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These copycat Red Lobster homemade cheddar bay biscuits use a from-scratch recipe – no Bisquick! This easy one-bowl biscuit recipe is a tasty addition to any dinner.
Have you ever had the delicious cheddar bay biscuits that come with your meal at Red Lobster?
The good news is, you don’t need to put on real pants or shell out “going out” money to enjoy those tasty biscuits. Making them at home is simple and oh so delicious.
Also, where exactly is Cheddar Bay? Cause I want to go there. Like, are we taking a boat? Is there a ferry?
When the weather is chilly and I am craving all the cozy foods, these homemade Red Lobster biscuits and a bowl of Instant Pot beef stew are all I ever want.
To make this cheddar bay biscuit recipe a little less messy, skip rolling the dough with your hands. Instead, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.
Once you pull these bad boys out of the oven, brush some butter over the top, sprinkle a bit of dried parsley on the butter, and then allow them to cool a bit.
Or…just put one in each hand, sit on the floor, and eat yourself silly. You pick. No judgment from me.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- No Old Bay seasoning? Feel free to use our homemade seafood seasoning recipe to make your own!
- You can bake and freeze the biscuits, but plan to freeze them without any melted butter brushed on top. Let the frozen biscuits thaw at room temperature and reheat at 250°F for 10 minutes.
- A previous version of this recipe used 100% whole wheat flour. If you would prefer the original version, use 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour, 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten, and 1 tbsp of baking powder (instead of 1 tsp).
Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits (No Bisquick)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning {or another brand of seafood seasoning)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/3 cup powdered milk
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 5 tbsp butter {melted}
- 1 cup milk {2% or whole milk recommended}
- 1 1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp parsley flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F with a rack set to the middle of the oven.
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/3 cup powdered milk, 2 tsp garlic powder
- Add the melted butter and the milk and mix until about fifty-percent combined.5 tbsp butter, 1 cup milk
- Add the cheese and fold it in gently.1 1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
- Drop spoonfuls of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes.1 tsp parsley flakes
- Optional: brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle additional parsley flakes on top.
Notes
- Feel free to bake and freeze the biscuits, but plan to freeze them without any melted butter brushed on top. Let the frozen biscuits thaw at room temperature and reheat at 250°F for 10 minutes.
- A previous version of this recipe used whole wheat flour. If you would prefer the original version, use 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour, 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten, and 1 tbsp of baking powder (instead of 1 tsp).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Similar to one I sue, but I put in a bit of cayenne pepper. My son loved it.
Yum to the cayenne, Marie!!
These biscuits sound and I am sure taste delicious.
QUESTION: Why the ‘powdered milk’?? I don’t have it on hand and would not use it for anything else, it is essential or cold I leave it out or substitute with something else?
Thanks for your response,
Anne
I love the flavor that it adds to the biscuits. If you don’t have it, add a bit more flour and garlic powder.
BTW, Love your snarky sense of humor!!!
So I don’t typically (ever) have powdered milk on hand and I’m having trouble finding Cream of Tartar at the grocery store – substitution suggestions??
You can boost the baking powder instead of using cream of tartar (it’s usually in the spice section). The powdered milk is more for flavor. Doing substitutions would require increasing liquids and the flour. It’s not something I have tried so I’m hesitant to make big suggestions.
Hi. I made these tonight and I’m glad I didn’t look at the calorie count, until now, since I’m pretty sure I had 4 of them. They were really tender and good.
I didn’t have any powdered milk so I threw In some greek yogurt. I also used less butter and cheese and made 12 biscuits vs 10. And I didn’t have any old bay so I used some fish seasoning instead.
Needless to say – this recipe is super versatile and easy to make. And I was able to pull it all together really fast – All wins to me.
Thanks for sharing. But now I need to go and work them off ????
Since you made them smaller, technically those are fewer calories, right?:)
I love the adjustments you made!
Yum! These are the hand down best biscuits I have ever eaten. I substituted smoked paprika for Old Bay as I didn’t have any Old Bay on hand. I came home from work today to find a container of Old Bay on the counter as a hint to try the recipe again as it was loved. I can’t believe how light they were!
Wow, Louisa, that is high praise! I’m so glad you all liked them, and I LOVE the passive aggressive Old Bay hint!!
Old Bay seasoning is one of the things I bulk by when I’m in Canada and smuggle back in my suitcase. I love it on popcorn (with nutritional yeast also) but damn, never thought of adding it to biscuits before. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Red Lobster, but I can definitely picture myself on the kitchen floor with a warm biscuit in each hand…
I’m picturing the customs agents looking through your luggage and pulling out can after can of Old Bay and pumpkin upon your arrival in Stockholm.
These sound insanely good! I would definitely be adding smoked paprika, since I don’t think we have Old Bay seasoning on this side of the pond.
Real Cheddar Bays are basted with butter containing parsley and garlic, so I’d add some garlic to the baste. Otherwise, these sound delicious!
I can’t eat fibre so whole wheat flour is out. Can I sub regular flour and skip the vital wheat gluten? Or is that screwing with the recipe too much?
Yep, you can totally do that! I would dial the baking powder back to 1 tsp as well.
I made these for my (very selective) fans of Red Lobsters biscuits and they were a hit! Thanks
I haven’t really ever baked with whole wheat although I love it and typically will buy a fresh loaf at one of the bakeries here. Why do you have to add “vital wheat gluten”? Isn’t that already in the wheat. Sorry if I sound stupid, but I’d really like to know. Thanks.
Vital Wheat Gluten helps give whole wheat the same properties as store bought flour. You get a better rise and “fluffier” texture with it. Store flour has so much crap removed from it and then added back, that it’s hard to compare store flour with fresh whole wheat.
I think when Sarah says ‘store flour’ she means ‘white flour’. Especially since I can buy whole wheat flour at any store too!
Whole wheat flour in the US contains 100% of the entire grain of wheat, as opposed to white or all purpose flour, which only contains the endosperm (food reserve of the seed). The endosperm contains the proteins necessary for ‘rising’ bread with yeast (along with some other things but they don’t matter here). Therefore, whole wheat flour has less gluten (protein) than white flour per cup because it has the other ‘stuff’ in it and this also makes it heavier or not as ‘fluffy’ as white flour.
When baking bread, it is common to add gluten when using 100% whole wheat flour, although you can get a good loaf without it but it takes more time.
For this recipe, since we aren’t using yeast to rise the dough, the gluten isn’t necessary. The baking soda, cream of tartar and baking powder are used to ‘rise’ the biscuits instead but the added gluten may provide a very slightly different texture (although I’ve only ever made them without and they still taste the same as Red Lobster to me!).
Thank you for clarifying that as that was the very question that I needed answered. Thank you!
I haven’t really ever baked with whole wheat although I love it and typically will buy a fresh loaf at one of the bakeries here. Why do you have to add “vital wheat gluten”? Isn’t that already in the wheat. Sorry if I sound stupid, but I’d really like to know. Thanks.
They sound delicious. Bet they would be perfect with tomato soup.
Made these for dinner tonight. They were really good. It was a snow day today and I was thinking of finding a recipe for these and when I pulled up my reading list this was waiting for me. Thanks!
Glad I could help. Mmmm, warm biscuits on a snow day!
Girl your photos are looking great. Do you have a new camera or just honing your skills?
Aww, you’re so sweet, thank you! Nope, none of the above. My big change? It’s no longer dark at 4:15 pm! ;-D
I have 1 window in my kitchen that I use as a backdrop for my photos, and it’s nice to finally have some natural light again.
So, I am kind of nuts and I just made a batch of these. I know, right after I read the post. Don’t I have better things to do? As it turns out, no I do not. These are delicious. I think I may just sit on the floor and eat two.
You made me giggle! Glad to hear you enjoyed them.
um, yum.
I love those biscuits and my husband and I used to go there just for the biscuits and a salad before we had our son! I make one with biscuit mix that is similar but I brush butter over while cooking and/or at the end if I forget and they are to die for!!! Last time I made them for my parents and my mom said “Why haven’t you ever made these for me before?” Umm, sorry, I didn’t know that they were going to be that big a hit!!!
Holding out on your family…not cool! ;-D
LMAO….yeah…we eat at Dead Lobster for special occasions (back living in the land locked midwest with no access to real fresh seafood). Every time we are undone by those damned biscuits.
That’s me, sitting on the floor, one in each hand. No wonder I weigh a thousand pounds. I did figure out how to make them myself though and do every now and then. But I alwaysd ALWAYS make my biscuits with buttermilk, ’cause my granny said so.
I have a rule that I won’t eat seafood more than 50 miles from a big body of water. I guess the midwest has a lot of perch?
I am eating a batch of my homemade whole wheat blueberry muffins as I am reading this. And while they are tasty. In no way can they compare to Red Lobster’s cheddar biscuits.
I have not eaten at Red Lobster’s since college but I swing by to buy a order of biscuits to go once in a while. I think 5 biscuits was like $2, the last time I went.
I would have never thought about to go biscuits. Genius!