Despite all the recent—ahem—controversy around Cracker Barrel, it’s still a go-to place to enjoy Southern-inspired dishes that the whole family will love. But as much as we love going out to eat, we love cooking meals at home even more.
So when hunger struck, our test kitchen whipped out these Cracker Barrel copycat recipes to try out. Five Cracker Barrel classics—Chicken and Dumplings, Hash Brown Casserole, Country Fried Steak, Sawmill Gravy, and Fried Apples—were put to the test. The results? Delicious, comforting, cheesy, creamy, and absolutely restaurant-worthy.
Chicken and Dumplings
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
For the Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings recipe, Allrecipes Culinary Producer Nicole McLaughlin used a classic Rolled Dumplings recipe, one that has a nearly perfect score on the website. While McLaughlin used a pastry blender to bring her dough together, she also suggested freezing the shortening and then grating it to easily incorporate the fat into the flour. Look for the “pea-size” clumps of flour before adding the milk. After rolling it out, she cut the dough into strips, approximately 1/2 inch by 2 inches.
She started a simple chicken broth with a whole chicken, two split chicken breasts, celery, onion, salt, and pepper. In an attempt to get as close to the Cracker Barrel version, she made note of two specific things: cooking more white meat, and keeping the broth light in color. “I noticed there was more white meat in [the Cracker Barrel version], so I’m just going to throw in a couple of the bone-in split chicken breasts,” said McLaughlin. “The broth was so light that I didn’t feel like there were carrots in the stock.” McLaughlin added some bouillon and shredded her white chicken meat. Then the dumplings went in. “The goal is to turn this translucent chicken broth into something creamy,” she noted. “Hopefully, all of the flour and the starch that’s in these dumplings is going to do that as it boils.”
To ensure this, she added a slurry of cold milk and cornstarch to thicken the dish. Finally, Nicole stirred the shredded meat in the pot and voila! Delicious, copycat Chicken and Dumplings. “I mean, that’s what you call better than perfect,” said McLaughlin. “This is a good example of how being a copycat is a good thing, because I nailed this one.”
Country Fried Steak
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“What I love the most [about Cracker Barrel’s Country Fried Steak] is the crunchy breading,” said McLaughlin. She believes that saltine crackers are responsible for the restaurant’s delicious, crunchy coating. She “mostly followed” this Country Fried Steak recipe that has over 130 five-star ratings. She set up a two-step dredging station, one of milk and eggs, one of flour and finely crushed saltines.
“Cube steak is what you get to have, beef cube steak,” said McLaughlin. “It’s so affordable. And what makes it cube steak is that they partially grind it, and that’s what tenderizes this. It is a cheaper cut of meat which is typically tougher, but because they go ahead and tenderize it, it’s going to be tender when eaten.”
She served up the steak with mashed potatoes and gravy (below) before digging in. “It’s amazing that an inexpensive cut of beef like this can be so tender,” said McLaughlin. “And this is tender, but I almost think Cracker Barrel’s is even more tender. I feel like maybe, maybe we should have soaked it in buttermilk or something. I’ll do that next time. Breading it with the crackers [was an] A+. Yes. This is the quintessential perfect, old-time southern dinner.”
Sawmill Gravy
DOTDASH MEREDITH FOOD STUDIOS
After the steaks were cooked, she wiped some of the remaining oil from the skillet to make some Sawmill Gravy, which was a spin on this Mom’s Country White Gravy.
“What is country-fried steak without gravy?” asked McLaughlin. “Now, the gravy is just like the most simple old school pan milk gravy.” She added bacon grease to the skillet, then flour, to make a roux. Adding some milk, salt, and plenty of pepper makes it into a white country gravy.
“I can see why they really serve it with more gravy, because you do need some gravy for every bite,” she added.
Hash Brown Casserole
Allrecipes
Now, it was time for everyone’s favorite side, the Hash Brown Casserole. This one is super simple to throw together. Frozen hash browns, a can of condensed cream of chicken soup, plenty of cheese (McLaughlin uses Colby and Cheddar), as well as onion, butter, and seasonings of choice. Mix it all together and pop it into an oven at 350 degrees F until “it’s all heated through, hot, and bubbly,” or around 45 to 55 minutes.
“That’s a creamy hash brown casserole. I could eat this every single day.” McLaughlin exclaimed before adding, “Just the right amount of saltiness…The potatoes are beyond tender. And then just on the top, it’s a little bit crispy from that cheesy crust. We were never going to go wrong with this one anyway—but it’s a winner.”
Fried Apples
Peyton Beckwith
Whether you consider it a side or a dessert, Cracker Barrel’s Fried Apples sure are a treat. Sweet and tart apples get stewed down with butter, sugar, and cinnamon until they become glossy, tender, and oh-so-delicious.
Much like in most apple desserts, the variety matters. “It really looks like they are Golden Delicious apples,” shared McLaughlin when investigating the dish from Cracker Barrel. “The skin looks just like this cooked, but it has just these little spots on it.”
After cooking down the apples for several minutes, she was ready to dig in. The dish looked super similar to the real deal, but how did it taste? “See how saucy and tender they are? The skin on the outside looks the same,” said McLaughlin. “Delightfully sweet. Still a little bit juicy on the inside. That warm cinnamon—the smell…It’s just like a warm, sweet hug.”
As McLaughlin summarized at the end, “From the rocking chairs to the main menu, nothing screams comfort more than Cracker Barrel.” And now, you can recreate these Cracker Barrel classics from the comfort of your own home.
Dining and Cooking