Want some of those famous Cheddar Bay biscuits? These Red Lobster biscuits are easy to make at home with just a few things.
I have to say that sometimes I choose a restaurant based on the bread that comes with the soup or salad.
I can’t be alone in this. Who hasn’t gone to Olive Garden or Texas Roadhouse just for the breadsticks or rolls at least once?
I can’t say enough good things about the Red Lobster biscuits—they are the best part of the meal.
To be honest, I haven’t been to Red Lobster in a very long time. But why would you? You can make the biscuits (also called Cheddar Bay biscuits) at home.
Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits are famous for their light, fluffy texture and the perfect amount of garlic and cheese flavor. Many have tried to replicate the recipe at home to get that same restaurant-quality biscuit. While you can make them completely from scratch, it’s actually possible to get pretty darn close using a shortcut biscuit mix.
As a huge fan of those addictive biscuits myself, I was excited to try this quick and easy box mix method. In this article, I’ll walk through how to make Red Lobster-style biscuits in your own kitchen using a few simple ingredients. Keep reading for pro tips to nail the flavor and texture of the biscuits, plus answers to frequently asked questions
Step-By-Step Instructions for Making Red Lobster Biscuits from a Box
To make these beloved biscuits at home you’ll need just a few ingredients
- Biscuit mix (like Bisquick)
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Dried parsley
- Milk
Here’s how it all comes together:
Step 1: Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet
Preheat your oven to 450°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. The hot oven helps create the biscuits’ fluffy interior.
Step 2: Make the Biscuit Dough
In a bowl, combine the Bisquick mix, shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, dried parsley, and milk. Stir just until a sticky dough forms. Be careful not to overmix.
Step 3: Scoop and Shape Biscuit Dough
Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to scoop golf ball-sized mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them apart.
Step 4: Brush with Melted Butter
Melt some butter and use a pastry brush or spoon to coat the tops of the unbaked biscuits. This gives them a perfectly golden tops.
Step 5: Bake Biscuits
Pop in the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes until tops are browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
And that’s it! With just a few common ingredients, you can recreate the flavor and texture of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits at home.
Handy Tips for Getting the Biscuits Just Right
Here are some top tips for making your homemade biscuits taste as close as possible to the restaurant versions:
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Use very cold butter in the dough – this helps create flaky layers.
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Don’t overmix the dough – just combine ingredients until it forms a sticky ball to keep biscuits light.
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Brush biscuit tops generously with melted butter before baking.
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Let biscuits cool for 5 minutes before eating so the interior can set up.
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Add a bit more garlic powder and dried parsley than seems necessary to get that signature flavor.
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Use an aged cheddar for sharper flavor. A blend of cheddar and parmesan is extra tasty.
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Cut the biscuits in half before serving and add an extra pat of garlic butter to each one!
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Red Lobster Biscuits
Here are answers to some common questions about whipping up these biscuits at home:
What can I use instead of Bisquick?
You can use any classic biscuit mix like Jiffy or store-brand versions. Avoid using mixes with extra sugar or other flavorings.
How do I make them dairy-free?
Substitute your favorite non-dairy milk and butter. Use Daiya dairy-free cheddar shreds instead of real cheese for a vegan biscuit.
Can I freeze extra biscuits to bake later?
Absolutely! Just cool biscuits completely then store in a freezer bag. Reheat frozen biscuits in the oven at 300°F for 8-10 minutes.
Should I use fresh or dried parsley?
Dried parsley has a stronger, more concentrated flavor that comes through better in biscuits. Use 1-2 teaspoons of dried parsley.
What should the dough consistency be?
The dough will be moist and sticky. Use a light hand when shaping so you don’t flatten biscuits. The dough should hold its shape when scooped.
Recreating the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits at home is easy and fun. With a basic box biscuit mix and a few simple ingredients, you can enjoy these addictive biscuits any time. Use this step-by-step guide and pro tips to help make your homemade version extra scrumptious. Surprise your family or serve them up at your next gathering!
WHAT ARE CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS?
If you’ve never been to Red Lobster, you might not know how amazing a Cheddar Bay biscuit is.
The biscuits at Red Lobster are packed with cheddar cheese and have a garlicky, buttery top. They come warm, and it’s hard to stop eating the cheesy, garlicky, buttery goodness in a fluffy biscuit.
Unlike sweet potato biscuits, Red Lobster biscuits are a drop biscuit. In other words, the dough is not rolled out and cut into circles. Instead, it is dropped onto the baking sheet to form a free-form biscuit.
This is great for two reasons:
- This means that making these biscuits at home is faster and easier, and
- So the outside of the biscuits has a lot of bumps so the garlic butter can stick to them.
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
My mom found a recipe for biscuits that tasted just like those at Red Lobster in a women’s magazine many years ago. It might have been 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!.
Just 6 easy-to-find items are needed to make this recipe. Most of them are likely already in your pantry or fridge.
You’ll need:
- Bisquick mix: These cookie dough-like treats are made with Bisquick mix. It’s possible to make your own Bisquick mix if you don’t want to buy it.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds a nice tang to these biscuits. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use whole milk instead, but they taste better with buttermilk.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: For these biscuits, I like to use a nice sharp cheddar. You can use any kind of cheddar, but sharp cheddar tastes better.
- Salty butter works best here, but you can use what you have.
- Adding garlic powder: The garlicky taste in these biscuits comes from the garlic powder. It will be mixed with melted butter and used to cover the biscuits after they’re baked.
- This is the last step to make these biscuits look exactly like the ones served at the restaurant. It tastes better and looks better with some chopped parsley on top. You can skip this step if you don’t have any on hand!
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!
You can keep any extra cookies at room temperature for up to a day in a zip-top bag or an airtight container.
If you want to eat the biscuits again, I suggest heating them up first because they taste best when they are warm.
The quickest and easiest way to reheat your Cheddar Bay biscuits is in a toaster oven.
Don’t have a toaster oven? Wrap the biscuits in foil and heat them in an oven set to 350°F for about 10 minutes, or until they are warm all the way through.
I can guarantee that these copycat Red Lobster biscuits will be a new staple at your house!
