KFC To Offer Nuggets Nationwide Following Successful Test Run

By 1963, the year chicken nuggets were invented in a Cornell University lab, KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders had already sold his original restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, and established Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises nationwide. In fact, by the following year, the chain had reached the 600-restaurant mark.

Chicken nuggets really didn't become a fast food staple, however, until 1981, the year after the Colonel's death. That was the year McDonald's first debuted chicken nuggets as a menu item. KFC soon followed suit, introducing its own "Kentucky nuggets" four years later. It was only fitting for a franchise specializing in chicken to add what was proving to be a trendy menu item.

Naturally, those original nuggets contained the Colonel's signature breading blend of 11 herbs and spices, but it has been years since the nuggets have been available at the world-famous chicken chain. Well, it had been years. The iconic chicken chain recently announced via press release that after a positive performance in a trial run in 2022, original recipe white meat chicken nuggets will return to KFC menus beginning next week.

Last June, KFC tested out their breaded chicken nuggets — which featured the Colonel's original and closely-guarded 1939 recipe — at a few restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to KFC, the tests were "wildly successful." They must have been, because on Monday, March 27, the original recipe chicken nuggets will once again be showcased on KFC menus across the U.S.

KFC reports that the hand-breaded, all-white meat chicken nuggets will be sold in boxes of 5, 8, 12, and 36 pieces, the 5-piece starting at just $3.49. The nuggets will likewise be offered in combo meals, accompanied by a biscuit, drink, and another menu item featuring a closely guarded recipe: KFC's secret recipe French fries.

To enhance the original recipe flavor in its nuggets, KFC has announced that a number of dipping sauces will be offered, too, including buffalo ranch, classic ranch, honey BBQ, honey mustard, and KFC sauce. The latter's recipe, like that of the secret recipe French fries and the herbs and spices in the original recipe chicken nuggets, has not been publicly divulged, but the sauce is thought to contain ketchup and mustard, along with several other proprietary ingredients.