Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits
For an authentic Red Lobster taste, garlic butter, buttermilk, and Old Bay seasoning are essential ingredients for these drop cheddar biscuits. I have, of course, included them in this recipe, so you’re in the right place!
Red Lobster Biscuits are famous for their savory garlic-cheddar-herb flavor and fantastic texture- baking up soft and moist inside, while the outside develops crispy-crackly edges that perfectly capture melted butter brushed over the top. This is in part because they are ‘drop biscuits’, meaning they are simply spooned out and plopped onto a baking tray, not rolled and cut like other biscuits.
Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Recipe
The Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Recipe was first invented by lead chef Kurt Hankins in 1992. The biscuits were originally served on platters by employees in the lobby while you waited to be seated. They became so popular that Red Lobster had to officially move them to the regular menu shortly thereafter and give them their official name. Here’s a fun video from Mashup with a little more details on the history of these amazing biscuits!
Red Lobster biscuits are so popular that you can purchase them at large nationwide retail grocery stores, ready-made (frozen), or as a box of dry mix you can prepare at home. They are very easy to make from scratch, though, so if you like baking and want to save a little cash, just make them at home like I do! They are always a crowd-pleasing hit!
Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits Recipe
These biscuits are as simple as whisking a few dry ingredients together, then cutting some cold butter in (I let the food processor do this for me, but you can use a pastry cutter or fork if you like), then stirring in some buttermilk for moisture.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can stir 1/2 cup finely chopped crab meat into these biscuits when you stir in the buttermilk.
Above you can see the dry ingredients in the bottom of my Cuisinart Multifunctional Food Processor (this tool saves me so much time, I love it), with the butter on top. Then I process it for only about 8-10 seconds, and that cold butter is perfectly cut in without any elbow grease whatsoever!
Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in freshly chopped parsley and grated Medium Cheddar Cheese (medium is what the restaurant uses, apparently it melts into the biscuits better than sharp cheddar does.)
Next, simply stir in the buttermilk, but be careful to not overmix- stop mixing once all the dry crumbs have been absorbed.
An ice cream scoop is super handy when it comes to scooping and dropping these cheddar drop biscuits. You can certainly just use a couple of large spoons as well to scoop out and portion this dough into biscuits.
Then scoop and drop (or PLOP!) gobs of biscuit dough down onto your baking sheet and bake them up! The finishing touch of the brushed melted butter over the top is soooooo ah-maz-ing that you will likely shove the whole thing in your mouth in record time.
I keep my refrigerator stocked with a simple homemade herbed garlic butter all the time. I use it for tons of things- roasting vegetables, making garlic toast for a quick weeknight side, or brushing over these homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits!
Hey- you know what would be even more awesome? If you love these biscuits, come back to this page and give this recipe a star rating. Other readers would sure appreciate hearing your opinion!
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Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Description
Red Lobster Biscuits are famous for their savory garlic-cheddar-herb flavor and fantastic texture- baking up soft and moist inside, while the outside develops crackly edges that perfectly capture all the melted butter brushed over the top. For authentic taste, buttermilk and Old Bay seasoning are essential for these drop cheddar biscuits.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup medium cheddar cheese (freshly grated is best)
- 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
- 1 cup buttermilk
Melted butter topping
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of freshly chopped Italian Parsley
Instructions
- Set your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and Old Bay seasoning. Pulse about 5 times to mix together.
- Cut the 8 tablespoons of butter into small cubes and add them to the flour mixture. Process on high for around 8-10 seconds, or until no large pieces of butter remain.
- Empty the contents into a mixing bowl. Stir in the cheddar and parsley, then pour in the buttermilk. Stir with a spatula just until no loose crumbs remain on the bottom.
- Scoop out the biscuit mixture using an ice cream scoop or dinner spoons (approximately 1/4 cup size), spacing them about two inches apart onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden brown, about 12-14 minutes.
- Combine the ingredients for the melted butter topping and brush over warm rolls. Serve.
Notes
You don’t need a food processor to make these cheddar drop biscuits! Whisk the ingredients together in step 1, and simply use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut the cubes of butter into the flour mixture for step 2.
I love upgrading the melted butter brushed over the top of these biscuits by using my easy homemade Herbed Butter recipe (compound butter). I highly recommend you try it!
How to reheat Red Lobster Biscuits: It’s best to avoid the microwave when reheating these drop cheddar biscuits. To maintain their crunchy exterior, I recommend reheating them with your oven broiler (on low) for just a couple of minutes, or in a toaster oven.
