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Cheddar bay biscuits from Red Lobster are always the first thing to disappear!
This copycat recipe makes light buttery biscuits with that signature cheesy garlic flavor. Enjoy them fresh and warm from the oven or for a snack the next day.
Copycat Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Who doesn’t love a fun copycat recipe? We love them just as much as we love Red Lobster biscuits.
- Make them from scratch or save a few steps and use a box of Bisquick biscuit mix as a base.
- This cheddar bay biscuit recipe is light and fluffy with that buttery garlic flavor we love so much.
- Quick and easy to make, Cheddar Bay biscuits go with anything. Enjoy them fresh out of the oven, dunk them into soup or chili, or use them as buns for a breakfast sandwich.
Ingredients
While you can purchase Red Lobster biscuit mix, they’re so easy (and less expensive) to make at home with mainly pantry ingredients.
Biscuit Dough – Like most drop biscuits, these can be made from scratch with a little flour, baking soda and powder, sugar, and as much or as little garlic powder as you like.
Shortcut Tip – If you’re looking for a shortcut, use biscuit mix (like Bisquick) and follow the directions for drop biscuits. Use the topping below for that Red Lobster biscuit flavor.
Cheese – Cheddar Bay biscuits wouldn’t be the same without heaps of sharp cheddar cheese, but experiment with a mix of cheddar and Swiss, or cheddar and bleu cheese crumbles.
Buttery Topping – This is where the magic is! Melted butter with garlic powder and seasoning makes the perfect topping for this recipe.
Feel free to mix in other seasonings to match the meal. For chili night, make spicy biscuits using homemade taco seasoning, some zesty Cajun seasoning, or even Old Bay seasoning. Mix in some chopped black olives, green onions, bacon bits, diced ham, or even jalapenos.
How to Make Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in cold butter (per the recipe below).
- Stir in milk and cheese.
- Scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown on top.
- Melt butter, add seasonings & fresh parsley. Brush over the warm biscuits.
What to Serve with Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Red Lobster cheddar biscuits are delicious on their own and pair perfectly with seafood dishes. Try them next to easy grilled salmon, asparagus salmon foil packets, easy baked tilapia (or cod), shrimp etouffee, or creamy seafood chowder.
Turn this recipe into a filling skillet chicken & biscuits recipe or use them to dunk into any soup recipe.
Leftover Biscuits?
Keep leftover Cheddar Bay biscuits in an airtight container or freezer bag at room temperature for up to 4 days. Enjoy them as is, or reheat them in the microwave. Freeze biscuits in zippered bags for up to 2 months.
More Quick Biscuit Recipes
Perfect for dipping, dunking and smearing with butter, here are some of our favorite biscuit recipes.
Did you make these Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits? Leave us a comment and a rating below!
Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk more if needed
- ⅓ cup cold butter
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Garlic Butter
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, garlic powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add butter and mix with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly and the butter pieces are about the size of peas.
- Stir in milk and cheddar cheese
- Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto a parchment lined pan
- Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- While biscuits are baking, combine melted butter, parsley, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning if using.
- Remove from oven and let cool 3 minutes.
- Brush warm biscuits with butter mixture and serve warm.
Notes
- 2 cups biscuit mix or Bisquick, 2 tablespoons softened butter, ⅔ cup cold milk, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Prepare and bake as directed above. Brush with melted Garlic Butter as above.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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I normally do not cook with salt and it was a real surprise how important it is to the recipe. Biscuit mixes have a lot of salt so if you use that recipe, you can ignore my suggestions.
1. Use SALTED butter
2. Use garlic salt in the butter or garlic powder AND salt
3. Sprinkle garlic salt on the buttered biscuits before serving.
Thank you for your suggestions, Angie!
It can’t be cheddar biscuits without the Old Bay. So I added that to the recipe and they were fantastic!
Sounds like a great addition!
True!!!!!! Almost none of the copycat “Cheddar Bay Biscuits” recipes have Old Bay seasoning. That’s the bay in the recipe title!
As a former regional manager and head of menu development for Red Lobster, I can assure every last one of you that Cheddar Bay biscuits have ZERO Old Bay seasoning in them and never have. They didn’t even used to have a name at all but the marketing people decided they needed one and made up the name. It has absolutely nothing to do with Old Bay. I’m sure there’s a boatload of you who will absolutely insist that you’re correct and I don’t know what I’m talking about, but as someone who knows every ingredient of every dish on the Red Lobster menu, I can tell you with 100% certainty that the Cheddar Bay biscuits do not nor ever had Old Bay seasoning in them.
these were so good! Next time I’ll add 1/4 t of Italian seasoning, if any at all. I’ll add more salt and sugar also. Great texture.
Once again, Holly, you nailed it! Start to very yummy finish about 35 mins. I used buttermilk instead of milk because I just bought some today and increased the cheese to 1 cup. Also increased salt just slightly. I always read the comments before beginning and a few suggested more cheese and salt. Fantastic recipe! Whenever I’m doing a search for a recipe and see your site, I know I’m trying it first. It’s always as far as I have to go! Thanks to you and your team! p.s. I’m going to make the Butter Chicken you sent us this a.m. It looks Yummy!
Thank you for the kind words Susan, I’m so glad you’ve loved the recipes! I hope yu enjoy the Butter Chicken, it’s one of our favorites.
These are wonderful. First time I made them hubby at least 4 with supper. (Usually he’d have 1, maybe 2 lol) we liked that they weren’t as salty as the original or even the box mix. This recipe is way better than either of those! Making them again tonight for the third time to go with a beef stew bc they are so quick and easy! Thank you!
Hi, can this recipe be doubled or tripled, or should I make separate batches? Also, I noticed several people added more salt. How much would you recommend, if using unsalted butter? Thanks
Hi Marsha, this recipe uses unsalted butter, if wanting additional salt you could try adding ¼ teaspoon and adjust from there. It should be okay to make a double batch or triple, by biggest concern would be cutting in the butter. That might be easier if you just make multiple batches. I would love to hear what you do and how it turns out for you!
I added 1 tsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Basil and
1/2 tsp. Thyme
I followed the rest of the recipe exactly & they were to die for, even using a gluten free flour mix!
These look great & I will try them. However, I’ll skip the Italian seasoning & sprinkle on Old Bay instead. After all, that’s why they’re called “Cheddar Bay Biscuits!”
Made these biscuits for my family and they were an instant hit! Thank You!
Delicious!
I’ve tried numerous recipes and this is the best!!
Good with homemade chicken soup
These were amazing and better than the ones at RL. I cut the recipe in half and it made 4 nice sized biscuits—perfect for two people. I’ll definitely be making these again!
Made these last night and served them with my homemade jambalaya. Two adult children and a 15 year old granddaughter were actually fighting over them and making sure nobody got more than their share. LOL! I’ve used the “box” before but never got the response I did last night. Thank you for a quick, easy AND great tasting recipe.
That is too funny, Sandi! I am glad everyone enjoyed them so much.
Can you make the biscuit dough in the afternoon stored in the fridge raider and cook it for dinner?
Hi Jon, that should work well for this recipe.
Love this recipe.
My family and I love this recipe!
Delicious, I use softened butter though I like it that way better.
This is almost perfect. Love the texture of these biscuits. Next time I will use a teaspoon of salt and maybe closer to one cup of cheese. The topping needs a good two finger pinch of salt as well. I suspect the recipe was originally made with salted butter.
Nonetheless, this is an excellent recipe!
Excellent recipe, easy, tasty and light and fluffy
This is okay. It needs more cheese and more salt.
These are amazing. I added a pinch more salt and garlic. I have missed Red Lobster biscuits but not anymore