1/4 C (60g) Beef Gravy, from a jar
- 1/4 C (28g) Reduced Fat Shredded Cheddar
- 16 pieces Spicy Popcorn Chicken, or your choice of popcorn chicken
Instructions
- Microwave the cauliflower rice for 4-5 minutes and drain any remaining liquid before adding to a food processor or blender with the butter and black pepper.
- Blend until smooth like mashed potatoes. You may be able to accomplish this with a masher or really fine whisk, but it will take some work.
- Open a can of corn and drain any liquid before microwaving 1/2 cup for 60-90 seconds or until warm. Measure the beef gravy and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm.
- Add half the mashed cauliflower to a bowl before adding half the corn, gravy, and 8 pieces of popcorn chicken. Sprinkle half the shredded cheddar and repeat for the second bowl.
Notes
Each bowl has 6 Smart Points.
If you'd like to replace the butter, coconut oil or just about any fat source will work.
Looking for cauliflower alternatives? Give these a try for your mashed fauxtatoes:
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 BowlsServing Size: 1 Bowl
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 300Total Fat: 11gCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 24g
