This garlic cheddar biscuits recipe is a soft, buttery, cheesy copycat recipe for Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits. They take less than 30 minutes to make!
Cheesy biscuits are AMAZING with Tuscan White Bean Soup or Shrimp and Corn Chowder, they're a great side dish for seafood pot pie (with lobster!) and goes with pasta in pumpkin sauce really well too!
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This is my favorite cheesy garlic biscuit recipe, (Cheddar Irish Soda Bread is right behind it) beloved by all, eaten by many. I've tried quite a few copycat red lobster biscuit recipes, and none of them were just right for me. I've developed this recipe over many years, tweaking it until I loved it.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Uses milk for a nice rich taste! The vinegar and milk mixture help to make them nice and airy as well.
- Uses oil instead of butter for a less crumbly biscuit. Don't worry, they get a nice drizzle of butter on top!
- NO rolling out! These are garlic drop biscuits, which means they are easily scooped and dropped onto a pan, no messy rolling or cutting.
- No added sweeteners - I've tried other recipes with added sugar and in my opinion, they just don't need it.
- Easy to customize! It's easy to add onions, cooked bacon or even MORE cheese to fit your taste.
🛒 Key Ingredients
- Milk - adds fat and flavor to the biscuits, and helps to keep them nice and moist.
- Cheddar Cheese - I use a mild cheddar or Colby jack cheese. It's okay to use pre-shredded, the anti-caking additives won't hurt the biscuits at all.
- White Vinegar - a little added acid helps make the milk into a buttermilk substitute, adding flavor and reacting with the baking powder to make them nice and fluffy.
- Butter - although it isn't IN the biscuits, it's important to brush on the tops.
- Baking Powder - the rising agent in the drop biscuits. No yeast here!
- Oil - helps the biscuits to have a nice moist crumb when baked. A neutral flavored one such as vegetable or canola oil is best.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions
- Oil - can be melted coconut oil or butter but the texture of the biscuit will be slightly more crumbly.
- Milk - can be swapped with water or unsweetened almond or oat milk.
🆒 Variations
- Cheese! So many delightful options. This recipe is very forgiving. You could use gouda, gruyere, sharp cheddar, add in a couple tablespoons of parmesan or asiago cheese, the possibilities are many.
- Add in ¼ cup chopped green onions for a fun pop of flavor and color.
- Cook and crumble bacon into the biscuits. 4-6 slices cooked and chopped, or more if it tickles your fancy.
🧑🍳 Instructions
These are pretty easy cheddar biscuits. I'll walk you through the process step by step. Don't forget to preheat the oven to 375℉!
Step 1. Pour vinegar into the milk and stir gently. Let rest for 5 minutes. This will help the milk to curdle and become the buttermilk substitute.
Step 2. Combine the flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, and baking powder in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Step 3. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese to the dry ingredients.
Step 4. Stir in the milk and vinegar mixture and oil to the biscuit batter until combined, making sure there are no flour pockets left. Dough will be quite sticky, this is normal.
Step 5. Using a 2-3 Tablespoon dough scoop or a spoon, portion the biscuits into 16 balls of dough about 50g each, and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper or greased with baking spray.
Step 6. Bake the drop biscuits at 375℉ for 15-18 minutes. Melt the butter and brush the tops of the biscuits with a pastry brush (I like the silicon ones that are super easy to clean or put in the dishwasher). You can always drizzle the butter on with a spoon as well. Enjoy warm!
❓Frequently Asked Questions
It's the irresistable cheesy, garlic, buttery flavor along with the fluffy and flaky texture.
Lots of things! Here are some ideas of what to serve with cheese biscuits:
• Any kind of chili, but especially Creamy White Chicken Chili.
• All the soup, like Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe.
• Seafood - salmon, crab, Shrimp and Corn Chowder, or some delicious southern style Cheesy Grits and Shrimp.
• Pasta, like Lemon Chicken Gnocchi or Creamy Pumpkin Pasta.
Milk or buttermilk makes the most tender, flaky biscuits due to the fat content. Delicious!
• Store at room temperature on the countertop for up to 3 days.
• To Freeze: transfer to an airtight container once cooled and freeze for up to 3 months. Cheddar drop biscuits freeze very well!
• Pop in the oven or microwave to warm them up.
• I wouldn't reccomend storing them in a container with other breads or cookies as the garlic taste may transfer over to the other foods.
📌 Top Tips
- Don't overmix the dough! Mix until just combined. Too much mixing makes the biscuits tough rather than tender.
- Use a muffin or cookie dough scoop for perfect sized biscuits every time!
- Don't put them in the refrigerator to store! Bread in the fridge goes stale up to 3x faster due to loss of moisture content. I learned that working in a bakery during college, and have heard it repeated by bakers like Paul Hollywood.
🥖 More Fluffy Bread Recipes
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
Garlic Cheddar Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 2¼ cups flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil (or dried Italian seasoning)
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup oil vegetable or canola
- 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Grease cookie sheet or prepare with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine milk and vinegar, stir, and let sit 5 minutes.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and basil (all dry ingredients) together in a medium sized bowl.
- Add shredded cheddar cheese to the dry ingredients.
- Add milk mixture and oil, then mix dough until just combined and all the flour pockets are gone. Don't mix too much, it will make the biscuits less flaky and fluffy.
- Using a 2-3 Tablespoon dough scoop, portion the dough onto baking sheet into about 16 balls. You can sprinkle a little extra cheese on top of each biscuit if you like for presentation.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, then brush with melted butter. Tops should barely be golden brown. Enjoy!
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