Elevate Your Cracker Barrel Breakfast With These 5 Ordering Requests

While some Cracker Barrel restaurant interiors may look like they've been around for more than a century, the chain of Southern-style casual restaurants actually got its start in the late '60s just outside Nashville, Tennessee, and right off the highway, giving travelers a place to stop for traditional local favorites in an old-timey setting. That trend has continued more than 50 years later, as many locations are still stationed alongside major expressways, and travelers account for a significant portion of the chain's revenue. The restaurant's name can sometimes cause confusion, but it actually refers to literal barrels filled with crackers that were found at general stores more than a century ago and served as focal points for informal gatherings.

Cracker Barrel has a pretty expansive menu that has evolved over the decades but still features many Southern classics, especially among its all-day breakfast selections. As such, you may feel like there are endless options with which to fill your belly in the morning, or whenever you're craving something eggy, perhaps with a side of pancakes, bacon, or the chain's cult-favorite Hashbrown Casserole. However, if you dine there often enough, some of the choices can feel a little repetitive, especially if you like some variety with your breakfast. But with a little creativity and the right ordering requests, you can come up with completely new options that will elevate a regular Cracker Barrel breakfast to new heights.

Loco moco is an iconic Hawaiian dish that can be eaten at any time of day but makes for a hearty breakfast. It consists of a mound of rice topped with a hamburger patty and a fried egg, all smothered in brown gravy. Cracker Barrel has all of these elements on its menu, but with a little Southern country flavor.

To recreate this classic Hawaiian delicacy, start with an order of the Barrel Cheeseburger from the sandwiches and salads section of the menu, but opt for no veggies or bun, and select Seasoned Buttery Rice as your side. While a traditional loco moco doesn't contain cheese, many individual variations of this dish exist throughout the Hawaiian Islands, so you can totally leave it on if you like it. Now, add a side of Cracker Barrel's from-scratch brown gravy and another side of fried eggs. This tip will work fantastically well with sawmill gravy, too, and for another twist on this Hawaiian favorite, you can opt for a bed of hash browns instead of rice.

McDonald's may be most famous for its McMuffins during the morning hours, but in 2003, it launched another breakfast sandwich that gave them serious competition and has developed just as ardent a fan base: the McGriddles. This menu item replaces the English muffin with two pancakes, giving you a sweet-and-savory flavor combination in every bite. You can easily assemble a jumbo-sized Cracker Barrel version of this Mickey D's classic that has even more meat and doesn't require you to modify any existing entrees.

Simply look at the breakfast sides section of the menu, and request two pancakes — one of the best things to order at Cracker Barrel — and two scrambled eggs to mimic the Golden Arches' folded egg. However, you can also opt for two over-hard eggs, or any style you like. Now comes the meat, and you have a few options. For the most substantial pancake breakfast sandwich, select the Classics Country Sampler of bacon, sausage, and either country ham or sugar-cured ham. If you want to take a more minimalist approach, you can also choose just one of these items. After assembling your meal, drizzle on a little maple syrup. While you can attempt to eat this one like a sandwich, it's probably a better idea to enjoy it with a knife and fork.

In 2025, Cracker Barrel released a Shrimp n' Grits option on its all-day breakfast menu, but only for a limited time. It included shrimp with spicy andouille sausage in a rich, zesty stew over a bed of creamy grits. It was a take on a hyper-regional Southern classic from the Lowcountry, an area along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, and it is particularly associated with the city of Charleston. Unfortunately, this entree is no longer available on the menu, but you can create a similar breakfast by borrowing an existing item from the fish and shrimp entrees.

Start with an order of the Louisiana-Style Shrimp Skillet, and request that the kitchen make it extra saucy. You get your choice of two side dishes, and you're going to want to make them both grits and ask that the staff layer them beneath the shrimp. If your server looks at you quizzically, explain that you're trying to recreate the old Shrimp n' Grits. Perhaps they'll inform the kitchen, which can probably bring your hack to life and make it resemble the now-defunct menu item. You can enjoy this breakfast as is, or order some eggs with it for a heartier meal.

On weekends, many people in Brazil and throughout the Brazilian diaspora enjoy a leisurely meal of feijoada completa, which can extend into the late afternoon. It consists of a bean stew brimming with a variety of preserved meats and is accompanied by rice, greens, and a savory cassava meal preparation called farofa that soaks up all the rich juices.

While hearty enough not to require anything else, this preparation is sometimes paired with grilled steak, another popular Brazilian specialty. If you've ever been to a Brazilian-style steakhouse, you may have encountered feijoada on the buffet, and it makes a great side dish for the endless servings of meat brought to your table.

Believe it or not, many elements found in this African-influenced dish are also found in Southern cuisine and on Cracker Barrel's menu. To recreate a Brazilian-American version of feijoada completa, start with an order of Steak & Eggs. The eggs aren't traditional, but they'd make a welcome addition to the other elements of this beefy meal. Now, request sides of pinto beans, turnip greens, and rice. If you want to re-create the effect of farofa, also order a side of corn muffins, and crumble them up to sop up all the juices from the steak, beans, and greens.

Fried chicken and biscuits are a classic combination throughout the Southeastern United States that sometimes comes in sandwich form and has become a popular breakfast item at many fast food restaurants. It isn't featured as a menu item at Cracker Barrel, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy this combination there, and it's remarkably easy to get, too.

Start by going to the chicken and turkey section of Cracker Barrel's menu and selecting the Crispy Tender Dippers, which come with six pieces of chicken. You already get two biscuits with your order, but you can either add more or replace your two sides with extra orders of biscuits. You now have half a dozen chicken-and-biscuit sandwiches that you can devour all on your own or share with the table as a breakfast appetizer. This hack also works with the grilled chicken tenders if you're looking for a lighter alternative.