Cracker Barrel’s New Limited-Time Holiday Menu for 2025, Reviewed by a Food Editor

• What Is It: savory grits with Colby cheese
• Price: $3

These were very creamy and buttery, but mostly bland. Yes, you get some corn flavor, but I wish the cheese was mixed in instead of on top; many bites only tasted like the grease of the Colby. They definitely needed salt and pepper, too.

• What Is It: grilled catfish topped with zesty Creole sauce and crispy fried onion straws; served with two or three classic sides and buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins
• Price: from $19

The sauce was the best part of this Cracker Barrel holiday menu addition. It offered black pepper-y heat, along with a bell pepper-y, fruity note. It was super savory and oniony with some heat from what I imagine is andouille sausage. The fish, however, was softer than desired. And it's catfish, so it had a naturally earthy, almost dirt-like flavor if it wasn't coated in sauce.

• What Is It: beef patty topped with bacon, a sunny side-up egg, American cheese and hashbrown casserole on a toasted buttermilk bun, served with a classic side
• Price: $15

The burger was very juicy and well cooked, and it stayed together surprisingly well as I ate. The hashbrown casserole was my favorite part, despite it being messy. As much as I love the iconic CB side, I'm not sure it added much to the burger. Some bites were so potato-y that the burger's other components were drowned out with its plain, starchy flavor. The handheld was also a tad under-salted, and the cheese wasn't fully melted.

• What Is It: vanilla custard-soaked country bread with cheesecake filling, crunchy praline pecan streusel and butter pecan syrup
• Price: $12

I'm not normally ordering breakfast at Cracker Barrel, but this dish may change that. The vanilla in the custard was fragrant and delicious. The slightly tangy bread had a soft, pillowy texture with crustier edges, contrasted by the streusel's toffee-like crunch. The streusel was sweet, salty and brown sugar-y, but more pecans throughout or on top would have been appreciated. As for the syrup on the side, it was devastatingly sweet with a slightly salty edge. Tasty, but use it sparingly, friends.

• What Is It: hashbrown casserole with smoked sausage, scrambled eggs, melted cheese, sweet red peppers, green chiles, crispy fried onions and sawmill gravy
• Price: $14

OK, so I ordered the sausage and egg hashbrown casserole. Our server brought us the steak and egg hashbrown casserole instead, which comes with charred steak tips instead of sausage gravy. So no, it's not new to the Cracker Barrel holiday menu...but it still took the crown. (The missing gravy was the main difference.) The onion straws were exquisitely crisp, while the scallion and tomato brought freshness and balance to the otherwise heavy, savory meal. The steak was a bit tough, but very well seasoned and flavorful.

• What Is It: pecan pie with semisweet chocolate chips
• Price: $5
• Available Through: December 24

I admit it: I’m a purist when it comes to pecan pie. (In fact, it’s my favorite classic Thanksgiving food of all time.) Chocolate doesn’t inherently make everything better; sometimes it takes away from the main components of a dessert. I also felt that it made the pie visually less appealing, and the rich, sticky filling—aka the best part—was texturally disrupted by the cold chips.

• What Is It: cinnamon streusel bread, hand-dipped in batter and griddled, then topped with cinnamon and cream cheese icings; served with two eggs and your choice of bacon or sausage
• Price: $12

Cracker Barrel is famous for its breakfast, and I’m not too proud for an eggs/meat/sweet combo for under $12...but this new menu item wasn’t my favorite. While I loved the bread (despite it being a bit thin for French toast), studded with tiny, warm-spiced pockets of cinnamon, and the hardens-as-it-cools icing, I found the cinnamon topping to be gritty and a bit intense. If you’re a serious cinnamon stan though, you may enjoy it more than I did.

• What Is It: classic iced tea blended with juicy wild berry flavor
• Price: $4

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is just the wild berry tea from the fall menu with a Christmas-y rebrand. It didn't hit the way I expected it to, but it was still pleasant to drink. Perhaps because of the color, I expected the semi-tart tang of hibiscus or raspberries. But it really tasted like a Southern sweet tea with a glug of juice. A spritz of fresh lemon gave it the touch of acidity I wanted.

• What Is It: pie crust filled with sliced, spiced apples, topped with crispy streusel
• Price: $5
• Available Through: December 24

Cracker Barrel knows its way around a baked apple. I’m pretty sure this pie stars the same sweet-tart fruit as the fried apple French toast bake, a fall delicacy that I quite liked. They had a solid soft-not-mushy texture; it was the crust and streusel topping that I wished were crispier. I would also love to try this one with a touch of flaky salt for contrast.

• What Is It: pie crust filled with spiced pumpkin filling
• Price: $5
• Available Through: November 26

This no-frills fall dessert was as simple as it was satisfying. The pumpkin custard was sturdy yet creamy and thoroughly spiced with what I presume were the usual suspects, like clove, allspice and ginger. I also thought the crust on this pie was the best of the lot. Sometimes less is more, no?

• What Is It: traditional Southern-style pecan pie
• Price: $5
• Available Through: December 24

Those crunchy, caramelized nuts?! Swoon. The filling could've been a touch firmer (and I say that as someone who adores pecan pie goop) and some salt on top would've broken up the sweetness of this Thanksgiving favorite. But there was really nothing wrong with the seasonal staple. It also paired exquisitely with vanilla ice cream, which was generously served alongside all the pies.

• What Is It: cinnamon rolls baked into pie crust, topped with sweet cream cheese icing
• Price: $5
• Available Through: December 24

I was kind of shocked by how much I liked this, especially after the underwhelming French toast. The cinnamon rolls were objectively delicious and impossibly moist, as well as very sweet. I lowkey adored the molten later of cinnamon filling between the roll and the pie crust, and I loved that the icing covered the crust and the roll.

• What Is It: broccoli with cheese sauce and rice, topped with buttery cracker crumbles
• Price: $3

If it’s cheesy, it’s safe to assume the chain is going to knock it out of the park. I wished the cracker crumble topping stayed crunchy, but nevertheless, I loved this retro side that tasted like broccoli cheddar soup. It was super savory and decadently rich. Its texture was so creamy that I was impressed the toothsome broccoli still had some bite to it.

• What Is It: hand-breaded, fried turkey fillets with herbed pan gravy; served with cranberry relish, buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins and your choice of two country sides
• Price: $15

This is what I go to Cracker Barrel for. It was like a scaled-down, casual Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey was crunchy and coated in a flavorful, peppery breading (think thin chicken fingers), and I loved the sage-kissed gravy. As a lover of all things sour, the cranberry relish was a much-welcome addition to the plate and like a cross between jellied and fresh cranberry sauces. Of course, the biscuits and sides (I went with mac and cheese and mashed potatoes for a nostalgic vibe, but I’m also a huge fan of the beans n’ greens) made this seasonal stunner doubly delicious.