Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings Copycat Recipe

What can be more satisfying than a steaming bowl of Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings on a cold winter day?

If it’s in the comfort of your own home with this copycat recipe, even better!

Why is Cracker Barrel’s chicken and dumplings so popular?

It’s what comfort food is all about! The flavor of the shredded chicken and the softness of the dumplings hug your soul like a grandma’s quilt. 

It’s one of my family’s favorites. More like soup, but it’s a comforting meal that reminds us of one of our favorite dishes to order when we are away on a road trip.

Let’s be honest, who has time for hours of simmering when you crave comfort food on a busy weeknight?

With this easy Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings copycat recipe, you’ll be able to skip the long lines and crowded parking lots and whip up a satisfying weeknight dinner in no time.

Why You’ll Love this Chicken and Dumplings Cracker Barrel Recipe

Here are some reasons why you and your family will fall in love with this recipe:

Ingredients Needed for Cracker Barrel Chicken And Dumplings

• 6 cups water
• 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken base
• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 cups cooked shredded chicken breast

Step-by-Step Preparation with Pictures

1. Combine the water and Better Than Bouillon chicken stock in a large pot or Dutch oven. Set the stove temperature to medium-high heat, and stir occasionally until the liquid starts to boil. 

2. While the broth is simmering, make the dumplings. For this dumpling recipe, mix all purpose flour and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Add the cubed butter to the flour mix and, using two forks or a dough cutter, cut in the butter until crumbly.

4. Add the buttermilk to this mixture and stir just until the dough comes together and has a shaggy look to it. 

5. Gently form it into a ball of dough.

6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, like a cutting board or a work mat. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about ¼ of an inch thick. 

7. Cut the dumpling dough with a pastry cutter or a pizza cutter, into squares approximately 1 inch in size.  

8. Once the stock has come to a boil, add in the shredded chicken to the pot.  

9. Place the dumplings into the pot, just a few at a time, and stir frequently to prevent them from sticking together.  

10. Once all the dumplings are in the pot, cook for about 15-20 minutes.  

10. Serve this copycat Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings meal with salt and black pepper to taste and a garnish of parsley or cilantro, if desired. Enjoy!

Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken Variation Ideas

Are you thinking of ways to make this Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings meal more of a favorite at your dinner table? Here are some ideas for further customization!

Herbs: Experiment with different herbs such as thyme, sage, or rosemary. They’ll bring warm aromatics and a savory flavor to the broth.

Veggies: Sauté vegetables, like chopped carrots, green beans, celery, or peas for about three minutes then add butter to glaze the pot before the water and stock are added for extra flavor to enjoy and a healthier meal to eat.

Different Dumpling Shapes: The dumplings in this copycat Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings recipe don’t have to be square! You can be creative and cut dumplings into any shape you want or roll them into small balls, like homemade dumplings. Make this a fun activity for the kids and let them make their own shapes.

Noodles Anyone? For those evenings when you feel too exhausted to roll dough, simplify this meal even further by adding a cup of your favorite shaped noodles to it! It’ll feel like a more home-styled chicken noodle soup.

A Creamy Change: If a creamier chicken and dumplings Cracker Barrel recipe is what you’re looking to create, try adding a can of evaporated milk or whole milk when creating the stock.

Tips for Success

• Whether the chicken has been roasted, prepared in a pressure cooker, is a crockpot chicken, or you’re using up Rotisserie chicken, the beauty of this recipe is that any type will work. You’ll want to have cooked chicken ready before preparing this copycat chicken and dumplings like Cracker Barrel dish. It reduces your cooking time. And if you have more chicken left, make this jalapeño poppers chicken casserole next.

• White meat versus dark meat. It’s really up to your preference as to how your family likes to eat chicken. If you want a thinner, less dense meat that will cook quickly for this chicken and dumplings Cracker Barrel recipe, white meat is the way to go.  If a heartier, more tender chicken with a juicier flavor is what you’re looking to enjoy, dark meat should be your choice. 

• Gummy or tough dumplings are the result of overworking the dough. For fluffy dumplings, fold the dough gently until both wet and dry ingredients have combined. 

• To make fluffy dumplings, make sure that the stock temperature is hot when adding your dumplings to it. The heat helps to make these dumplings puff up and pillowy. As well, keep the lid on the pot while the dumplings are cooking as the steam within it allows for the dumplings to rise. 

• Dumplings fall apart in water that is aggressively simmering or boiling. Keeping the stock at a low heat will let the dumplings cook and rise without being bumped around, leading them to fall apart in the pot.

• Once the 15-20 minutes have passed for the dumplings, remove the lid from the pot and use a toothpick to poke the center of a dumpling. If it’s clean, they are ready. If not, cover the pot and continue to cook for a few more minutes.

Taste and Compare

After you’ve whipped up this Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings recipe, make sure to invite your family and friends over and do a test try.

Having the gang over to taste and compare this copycat version with the real meal served at Cracker Barrel restaurants is a lot of fun!

You can get feedback on how close this version is to the actual recipe and how to customize it further to everyone’s preference for the next time you make it! Also, try this cozy chicken pot pie soup next.

Storage

If there are any leftovers of this Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings dinner, here’s how to store them to enjoy on another night:

Store: Keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Freeze: Place the remaining stock, chicken, and dumplings in a freezer-safe airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

One Last Thing

I hope this Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings becomes a favorite the whole family will want to tuck into at your dinner table.

The tender pieces of chicken and the soft, fluffy dumplings will make you want to devour every bite of this yummy dish (and maybe have you going back for seconds)!

This is a great recipe for when you are craving comfort food for dinner and have leftover chicken in the fridge.

There are also numerous ways you can change this recipe to add some textures and flavors your family enjoys.

And for dessert, make another family favorite copycat recipe of s’mores Crumbl cookies.

If you make this satisfying Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings recipe, please take a moment to let me know how you liked them by leaving a rating and a comment below on the recipe card.

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