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Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits are a beloved restaurant classic known for their cheesy, garlicky flavor and buttery, flaky texture. These irresistible biscuits combine sharp cheddar cheese with a perfect blend of spices, creating a savory treat that complements any meal. Whether enjoyed as a side dish or a snack, Cheddar Bay Biscuits have become a fan favorite, drawing diners back for their mouthwatering taste. Discover how to make these famous biscuits at home for a delicious, restaurant-quality experience in your kitchen.

Key Steps for Perfect Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

  1. Mix Dry Ingredients: – Combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and sugar for a flavorful base.
  2. Add Cold Butter: – Grate in cold butter to create a flaky texture.
  3. Incorporate Cheese & parsley: – Mix in sharp cheddar cheese for a rich, cheesy flavor.
  4. Add Buttermilk: – Stir in cold buttermilk until just combined to avoid overmixing.
  5. Shape Biscuits: – Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet for a rustic look.
  6. Bake Until Golden: – Bake at 425°F until biscuits are golden brown and cooked through.
  7. Brush with Garlic Butter: – Brush hot biscuits with melted garlic butter for a delicious finish.

Keep ingredients cold for Red Lobster biscuits

Keeping ingredients cold is crucial for making perfect biscuits. Cold butter, when cut into the dry ingredients, creates small pockets that melt during baking, resulting in a flaky, tender texture. Cold buttermilk ensures the dough remains cool, preventing the butter from melting prematurely. This helps the biscuits rise properly and maintain their shape. By using cold ingredients, you achieve a light, airy biscuit with a deliciously crisp exterior and a soft, buttery interior. Always keep your ingredients cold for the best biscuit results.

Grate in cold butter

Many biscuit or pastry recipes require you to cut the butter into chunks then slowly work it into the flour with you fingers until a crumb forms. An easy way to get the same result is by grating in your butter instead. To make it easier to grate, I place my butter into the freezer for 15 minutes before I grate.

Shredded cheese and parsley in the dough

The shredded cheddar cheese and parsley are both important for texture, flavor, and color. The shredded cheddar adds a cheesy texture after baked as well as flavor. The parsley is added mainly for color. Red Lobster doesn’t actually have parsley in the batter but I think it looks much more appetizing.

Reasons to Not Overmix When Making Red Lobster Biscuits

  1. Tender Texture: Overmixing develops gluten, making biscuits tough instead of tender and flaky.
  2. Proper Rise: Overmixed dough can become dense, preventing the biscuits from rising properly.
  3. Flaky Layers: Minimal mixing keeps the butter cold and intact, creating steam pockets for flakiness.
  4. Even Baking: Overmixed dough can result in uneven baking, causing some biscuits to be undercooked or overcooked.
  5. Consistent Shape: Overmixed dough can lose its shape, leading to uneven and misshapen biscuits.
5 from 4 votes

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits (Easy)

Servings: 12 biscuits
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
I grew up eating these cheddar bay biscuits and just recently realized how simple they are to make.
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Ingredients 

  • 250 g flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • ½ tbsp salt
  • ½ tbsp sugar
  • 113g cold butter, (1 stick)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • 1 cup buttermilk

Garlic butter

  • 1 stick softened butter
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions 

  • Place stick of butter into freezer while you prepare the rest. This will firm up the butter, making it easier to grate.
    113g cold butter
  • In a bowl, add flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and sugar. Mix to combine.
    250 g flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder, ½ tbsp salt, ½ tbsp sugar
  • Take butter from freezer and grate it in.
    113g cold butter
  • Add grated cheese and chopped parsley. Mix again.
    1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, ½ cup chopped parsley
  • Add buttermilk and mix with a spoon until smooth and you can no longer see anymore flour.
    1 cup buttermilk
  • Using a spoon, form your biscuits and place on a baking dish. They don't need to be perfectly round. The batter should make 10-12 biscuits.
  • Bake at 420F for 15 minutes.
  • Mix together garlic butter ingredients and brush on top of biscuits.
    1 stick softened butter, 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 1 tsp salt

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American

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About Jacky Kwok

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14 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These were amazing and SO easy! They looked just like the picture. When I make them again I would either cut back on the salt or not use salted butter (so not the recipe’s fault- I should’ve used unsalted to begin with) and perhaps cut back on the garlic powder just a little bit. They really do taste like Red Lobster biscuits, just much better!

    1. Do you have any any quick hack for buttermilk? I live in a country where buttermilk is like a rare Pokémon even in the fancy stores. Or is it possible to use butter milk powder? Thank you

  2. 5 stars
    Great instructions and super easy to make! Delicious! Any thoughts on freezing before baking or freezing afyer baking?

  3. Hey Jacky! Could you tell me how much flour that is in cups if I use all-purpose flour? The internet gives such a huge range and I don’t have a kitchen scale in my home. Also, safe to assume it’s unsalted butter and sharp cheddar cheese?

    1. About 2 cups, weighted measurements are always more accurate though haha. And yes, unsalted butter and sharp cheddar works.

  4. I used a food processor and mixed all dry ingredients then mixed by hand add in cheese and parsley then buttermilk

  5. 5 stars
    Great recipe. I was familiar with the grating in the butter as I did this for my biscuits. But now I put the flour and frozen butter in a food processor and pulse it until my desired texture is achieved. This method keeps the butter from softening up too much and my biscuits are much more fluffier. I think this would work great here .