I Made 5 Cracker Barrel Favorites at Home (Country Fried Steak, Fried Apples & More) | Allrecipes
Craving Cracker Barrel comfort without the road trip? In this video, Nicole tackles five of the restaurant’s most beloved dishes—recreating the cozy, down-home flavors right in your own kitchen. From tender chicken and dumplings to sweet Southern-style fried apples, these copycat recipes deliver serious country comfort.
She starts with Cracker Barrel’s signature Chicken and Dumplings, featuring rich, slow-simmered flavor and pillowy dumplings. Next up: crispy, golden Country Fried Steak with creamy peppered Sawmill Gravy. Then she takes on their ultra-creamy, cheesy Hashbrown Casserole—an all-time favorite side. Finally, she serves up a warm skillet of Fried Apples, spiced just right and perfect for dessert or brunch.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
0:36 – Chicken and Dumplings
5:23 – Country Fried Steak
8:03 – Sawmill Gravy
10:07 – Hashbrown Casserole
12:07 – Fried Apples
Get the recipes here:
Chicken and Dumplings:
Country Fried Steak:
Sawmill Gravy:
Hashbrown Casserole:
Fried Apples:
These copycat Cracker Barrel recipes bring all the nostalgic flavor—no highway exit required. Subscribe for more comfort food classics you can make at home!
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Hey Nichole do you have a recipe for ham BBQ. Greetings watching from Pittsburgh Pa USA.
With the chicken and dumplings I would add Better than Bouillon and some yellow food coloring. Flavor and beautiful color. CB apples come in a #10 can.
In the uk Cracker Barrel, many years ago, was a strong, tasty cheddar cheese in a pack that looked like your butter sticks. I think it vanished when lots of British cheese makers started turning out different strengths of cheddar from mild to vintage/aged.
Your dumplings look so much better! I have heard they make nothing homemade , it all comes frozen.
I enjoy their food but very much dislike the sawmill gravy they serve. Awful. I like it with just regular gravy. Thanks for sharing.
When I was young, 66 now, I would visit my sister and she would make Country Fried Steak! She is getting older, and it is getting hard for her to cook. Guess maybe I should give a shot at making for her! Thank you!
You leave the crumnes!
Oh Dod I thought you were crazy as kervbarrel!
Your food always looks DELICIOUS! 🤤 THANKS for your Cracker Barrel recipe video!👍Much appreciated ❤❤❤
Up in the mountains and deep in the hollar, my papaw made a sheet pan of biscuits and a skillet full of fried apples every morning before going to work at the steel mill. He walked to a bus stop to go to work. Never owned a car or truck, too poor. Everyday, he would come home with a paper sack of a few items from the store. After a short rest he would be out in the garden. There was always fried apples and biscuits covered in tea towels sitting on the old farm table in the kitchen. Wonderful memories.
Holy smokes! Made my mouth water!
Nicole I enjoy so much watching you cook and share all those wonderful recipes. You are my calming medicine for this turbulent time in our politics. Thank you so much for what you do
Just be organized and have a plan then it’s a snap. Food is always better at home. You can customize to your own taste.
Chicken fried steak breading has way too much salt ugh although it does look delicious including everything else.
That’s Good Shawty!
How do you adjust the country fried steak recipe if you’re doing the buttermilk solution?
Thanks. Now I can eat Cracker Barrel food without having to give my money to MAGATS. YEE HAW!
I feel like she is about to solve the r**pe and mu***r of my friends … and then make a documentary about her mom. This is why i am drawn to Olivia Benson, food contributor!😊
Oh-Do-U 😮 laughing out loud 🤣
I really enjoyed your video! I love Cracker Barrel and I enjoy learning new techniques for Fall. I look forward to seeng more recipes in the future.
This is what everyone in the South grew up eating. THAT is why the Cracker Barrel was such a hit and spread across the country. Good Southern comfort food. Good video
I’m a home cook and Unlocking Your Inner Chef by The Steam Pot is the one book I wish every beginner had, it can save years of kitchen anxiety and recipe dependence.
This looks amazing and my husbands favorite meal of all time. I'll make him pay me for this meal..LOL I'm just kidding. Tbh, your freshly made food looks a lot more appetizing to me than what you got from CB. I think you kicked it up a notch.
Cracker Barrel?
How about Beef tallow in place of the Crisco?
Thanks for sharing, since I won't be going to a Crackerbarrel anymore!
I was just in the Cracker Barrell in Tulsa.. .. the new menu has Uncle Hershel's breakfast offering 2 kinds of Ham but no sausage option or substation…. However, they do offer two kinds of catfish, grilled or fried…. SERIOUSLY… CATFISH WITH EGGS FOR BREAKFAST ????? Never seen catfish on a breakfast menu. Obviously an uninformed Yankee idea of what a southerner might like 🤷🏻♂🤷🏻♂ … and the manager said computer would not allow a sausage substitution … UNBELIEVABLE.
Hashbrowns wrong. No sour cream. They only use colby cheese. No cheddar, no jack. Salt n pepper.
The country fried steak, mashed potatoes, white gravy and fried okra. Biscuit. Can’t go wrong with it. Now I am hungry!
i love their Country Fried Steak i devour the whole thing within mins.
That is NOT the recipe for Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole.. I am a chef, and my EX wanted me to make this for her.. I was promised favors for a year if I could make it.. Being the guy that I am, and not afraid to cook anything,, I researched for a week.. There is NO butter in that recipe, and there is NO sour cream.. Sawmill gravy is close.. Message me if you want the real recipe.. it is not easy to find.. I had to track down a former employee that made it every day..
Watched the other day but forgot to leave a like and comment. Good video. Good to know how to do the favorites from what was once a family favorite restaurant. In light of recent events I'm tempted to have a Red ballcap that says MCBGA. Make Cracker Barrel great again. Take care and thank you for posting this video.
7:13 it’s not cheaper in Florida!
Cracker Barrel doesn't do dark chicken in anything they actually advertise it like it's a good thing. That's why I don't eat chicken there.
Is this the same gravy they serve in the am w breakfast ?!
I love your recipes but we don't put eggs in hash brown casserole we do put sour cream
I don’t think I will be making any of it. This is a little boring. Well, I agree with one of the parties that said that Cracker Barrel items are frozen ; it probably is nobody’s making fresh chicken then dumplings. It all comes in packages. Actually mostly all restaurants food come in containers and packages comes from a company . But there are a lot of restaurants that do cook from scratch. I was just saying some seconds and some don’t. 😁🤷♀️💖💖💖💖
I know it’s a test kitchen but being able to use 2 stoves and 3 ovens is a game changer 😊
I have never bought tender cube steaks. They are always tough. Chicken fried chicken is a better alternative.
What size casserole dish
You have not been to Cracker Barrel lately. I order the Country fried steak, just last week. The Country fried steak piece was a round shape real thin, the grease that it was fried in tasted old , and it also tasted like it had been pre-'cooked. Biscuits were terrible my hash brown casserole was Luke warm. The Dumplings were so thick and dry I think even a horse would have had trouble swallowing them. I am convince that the Country fried steak was a frozen patty. The best part of the meal was the tea. The only thing good at Cracker Barrel is the Breakfast menu. Go there and eat and order the items that you just cooked for this video and then tell us what you think. I enjoy all your video's , but I think it's been awhile since you last ate there.
Cracker barrels are canned dumplings, folks….you want good dumplings, check out Paula deens cooking for a crowd…..thin….and the best ever….and crisco?.airplane lubricant…ok I'm gone
05:30 country fried steak