Craving those famous Cheddar Bay biscuits? These copycat Red Lobster biscuits are easy to make at home using just a few ingredients!
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Confession: Sometimes I choose to go to a restaurant because of the bread that they serve with the soup or salad.
Carbs are my truest love.
I can’t be alone in this. I mean, who hasn’t gone to Olive Garden at least once just because they were craving the breadsticks? Or what about those Texas Roadhouse rolls?
I could easily eat a dozen of those babies.
And don’t even get me started on those glorious cheesy, garlicky Red Lobster biscuits…they’re the best part of the meal.
Truth be told, I haven’t been to a Red Lobster in years and years, but who needs to go there when you can make the biscuits (also known as Cheddar Bay biscuits) at home?
WHAT ARE CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS?
If you have never been to Red Lobster, then you might not know about the magic that is a Cheddar Bay biscuit.
The biscuits at Red Lobster are packed with cheddar cheese and have a garlicky, buttery top. They are served warm, and the cheesy, garlicky, buttery goodness in a fluffy biscuit is impossible to stop eating.
Unlike sweet potato biscuits, Red Lobster biscuits are a drop biscuit. That means that instead of rolling out and cutting the dough into perfect circles, the dough is dropped onto the baking sheet to make a free-form biscuit.
This is great for two reasons:
- It means that the homemade version of these biscuits is faster and easier to make, and
- It means that there are lots of craggy spots on the outside of the biscuits to catch the garlic butter.
In truth, if you whip up a batch of creamy pesto pasta with shrimp and a batch of these biscuits, there’s no need to ever set foot in the restaurant itself!
HOW TO MAKE RED LOBSTER BISCUITS
Decades ago, my mom found a recipe for a copycat version of the Red Lobster biscuits in some women’s magazine, possibly Ladies’ Home Journal. Over the years we tweaked the recipe slightly, but these were a staple in our house growing up.
And once you try them, you’ll understand why. Not only are they delicious, but they only take a handful of ingredients and minutes to make!
Ingredients you’ll need
To make this recipe, you will only need 6 simple ingredients, most of which you may already have in your pantry and fridge.
You’ll need:
- Bisquick mix: The base of these simple biscuits is Bisquick mix. If you don’t want to use the store-bought stuff, you can use homemade Bisquick mix instead.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds a nice tang to these biscuits. You can use whole milk if you don’t have buttermilk, but the added flavor is worth it here.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: I like to use a nice sharp cheddar in these biscuits. Any cheddar will work, but sharp cheddar adds so much flavor.
- Butter: Salted butter is best here, but use what you have!
- Garlic powder: Garlic powder is what adds that garlicky flavor to these biscuits. It’ll be mixed with the melted butter and brushed over the baked biscuits.
- Fresh parsley: This is the last touch to make these just like the Cheddar Bay biscuits served at the restaurant. A little minced parsley over the top adds a bit of flavor and lots of color. If you don’t have any on hand, you can always skip this step!
Making this recipe
Grab a mixing bowl and add the Bisquick, buttermilk, and shredded cheese. Mix with a spoon until just combined, then stir vigorously for about 30 seconds.
Use a spoon to drop spoonfuls of the dough onto an ungreased sheet pan. If you want to make smaller biscuits, you will get about 12. If you make them larger, you’ll get 9-10.
Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
While the biscuits bake, whisk together the melted butter and garlic powder. As soon as the biscuits come out of the oven, use a basting brush to brush the garlic butter over the biscuits.
Finish the biscuits by sprinkling them with the minced parsley and serve them warm!
STORAGE AND REHEATING
Store any leftover biscuits in a zip-top bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to a day.
The biscuits are best eaten when they are warm, so I recommend reheating them before digging into the leftovers.
The quickest and easiest way to reheat your Cheddar Bay biscuits is in a toaster oven.
If you don’t have a toaster oven, wrap the biscuits in foil and pop them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until they are warmed through.
I can guarantee that these copycat Red Lobster biscuits will be a new staple at your house!
Homemade Red Lobster Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bisquick mix store-bought or homemade
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a bowl, combine baking mix, buttermilk, and cheese with a spoon just until combined, then beat vigorously for 30 seconds.
- Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.
- While biscuits are baking, combine melted butter and garlic powder.
- Brush the mixture over the warm biscuits immediately upon removing from the oven, and sprinkle with the minced parsley. Serve warm.
I’ve never been to Red Lobster, but honestly, now that I know I can make these biscuits at home, I never have to!
The biscuits are really the highlight. Now you’ve got the key to biscuit bliss!
Can sausage be added to these biscuits
Hi Carolyn – I have not tried adding sausage to them, so I can’t say for sure how they would turn out. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes for you!
Hello, GORGEOUS. Want!
Still drooling…stiiiiiill drooling over these! I hope you had some of these on hand while you were finishing up Desperate Housewives…? Nothing like a comforting biscuit to sooth you through sudden death and the ending of an era. 😉 And yes, you can eat nothing but biscuits as long as I can eat nothing but brownies.
I am totally ok enabling you whilst you enable me.
Ahhhh I could just live on these!
I want a million. No, a BAZILLION.
Biscuit party!
It’s only wrong on opposite day! 🙂 Love these…I’ve been known to go to Red Lobster just to eat them. Off to check out the recipe!
Who hasn’t done the same thing a time or two? 😉
Oh how I LOVE these biscuits! I definitely would loose self control around a basket of these 😉
Mike and I went on a fancy date in college to Red Lobster. I had never been to a Red Lobster before so when Mike was scarfing down biscuit after biscuit I kind of looked at him strangely. Then I ate one and totally understood. Fancy date turned into the date where we both got so sick because we ate way way way too much food. Mike is pestering me to make these. I may have to give in.
I love everything about this story. Dying.
Hi Do these freeze please? And if so would you thaw to reheat or reheat f try on frozen in foil? ThanQ from UK … only just discovered your website 👏👏👏⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hi Karrie! I haven’t actually tried freezing these, so I’m not sure how they’d do after thawing. I’m sure the flavor would be fine, I just don’t know if the texture would be quite the same or not! If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes for you.