Cracker Barrel Sells Over 11 Million Orders Of This Popular Dish Every Single Year

Cracker Barrel's menu is infamously expansive. From must-try menu items to fan-favorite summer meals, there's no shortage of food options at the chain, some of which are far more popular than others. One of the southern restaurant's top-selling menu items is an old-school, rib-sticking comfort meal: chicken and dumplings. 

While some people write off chicken and dumplings as one of those foods your family ate growing up that you never learned to like, the dish clearly has a devoted fan base at Cracker Barrel. The chain sells more than 11 million orders of the soupy southern classic every year. To put that in perspective, that's over 30,000 orders of chicken and dumplings every single day, meaning, on average, each of Cracker Barrel's nearly 660 locations serves over 45 orders of the meal daily.

There are many variations of the comforting poultry dish (case in point: chicken and dumplings look a little different in Delaware), but Cracker Barrel's Chicken n' Dumplins sticks to a simple southern recipe. The popular menu item consists of handmade flat dumplings and shredded chicken simmered in a thickened broth, served with your choice of two or three sides.

Despite its obvious popularity, Cracker Barrel's top-selling Chicken n' Dumplins isn't everyone's favorite. In a Reddit thread, one user who said they worked at Cracker Barrel for over four years had this to say: "Chicken and Dumplins is honestly the worst thing on the entire menu. It's only popular because Cracker Barrel caters to an older demographic." They went on to call out the soft texture and lack of seasoning.

But in the same thread, other users defended the dish as an old-school comfort food classic. One person noted, "Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings taste like nostalgia and comfort for me." Another said, "I'm sorry but I love your chicken and dumplins. I just order take out and season it at home."

At the end of the day, Cracker Barrel's take on the dish might be a bit bland and stodgy for some palates, but for those who love it, it seems that's part of the nostalgic attraction. No matter how you slice it, if ordering patterns keep up, the chain's chicken and dumplings clearly isn't going to become a discontinued Cracker Barrel menu item anytime soon. If all of this has you craving the soupy poultry plate but you don't live near a Cracker Barrel (or the mixed reviews aren't convincing you), here are the common mistakes to avoid when making homemade chicken and dumplings.