There are lots of things to love about Cracker Barrel. There’s the opportunity to sit on the porch on one of its famous rocking chairs, the ability to buy anything from candy to quilts and household goods to hard candy, and the chance to view the beautiful antiques that adorn the walls. Some may even come for the old soda cracker barrels that gave Cracker Barrel its nostalgic name. There’s so much to love, it’s almost easy to forget people truly visit for the comforting homestyle Southern cooking evidenced in dishes like chicken fried chicken, the Texas icon that is chicken fried steak, and meatloaf. They even come for the chain’s beloved breakfasts. But the dish customers truly clamor for, with 11 million orders per year, is Chicken n’ Dumplins.
Visitors have plenty of opportunity to order the dish, which has been on Cracker Barrel’s menu since the chain opened its first restaurant 1969. It is served at both lunch and dinner. And, for those not up to a full Chicken n’ Dumplins meal, the chain launched Chicken n’ Dumplins soup in 2025 along with several other new menu items. There are no canned shortcuts for chicken and dumplings here. Both the soup and the entree feature homemade and handmade rolled buttermilk dumplings and juicy white-meat chicken. The entree has a thick, creamy chicken broth. The soup, which also has celery, carrots, and onions, has a lighter broth, and is available as a cup or bowl.
Rolled dumplings complete the dish
The rolled dumplings — which are made by rolling out the dough and cutting it into thick, wide, rectangular shapes — align with Cracker Barrel’s Southern style of cooking. Various versions of the dish emerged during the 19th century and the version with rolled dumplings took off in the South. Chicken with dropped dumplings, made by dropping balls of dough into a broth, is considered a Northern version of the dish. The dish and its variations also became known by different names across the country, like chicken and pastry in North Carolina and bott boi in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Although Chicken n’ Dumplins is one of the dishes at Cracker Barrel that has gotten bad reviews, it also gets plenty of love on social media. As one Reddit user said, “Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings taste like nostalgia and comfort for me.” A positive review on TikTok elicited one commenter to say, “Been obsessed with their chicken and dumplings since I was a kid! Always have to get it whenever I go.” With more than 600 restaurants in 44 states, most customers won’t have far to travel to get their hands on this classic.
