It wouldn’t be a far stretch to say Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits are as iconic as the restaurant itself. After all, a hot, buttery, garlicky biscuit studded with melty Cheddar, packed with flavor, and served tableside is an unforgettable thing. Just imagine how memorable they’ll be, fresh out of the oven, served tableside in your very own home.
These copycat Red Lobster Biscuits are practically indistinguishable from the restaurant’s coveted biscuit recipe, baking up a beautiful golden brown with all the buttery, garlicky, cheesy flavor you’d expect from a Cheddar Bay Biscuit. Easy to make and coming together start-to-finish in less than 30 minutes, this side dish is worth staying in for!
CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS FROM RED LOBSTER
It’s no surprise a seafood joint with Southern origins could slam out a biscuit the world would drool over for decades to come. Florida-born Red Lobster introduced its Cheddar Bay Biscuits in 1992 as “freshly baked, hot cheese garlic bread.” As you can imagine, this was quite a mouthful, and within five years the biscuits took on a new name — Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
The biscuits were originally an amuse-bouche that was carried on a tray and hand-delivered to guests in the lobby waiting on their table. Their demand became so high, Red Lobster decided it was best for the biscuits to be delivered tableside instead. It is estimated the restaurant serves over 1 million biscuits on a daily basis. Now, that’s a lot of dough.
Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster are essentially a buttermilk biscuit with extra, extra flavor. They’re amped up with garlic powder, Cheddar cheese, and herbs.
The biscuits come together like all others, with a mix of dry ingredients. Then, cold fats are cut into the dry mix, and a liquid is used to bring the dough together.
In most biscuit recipes, the dough is shaped and cut, however, in the case of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, this step is omitted and the biscuit dough is simply scooped, dropped directly on to the pan, and baked. This type of biscuit is also known as a drop biscuit.
WHAT ARE RED LOBSTER BISCUITS MADE OF?
Red Lobster has never released its prized Cheddar Bay Biscuit recipe, but we had a pretty good inkling of what these gems were made of. Below, you’ll find a list of ingredients that will send a carbon copy of Red Lobster Biscuits from your very own oven to the dinner table in less than 30 minutes.
- Butter
- Flour
- Baking Powder and Soda
- Garlic Powder and Salt
- Cheese
- Parsley
- Buttermilk
Butter – To make a proper biscuit dough you’ll need cold butter cut into small cubes. Unsalted butter is best as it gives you full control over the amount of salt going into the dough, however, if you only have salted butter, omit all salt from this recipe and proceed as directed.
Flour – All-purpose flour is the best flour for making Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Do not use any other type of flour for this recipe.
Leaveners – A combination of both baking powder and baking soda helps these biscuits to rise and keeps them extra tender.
Spices – There’s no denying the garlic flavor in Cheddar Bay Biscuits. To achieve the proper flavor profile, you’ll need garlic powder on hand, as well as Kosher salt.
Cheese – It’s not a Red Lobster Biscuit if you don’t see cheese spilling out from every square inch of the biscuit. Freshly grated Cheddar cheese is best, but if time won’t allow, use a good, quality pre-shredded Cheddar.
Parsley – That little pop of green you see in the biscuits is parsley. We prefer fresh, but if you’d like to use dry parsley, you’ll need to cut the quantity down by a third.
Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds flavor to baked goods, but it also helps to keep them extra tender. Even if you don’t typically keep buttermilk on hand, it’s worth splurging for these Cheddar Bay Biscuits!
HOW TO MAKE RED LOBSTER BISCUITS
- Cut the Butter – Cut cold butter into tiny cubes and set aside until ready to use.
- Mix Dry Ingredients – In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and garlic powder.
- Cut In Butter – Using a pastry blender, cut the cubed butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse, small peas.
- Add Cheese, Parsley, and Buttermilk – Stir in the Cheddar and parsley. Then, using a sturdy spoon, stir in the buttermilk just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.
- Drop Dough Onto Baking Sheet – Drop heaping spoonfuls of dough (about 2-3 tablespoons worth — we actually used an ice cream scoop for these biscuits) onto the sheet pans, spacing each 2 inches apart and bake for 10-13 minutes.
- Bake – Once the biscuits have finished baking, brush them with the melted butter, return to the oven and bake 2-3 minutes more, until cooked through and golden brown. Serve and enjoy.
4 MORE BISCUIT RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Easy Southern Biscuits
- Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Cheddar and Chive Drop Biscuits
Hot, buttery, and garlicky, Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits are better at home! Studded with melty Cheddar, and packed with flavor, you'll find this copycat recipe identical to the restaurant's coveted biscuits!
- 8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter + 2 tablespoons melted butter (separated)
- 2 cups All-Purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt plus a pinch
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2/3 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons freshly minced Italian parsley
- 1 cup buttermilk
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Preheat oven to 400° and have ready two sheet pans lined with either parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
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Cut 8 tablespoons of cold butter into tiny cubes and set aside until ready to use.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and garlic powder. Using a pastry blender, cut the cubed butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse, small peas.
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Stir in the cheddar and parsley. Then, using a sturdy spoon, stir in the buttermilk just until dough comes together. Do not over mix.
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Drop large, heaping spoonfuls of dough (about 2-3 tablespoons worth -- we used an ice cream scoop) onto the sheet pans, spacing each 2 inches apart, and bake for about 13 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown
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Once the biscuits have finished baking, brush them with the melted butter, serve, and enjoy.
Recipe Video
I love having these at Red Lobster and now I’m so glad I found a copycat recipe. Love them!
Love these biscuits so much! I’m excited to have the recipe now to make them for myself. Yum!
Gosh these biscuits look sooo good! Cheddar bay were always my favorite and these are the real deal. Now I’m in the mood to whip up a batch 😀
These are my absolutely favorite biscuits. I cannot wait to make these. .
I’ve seen the boxed mixed sold in grocery stores before, but I’ve never tried making it from scratch. This will be super useful for people who love the biscuits but their store don’t stock the boxed mix. 🙂
Your recipe is wonderful! The homemade biscuits that are NOT my usual hockey pucks lol, made my husband’s birthday!
Thank you
What do you do if you don’t have a pastry blender?
You can use two knives if you do not have a pastry blender or even a food processor fitted with a blade attachment.
can we make these in advance?
These can be made in advance and frozen until the day you’re ready to eat 🙂
If you freeze them do you thaw, then bake or bake frozen?
I would bake and then freeze!
This recipe is amazing except I found that my biscuits didn’t brown on the top after 13 minutes. I had to broil them for a couple of minutes to get that really nice golden brown topping. Not sure if I did something wrong or if my stove is messed up lol. Otherwise these are delicious!