Copycat Cheddar Bay Biscuits
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Recreate Red Lobster’s iconic Cheddar Bay biscuits in your own kitchen. Cheesy, garlicky, and herb-flecked, they’ve earned cult-favorite status for good reason. Quick to make and perfect with everything from weeknight dinners to Sunday brunch.
Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits are nothing short of legendary. Originally served to keep diners happy while they waited for their meals, the cheesy, garlicky biscuits quickly stole the show. This easy copycat recipe lets you recreate them at home—and if you hand one to anyone who’s ever been to Red Lobster, you’ll see that instant spark of recognition. That blend of cheddar, garlic, and herbs wrapped in a warm buttermilk biscuit is pure nostalgia.
Here’s a fun (and, yes, slightly disappointing!) tidbit: There’s no actual Cheddar Bay. It’s a clever marketing move by Red Lobster to give their biscuits a little coastal charm. Until 1993, they were simply known as “Cheese Garlic Bread.”
This recipe couldn’t be easier—it follows the drop biscuit method, meaning no rolling or shaping required, just quick scooping for those crave-worthy textured edges. And while these biscuits pair well with just about anything, given their name, it only feels right to serve them with seafood recipes.
“Oh so so good! I’ve tried other recipes but yours tops any. The aroma it sent throughout our home made it very hard to be patient while waiting for them to bake.”
What You’ll Need To Make Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- All-purpose flour: The base of the biscuits. For best results, scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with a knife.
- Cornstarch: Softens the flour’s protein a bit, making the biscuits extra tender.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Team up to help the biscuits rise nice and fluffy.
- Garlic powder: Adds that savory kick in both the biscuit dough and the buttery topping.
- Butter: Gives the biscuits their flaky texture and makes the topping rich and delicious.
- Cheddar cheese: Brings a bold, tangy flavor and melty richness—sharp cheddar is my go-to here.
- Buttermilk: Activates the leavening agent and makes the biscuits tender and flavorful. If you’ve got vinegar or lemon juice and milk, you can make your own buttermilk.
- Fresh parsley: Stirred into the topping for a pop of fresh, herby flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients and the butter. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and garlic powder and whisk to combine. Add the butter to the dry ingredients.
Pro Tip: Make sure your butter is straight from the fridge—cold butter creates steam pockets as it bakes, giving you fluffy, tender biscuits.
Step 2: Cut in the butter. Work the butter cubes in with a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-size clumps.
Step 3: Add the cheese and buttermilk. Stir in the shredded cheese and buttermilk with a rubber spatula until you get a shaggy, sticky dough. If it seems too dry, add a splash more buttermilk. Be sure not to overmix—this can make the biscuits dense—a little shagginess is perfectly fine.
Step 4: Scoop the biscuit dough. Using two soup spoons, scoop 8 roughly peach-sized mounds (about 2½ inches wide) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave them as-is—craggy edges are a good thing! (At this point, you can freeze the unbaked mounds in an airtight container for up to 3 months.)
Step 5: Bake the biscuits. Pop the baking sheet in a preheated oven and bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly golden. Don’t worry if some of the cheese oozes out—that just means you’ll get crispy, cheesy edges!
Step 6: Make the garlic butter. While the biscuits bake, stir together melted butter, garlic powder, and chopped parsley in a small bowl.
Step 7: Brush and serve. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the tops generously with the garlic butter. (Brushing while they’re piping hot lets the butter soak in for maximum flavor.) Serve warm.
Serve warm for the best flavor and texture. Keep leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Perfect Pairings for Cheddar Bay Biscuits
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Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch chunks
- 1 cup thickly shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup buttermilk see note
For the Topping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a 13x18-inch (33x46-cm) baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and garlic powder. Add the butter and, using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized clumps of butter intact. (Alternatively, you can use your fingertips to rub the butter into the mixture.) Add the cheese and buttermilk and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together into a shaggy, sticky mass. If the dough seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more buttermilk. Do not over-mix.
- Using two soup spoons, scoop 8 peach-size mounds, about 2½ inches (6 cm) in diameter, of the biscuit dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Do not compact the mounds or try to make them smooth on top; they are meant to have an irregular shape. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly golden.
- Make the Topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the butter mixture and serve warm.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The unbaked biscuits can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. When you're ready to enjoy them, there's no need to thaw—simply bake them a bit longer than usual. If you've already baked some biscuits and have leftovers, let them cool before placing them in the freezer. When ready to enjoy, let thaw at room temperature and then reheat until warm in a 300°F (150°C)-oven.
- Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk instead of purchasing a whole carton, see my easy method for how to make buttermilk.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Made these amazing biscuits first time ever, on Christmas evening according to the recipe, except for using King Arthur GF 1:1 flour substitution and using Jenn’s Homemade Buttermilk recipe! Used sharp cheddar as Jenn said. Raves all around! Not a biscuit left! Everyone asked for the recipe! Served the biscuits along with Jenn’s fantastic Beef Stew with Carrots and Potatoes…another hit! Perfect holiday meal! Thank you, Jenn!
Hello! Can I scoop and place the unbaked biscuits overnight?
Hi Tiffany, I don’t recommend it – sorry!
Would it be ok if I left it in the fridge for 2 hrs before baking?
Sure, I think that would be fine.
Made these yet again….sooo good! Thinking about adding sausage to the mix for sausage balls.
Loved this recipe! I was going to make some crescent rolls at dinner and they were expired, so checked your site for a biscuit recipe on a whim. Another 5 star recipe. I like these even better than the ones at Red Lobster (the biscuits have gone downhill over the years). I didn’t have any parsley so substituted some chopped chives for color. These were super fast and easy to make and delicious.
Jenn, did you use mild, medium or sharp cheddar in this recipe? (Being celiac, I have never tasted the Red Lobster biscuits.) Thanks! Chrissy
Any will work, but I use sharp.
Hi! Could I use a food processor to mix the dry with the butter and then transfer to a bigger bowl?
Thanks!
Sure!
These are incredible! I had to keep everyone from eating the biscuits before dinner. They melt in your mouth!
Who would have thought that the raw mass in my bowl would have ended up producing such tasty biscuits? Well, not me, but I persevered anyway and was rewarded with a perfect pairing for your gumbo. It took closer to a half hour for me to get the tops golden, but I live at 6500 ft. altitude and am used to changes like that by now. I especially appreciate being able to use weight measurements provided for baking by simply switching from ‘cup measures’ to ‘metric’.
Thank you for helping make so many of us shine in the kitchen, Jenn.
Divine! Will be on thanksgiving menu.
Can these be doubled ?
And when you say soup spoons to scoop do you mean the big ones we stir with or eat with? Can I use an ice cream scoop etc?
Hi Stacey, These would be fantastic for Thanksgiving. You can definitely double the recipe and I use the soup spoons we use for eating. You could use an ice cream scoop but it’s best not to compact the dough, so just be gently when scooping.
Very, very good (maybe a third ‘very’ to emphasize its break da mouth goodness?) I have sourdough starter on hand so I substituted a cup of that instead of buttermilk. Definitely didn’t hurt the taste. I did add one cup flour to sourdough starter and let sit overnight on the counter covered. Strongly recommend this recipe.