Soft, flaky, and fantastically flavorful, these homemade cheddar biscuits practically fly off the table anytime they’re served. Good thing they’re so quick and easy to make!
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
One reader, Teri, commented: “These are now sitting on the kitchen counter next to bacon so when the fam wakes up they can fix an egg and make a great breakfast sandwich—delicious!!! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Amanda, commented: “These were UNBELIEVABLE! I will say that I made part of my batch in a round metal cake tin, and some in a cast iron skillet—both were good but the cast iron biscuits were magical! ★★★★★“
You’ll find many quick bread recipes on my website, like banana bread, no yeast bread, and Irish soda bread. They’re labeled quick breads because they don’t require any yeast or rise time… but loaves of bread still take a while to bake, and need time to cool before you slice into them. I love making biscuits because they also don’t require any yeast or rising, and they bake in just about 20 minutes and can be enjoyed warm—they’re really, truly quick!
Here’s Why You Will Love These Cheddar Biscuits
- Rise extra tall with extra flakes
- Buttery, garlicky, cheesy flavor
- Another egg-free baking recipe
- Just 10 simple ingredients
- Quick to prep and bake, ready in about 35 minutes total
- Enjoy warm with plenty of melty cheese pockets inside!
- Top with an easy melted butter, garlic, and parsley topping
If you’ve made my homemade buttermilk biscuits before, you’ll be familiar with the technique I use to make countless buttery, flaky layers. That’s my go-to biscuit recipe; it’s easy, quick, requires minimal ingredients, and produces beautifully tall biscuits. For today’s cheddar biscuits, we’re adding cheese, garlic, and even more butter. I also use the baking powder/baking soda combination detailed in those recipe notes.
Today’s biscuits taste remarkably similar to the popular cheddar bay biscuits served at Red Lobster. (By the way, if you enjoy adding flavor to plain biscuits, you’ll love my everything biscuits and zucchini biscuits (flavored with parmesan & herbs), too.)
Grab these ingredients:
I have 2 quick tricks for flaky biscuits and 2 quick tricks for tall biscuits. First, the flakes!
How to Make Flaky Cheddar Biscuits
Success Tip #1: Use Cold Fat
For flaky layers, use cold fat. This is very important. When little crumbs of butter melt as the cheddar biscuits bake, they release steam and create little pockets of air—this makes the biscuits flaky on the inside while remaining crisp on the outside. You don’t want the butter to melt BEFORE hitting the oven, because then there would be no steam. No steam means no pockets of air, and no pockets of air means no flakes.
It’s the same thing that happens when making pie crust, ham & cheese scones, and the topping for my berry cobbler recipe. Make sure your butter is COLD. Cut it into your dry ingredients by following the printable recipe below. You can use a food processor or pastry cutter for that step. You’re looking for coarse, flour-coated butter crumbles. Mix in your cheese, and then pour in the buttermilk/honey mixture and gently mix to combine:
Success Tip #2: Fold & Flatten
For the flakiest cheddar biscuits ever, flatten and fold the dough before cutting into biscuits. Flattening and folding creates layers, and you might remember this if you’ve ever tried my homemade puff pastry and croissant bread recipes. Tip the scrappy, crumbly biscuit dough onto a work surface and work it together with your hands. Form into a rectangle:
Flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle, and then begin folding. Fold one end of the rectangle in towards the center, and then the other end on top of that as if you were folding a business letter:
Turn the folded dough horizontal, and flatten again into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle.
Repeat the folding process 2 more times before cutting into round biscuits.
Now let’s move on to the tricks for tall biscuits.
How to Make Super Tall Cheddar Biscuits
No Twisting = Super Tall Biscuits
When cutting the dough with a biscuit cutter, don’t twist the cutter. Twisting it will seal off the biscuit edges, preventing the biscuits from fully rising.
Snug as a Bug = Super Tall Biscuits
Biscuits rise up nice and tall when they’re pressed snuggly against one another. Arrange them tightly in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet/baking pan. A cast iron skillet helps produce a super crisp bottom, so I prefer it over a baking sheet or pan. I use this 10-inch cast iron skillet for biscuits.
Before baking, brush the biscuits with a little extra buttermilk. Why? This gives the biscuits a slightly crispier crust.
After baking, brush with melted garlic parsley butter. Why? Because yum. The garlic butter seeps down into all the crevices and, obviously, makes the tops extra buttery.
You brush finished breadsticks with something similar.
So let’s get all this straight. There are 2 things you need to remember for flaky biscuits and 2 things you need to remember for tall biscuits. You will (1) use cold butter in the dough and (2) fold the dough together a few times to help guarantee lots of flakes. Plus, you (3) won’t twist the biscuit cutter and (4) you’ll place the biscuits close together so they rise tall in the oven.
And 2 things to remember for deliciously flavored biscuits: cheddar + garlic. 🙂
What to Serve With Cheddar Biscuits
These flavorful cheddar biscuits are such a versatile side. They’re as welcome with Thanksgiving recipes next to turkey and green bean casserole as they are at Easter brunch alongside bacon and eggs or quiche. And they can go from accompanying baked lemon garlic salmon, cilantro lime chicken, or vegetarian pumpkin chili for dinner, to making a phenomenal breakfast sandwich with breakfast sausage the next morning.
If you enjoy savory baking recipes like this one, you’ll love these homemade ham & cheese pockets, this cheese bread, and these pizza pull apart rolls.
Print
Homemade Cheddar Biscuits
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 biscuits
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These deliciously simple homemade cheddar biscuits easily rival Red Lobster’s cheddar bay biscuits. Baked in only about 20 minutes, they’re a must-try for brunch or dinnertime.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for hands and work surface
- 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder (yes, Tablespoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cubed and very cold (see Note)
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (270ml) cold buttermilk, divided
- 2 teaspoons (14g) honey
- 1 cup (125g) shredded cheddar cheese
Topping
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried or fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Make the biscuits: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder, and salt together in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Cut/pulse until coarse crumbs form. See photo in blog post for a visual. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl.
- Fold in the shredded cheese. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk and drizzle honey on top. Fold everything together with a large spoon or spatula until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly with some wet spots. See photo in blog post for a visual.
- Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands. The dough will become sticky as you bring it together. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface in this step. Using floured hands, flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side on top. Turn the dough horizontally. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4-inch-thick rectangle.
- Cut into 2.5- or 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough because this seals off the edges of the biscuit, which prevents them from fully rising.) Re-roll scraps until all the dough is used. You should have about 8–10 biscuits. Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (see Note) or close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching.
- Brush the tops with remaining buttermilk. Bake for 18–22 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven.
- Make the topping: Mix the topping ingredients together. Generously brush on the warm biscuits, and serve warm.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked biscuits freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator, then warm up to your liking before serving. You can also freeze the biscuit dough. Prepare the dough in steps 2 through 4. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap (plastic wrap is best for freshness) and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 5. Also, after step 4, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before continuing with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Pastry Cutter or Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula | 2.5- or 3-inch Biscuit Cutter | 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet | Pastry Brush
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: This recipe used to call for 2 Tbsp of baking powder and no baking soda, like my regular biscuits recipe. And that still absolutely works! However, to avoid a chemical aftertaste, which *can* be present if you’re not using aluminum free baking powder, I swapped the leavener to 1 Tbsp baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. (I usually use Clabber Girl brand and though the ingredients state aluminum, I’ve never noticed an aluminum aftertaste.)
- Butter in Biscuit Dough: Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Keep butter as cold as possible until you need it. I recommend placing the cubed butter in the freezer for about 15 minutes before you begin.
- Buttermilk: You can substitute whole milk for buttermilk if desired. However, if you’d like the tangy flavor, which I highly recommend, you can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. (You need 1 cup in the recipe, plus 2 Tablespoons for brushing—you can use regular milk to brush on top.) Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Whole milk is best for the DIY buttermilk substitute, though lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. (In my testing, the biscuits don’t taste as rich or rise quite as tall using lower fat or nondairy milks.)
- Cast Iron Skillet: If your cast iron skillet isn’t well seasoned, I recommend greasing it with a little vegetable oil or melted butter. Brush a thin layer of either on the bottom and around the sides. No need to heat the cast iron skillet before using, though you certainly can. Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before arranging the shaped biscuits in it.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally! I’d like to add chives to this recipe. Do you recommend this addition? Will that change anything about the texture or consistency? Thanks
Hi Sue, we’d add 1/4 cup chives. YUM!
Perfect! Followed exactly except didn’t bother with biscuit cutter–flattened into rectangle and then cut into rectangles and separated a wee bit to bake. Baked on parchment on a pizza pan (bc that was out, drying from lunch 🙂 Baked up beautifully, with crunchy edges. Thanks for sharing!
Is it possible to replace the butter for margarine?
Hi Ara! It’s really best to stick with butter here.
This recipe is fantastic – it’s impossible to eat just one! I like using half shredded cheese (whatever’s in my fridge) and grating some aged sharp cheddar as well, but I imagine you could use almost any hard cheese and it’d come out great. I liked it so much the first time I made it that I’ve made it twice since and will be making 3 batches and bringing it to a work potluck soon. Thanks Sally!
This recipe was great and turned out perfect!!
You’re my go to for baking recipes. The cheddar cheese biscuit recipe was on par with everything else you create. Delicious.
I have wanted to try this recipe but was stopped when I couldn’t find aluminum free baking powder until I tried Whole Foods. Bingo. Just took them out of the oven and am very pleased with the result. I made to changes. I microwaved four slices of lean bacon and crumbled it up add to the dough, and as I was getting ready to prep my cast iron skillet I wondered if lining it with parchment paper would work. It did and, added to no sticking, had the benefit of allowing me to lift the biscuits out of the skillet in one “block” and place them to cool on a baking rack. To serve I’m planning to place them back in the skillet. Should look cute.
I made these biscuits and I used pepper jack cheese with mild cheddar they were so flavorful and cheesy. My family loved them. Will make them again.
I found mine started to burn after about 13 minutes , they’re good but undercooked in the middle. Should I skip brushing with buttermilk? Wondering if that caused the tops to burn faster
Hi Yas, if you find the tops are starting to burn too quickly, you can try moving the pan down a rack from the heating element. You could also try tenting the pan with some aluminum foil, but be careful that it’s tented high enough so that the biscuits can still rise without touching the foil.
SO good…my brother ate 7 in one night lol
Fantastic flavor! We love the Red Lobster biscuits and I wanted to make them at home. The mix at the grocery had so many chemicals in the ingredient list that I refused it. Made from scratch was not difficult and we loved them. Thanks!
OMG! These biscuits could make me fat if I weren’t fat already. Delicious!,
Flavours are a 4 but method is a 3 for me. I tried it with your method and they tasted great but we weren’t impressed with the texture. I went back to grating frozen butter with my box cheese grater then putting it back in the freezer for an hour before mixing as well as cutting the dough into three strips and stacking them with a tiny bit of milk between layers before cutting out the biscuits instead of folding the dough. Perfect butter distribution and the highest biscuits I’ve ever had.
Hi Sally,
I’m a huge fan. Mine didn’t turn out light and fluffy. I added about 1/2 cup of finely diced Jalapeño. I pulsed the frozen butter as best as I could but there were a few chunks. I didn’t want to over pulse the dough, so I just went with it. I did my best not to overwork the dough, but I folded and rolled 3x. I didn’t twist the cutter when punching out the circle dough. I ended up with 10 circles and one rectangule. I bunched them together in the cast iron skillet. I cooked for 22 min and the dough was still raw. So I added another 10 minutes. The top looked great but the bottom was caramelized and slightly burnt. Any thoughts how I can make cheddar jalapeño biscuits?
Hi Joyce! The added moisture from the jalapeño could have thrown off the texture of the biscuits. Make sure to chop them small. It sounds like you did everything right. Maybe try reducing the amount of cheese next time to make up for the added jalapeños. Let us know if you give them another try!
Hi! Looks so delicious! Do you think it would work to sub the cheddar cheese with mozzarella cheese instead? Thanks!
Hi Raima, that swap should work just fine. Enjoy!
Hi
Is all-purpose flour same as cake flour or self raising flour?
Live in South-Africa
Thanks
Hi Franci, all purpose flour is a bit heavier and has a higher gluten content than cake flour. Cake flour is much lighter, making it ideal for soft, springy cakes like white cake and vanilla cake. We don’t typically bake with self raising flour, as that contains baking powder and salt with the flour. We prefer to use all-purpose flour and then add in the necessary amounts of baking powder and salt to fit the specific recipe. Hope this is helpful!
Fabulous! This is the second time I’ve made these. This time I increased the recipe by 50%, added 9 long strips of thick butcher shop bacon, cooked til golden brown and food processed til large crumbs; added 8 oz. Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese cut into tiny cubes, weighed the ingredients, made sure my butter cubes were 1/2″, tried not to overwork the dough, and baked them in my 12 inch cast iron skillet, plus four (touching) in a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Baked for 14-15 min @ 425°F, and they came out light, flaky, and delicious.
I’m not usually that into biscuits…but these are seriously delicious!! My husband said they are the best biscuits he’s ever had, and I have to agree!
This is my second time making these and they are a delight. I’ve always been nervous about trying biscuits because of working with cold butter. But I feel so much better now! Of course mine didn’t turn out as beautifully as yours, but the taste is superlative. Thank you Sally!
I made these for Easter dinner, instead of rolls, as I usually make. I added some dried thyme and Old Bay seasoning.
They were delicious! Light and flaky, with lots of pockets of cheese.
Question though. My biscuits sometimes come out smaller on the top than the bottom, after baking. I used a round cookie cutter. Any idea what would cause that?
I have a question thiugh
Mine have turned out that way before too; the biscuits can slightly expand at the bottom, and push the top up, but it’s never *straight* up, so that’s why you notice the tops being slightly smaller.
I want to make these for our family Sunday dinner, but I am gluten free. I will make a full recipe for my family and maybe half of the recipe gluten free for me. Any suggestions?
Hi Marlene! We haven’t tested a gluten-free version of these biscuits. Although some readers report using an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour in many of our recipes with success, you should expect slightly different results anytime you substitute ingredients.
This is the first time I have successfully made biscuits and they are beyond delicious! Could I incorporate chopped chives in the dough next time?
Hi Sally, do you think they would be just as nice served cold ? I’m thinking of bringing these to a picnic , Thank you x
Hi Aneta, yes, these can be served at room temperature. Enjoy!
I love this recipe, question..can cauliflower flour be substituted?
Hi Linda, we don’t recommend it. It has very different baking properties than all-purpose flour and would require a bit of recipe testing to determine the right amounts. For best results, stick with all-purpose flour here.
I’m trying these for the first time for a potluck, and want to make a lot!!! So, I’m going to be doubling the recipe. Can I make them in a 12″ cast iron skillet? If so, should I adjust the time or temperature?
A double recipe won’t fit in a 12-inch skillet, but I’m sure you can squeeze 1.5x the recipe in one. Same oven temperature, and the bake time would be pretty much the same.
I made these in my 12″ skillet, but forgot to increase the amount of the recipe! And, then I made three batches, still not realizing that the reason I had so much space in the skillet was because I hadn’t increased the recipe! In spite of that, they were marvelous! Flaky, garlic-y, and buttery. It didn’t taste really cheesy, though. Perhaps I am headed the cheese too finely. ?
I will definitely make them again. Need to improve on my skills!
Perhaps I “shredded” the cheese too finely
I made these with whole wheat pastry flour and used them to top a chicken pot pie. I shaped the dough to just smaller than my casserole dish and cut into 12 biscuits. Placed them with just a little space between. It came out perfectly and was so delicious!!!
I’m allergic to garlic, can I leave the garlic out or do you recommend something else in it’s place? Thank you
Hi Ang! You can leave the garlic powder out if needed, or even replace it with onion powder if you like that flavor.
Bake 2 batches for church and they are yummy. Thanks Sally!
These were the biggest fluffiest biscuits I’ve ever made. But, they totally expanded to fill my cast iron pan and didn’t get done in the middle until I baked them 10 minutes longer. Tasted so good!
Just finished eating one of these biscuits, and they are delicious! The baking steps are a little more time-intensive compared to other recipes for biscuits, but the extra effort it so worth it. This will be my only recipe for biscuits from now on!
Sally this is a terrific recipe. You mentioned above the difference between 2 T BP vs 1 and the baking soda vs your original biscuit recipe. But what about the baking temp difference. In your original recipe it calls for 475 but for cheddar b it calls for 425, any reason why? I used 425 and it worked well.
Hi John, both recipes call for 425F. I’m checking my notes and previous versions, and it has always been 425F. I’ve baked yeast breads that high before (such as pizza dough), but never biscuits.