Country music legend Dolly Parton's culinary preferences offered a window into the Southern traditions she held dear throughout her life. Known for her warmth and generosity, Parton often spoke of the central role food played in her upbringing and her approach to cooking.
"We were born cooking, as they say," Parton told Food Network, recalling her childhood as one of 12 children in Tennessee. "All of my life, I remember being in the kitchen with somebody because life just centered around the kitchen."
She credited her relatives for teaching her the fundamentals of cooking, emphasizing a style that prioritized flavor over strict culinary rules. "If I were giving you tips, I’d probably get a notice from the health department because I like to use a lot of butter," she admitted. "You’ve got to use a little bit of the things that really make things taste good if you’re going after that soul food, so to speak. You’ve gotta use some grease — bacon grease, mainly."
Parton's signature dishes often showcased her deep connection to her Southern heritage. She published two cookbooks: "Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s" in 2006 and, with her sister Rachel Parton George, "Good Lookin’ Cookin'" in 2024. Throughout her career, she also lent her name to various food products, including cake mixes and frozen meals.
"I’m a really, really good cook," Parton told Wired in 2020. "I’m not a gourmet cook. My food is not pretty, but it’s good."
Cherished Dishes
Among her most beloved dishes was chicken and dumplings, a Southern classic. "When I think about my mama, I think about some chicken and dumplings," she shared with Country Living. She noted that preparing this dish could take "all day" but was worth the effort for its communal appeal. "I get a couple of chickens, and I get enough for everyone because everyone loves my chicken and dumplings!"
Parton also expressed a fondness for meatloaf, describing it as "easy to make." However, she kept the exact recipe for her chicken and dumplings a closely guarded secret, stating, "Mine is all these secret ingredients — and the main one is love."
Biscuits and gravy was another breakfast favorite. "Everybody makes biscuits, but how many people make buttermilk biscuits unless you really are from the South?" she asked Eater in 2023. She enjoyed them frequently, often pairing them with sausage, or using the leftover gravy to enjoy with a biscuit spread with apple butter, jam, or jelly.
Despite considering herself more of a cook than a baker, Parton listed banana pudding as a favorite dessert. "Everybody loves banana pudding," she said on "Good Morning America" in 2022. "That was always one of my favorite things, a big old bowl of banana puddin'." A recipe inspired by her mother's method, featured in "Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s," uses vanilla wafers and bananas.
Potatoes were described as Parton's weakness, whether in the form of french fries, mashed, or baked. "Every diet I ever fell off of has been because of a potato," she confessed to Wired. Her go-to dish for barbecues was a mayonnaise-based potato salad, and she fondly recalled Sunday fried chicken served with potato salad as a highlight of her childhood.
Parton also had a particular affection for roast pork, especially the fattier parts. "The greasier the food, the better," she told The New York Times in 1992, listing roast pork with green beans, turnip greens, and fried okra as a favorite meal to serve guests.
Her favorite pie was chess pie, a custard-style dessert. "I don’t eat much cake," she told USA Today in 2019. "I usually have pie on my birthday. My favorite pie is chess pie. That is ‘chess,’ not ‘chest,’ pie."
