If you want that savory, herby, slightly sweet fast-food style chicken flavor without hauling everyone through the drive-thru, this KFC Chicken Seasoning Mix gets the job done with pantry spices and one very old-school soup packet.
The blend grinds down fine, stores well, and makes coating flour much easier to season evenly. It works for fried chicken, baked chicken, popcorn chicken, and even a quick boost in stuffing when dinner needs a little help and not a committee meeting.
Because this is a dry seasoning mix, it keeps best in an airtight jar in a cool, dry cupboard. For best quality, use it within about 6 months, which aligns with general spice quality guidance from McCormick. Once you use the mix on raw chicken and cook it, any leftovers should be refrigerated within 2 hours and used within 3 to 4 days.
KFC Chicken Seasoning Mix Recipe
You’ll Need:
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon sage
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons onion salt
- 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1 package Lipton tomato cup-a-soup mix
Combine the rosemary, oregano, sage, ginger, marjoram, and thyme in a blender or clean coffee mill and process until the herbs are a fine powder. Stir in the brown sugar, parsley, pepper, paprika, garlic salt, onion salt, chicken bouillon powder, and tomato cup-a-soup mix, then seal the mixture in a jar, zipper bag, or vacuum-sealed bag.
To Use:
Use 1 ounce of seasoning mix per 1 cup of flour for coating chicken. Dip raw chicken pieces in egg wash, coat them in the seasoned flour, and fry immediately until the chicken reaches 165°F internally. This blend also works well in baked coating mixes or as a flavor boost in dishes like KFC Chicken Spice Mix style copycat meals.
Serve the finished chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, potato wedges, slaw, or a simple biscuit dinner. If you want another chicken dinner shortcut for the spice cabinet, Chicken Fajita Seasoning Mix and Country Herb Chicken Seasoning Mix are both handy to keep around.
Store the dry mix in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place for up to 6 months for best flavor quality. Once mixed with flour for dredging, use it right away and discard any coating that touched raw chicken or egg wash. Cooked chicken made with the seasoning should be refrigerated within 2 hours and used within 3 to 4 days.
Note: This batch makes about 1 1/2 cups of seasoning mix, which is enough to season roughly 12 cups of flour. That is far more than one chicken dinner, so a small labeled mason jar is your friend here.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: KFC Chicken Seasoning Mix
Ingredient |
Walmart Item |
Pkg Price |
Amount Used |
Cost Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rosemary |
$1.24 |
1 T. |
$0.10 |
|
Oregano |
$1.24 |
1 T. |
$0.15 |
|
Sage |
$1.98 |
1 T. |
$0.44 |
|
Powdered ginger |
$1.24 |
1 t. |
$0.05 |
|
Marjoram |
$1.98 |
1 t. |
$0.11 |
|
Thyme |
$1.24 |
1 1/2 t. |
$0.09 |
|
Packed brown sugar |
$2.24 |
3 T. |
$0.10 |
|
Minced parsley |
$1.24 |
3 T. |
$0.39 |
|
Pepper |
$2.48 |
1 t. |
$0.07 |
|
Paprika |
$1.24 |
1 T. |
$0.12 |
|
Garlic salt |
$1.08 |
2 T. |
$0.24 |
|
Onion salt |
$1.08 |
2 T. |
$0.26 |
|
Chicken bouillon powder |
$3.48 |
2 T. |
$0.29 |
|
Lipton tomato cup-a-soup mix |
$2.98 |
1 package |
$0.75 |
💸 |
Cost |
|---|---|
🧾 Total Batch Cost |
$3.16 |
👨👩👧👦 Cost Per Serving |
$3.16 |
📅 Walmart prices last verified August 26, 2026. Prices may vary by location and are subject to change. Learn how to calculate the cost of a recipe on your own!
Frequently Asked Questions about KFC Chicken Seasoning Mix
Use 1 ounce of seasoning mix for each 1 cup of flour. That gives the coating enough flavor to come through after frying or baking without turning the crust salty and heavy, which is usually what happens when you start shaking in random spoonfuls and hoping for the best.
Absolutely. Coat the chicken in egg wash, dredge it in flour mixed with the seasoning, then bake until the thickest part reaches 165°F. The crust will be lighter than fried chicken, but the flavor still lands where you want it.
Count on about 6 months for the best flavor if you keep it in an airtight jar away from heat, light, and moisture. Dried spices stay safe longer than that, but their punch fades, and a seasoning mix with several leafy herbs goes dull faster than plain salt based blends. General spice storage guidance from McCormick’s spice reference backs up cool, dry storage for best quality.
You can, but you need to add salt separately or the blend will taste flat. A practical swap is 2 tablespoons onion powder plus about 2 tablespoons salt for the 2 tablespoons onion salt, then adjust later if your bouillon and soup packet already run salty.
You can still make it. Crush the dried herbs as finely as possible with a mortar and pestle, or seal them in a bag and roll them with a heavy can or rolling pin before stirring in the rest. The finer the herbs, the better the coating sticks and the less likely you are to bite into a twiggy bit of rosemary.
That is exactly the smart move. Make the full batch, label the jar with the name and date, and scoop out what you need later. Just use a dry spoon every time so moisture does not sneak in and turn the mix into a brick.
This batch makes about 1 1/2 cups of mix, which is roughly 12 ounces by volume, so it can season about 12 cups of flour using the recipe’s 1 ounce per cup ratio. In real kitchen terms, that is enough for several batches of chicken, not just one supper.
The biggest mistake is underseasoning the flour or overpacking the chicken with wet coating. Use the full ratio, shake off extra egg wash before dredging, and fry right after coating so the crust stays crisp instead of sliding off in the oil like it has somewhere better to be.
Yes, cook all poultry to 165°F in the thickest part. That is the USDA safe minimum for chicken, and it matters more than crust color because golden brown can still happen before the inside is fully done. See the USDA safe temperature chart if you want the official guideline.
Plan on 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator if you chill it promptly and keep it at 40°F or below. The USDA storage guidance for cooked chicken uses that same window, which is the safe answer and the one your future self will appreciate.
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🖨️ Print-Friendly KFC Chicken Seasoning Mix
KFC Chicken Seasoning Mix
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon sage
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 ½ teaspoons thyme
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons onion salt
- 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1 package Lipton tomato cup-a-soup mix
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine the rosemary, oregano, sage, ginger, marjoram, and thyme in a blender or clean coffee mill and process until the herbs are a fine powder. Stir in the brown sugar, parsley, pepper, paprika, garlic salt, onion salt, chicken bouillon powder, and tomato cup-a-soup mix, then seal the mixture in a jar, zipper bag, or vacuum-sealed bag.
- Use 1 ounce of seasoning mix per 1 cup of flour for coating chicken. Dip raw chicken pieces in egg wash, coat them in the seasoned flour, and fry immediately until the chicken reaches 165°F internally. This blend also works well in baked coating mixes or as a flavor boost in dishes like KFC Chicken Spice Mix style copycat meals.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
A fantastic recipe for KFC fried chicken at home! Bring the taste of your favorite Colonel’s blend to life with this copycat seasoning mix.