What Makes KFC's Mashed Potatoes And Gravy So Good?

While some sides might be incredibly polarizing, it's safe to say that when mashed potatoes make it onto the dinner table, protests are few and far between. Still, it's no secret that mashed potatoes often taste better from a restaurant than they do when they're homemade, and there's a few reasons for that. It often comes down to things like consistency, a variety of potatoes, and access to professional kitchen equipment. But that can't be all that's at work to make KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy some of the best of the best ... can it?

Even if you're not a regular fan of fast food, it's undeniable: KFC has some incredible mashed potatoes and gravy. We have some serious respect for anyone who agrees that these traditional sides are so good that they can definitely be a meal on their own, because there's no shame in admitting that. But what is it that makes these particular potatoes so darn good? And perhaps more importantly, are there some trade secrets that you might be able to use at home to improve on your favorite buttery mashed potatoes recipe? It turns out that while some of KFC's secrets may remain exactly that — secret — we did discover some pretty neat things about the chain's famous mashed potatoes and gravy.

In a now-deleted video on TikTok, a KFC employee gave viewers a peek behind the curtain of the chain's kitchens and said that the mashed potatoes that have fans raving are, in fact, instant mashed potatoes. They revealed a bag labeled "KFC One Step Mashed Potato Mix," and said that it was just a matter of mixing in some water, waiting a bit for magic to happen, and that's it! 

That might seem shocking, but here's the thing: It's entirely possible that the use of instant mashed potatoes is one of the things that sets this side above so many others. Instant mashed potatoes are brilliant for a few reasons. Not only do they make a perfectly uniform and consistent product, but don't be fooled into assuming that instant mashed potatoes are an imitation product or filled with artificial ingredients and additives — high-quality instant potatoes are actually just pure potatoes. Instant mashed potatoes are nothing more than dehydrated potatoes, which means they can be preserved at their peak. Potatoes also come with a variety of nutritional benefits — including being rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals — which are preserved in the dehydration process. So, instant mashed potatoes have all the nutritional value of fresh mashed potatoes, and are made with simple and straightforward ingredients. Plus, you're not going to be getting some of those questionable bits that might sneak into mashed potatoes when you're making them from a bag that's been sitting in the pantry for a while. 

Take a peek at the ingredients in KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy, and you'll find they use an incredibly common ingredient that's often yet unfairly much-maligned: MSG. (It's not listed in the ingredients for the potatoes, so it's safe to assume that it's added to the gravy.) MSG — or monosodium glutamate — is a fascinating ingredient that biochemist Dr. Kikunae Ikeda initially isolated from a seaweed broth. He wanted to know what it was that gave vegetarian dishes a meaty flavor, and the answer was MSG. 

MSG is widely used as a flavor enhancer, adding umami — which is one of our basic tastes — to whatever it's used in. Before naysayers say they're giving up on KFC because of this ingredient, let's clarify that it's repeatedly been found to be perfectly safe. Rumors persist about the dangers of MSG because of a decades-old smear campaign, in which flawed scientific research rode a wave of xenophobia across the country. Reported side effects of consuming MSG were labeled the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome," and one of the reasons that it was such an oft-repeated claim that's persisted long past science has debunked many of the perceived dangers is rooted in racist views questioning the quality of Chinese restaurants and food. 

Fortunately for fans of KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy, using MSG is a great way you can upgrade your homemade version. Bottles of MSG can be purchased on Amazon, like this 12-ounce bottle from SPQR Seasoning.

Interestingly, one of the reasons that MSG was created and marketed was to offer an alternative for adding flavor while helping to lower the sodium content in many foods. However, in the case of KFC's mashed potatoes, at the same time MSG enhances the flavors of the gravy, the chain also doubles down on the salt instead of backing off on it. In addition to MSG, one serving of its mashed potatoes and gravy contains a whopping 500 milligrams of sodium. 

That alone might not sound like much, but let's look at the recommendations from the American Heart Association. Experts say that the sodium content in the average American diet is much too high, and that ideally most adults should be getting no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium in their diets — but even lowering your average intake to 2,300 milligrams is a major improvement over what most people get. One serving of KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy is a huge chunk of that daily recommended sodium intake, but it's also why this side tastes so good.

Salt is one of the world's most popular flavor enhancers, especially when used in savory foods. Not only does it add umami — just as MSG does — but it does so without overpowering the other flavors that are present in the foods. In other words, it allows those potatoes and gravy to truly shine.

Here's a little bit of unofficial information that was revealed in a few different places by a few different KFC employees, including in a video originally posted to TikTok by @cheddar4.7, and in a Channel 4 documentary called "Inside KFC At Christmas," as reported by the Independent. In the documentary, employees at a KFC in Lancashire, England said that the gravy was so good because it included "crackling." Those are the bits that are left over from frying the chicken, and the employee in the TikTok video said the same thing.

In that video, gravy is mixed and made with these leftover bits of chicken, which are pretty much super-concentrated flavor nuggets. It's heated several times, stirred completely, and the perfectly blended gravy is then used as sides and with the mashed potatoes. Does every location do this? It's unclear, but it's worth noting that chicken fat is one of the ingredients listed for the mashed potatoes and gravy. 

And let's be clear about something — that's not weird, that's delicious. There are a number of unexpected ingredients that can seriously upgrade any gravy, and it's common practice to make Thanksgiving gravy from the drippings left in the pan from the roasted turkey. Using those drippings as a creamy smoothness to the gravy that you just don't get without a little fat, and it seems as though KFC — at least, in some locations — is doing the same thing on a larger scale.

There are a lot of things that go into making KFC's fried chicken so good, including its signature blend of herbs and spices. It's reported that even KFC's head chef doesn't know the precise details of the top-secret recipe, and while that hasn't kept people from guessing, it also means that there's a little bit of fascinating food science going on here.

Steven Witherly is the author of "Why Humans Like Junk Food: The Inside Story on Why You Like Your Favorite Foods, the Cuisine Secrets of Top Chefs, and How to Improve Your Own Cooking Without a Recipe." There's a whole section on KFC, and in 2016, he sat down to speak with Business Insider about some of the things he'd learned about the chain. One of the reasons that KFC is such a massive fan favorite is that when you walk into a store or open a bag, you're not entirely sure what you're smelling. The same thing applies to the mashed potatoes and gravy: There's a mix of umami flavors going on there, and when your brain can't instantly identify what's going on, it stays interested. Humans are weird, aren't they?

Witherly explained: "If, say, KFC was [a] rosemary-dominant aroma profile, the brain can burn out on rosemary really fast, but not if the 11 herbs and spices don't have a distinctive aroma that the nose and brain can memorize. You just can keep eating this forever without sensory burnout."

This one might seem pretty simple, but consistency is an incredibly important part of what makes a restaurant really, really good. When you order KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy, you know exactly what you're going to be getting. You can stand in line or sit in the drive-thru, looking forward to a hot, heaping scoop of that delicious side — and when you get it, you're not going to be disappointed.

There's a lot to be said for that, and KFC absolutely understands how important consistency is. Back in 2016, it was announced that the chain was kicking off a "Colonel Quality Taste Guarantee," which involved what was called "Re-Colonelization." That might sound like something out of a dystopian science fiction novel, but it was basically a recertification program for kitchen staff that was designed to ensure consistency and quality across what was then more than 4,200 locations. Also? KFC promised customers who weren't satisfied with any part of a meal would get a replacement. 

We cited instant mashed potatoes as one reason KFC's side is so good, and part of the reason it works is because it helps maintain consistency. Instant potatoes remove variables and the potential for weird tastes, which in turn helps the chain keep focused on quality control. That all leads to happy customers that will come back.

Here's another fun bit of food science that helps explain why KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy are so good, and it has to do with what else you're eating alongside it. If you're one of the countless people who opt for one of KFC's bowls, or if you just dip some of that fried chicken into your potatoes and gravy, you're experiencing something that food scientists have known for a long time. Opposite textures work really well together, so when you combine the smoothness of the gravy, the creaminess of the potatoes, and the crunch of that delicious fried chicken, you've got a winning combination. 

The same principle is at work when you add a classic French onion dip to raw vegetables or potato chips, and the whole delicious bite is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Texture also isn't just about the way food feels when you eat it, it's also about sound, too. We hear the crunch of the chicken but feel the creaminess of the mashed potatoes, and it's just downright delightful. These combinations of textures and sounds enhances the flavor of KFC's mashed potatoes without the brand needing to make any changes to the dish's ingredients or cooking process.

Some chains are described by a flagship product: There's Arby's roast beef sandwiches, Burger King's Whoppers, and McDonald's Big Macs. Their fries are delicious, sure, but it's also possible to argue that their other sides just aren't as popular or as good as KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy. That's in part because of the Colonel himself, who poured just as much into the sides as the chicken.

In a 1970 interview with The New Yorker, he spoke a bit about just how important it was to him to have not only incredible chicken, but gravy — which was made with the cracklin's we mentioned earlier — that was so good it would "make you throw away the durn chicken and just eat the gravy." And let's be clear here, too: Today's gravy is good, but it's not the Colonel's original gravy.

When KFC started to grow and expand, the gravy underwent a major overhaul to make it more straightforward and consistent. That New Yorker piece quoted one exec as saying, "the Colonel's gravy was fantastic, but you had to be a Rhodes Scholar to cook it." The gravy got simplified, and that's kind of a shame. Another exec added that, "With the Colonel, it isn't money that counts, it's artistic talent." The Colonel was notorious for making the rounds to various locations and critiquing the gravy with a cane-shaking rage, but we'd argue that the Colonel's emphasis on good gravy helped make this side a lasting favorite.