Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans: Which Serves the Superior Breakfast?

Cracker Barrel may be known for its quirky, fun gift shop, while Bob Evans is more of an accessible neighborhood hotspot, but you can grab a country-style breakfast from either restaurant. The farmhouse favorites at both eateries draw massive breakfast crowds each weekend, and both menus are also long and all-inclusive. So which restaurant actually does breakfast better?

We tried some of the breakfast staples and signature menu items from each restaurant to give the question a thorough investigation. Comparing favorites like eggs-to-order and bacon, plus some specialty selections unique to each restaurant, we were able to get our fill of breakfast and brunch dishes — served all day at both Cracker Barrel and Bob Evans. Both chains focus on classic dishes, including pancakes and hearty skillets and platters. 

There are still some significant differences, though. Cracker Barrel has more ham options, while Bob Evans’ biscuits are an overwhelming favorite. Cracker Barrel sells some its favorites at the country store, so you can recreate them at home, but Bob Evans’ menu is more consistent, so you’ll always be able to find your regular order. Ultimately, though, the quality of the food, and the number of options, were the main factors.

Both restaurants offer eggs to order. You can get scrambled, over easy, sunny side up, and many more versions. They are delicious at both spots, although Cracker Barrel leans more toward crispy fried eggs, that somehow always taste better than what we make at home. Bob Evans’ scrambled eggs are fluffy and light, although they’re overshadowed on the plate by the tasty bacon. Cracker Barrel, on the other hand, has slightly larger plates which help the eggs maintain a bit more space from the other items in your order. 

If you like your eggs as a base for the rest of your breakfast, you’ll be happy with the options at either restaurant. But if you want to focus only on your eggs, eating them without a bite of toast, bacon, or hashbrowns, you’ll be happier at Cracker Barrel. We gave Cracker Barrel the win when it comes to eggs to order because you can combine them with other favorites or eat them solo, allowing for more customization.

Cracker Barrel has the edge when it comes to ham because they offer multiple types and styles. They’re all very salty, however, so you may want to pick something else if you’re limiting sodium in your diet. In fact, some of Cracker Barrel’s highest-sodium menu options are their breakfast meats.

Bob Evans’ bacon was crispier in our sample, so if you’re a dedicated bacon lover at breakfast, you may want to stick with Bob Evans. You can order the Cracker Barrel bacon “extra crispy,” which we recommend unless you really like a chewier option. But other than the bacon, all of the breakfast meats at Bob Evans were as expected and nothing out of the ordinary.

Overall, it was the variety of breakfast meats at Cracker Barrel that won us over. You can choose from bacon, sugar-cured ham, and country ham. You can even get a whole sugar-cured ham seasonally to enjoy at home.

The Bob Evans sausage links are super tasty, especially when you pair them with the restaurant’s syrup. But just like ham and bacon, Cracker Barrel offers more options for sausage, which gives them an advantage.

At Cracker Barrel, you can choose between standard sausage, spicy chicken sausage, and impossible (meatless) sausage. All of these options are available with platter breakfasts, including the Country Boy Breakfast and Old Timer’s Breakfast. Larger platters, like the Grandma’s Sampler, come with three meats, so you can try a little bit of everything. A comparable option at Bob Evans is the Double Meat Farmer’s Choice breakfast, although it isn’t quite a sizable as the massive Grandma’s Sampler.

One of the big differences between the two chains is how the sausages comes. At Cracker Barrel, the smoked sausages are served as patties. The only links are the spicy chicken sausages, which have quite a bit of kick, especially for breakfast. At Bob Evans, there are more traditional sausage links, which work well on a platter but can’t be easily added to a DIY breakfast sandwich.

The Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole is one the restaurant’s most popular offerings, and sets the restaurant apart from Bob Evans and its standard home fries or hashbrowns. Hashbrown casserole comes as a simple potato dish loaded with extras, in a skillet with meat and eggs.

The hashbrown casserole started as a limited time offering, but quickly became a top favorite among customers, earning it a feature spot on the permanent menu. You can also get it loaded with cheese and bacon as a side. If you’re set on regular hashbrowns, Cracker Barrel does offer them, but they’re definitely overshadowed by the upgraded versions on the menu. The hashbrown casserole also makes our list of hidden gems at Cracker Barrel and is worth a trip just to try this tasty and savory dish.

If you like more classic breakfast potatoes, like crispy home fries, stick with Bob Evans, since they’re not included on the Cracker Barrel menu. But the tasty hashbrown casserole options give Cracker Barrel the top ranking when it comes to breakfast potatoes. Not only was the hashbrown casserole skillet our favorite breakfast potato dish, but on most days it’s our top choice for breakfast overall between the two restaurants.

Bob Evans’ biscuits are flaky and delicious, popular in breakfast sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, and just on their own. Bob Evans also has whipped butter, as well as jelly and honey, to put over the biscuits. Moreover, Bob Evans also offers banana bread and cinna-biscuits (which are dusted with cinnamon sugar)as nice alternatives if you want something a bit sweeter. It’s the extra bread option that puts Bob Evans on top in this category.

Cracker Barrel has good breakfast bread, but nothing out of the ordinary. The biscuits are not quite a flaky when compared side-by-side with Bob Evans’ biscuits. If you are a true biscuit aficionado, you’ll probably be happier with the Bob Evans version. We have to give the nod to Bob Evans just because their biscuits were much fluffier and flakier, two must-have qualities in a biscuit in our book.

It was pretty hard to decide between Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel pancakes, because both were tasty, fluffy, and delicious. Bob Evans’ most extravagant pancake option is blueberry with rich syrup. There are plenty of juicy blueberries on the top of three light and sweet pancakes. They also offer a griddle stacker with eggs, bacon, and sausage for an even heartier, savory twist on pancakes.

Cracker Barrel has a lot of pancake flavors, including favorites like chocolate chip and blueberry, as well as super sweet stuffed versions. Some are limited-time offerings with unexpected pancake upgrades, such as the Oreo stuffed pancakes and strawberry cheesecake stuffed pancakes. These are super sweet and make a good shared breakfast dessert for the table. 

Each mini bottle of syrup at Cracker Barrel comes warmed, a detail that makes the pancake order even better. This little addition helps put Cracker Barrel on top when it comes to pancakes.

Bob Evans has a nice lineup of breakfast skillets, including one of our particular favorites, the tasty and hearty Sunshine Skillet. The dish uses scrambled eggs as a base and is topped with diced breakfast potatoes, sausage crumbles, gravy, and plenty of cheese. It’s cooked and served directly in a cast iron skillet. A similar option is Bob Evans’ Everything Breakfast, which is closer to an egg scramble full of sausage, bacon, tomatoes, green onions, and cheese. You can also get one of numerous omelets or build your own.

Cracker Barrel wins out in the hashbrown casserole skillet department, but other than this super popular option, the menu is pretty limited when it comes to omelets and skillets. The hashbrown casserole skillet, which comes with bacon or steak, plus cheese, fried onions, egg, tomatoes, and green onions, is almost enough to give Cracker Barrel the edge. But, in the end, Bob Evans gets the top prize for skillets because they have so many choices.

Both restaurants have heavy, hearty breakfasts on their menus, but there are still some lighter options and sides. In addition to the build your own omelet option, Bob Evans has the Fresh Start omelet, loaded with veggies including arugula, mushrooms, tomatoes, and two types of peppers. It also has chicken sausage, which is a bit leaner than the chain’s other breakfast meat options. Bob Evans’ breakfast tacos come with tasty salsa and sour cream on the side, so you can add just a little bit to keep things lighter.

At Cracker Barrel, fruit, grits, and egg whites are options that aren’t as massive as most of the breakfast platters. The Old Timer’s breakfast with two eggs, one breakfast meat, and one side is the smallest option on the regular menu. If you go with fruit and egg whites, it becomes extra lean. Cracker Barrel also offers impossible sausage for those who don’t want to eat meat but still want something savory.

Bob Evans gets the nod here because they offer more large menu items that are loaded with vegetables, rather than just sides or alterations. Bob Evans also offers occasional “kids eat free” promotions, helping you save money on smaller portions for younger diners.

Cracker Barrel’s biscuits and gravy come as a side order with one of the larger breakfast platters, or on their own. You can also get them with bacon or sausage as a side. The biscuits tend to be on the thin side, but the gravy is rich and savory. It’s pretty salty, however, so if you’re watching your sodium intake, you may want to get the gravy on the side and just use a bit. On the other hand, if you really love the gravy, you can get it slathered over fried chicken in the Grandpa’s Country Fried Breakfast.

Bob Evans has the better biscuits and a wider selection of biscuit-centered entrees. You can get the buttery bites served with sausage gravy, in a biscuit sandwich or platter, or on their own. The gravy at Bob Evans also has hearty bits of sausage right in the bowl — just like our buttermilk biscuit and sausage gravy recipe — which is what gives Bob Evans a slight advantage when it comes to biscuits and gravy.

Bob Evans has a biscuit sandwich platter filled with eggs, cheese, and breakfast meat as well as a tasty breakfast taco. This, and the other breakfast sandwiches, were some of our favorite menu items at Bob Evans, and one thing we’d go out of our way to get. Bob Evans’ signature Griddle Stacker – sausage, cheese, bacon, and an egg served between three mini hotcakes — was not just our favorite breakfast sandwich, but our favorite menu item, hands down. 

Cracker Barrel has a simple egg sandwich on the menu that’s served on tasty sourdough bread, but it’s not nearly as memorable as the sandwiches from Bob Evans. Other than the simple sourdough sandwich, there aren’t any sammies on Cracker Barrel’s breakfast menu unless you make your own on a biscuit. Ultimately, it’s the wide assortment of tasty menu items that include special combinations like sweet pancakes with savory eggs and bacon, or breakfast tacos with salsa that earns Bob Evans top prize when it comes to breakfast sandwiches.

Cracker Barrel has a distinct edge when it comes to signature platters. There are plenty to choose from, including the Country Boy, Momma’s Breakfast, and Grandma’s Breakfast, which are all quite large. Cracker Barrel portions are large enough to have leftovers or even share at the table. They come with eggs to order, breakfast meats, sides, and a choice of pancakes or french toast. You can even build your own breakfast with up to five eggs, plus all of the extras that you want.

Bob Evans also has large portions, but the biggest Farmer’s Choice breakfast only comes with up to two meats, unless you add an extra side. They tend to have more available for those who want a smaller plate but still want to taste a bit of everything. 

The winner really comes down to how hungry you are and how much food you want, since there are tasty platters at both restaurants. We give Cracker Barrel the win in this category because we’re big fans of starting the day with a giant, satisfying breakfast.

Both restaurants have a lot of sweet breakfast items, especially in the pancake department. The stuffed pancakes from Cracker Barrel are practically a dessert, but make a nice item to share at the table. As previously mentioned, you can get them stuffed with chocolate and cream for an Oreo-style pancake or with strawberries and cheesecake filling. There are also four flavors of regular pancakes, including chocolate chip, blueberry, fried apple, country peach, strawberry, and our favorite, pecan. You can also get Cracker Barrel’s pancake mix and syrup at the country store to remake your favorites at home.

The Bob Evans pancakes also have nice toppings, including blueberries, bananas, and strawberries. The biggest shoutout goes to the restaurant’s sweet and crunchy cinna-biscuits, which you can order as a nice breakfast appetizer for your table. But there aren’t nearly as many sweet pancake options on the menu, so we have to give Cracker Barrel top prize in the sweets category.

Cracker Barrel tweaks the menu multiple times per year to pull in seasonal items, like apples in the fall and spices in the winter months. These can often end up being offered again or annually, giving customers fun traditions to look forward to when they return.

Many of the top favorites start as seasonal or limited time offerings, then make their way onto the regular menu at the insistence of happy customers. One limited release option we tried was the Shrimp ‘n Grits Skillet. This was unique among the lineup, which tends to feature eggs, meats, and potatoes. The shrimp dish includes andouille sausage and a Creole seasoning that is savory with just a hint of warm kick.

The breakfast tacos we tried and enjoyed at Bob Evans were also a limited release option, and had a nice kick from the salsa, which was served on the side. Bob Evans offers new seasonal items occasionally, but far fewer than Cracker Barrel, so Cracker Barrel earns top marks here for its ever-expanding menu.

After trying plenty of tasty platters, fluffy pancakes, and eggs to order, we have to say that Cracker Barrel has the better breakfast lineup overall. There were definitely categories Bob Evans’ won out in, especially when it comes to breakfast sandwiches and biscuits. But the extensive Cracker Barrel menu, which includes signature offerings like stuffed pancakes, massive breakfast platters and our favorite hashbrown casserole, is hard to beat. 

This restaurant also revamps the menu from time to time, putting new dishes to the test and adding the best to the permanent lineup. We’re confident that anything that ends up on the Cracker Barrel menu has been thoroughly vetted and is worth trying. We also liked that Cracker Barrel offers some of its popular breakfast mixes and toppings, like their pancake mix and syrup, at the country store attached to the restaurant. Cracker Barrel is all about traditions, so it’s nice to be able to replicate the flavors at home.

Ultimately, Cracker Barrel took the top prize based on their extensive selection and great menu of seasonal and limited release breakfasts. The restaurant also has a lot of options in different sizes, so whether you want a simple breakfast or prefer a larger feast, you can find something on the Cracker Barrel menu that you’ll love.

We tried breakfast items from both restaurants, comparing for taste and texture. Of course, eggs, bacon, and sausage were must-try favorites, and both Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel have plenty of different versions on the menu. Pancakes, including classic versions and dishes with extras like chocolate chips and blueberries, were on our order list as well.

We also looked at overall offerings and how much customization we could do to get the breakfast that we wanted. We tried seasonal and limited release menu dishes, sampling some of the new options, as well as classic favorites.

Some of our favorites ended up being specialty options, such as the Griddle Stacker from Bob Evans and the hashbrown casserole at Cracker Barrel. While each restaurant puts its own spin on breakfast, either one is a good place to enjoy a hearty, classic meal, try a popular special menu items, or try a sample of different dishes.