12 Dolly Parton Recipes Every Fan Should Make at Least Once
Dolly Parton was a stunning woman, both inside and outside. She’s most remembered for being a celebrated country artist as well as her social causes like the Imagination Library. While there are many words from Dolly Parton to live by, there are also an equal number of amazing Southern recipes to make in her honor.
Some of these are from her cookbook ‘Good Lookin’ Cookin’ – which she cowrote with her sister Rachel Parton George – while others are from interviews and newspaper articles. Here are some of Dolly Parton’s most beloved and well-known recipes.
Dolly Parton Casserole Recipe
This 5-layer casserole is very traditional, easy to make, and perfect for weeknight dinners. It consists of browned ground beef, sliced potatoes, onions, green bell peppers, and tomatoes arranged in layers and baked slow and slow till tender. It’s a great crowd-feeding recipe, which is very on-brand for a woman who grew up as one of 12 kids in the Smoky Mountains. Recipe.
Dollywood’s Famous Cinnamon Bread
You can’t visit Dollywood without trying the legendary pull-apart cinnamon bread at the Grist Mill. It can be easily recreated at home with a few simple ingredients. The dough rolls are slathered in butter and cinnamon sugar, then baked until gooey and golden. It’s one of those recipes where the smell alone is half the experience. Park guests have been devouring it as a breakfast, brunch, or afternoon snack for decades and the long lines are there for a reason. Recipe.
Dolly’s Chicken & Dumplings
Probably one of Dolly’s most iconic recipes. She talked about chicken and dumplings being her specialty over the years, once saying, “I get a couple of chickens, and I get enough for everyone because everyone loves my chicken and dumplings.” The old-fashioned recipe is rooted in her Appalachian upbringing and starts by simmering a whole chicken with onion and celery leaves in salted water, with hand-rolled square flat dumplings added at the end. It is the ultimate comfort meal, especially when cold weather arrives. Recipe here.
Country Ham & Biscuits
This Southern staple family recipe has several variations, but few come close to the one featured in Dolly’s Cookbook. The fluffy buttermilk biscuits are made from scratch in a cast-iron skillet, then split open and filled with country ham cooked in off course, bacon grease! Dolly often joked that the grease was her secret to looking good. The dish is simple, salty, and so incredibly country. Recipe.
Mac & Cheese from Good Lookin’ Cookin’
Dolly wrote Good Lookin’ Cookin’ with her sister Rachel, and this Mac and Cheese recipe is one of the book’s most requested dishes. The Parton sister’s secret weapon is Velveeta combined with shredded cheddar and Monterey jack giving that signature silky, melty texture. Recipe.
Dixie Stampede Creamy Vegetable Soup
This soup became almost as famous as the dinner show it was served at. Guests at Dolly Parton’s Stampede in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee – formerly known as the Dixie Stampede – have been requesting the recipe for decades. It’s a silky, cream-based vegetable soup made with a butter and flour roux base, seasoned with garlic and onion, and finished with half-and-half for a smooth creamy taste. Recipe here.
Mountain Coleslaw
Dolly’s version of coleslaw was first shared in her 1989 cookbook Dollywood Presents Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking. This easy side dish get its tangy flavor from mayo, sour cream, and sweet-relish dressing. This slaw slays at cookouts and goes with anything from pulled pork to fried chicken. Recipe here.
Skillet Cornbread
True to her Southern roots, Dolly’s skillet cornbread is crunchy and golden, with a subtle smoky flavor coming from the addition of bacon fat. Once you try this recipe, you will wonder why it took you so long to do it! Recipe.
Butterscotch Pie
This is said to be one of Dolly’s favorite holiday desserts. It has a rich creamy butterscotch custard poured into a pecan crust. The deep caramelized notes of brown sugar and butter make it indulgent in the most fancy way. Recipe here.
Dolly Parton’s Banana Pudding
This quintessentially classic Southern recipe was a staple in her family growing up. Her mom would make it whenever a neighbor who owned a grocery store would offload ripe bananas at a discount. It features homemade egg-custard pudding layered with crisp vanilla wafers and banana slices, then topped off with a baked meringue. The recipe appears in her cookbook Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s. Recipe.
Dolly Parton’s Walnut Pie
Looking for an alternative to Pecan Pie this holiday season? Try this Walnut Pie and pay homage to Dolly Parton! She shared the recipe on her own Facebook page, calling it a Christmas tradition she carried from her childhood in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. It tastes remarkably similar to pecan pie but with a slightly earthier flavor. Recipe here.
Southern Chess Pie
One of the most popular Thanksgiving Pie recipes, chess dates back to pre-pumpkin spice everything times! It’s a simple, old-fashioned custard pie made with eggs, butter, sugar, and a splash of vinegar or cornmeal to keep it from being too sweet. It’s what your grandmother made in the Great Depression era. Recipe.
What makes Dolly’s recipes special isn’t complex flavors or technique – but ease and love of home cooking. Dolly Parton grew up as one of 12 children in a two-room cabin, where food was made from scratch and generously shared with everyone. That spirit carried through everything that Dolly did, from her music to her philanthropy. Cooking her recipes is a small but meaningful way to keep her memory alive – exactly what she would have wanted!
