Cracker Barrel is known for its southern-style vibe and comfort food menu, and it’s a solid place to dine out with the family if you’re looking for some affordable menu options. While there are some Cracker Barrel dishes to avoid, there are also great deals you should take advantage of — such as dining between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The chain’s weekday dinner menu, known as Early Dinner Deals, offers cost-effective smaller portions of classic Cracker Barrel favorites during this two-hour window.
Cracker Barrel markets its Early Dinner Deals as “smaller portions at lower prices,” though it’s unclear exactly how many fewer ounces of food you get per entrée. Prices and menu items vary by location, but can be available for less than $10 per meal, including one or two sides. The Chicken n’ Dumplins, for example, only comes with one side, but the menu’s meatloaf or Steak Tips Dinner options come with two.
Are the Early Dinner Deals actually good value?
The original Cracker Barrel opened close to 60 years ago, and it’s been coming up with enticing new offerings ever since. If you’re looking for a more modest portion and don’t want to spend the extra money on a full-sized dish, then the Early Dinner Deals are definitely a good choice. However, if you’re not opposed to leftovers, they might not be as good of a deal as they seem. For example, the regular menu order of the Chicken n’ Dumplins is a larger portion with two sides for only $1 more than the Early Dinner Deal option. Since sides cost more than $3, it actually might be a better deal to just order a standard portion then take the rest home and potentially get two meals out of it.
Cracker Barrel also offers family-style meals that start at just over $40. The Chicken n’ Dumplins family meal comes with your choice of two sides and costs just over $8 per person for a family of five, making it the cheapest of any Chicken n’ Dumplins meal option. As long as the whole family can agree on what they’re in the mood for, these family-sized portions might actually be the better deal. You can also enjoy one of Cracker Barrel’s $5 Take Home Meal deals, as long as you don’t mind ordering a full-priced entrée to go with it.
