Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
Add Preferred SourceCopycat Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings is the flat, rolled kind you remember from the restaurant, not the puffy drop-biscuit version a lot of recipes give you instead. I make mine the old-fashioned way, rolling and cutting the dough thin so the dumplings stay dense and tender rather than fluffy.
The whole pot comes together from pantry staples, flour, baking powder, butter, and milk, with a single pound of chicken breast stretched across a big pot of broth. The part that quietly does the work is the flour on those cut dumplings, which thickens the broth as they cook.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flat, old-fashioned dumplings: rolling and cutting the dough gives you the substantial, chewy dumpling Cracker Barrel is known for, a world away from a puffy drop biscuit.
- Pantry-staple dough: the dumplings are just flour, baking powder, butter, and milk, so you’re not buying refrigerated biscuits or a bag of frozen dumplings.
- One pound of chicken goes a long way: a single pound of breast feeds four once it’s shredded back through the pot of broth and dumplings.
- No separate thickener needed: the flour clinging to the cut dumplings does that job as they cook down, so you can skip a roux or slurry.
- Better the next day: the dumplings drink up the broth in the fridge, so leftovers reheat a little thicker and I think taste even better.
Ingredients You’ll Need
A few of these are worth a note before you start; the printable card below has the full list with quantities.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: one pound poaches right in the broth, so you skip a separate pan and the broth takes on flavor from the chicken as it cooks.
- Chicken broth: six cups is both the poaching liquid and the finished broth, so use one you’d happily eat on its own. A low-sodium broth leaves you more room to season at the end.
- All-purpose flour: two cups makes the dumpling dough. Plain all-purpose keeps these dumplings pale and tender, so there’s no need for anything fancier.
- Baking powder: only half a teaspoon, and that low amount is deliberate. It’s what keeps the dumplings flat and dense instead of puffing up like biscuits.
- Butter: cut it into small pieces and use it straight from the fridge. Cold butter gives these dumplings their tender bite, the same way it does in pie dough.
- Whole milk: one cup brings the dough together. Whole milk gives the richest result, but any milk you have works, including non-dairy, with a slight change in texture.
How to Make Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Poach the chicken
Add the chicken breasts and the broth to a large pot and bring it to a boil. Let it cook for about 25 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) at its thickest point.
While it simmers, you can get the dumpling dough ready. Once the chicken is cooked through, lift it out and set it aside to shred later.
Make the dumplings
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and a little salt.
Cut in the cold butter with a fork or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs, then stir in the milk just until a dough forms. Don’t overwork it, or the dumplings turn tough.
Roll and cut the dough
Dust a clean surface with flour, roll the dough out thin, and cut it into rough triangles with a pizza cutter; the uneven edges are part of how these look.
Cooking the dumplings
Bring the broth back to a low, steady simmer and drop the dumplings in one at a time so they don’t clump together. Let them cook for about 15 minutes, until they float to the top and are cooked through.
Give the pot a gentle stir now and then so nothing sticks to the bottom, but go easy, because too much stirring is what breaks the dumplings down into mush.
Bring it all together
While the dumplings are cooking, shred the reserved chicken, stir it back in, then taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve
Ladle it into bowls and top with fresh parsley. It sits somewhere between a soup and a stew, brothy but thick with dumplings.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Let the broth tick along rather than boil hard. A rolling boil knocks the dumplings around and tears them apart, while gentle heat cooks them through with their shape intact.
- Mix the dough just until it comes together. Overworking builds up the gluten and gives you tough dumplings, so stop the moment there’s no dry flour left.
- Keep the butter cold. Warm butter melts into the flour and leaves the dumplings heavy instead of tender.
- Adjust the thickness at the end. For a thicker broth, remove a cup of the broth, whisk in a tablespoon of flour, then stir it back into the pot; for a thinner one, add a splash more broth. The dumplings keep thickening as they sit, so leftovers come out thicker than the first bowl.
- Season the broth, not just the bowl. The broth carries most of the flavor here, so taste it after the dumplings go in and add salt and pepper until it’s right. Under-seasoned broth is the most common reason a batch tastes bland.
- Shred the chicken fairly fine, so every spoonful gets some chicken along with the dumplings.
Recipe Variations
- Carrots, celery, and peas all suit the pot, fresh or frozen. It works because the broth gives them enough time to soften, so stir them in when the chicken goes back. I add them often when I want the pot to go further.
- For more herb flavor, work a bit of chopped fresh thyme or rosemary into the dumpling dough for a new layer of flavor.
- Swapping the whole milk for a lower-fat milk and cutting the butter back gives you a lighter pot. It’s a supported change that leaves the dumplings a shade less rich, with a slightly softer texture as the trade.
How to Store Leftovers
Get the leftovers into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if your kitchen is above 90°F (32°C), and cool it in shallow containers rather than leaving it out to reach room temperature. Stored in an airtight container, it keeps for 3 to 4 days.
To reheat, warm it gently on the stove over low heat, adding a splash of broth or water if it has thickened too much, and bring it up to a steady simmer; leftovers should reach 165°F (74°C) before you eat them.
You can freeze it for up to 3 months, though the dumplings come out a little softer once thawed.
Chill it quickly, move it to a freezer-safe container, thaw it overnight in the fridge, and reheat it the same gentle way.
If you’d rather work ahead, make the dumpling dough up to a day in advance and keep it tightly wrapped in the fridge, then roll and cut it just before cooking.
What to Serve With Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken and dumplings is rich and starchy on its own, so I serve it with something fresh and sharp rather than another heavy side.
A crisp Red Cabbage Coleslaw or a Broccoli Salad with Creamy Dressing cuts through the broth and adds some crunch against the soft dumplings.
Cornbread is the classic Southern partner if you want something to mop the bowl with, and a plain green vegetable like green beans keeps the plate from feeling too heavy.
FAQs
Two things usually cause it: the broth was boiling too hard, or the dumplings got stirred too much. Drop the heat until the pot is barely bubbling, and stir only now and then, just enough to keep them off the bottom. Rolling the dough a little thicker also gives the dumplings more to hold together with.
You can. Buttermilk adds a slight tang and reacts with the baking powder for a touch more lift. I haven’t tested it in this exact recipe, so start with the same amount, see how the dough feels, and adjust from there.
The recipe card estimates about 500 calories per serving. That’s an automatic estimate, so it shifts with your exact broth, milk, and portion size. A restaurant version won’t match a homemade pot like this one, so I treat the card number as a guide rather than a promise.
These are flat, rolled-and-cut dumplings, dense and tender, the style you get at Cracker Barrel itself. The way I see it, the puffy kind is a different dish altogether, made by dropping spoonfuls of a wetter, biscuit-style batter into the pot.
More Homestyle Dinners You’ll Love
If you liked this one, here are a few more from the site worth a look.
- Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe is the closest cousin to this dish, shredded chicken and vegetables in a cream sauce, this time baked under a puff pastry lid.
- Cheesy Chicken Casserole With Egg Noodles and Cheddar is another way to turn shredded chicken into dinner, and it’s quicker to put together than dumplings on a busy night.
- Corn Chowder scratches the same brothy, creamy itch with corn and potatoes, and it’s a good one when you want something meatless.
- Ham and Potato Soup is a thick, hearty soup for cold nights, and a smart way to use up a leftover ham.
- Quick and Easy Tater Tot Casserole is about as low-effort as a homestyle dinner gets, with seasoned beef under a tater-tot-and-cheddar top.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons butter cut into small slices
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup whole milk
- fresh parsley to serve
Instructions
- Add the chicken breast and broth to a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 25 minutes, or until all the chicken is cooked through.1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, 6 cups chicken broth
- While the chicken is cooking, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Then add in the butter with a fork or a pastry blender until incorporated. Stir in the milk until a dough is formed.2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoons butter, Salt and pepper, 1 cup whole milk
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll it thin with a rolling pin – cut it into uneven triangles with a pizza cutter.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and add the dumplings, one at a time, and cook until they begin to float – about 15 minutes.
- Shred the chicken and bring it back to the pot. Adjust salt and pepper based on your preference.
- Serve with fresh parsley and enjoy!fresh parsley
Notes
- Cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) at its thickest point.
- Keep the broth at a gentle simmer while the dumplings cook; a hard boil breaks them apart.
- Mix the dumpling dough just until it comes together, or the dumplings turn tough.
- Use cold butter, cut small, for tender dumplings.
- For a thicker broth, remove a cup of the broth, whisk in a tablespoon of flour, then stir it back in; for a thinner one, add a splash more broth.
- Any milk works in place of whole milk, including non-dairy, with a slight change in texture.
- Get the leftovers into the fridge within two hours of cooking, or within one hour if your kitchen is above 90°F (32°C), and cool it in shallow containers rather than leaving it out to reach room temperature.
