Cracker Barrel Dumplings

Who doesn’t love a bowl of piping-hot Cracker Barrel dumplings? These pillows of starchy goodness so often hit the spot when you are looking for something that makes you feel full and warm.

Interestingly, these are served without chicken at the restaurant when ordered as a side dish. If you like, add some cooked shredded chicken and have your homemade chicken and dumplings.

Cracker Barrel Dumplings

Southern dumplings aren’t tricky to make and can be quickly put together. This side dish doesn’t require a lot of different ingredients that you may need to go out and buy. But rather it has a lot of ingredients you already have in your pantry, so you won’t need to run out to the grocery store.

So if you are looking for an easy side dish from ingredients you already have, this dumplings recipe may be the right one for you to try.

This homemade dumplings recipe is intended to be a side dish, so there aren’t a lot of extra items in it. This is a meatless recipe. It will be a great addition to the recipe if you have some leftover cooked chicken.

Ingredients for Cracker Barrel Dumplings

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Whole milk
• Vegetable oil
• Chicken bouillon cubes or chicken soup base
• Butter
• Sugar

Ingredient Notes

After developing this recipe, I switched to using a soup base over bouillon cubes. It is my opinion that the soup base tastes better; it is a fact they often have less sodium.

So it is now my preference to use a soup base instead of bouillon cubes.

How to Make Cracker Barrel Dumplings

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and oil, and mix with a pastry blender or fork until well combined.
2. Transfer the soft dough to a floured surface.
3. Knead the dough a few times.
4. Divide the dough in half.
5. Roll out one-half of the dough with a rolling pin.
6. Cut the dough into pieces. You can cut the dough with a pastry cutter or a pizza cutter.
7. In a large pot, combine the water and bouillon cubes.
8. Boil until the bouillon cubes are dissolved.
9. Add the dough pieces and cook until just about done.
   
10. Use a strainer to transfer the cooked dumplings to a bowl.
11. Repeat with the remaining dough.
12. Melt butter in a saucepan.
13. Add flour and salt. Stir until thickened.
14. Combine milk and sugar.
15. Add the milk to the butter/flour a little at a time, stirring constantly.
16. Remove the sauce from the heat.
17. Add the cooked dumplings to the sauce.
18. Dissolve the crumbled bouillon cubes in cooking liquid.
19. Add bouillon liquid to the sauce and dumplings. Gently stir it in.
20. Return the dumplings to the heat and simmer for a few minutes.

How to store dumplings

The best way to store dumplings is in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

What’s the best way reheat dumplings

The best way to reheat dumplings is to place them in a pot with a lid, add a bit of liquid (such as broth or water) to prevent drying, and heat over medium-low heat until the mixture is heated through. You can also use the oven by covering the dish with foil and baking at 350°F until heated, about 20-30 minutes.

Popular Cracker Barrel Copycat Recipes

• Bacon Baked Beans
• Cracker Barrel Cheese Potato Recipe
• Homestyle Chicken Dinner
• Old Fashioned Carrot Cake

Southern Side Dishes

• Mush Recipe
• Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
• Stick Butter Rice
• Boiled Carrots Recipe
• Freezer Coleslaw
• How to Cook Red Skin Potatoes
• Recipe for Copper Pennies Carrots
• Easy BBQ Baked Beans
• Simple Cooked Cabbage
• Pea and Bacon Salad

Be sure to check out more of my restaurant sides and easy copycat recipes.

Cracker Barrel Dumplings

Cracker Barrel Dumplings can be made at home and they will taste so good. 

5 from 12 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cracker Barrel Dumplings, Cracker Barrel Recipes, Southern Dumplings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 529kcal

Author: Stephanie Manley

Ingredients

Dumplings

• 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and rolling
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 quarts water
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes or about 2 teaspoons of soup base

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes, crumbled or about 2 teaspoons chicken soup base
• ½ to ¾ cup dumpling cooking liquid (from after dumplings have been cooked)

Instructions

Dumplings

• Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and oil, blending well.
• Turn out the dough onto a floured surface.
• Knead the dough four or five times.
• Divide the dough in half.
• Roll out one half of the dough to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut the dough into 1 x 1½-inch pieces.
• In a large pot, combine the water and bouillon cubes/soup base.
• Boil until the bouillon cubes/soup base dissolve.
• Cook half of the dumplings until just about done. Dumplings are done when they float up towards the top of the pot.
• Use a strainer to remove them to a bowl and set aside.
• Finish the other half of the dumplings in the same way.
• Reserve the cooking liquid.

Sauce

• While the dumplings are cooking, you can start to prepare the sauce.
• Melt the butter in medium saucepan.
• Add salt and flour. Stir until thick.
• Mix the sugar with the milk.
• Add the milk to the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly with a whisk until thick and smooth.
• Remove the sauce from the heat.
• Add the cooked dumplings to the sauce.
• Dissolve the crumbled bouillon cubes in ½ cup of the cooking liquid.
• Add bouillon mixture to the sauce and dumplings. Stir gently to combine.
• Return dumplings to low heat and simmer until blended.
• If the sauce seems too thick, gently stir in a little more cooking liquid.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 529kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 1363mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 460IU | Calcium: 251mg | Iron: 3.4mg