Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie Review: Your New Favorite Comfort Dish

If you're anything like me, seeing that Cracker Barrel had a new Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie available was kind of exciting. I honestly can't think of any non-British restaurant I've been to with a shepherd's pie on the menu. So it's certainly something special. Plus, adding the chain's famous hashbrown casserole to the mix sounded like an especially promising variation.

A representative of Cracker Barrel told us that the Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie has been nearly selling out because it's become so popular. But would it live up to the hype? I had to test it to find out. After all, who could resist a shepherd's pie with a hashbrown casserole topping? It looks like it combines several beloved menu items in a new, more sophisticated, and appetizing way than the popular KFC Famous Bowl does.

So, I headed over to Cracker Barrel to find out what all the fuss was about with this new fall menu item. I wanted to see if I'd really get it in a skillet like in the promotional pictures, how it looked, and (most importantly) how it tasted. But before I give you my honest review of it, I wanted to give you some more information, like where and when to get it, what to expect from it, and nutritional information. I think you need the whole picture to decide whether it's worth a try.

Cracker Barrel's Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie is completely new for the fall 2024 season. Since customers tend to crave richer comfort foods in the cooler months, it's likely to stay through at least the fall season and maybe into the winter season to warm up your insides. However, there's no definitive information from Cracker Barrel about how long it will be around. It's still unknown whether the chain will only keep it on the menu while it's super popular or if they snatch it away from us hoping that absence will make the heart grow fonder. With it being presented as a fall menu item, we're afraid it won't be around long. However, since it wasn't introduced as a limited time offer, you never know.

The chain didn't introduce it as being available only in select locations. So, you can probably feel confident your location will have it as long as it has enough ingredients to keep up with demand. However, my menu mentioned that it's only available after 11:00 a.m. So, don't go in expecting to be able to get it for breakfast. The chefs need time to get the ingredients ready for you.

Cracker Barrel's Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie isn't exactly a traditional shepherd's pie. However, sometimes change can be good.

It starts with a layer of mashed potatoes. After that foundational level comes a layer of traditional pot roast, with tender roasted beef, sliced carrot rounds, onions, and celery. The bonus green peas that are supposed to be scattered throughout make it slightly different. The savory pot roast layer is tied together with brown homestyle gravy. With Cracker Barrel being famous for its Hashbrown casserole, the next layer is what is probably making you the most curious about this new dish: the crispy hashbrown casserole layer. Reminiscent of Minnesota hotdish, it certainly seems as if a layer of crispy potatoes would elevate this dish beyond the normal shepherd's pie. There are still two layers to go! On top of the crisp hashbrown casserole topping, you'll find melted cheese. Then, to make it look extra festive (and drive up the calorie count), you'll get a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of diced tomatoes and diced green onions. If your mouth is watering just thinking about that combination, you're not alone.

As you can imagine, there's enough going on with this shepherd's pie that it doesn't really need any sides. However, a trip to Cracker Barrel wouldn't be complete without the free bread option. You can choose from two buttermilk biscuits, two cornbread muffins, or one of each. Take them home as leftovers if they seem like too much.

At my local Cracker Barrel, the cost of a Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie is $15.69. Adding biscuits and/or cornbread is free; if you want to add another side, you'll need to pay extra. Adding a drink other than water will add to your total as well.

Looking at the other dishes that are new for fall 2024 at Cracker Barrel, it seems to be in the middle range of prices. The price is comparable to the Sunday pot roast, which costs $15.19. However, a difference is that the Sunday pot roast comes with two sides at that price point, while the Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie does not. However, when you compare the calorie count (which I'll discuss later), you'll see why the Shepherd's Pie may not need those sides.

If you're wondering how it compares in price to the normal hashbrown casserole, that one is only $3.09. Even the loaded hashbrown casserole is only $3.49. So know that you're getting the super-deluxe version when you opt for the Shepherd's Pie.

The Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie has some ingredients that you will recognize from other parts of the Cracker Barrel menu. Namely, these ingredients are the Sunday pot roast, along with mashed potatoes and hashbrown casserole from the side item menu.

If you're a fan of Cracker Barrel's Sunday pot roast but can't wait until Sunday to get it, this dish might be for you. My waitress confirmed with the chef that the inner layer is exactly the same as the Sunday pot roast. Of course, peas and layers of mashed potatoes, hash brown casserole, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and green onions don't normally come with the Sunday pot roast.

The mashed potatoes at the bottom of the pie are the same as the mashed potatoes you can get as a side order. I ordered hashbrown casserole as a side item for comparison, and the taste and texture was wildly different from the version on top of the pie. The hashbrowns on the pie were spread thinly and were extremely crispy without any softness to them. Whereas the side item casserole is soft, oniony, creamy, and only has a few crisp bits throughout. So if the crisp bits of the casserole are your favorite part, you're going to be happy with the way the hashbrowns are presented on the pie.

Cracker Barrel hasn't listed its Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie on its nutrition guide yet. So the only information available is the calorie count. At 1,590 calories, it's still under the limit for a 2,000-calorie diet. However, you might want to make a strategic eating plan for the rest of the day or take home some leftovers.

While we don't have nutritional stats for the Shepherd's Pie, there are stats available for mashed potatoes, pot roast, and regular hashbrown casserole. Since this dish is a mix of those dishes (with a few extras), it's worthwhile to note the nutrition of those dishes to get a rough overview. The Sunday Pot Roast (520 calories) has 19 grams of fat, with 16 of those being saturated and 0.5 of them being trans fat. It has 14 grams of carbs, 230 milligrams of cholesterol, and 630 milligrams of sodium. A side of mashed potatoes (200 calories) has 9 grams of fat, 2 of which are saturated. It further has 25 grams of carbs, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, and 170 milligrams of sodium. Meanwhile, a hashbrown casserole side (190 calories) has 8 grams of fat, 3 of which are saturated. Plus, it has 24 grams of carbs, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, and 350 milligrams of sodium. That doesn't come close yet to the calorie count for the Shepherd's Pie. Plus, there are extra ingredients like cheese, sour cream, and veggies to consider.

If you're on the fence about trying this dish, I recommend stepping over the fence and into a Cracker Barrel because this dish is excellent. The flavor and texture are both on point and better than I expected.

The crust is stellar. It's a thin layer of hash browns that has been crisped to perfection under a broiler with a sprinkling of cheese shreds. There's no creamy oniony flavor to the hashbrown topping of the pie like the casserole has. Once I dug in, there was a very thin layer of mashed potatoes, sweet carrots, and a rich gravy that had a pleasant concentrated beef flavor. I kept searching for peas and beef. While I was disappointed not to find any peas, there were huge chunks of fork-tender braised rib roast beef hanging out all together in about ¾ of the dish. The beef was lean and flavorful. The sour cream, green onions, and diced tomatoes fell down from the top into the dish as I ate. I honestly could have done without those three items — especially the green onions, since they didn't seem to quite match the cozy feeling of the rest of the dish.

This dish is quite possibly the best I've had from Cracker Barrel (even though I'm usually a fried chicken girl). It hits the spot as a comfort food for cooler weather. It's also extremely filling. I was only able to manage to eat half of it.

While I've enjoyed the hashbrown casserole at Cracker Barrel many times, the Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie was new to me. So I headed to the nearest Cracker Barrel to try this dish in person. I didn't tell the waitstaff that I was ordering my meal for a review ahead of time. The images pictured and my dining experience are probably typical of what you can expect from your visit, since the chefs didn't pretty it up or make it extra nice for me.

Since I feel that the best gauge of the quality of any restaurant dish is to eat it hot out of the oven at the restaurant, I consumed it on site. After all, taking it home to eat would make it at least a half hour older and colder. Since it wasn't Sunday, I couldn't get pot roast, but I did get a side of hashbrown casserole for comparison. I especially wanted to test the hashbrown casserole since I'd heard the chain had switched to rehydrated rather than frozen hashbrowns. I felt it was important to know what the current casserole tastes like to make a proper comparison.

I also took notes as I ate so that I could capture my immediate thoughts to put down once I got back to my writing desk. That way you're not getting a stale memory of the dish, but a fresh one. I hope you have enough information to decide whether or not this new dish is for you.