The 10 Best Breakfast Items At Cracker Barrel
Known for inexpensive menu items and homestyle cooking, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants have been serving Southern-style comfort food for over 50 years. If you've taken a road trip across the U.S., you've likely passed by or stopped at one of the chain's locations; however, you won't find a Cracker Barrel in some states. Not only do they have a full menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but every restaurant has a gift store where you can buy eccentric, old-fashioned trinkets, snacks, candies, toys, and more. Their stores even sell mixes of their most-loved products, such as biscuits and dumpling mixes. Between the antiquated country store and the extensive menu, including seasonal menus during holidays like Thanksgiving, Cracker Barrel restaurants have much to offer.
As they are known for Southern cuisine like chicken fried chicken, potatoes prepared multiple ways, and anything covered in gravy, their breakfast is often a combination of staples, like eggs or pancakes, with something fried. Aiming for a more diverse variety, Cracker Barrel has added more breakfast items in recent years, yet some classics remain favorites. Since they serve breakfast all day, you can enjoy your favorites any time. These are some of the best breakfast foods on the menu.
Buttermilk Pancakes
Whether you eat them with a platter or as an add-on, Cracker Barrel's pancakes are a shining star — the number of pancakes they sell each year is astounding. With their buttermilk batter cooked until crispy on the edges, this breakfast staple is soft, golden, and delicious. Plus, they are served with a tasty cane maple syrup that comes in a miniature bottle. Their pancake syrup might not be as pure as expected, but it still enhances the breakfast. The restaurant's pancakes are so loved that you can now buy the premade mix in their store. If you cook them at home, the trick is butter. Even if you use cooking spray or a little oil to fry your pancakes, add butter to the pan to get those crunchy, golden edges while keeping the middle fluffy.
Seeing how you can make them at home, you might think they aren't ordered as much in-house — but they are. Among the many breakfast foods at Cracker Barrel, the pancakes remain a top recommendation. Their continued popularity is a testament to just how tasty they are.
Hashbrown casserole
Cracker Barrel is known for its delicious hashbrown casserole side dish. Because of its high demand, the restaurant introduced a loaded hashbrown casserole as well as a main course of hashbrown casserole with eggs and steak or bacon. Of all the foods you should be ordering at Cracker Barrel, the hashbrown casserole arguably tops the list. While not all reviews will be positive, one thing most diners agree on is the tasty hashbrown casserole. Its simple ingredients consist of shredded potatoes, chopped onions, Colby cheese, salt, pepper, and their undisclosed seasoning blend. The only difference between the classic side and the elevated loaded casserole is that it's grilled and topped with more melted Colby cheese and pieces of bacon.
Because of its savory flavors, this crispy, cheesy twist on hashbrowns stands out. A serious upgrade on typical hashbrowns, the restaurant's side dish is hearty, delicious, and emulated in several different copycat recipes.
Stuffed Cheesecake Pancakes
One of the newer obsession-worthy items on Cracker Barrel's breakfast menu is the Stuffed Cheesecake Pancakes platter. The buttermilk pancakes are already a hit at the restaurant, but this breakfast takes them to another level. Even though it may seem more like dessert, it's actually not sickly sweet. Because this breakfast is served with eggs and your choice of bacon or sausage, the saltiness offsets the sweetness of the stuffed pancakes. As far as the stuffing, it's a delicious flavor combination of cheesecake and fresh strawberries, then it's topped with strawberry syrup and powdered sugar. Fresh strawberries make a big difference in this dish by cutting back on the sugary taste and relying on the fruit's natural sweetness instead of overwhelming artificial flavoring.
Less stuffed than, say, a chicken breast, the pancakes are more filled with cheesecake and strawberries and then folded over. It's a mess, but a tasty one. Most diners who eat this are impressed, and reviews are all over social media sites, especially TikTok, with users filming their experience eating these pancakes.
Bacon n' Egg Hashbrown Casserole
Since the famed side dish has been loved for so long, Cracker Barrel took the next step and created a main course out of the hashbrown casserole. Their Bacon n' Egg Hashbrown Casserole comes off the grill and is topped with bacon, scrambled eggs, fried onions, melted cheese, and diced tomatoes. By taking a classic and making it even heartier, Cracker Barrel created another fan-favorite. Of all the breakfast foods the chain restaurant offers, this variation of the hashbrown casserole is arguably one of the best. With its crispy, salty bacon and shredded potatoes, plus the melty cheese and fresh vegetables, this course exceeds even the loaded hashbrown casserole.
Just like the traditional side, this meal is often recreated with home recipes. Yet, while cooks are coming close in their home kitchens, nothing quite beats Cracker Barrel's take. Though breakfast casseroles aren't a new concept, the restaurant's tried and true method reminds us why we love this dish so much.
Old Timer's Breakfast
If there's anything comparable to a breakfast sampler on Cracker Barrel's menu, it's the Old Timer's Breakfast platter. When you order this, you get a little taste of everything — eggs, grits, fried apples or hashbrown casserole, eggs, bacon or sausage, plus biscuits and sawmill gravy. All that's missing in this traditional breakfast is pancakes, which you can always add to your meal. Because it includes so many different breakfast items, the Old Timer's Breakfast is understandably a long-running fave. Even the restaurant knows it's one of their classic favorites, and they have kept it on their menu for years.
One diner shared her first Cracker Barrel experience with Insider and noted that even though this breakfast dish appeared to be basic, it was very flavorful with that homemade touch that the restaurant is loved for. If everything is cooked correctly and served warm (and it usually is), this is absolutely a go-to for all of your quintessential Southern breakfast foods.
Biscuits n' Gravy
Cracker Barrel's buttermilk biscuits consistently get rave reviews. Not only do they come before the meal in a basket alongside cornbread, but they are also part of their main course, or side dish, of biscuits and gravy. These soft, buttery, warm, and fluffy delights are exactly what a biscuit should be, by Southern standards. Moreover, the creamy sawmill gravy tastes homemade. Sometimes when you order biscuits and gravy, the biscuits are dry and the gravy turns lumpy. But this classic and delicious combo is done right at the chain restaurant.
As far as reviews from diners, the buttermilk biscuits and sawmill gravy rarely have complaints. Guests of the Branson, Missouri location have said the dish is to die for in their TripAdvisor review, one TikTok user said they are "gangster," and some Reddit users have even tried to make a homemade version of the biscuits and gravy at home. With multiple positive reviews across the U.S. and various attempts to make it at home, it's safe to say this breakfast is enjoyed time and time again.
French toast
Much like their buttermilk pancakes, Cracker Barrel's French toast is loved for its crispy edges and fluffy interior. While you can add on a serving of French toast, it also comes as a full platter, called Momma's French Toast Breakfast. The course comes with four slices, eggs cooked to your liking, and a salty side of bacon or sausage. Then, of course, it is topped with their signature syrup. What sets their French toast apart from others is it's made with sourdough bread, giving it a heartiness that delivers a perfect crunch on the outside and softness on the inside. It also combats some of the sweetness associated with French toast.
Some rank their French toast as the best of the bunch (or should we say brunch?), and it's easy to see why. Have you ever ordered French toast and it's mushy or floppy? Or have you made it at home and ended up with over-soaked bread that falls apart before frying? Cracker Barrel's version is sturdy with a golden-brown deliciousness that makes it worth eating every time you visit the restaurant.
Momma's Pancake Breakfast
Cracker Barrel takes their infamous buttermilk pancakes to another level by turning them into a full breakfast platter. Since their pancakes are so well-loved, it's no surprise that the full-sized breakfast also gets excellent reviews. How do you make perfect pancakes even better? Add more breakfast essentials, of course. First, you choose your pancakes — there's pecan, blueberry with blueberry syrup, or the original buttermilk style. Then you load up with sides like eggs and bacon or sausage. Remember, you can always substitute sides and create your own platter.
This combination is so popular that Cracker Barrel gave us another variation — pancake tacos. With basically the same ingredients as Momma's Pancake Breakfast, the tacos consist of loading the eggs and choice of meat into the pancake, rolling or folding it over, and enjoying it as a "taco". This means that while you can order the Pancake Taco breakfast dish, you can also make a taco with your regular pancakes and sides. Either way you go about it, these platters are super tasty.
Fried apples
Although they are often served as a dessert, Cracker Barrel's fried apples are considered a breakfast side — and we're not mad about it. Even though they technically aren't even fried, the sweet side dish still produces warm, soft apples that melt in your mouth. Instead, the restaurant seasons apple slices with cinnamon, and then bakes them in the oven. Different copycat recipes also use the oven, while others use a slow cooker.
Occasionally, diners complain about the apples having skins, but it doesn't detract from the flavor of the gooey, cinnamon sauce that the apples swim in. Some diners don't seem to care at all, like this TikTok user's child who adores them. But if you remove the skins, the apples risk becoming mushy, whereas Cracker Barrel's fried apples still have a nice crunch while also being soft from the bake. However you try to achieve Cracker Barrel's breakfast dish at home, know that the original is waiting for you inside the restaurant and probably isn't leaving any time soon. Being such a favorite, it also comes alongside lunch and dinner courses.
Homestyle Chicken n' French Toast
By combining two Southern breakfast classics, Cracker Barrel creates a delicious platter in their Homestyle Chicken n' French Toast. Both components of this meal are cooked to a perfect crisp, and diners often love how well-seasoned the fried chicken is. While the powdered sugar and syrup could make this dish seem too sweet, the sourdough bread as well as the savory chicken pairs wonderfully with the sweetness. Plus, chicken and waffles are known for being a delightful duo — substituting French toast is just taking these comfort foods to another level of satisfaction.
Cracker Barrel's French toast is perfectly cooked until it's fluffy and crunchy, easily confirming its spot as a winning breakfast food. Then, their Sunday Homestyle Chicken is coated in buttermilk batter, breaded, and deep-fried until it's golden and juicy. Honestly, we see little fault with this tasty breakfast platter. Bringing together two of their most popular dishes was a wise choice that leaves diners with full, happy bellies.