8 Foods Beloved By Dolly Parton

The late Dolly Parton left an indelible mark on music, pop culture, philanthropy, and much more. But in addition to her extensive songwriting catalog, theme park, and successful childhood literacy initiatives, she also loved a good plate of food. Dolly preferred simple dishes with big flavors, like those among her baking mix lineup. Her favorite foods weren't too dissimilar.

Born into a one-bedroom cabin in east Tennessee, many of Parton's most beloved foods were also Southern classics. These included mainstays like chicken and dumplings, biscuits and gravy, and cornbread (with her own recipe, of course.) But Parton's go-tos also covered desserts, like widely popular banana pudding and the lesser-appreciated butterscotch pie.

Parton's favorite foods weren't strictly limited to Southern classics. Some of her most regularly eaten foods were mainstays across many different cuisines, like a simple plate of scrambled eggs for breakfast or a baked potato for potentially any meal. Because she didn't like any pretentiousness with her food, it makes sense that her favorite fast food was perhaps the least self-important of them all.

Growing up with 11 siblings in a one-bedroom cabin, Parton's childhood home had to stretch a dollar when and where it could. When Dolly's mom was able to buy almost-spoiled discount bananas from the neighbor's grocery store, the family knew banana pudding was in their future. It's no wonder, then, that her mom's recipe was Dolly Parton's favorite dessert.

It's a simple recipe calling for homemade custard and meringue, the latter of which gets lightly toasted after 15 minutes in the oven. But some say it's best served at room temperature, so be sure to let it sit a bit before serving.

Dolly Parton didn't like overly complicated foods, and breakfast doesn't get much simpler than a plate of scrambled eggs. To make them just a bit fluffier, she would add just a sprinkle of ice water to the cooking eggs. As it rapidly heats, the steam gives the scrambled eggs an airier texture. However, before you scramble eggs Dolly's way, know that adding too much water will dilute their flavor.

Potatoes were one of Parton's absolute favorite foods overall. As she told EatingWell in 2024, "If I had to pick one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it'd be potatoes. ... There's not much you can't do with a potato." Delicious in countless forms, the humble potato was also one of her meals of last resort. When she was too busy or exhausted to cook, Dolly would microwave a baked potato and dress it with whatever she had on hand, including what she called a Dolly dollop: a big spoonful of sour cream.

Parton was partial to a low-carb diet during the week, but on weekends she allowed herself a little leeway on these restrictions. Cornbread was perhaps her favorite way to enjoy a few carbs as a treat. Dolly's cornbread recipe took only a cast iron pan and three ingredients: self-rising coarse cornmeal, buttermilk, and bacon drippings (plus salt and pepper). It's a great example of the type of food she liked, great flavor from simple ingredients.

Dolly wasn't your average celebrity. She actually cooked for herself and her husband, Carl Dean, regularly because she liked to. When she cooked for others, her specialty was Southern-style chicken and dumplings.

Unlike anything on a Chinese takeout menu, these dumplings are spoonfuls of flour-based dough that oven-bake on a bed of creamy shredded chicken, absorbing the flavors of the broth. Like her cornbread, it only requires a handful of common ingredients. Easy to cook, easy to enjoy, easy to see why it was a favorite.

Many Southern home cooks have their own recipes for biscuits and gravy, and Dolly Parton was no exception. People especially enjoyed her buttermilk biscuits, which she encouraged people to bake with lard and real butter for the best flavor. Similarly, her milk gravy calls for a good amount of whole milk and heavy cream, with the flavorful results speaking for themselves.

Butterscotch pie is a vintage dessert, perhaps for some unheard of, but for Dolly Parton it was an annual star at her winter holiday parties. It's essentially a custard pie made with butterscotch, brown sugar, and sweetened condensed milk, on top of a crunchy pecan crust. Fans of these throwback flavors will certainly want to give this pie a try.

There's no doubt that Dolly loved simple country cooking, but that didn't cover all her favorite foods. Dolly Parton loved eating at Taco Bell, where the famous Mexican Pizza was a big part of her go-to order. Joined by a soft shell taco Supreme, mild sauce, and rice and beans, Parton was such a big fan of the Mexican Pizza that she once called for — and later celebrated — its return.