These Whole-wheat Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits are a much healthier Red Lobster biscuit copycat recipe. They are simple and quick to make for dinner and they freeze great for later!
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These biscuits might be my family’s new obsession…they are so tasty good! They are almost like a much better (and better for you) version of those Red Lobster biscuits everyone has probably had at one time or another. And they are so quick and easy to make as well. What’s not to love!? :)
Try these Southern Biscuits and Gravy too!
Whole-Wheat Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits
These Whole-wheat Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits are a much healthier Red Lobster biscuit copycat recipe. They are simple and quick to make for dinner and they freeze great for later!
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Servings: 12 biscuits
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Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (freshly grated (sharp or mild or a combination))
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, melted)
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder. Use a fork to stir in the grated cheese.
- Mix in the melted butter and milk until well combined, but not over-mixed.
- Drop 12 heaping spoonfuls of the mixture onto a large ungreased baking sheet (evenly spaced). Bake until light brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts
Whole-Wheat Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits
Amount Per Serving
Calories 146
Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 228mg10%
Potassium 76mg2%
Carbohydrates 8g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 345IU7%
Calcium 106mg11%
Iron 0.3mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Delicious and easy to make. I made a batch last night (without the garlic) to have with dinner tonight and then my son wanted one right out of the oven last night and liked them so much he asked for one to be packed in his lunch today.
Hi!! I love the recipe..super easy to make & yummy! Is there a nutrition label for this? my son has type 1 diabetes & we try to keep nutrition labels so he can dose accurately, so the carb count is very important! :) thank you!!
Hi Lynn. No, I’m sorry. We do not track nutrition information on our recipes. It’s part of our real food philosophy to not do so. This post will help explain: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. I know it is necessary to keep track of specifics in the case of diabetes. Fortunately, there are several tools available online that can help you break down recipes and decipher nutrition facts. Wishing you the best. ~Amy
Can’t wait, just ordered the book “Fresh 20”! I was SOLD when I read an excerpt from her Spring section bio “…growing up in snowy Minnesota”. I live in MN and if she can find fresh ingredients for me to cook with all year round, it’s a winner! Thanks :)
These were awesome! The whole batch was gone before dinner. My husband that isn’t a big cheese fan ate the most.
I LOVE the taste of these, however when I made them they flattened out like a cookie! What went wrong? Any help is appreciated
Hi Jackie. These are not lofty biscuits. However, they should not have completely flattened out. Could you have been heavy handed with the butter, cheese, or milk? ;) ~Amy
I think put too much batter on the pan for one biscuit. I actually ended up putting them in my mini muffin pan and they turned out great! Thank!
Hi
I’m from the uk, and to us, biscuits are sweet things that we dunk in tea!! I hope this doesnt sound like a dumb question, but how would you use these biscuits and the others you have on your site? Are they bready, like a bread roll, or are they denser like a scone? I think they look great and want to try them, just not sure what they are meant to turn out like, and what you would eat them with!!
Thanks for any help for a confused Brit!!
Hi Lynne. I would probably describe them as more scone-like. I think they go with just about anything…or on their own as a snack. : ) ~Amy
These taste very good. However mine spread out pretty thin and were more like cookies. It seems like they have way too muçh butter in them. (They’re kind of a gut bomb! I felt so heavy after eating them.) Next time I’m going to try less butter. It’s nice that they are “real food” but I wouldn’t say they are healthy. Still, they’re better than a lot of things and very easy to make.
Most folks don’t realize that whole wheat flour gets stale at room temp. and will taste bitter. White flour isn’t eaten by many organisms as it does not have much nutrition. I avoid buying flour on sale as the store might be getting rid of it, and buy smaller bags, which I store in the fridge or freezer (tightly sealed).
The biscuits are bound to taste good with 1/2 c butter per cup of flour. I’d try about 1/3 good olive oil instead.
Love your site! Thanks for sharing.
I made these last night and they were so delicious! The whole wheat flavor adds so much! YUM!!!! Can’t wait to make them again!
These biscuits are absolutely amazing!! They’re too good, I can’t eat just one, but I love that they are whole-wheat and real. Thanks for your amazing recipes.
Is there an easy way to get the nutritionals on this recipe?
Hi Becky. We do not provide nutrition information. These posts will help explain why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/. ~Amy
Help! I love your recipes (huge fan of your granola, berry sauce and many others) but I am struggling to learn how to bake with 100% whole wheat. I have been baking with 50/50 regular flour and whole wheat flour and the results turn out just fine. But once I go to 100% whole wheat, everything turns out flat and tasting like cardboard. This has happened with your biscuits and cheese crackers, which look like super recipes. I suspect it has something to do with the admonition not to “over mix.” But I don’t know what that means! Would you please consider some blog tutorials on baking with 100% whole wheat, or would you point me in the direction of some resources that might guide me. I don’t want to give up, but I’m getting frustrated and my family is beginning to dread the sight of that whole wheat flour! Thanks so much. And thanks for all you do to help us transition to real food.
If you’re using store-bought whole wheat flour it’s probably better to stick with a half and half mix. Most whole wheat flour I’ve tried that I bought from a grocery store shelf has not been good. I met somebody who has a grinder and turned me on to freshly ground 100% whole wheat flour and, no surprise really, it’s fabulous! I purchased my own grinder (under $300)and now do it myself. You can easily get info overload trying to learn all about grain but, to keep it simple, I mostly use hard and soft white wheat (the soft bakes more like pastry flour). It’s really not as overboard as it sounds. Otherwise I hear many others say King Arthur flour is good. Can’t wait to try these cheddar biscuits with fresh flour!!
Hi Sarah. In addition to Lauri’s comments, you should try King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat. It is 100% whole wheat but just a lighter variety. It will help as you transition. Best of luck! ~Amy
Hi!
I just wanted to jump in and second the suggestion for King Arthur Flour White Wheat. I use it as a 1 to 1 substitute for all purpose, and it works beautifully. It does, of course, taste a little different, but even my extraordinarily picky son has no complaints about 100% whole wheat cookies, pizza crust, etc.
Enjoy your baking,
Grace
I too have struggled with recipes turning out “flat” when made with 100% whole wheat flour. Increasing the amount of baking powder does the trip. I typically triple the amount called for in the recipe.
These are delicious! They are so tasty, I was tempted to eat one after another… I love how quick and easy they are to make! Thanks, Lisa!
Made these tonight and there were great! Thank you for sharing all so many recipes – I have loved everything I’ve tried… and so has my 2-year-old!
I had some spinach that I needed to use up, so I chopped it up real quick in the food processor and added it to the dough. They came out great! Thanks for taking the time to share. :)
Last week I did Joy the Baker’s whole wheat drop biscuits with honey and goat cheese, and a few weeks before that I made my own garlic and cheddar biscuits. This marries those two ideas together brilliantly. I loved them both, and this might make me even like them more :)
You could use lard (from pastured pork, of course) in place of the butter to get a more traditional biscuit texture or to make roll out biscuits.
Many biscuit recipes call for crisco (yuck!!!!). Real, healthy lard will give you the same flakiness and it tastes good.
Use a pastry cutter or sharp knives to cut in the lard to the mixed dry ingredients, then add the milk and cheese, roll out and cut or just drop.
Gonna make these tonight thinking about making a double batch and freezing. has anyone tried that?
I thought these were good. I asked my hubby if they were “much better” than Red Lobster’s as you mentioned. He said, “Not even close, but for whole wheat they’re pretty good.” I would agree with some of the others that next time I will half the amount of butter and add herbs.
These were great! We had them for lunch today. We live at altitude (6000 ft), so I used a heaping 1/2 tsp baking powder instead of what was listed and they worked great! Just wanted to share for anyone else at altitude :)
Lisa do you mill your own wheat?
Hi Virgina. This post will answer your question: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/07/05/grinding-your-own-wheat-is-not-crazy-after-all-including-video/. ~Amy
Can’t wait to get this cookbook and try the biscuits. Since we have been making the transition to a “green family” we rarely eat out anymore. My husband sure does miss those Red Lobster biscuits!! Thanks so much for the recipe and I’ll be writing about this today with a link back to your site. Thanks again!
Is it ok to use whole wheat pastry flour? that’s all I have right now.
Hello Anjuli. I think pastry flour might work okay with these little biscuits. Let us know how they turn out. ~Amy
This recipe makes me very happy. My brother, who’s been missing for almost six years, worked at Red Lobster for a while. He would bring home those biscuits and oh.my.
I was just thinking about them last week on his birthday and wishing I could have some- and here this is.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing about your brother. It’s amazing how the little things like food or smells, etc can bring you the happiest memories. my thoughts are with you
Obviously there are endless benefits to freshly ground whole grain flours, but I have heard that most store bought whole wheat flours have the germ removed during processing, just not the bran. This prevents rancidity. Does anyone know if or to what extent this is true?
Hi Moo – Whole grain flours contain all the parts of the grain in the flour. Here is a post that goes into more detail https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/07/22/understanding-grains/.
Whew. Yeah I thought that sounded weird. Thanks for clarifying!
They’re in the oven right now! Yum!
These look fabulous! Cheddar adds such great flavor. I also love Lisa’s suggestion of adding herbs as well. That would make for a nice addition. I’ll definitely have to make these (when I find a few extra moments, ha ha!). In the mean time, I’ve added them to our Breads & Quick Breads Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/deliciouskarma/breads-quick-breads
You obviously eat a lot healthier than I do. I was wondering how you deal with the sodium in the baking powder. I suppose if you’re eating so much less processed food it might not add up much, but with the powder a single biscuit could be as much as 300-500 milligrams of sodium, which is a lot for a person whose daily total should be 1500 mg or less.
My biggest struggle with eating healthy is juggling a medical condition that eats up a lot of my energy and having to watch fat, sodium and carbs. I often can’t control all three in a lot of the things I cook. But I can’t take the huge amount of sodium in biscuits, and I miss biscuits and scones a lot. I made them from scratch, but they’re still not a good thing for me to eat.
I think it’s time you find a new brand of baking powder. I use Trader Joe’s, as it is the cheapest Aluminum Free baking powder in my area. It has 55 mg of sodium per 1/8 tsp. Since the biscuit recipe calls for 1 1/4 teaspoons, that would be 550 total milligrams. Since the recipe makes 12 biscuits, that would mean each biscuit would have 46 milligrams of baking powder derived sodium. The sodium from 1/12 of 1/2 teaspoon of Hain sea salt would be 98 milligrams. For a grand total of 144 milligrams of sodium per biscuit.
If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your area, Rumford aluminum free baking powder is also 55 per 1/8 tsp. Also, Redmond sea salt is only 530 milligrams per serving and one can use less them called for in a recipe given its strong taste.
When cooking, I still prefer the taste of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. It has 280 milligrams per 1/4 teaspoon. Because the flakes are large, I feel like I can use less. I also use less when seasoning my own food. 1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt = roughly 1 3/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Fluer De Sel (400 milligrams per 1/4 tsp) is also nice for finishing meats and risotto. The flakes are large and flavorful and require only a small sprinkle.
Sam – The average American gets the majority of their sodium intake through preservatives and additives (not table salt) in processed foods, so yes for us we don’t actually have to “deal with” the sodium in the baking powder since we consume so little processed foods anyway. Some sodium is necessary in a healthy diet. But as Kristin pointed out, these biscuits have only 46 milligrams of baking powder derived sodium each (not 300-500 mg). Hope that helps!
There are sodium-free baking powders available although I can’t recall a brand name at the moment. For low sodium eating, I highly recommend the books by Donald Gazzaniga. No-Salt-Lowest-Sodium-Cookbook is one. I don’t recall how it fits in with eating real food, but the primary source of dietary sodium is processed food, so I’d imagine it fits pretty well.
OOOOH These look delicious! I’m definitely going to try them soon. Thanks for the recipe :) Also, I hope the Fresh 20 put their recipe for minestrone soup in that cookbook (I am waiting on my copy, which they were very nice to give me for helping test out some of the recipes). Anyway, that minestrone was definitely the hit at my house – super delicious!
I have tried the Coconut Curry-Style fish with lime coconut rice out of the new The Fresh 20 cookbook. It was yummy, although a little spicy for my family. My children are a bit picky, but they loved the fish (that they picked out of the sauce). The rice was very limey by itself but worked very well when all was put together. I can’t wait to try another recipe tomorrow!
Made these with a few changes. I decreased butter to 1/2 stick and I increased milk to about 3/4 cups.I also added a little bit of chopped chives. Got 12 buiscuits using a small scoop. They were really good even with these changes! Thanks!
These were awesome! I made them tonight to round out some ravioli and roasted vegetables. My only question is…will you add these to your recipe list? I didn’t see them there.
Hi Cassandra. Yes, it will be added! : ) ~Amy
Just tried these tonight (following directions as written) and I am wondering if the butter measurement is off. They were crazy buttery but also did not rise – instead they looked like flat garlic cheddar cookies. Love your site though and have enjoyed many of the other recipes. Thank you!
I wondered about the butter quantity too! So I made them with 1/2 stick of butter and I increased milk to about 3/4 cups of milk. They were just right for my taste this way and they did rise.
From the picture they look flat like a cracker.
Mine too…I was so disappointed! They were greasy and flat. My husband was calling them cheddar pancakes. I thought maybe the butter measurement was wrong ?
I was getting on my computer to look for a bread side for my homemade soup that I have already made for dinner tonight, when I got the email for these biscuits! You have been a huge help in me being able to feed my family “real food”, always coming up with new and delicious ways to keep meals anything but boring! Trying these tonight, thanks for everything you do.
Do you have any suggestions on what could be used in place of the butter? My daughter is allergic to dairy, egg, and soy.
Coconut oil would be my preference though as Alisha stated above you may lose a bit of flavor. You can add a bit more cheese or some herbs if you’d like.
Sustainable palm shortening (melted) would work as well.
Though I am curious why the recipe calls for “melted” butter. My favorite Better Homes & Gardens biscuit recipe says to cut in the shortening and increase the buttermilk when making drop biscuits to 1 part shortening, 2 parts buttermilk. The all butter biscuit recipe in the Cuisenart manual also has a 1 to 2 ratio. I am sure that has something to do with the low height people are getting in their biscuits.
I am sooo excited to try these! My husband will go crazy! Alisha- question about subbing coconut oil for the butter- is it the same amount?
I am so glad I have found you all- we have been inspired to start moving in the direction of eating real food- we are not quite there yet but making strides every day! Thanks for all the hard work and great information!
Yes, butter and coconut oil sub in equal amounts.
Yes, it’s equal.
Sounds yummy! Love trying new things in the “real” food realm. You have been inspirational to me and I am proud to say I’m almost 100% there. Finding suitable substitutes for my picky family has been a challenge! Tonight was (whole wheat) couscous, roasted potatoes and broccoli with fresh chives and rosemary from my garden and whole wheat blueberry muffins with honey and applesauce (instead of sugar and oil). It was great! Thanks for inspiring me!
Would you mind sharing your recipe for blueberry muffins? Thanks!
Would you please share your recipe for the muffins. My family would love those! Thanks so much.
For my blueberry muffins I use approx: 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup oat bran, 1 egg, 1/4 cup honey, 1 cup applesauce, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt and I add milk until it is the right consistency. Oh and a cup of blueberries too! I bake @350 until they are firm to the touch.
It looks so good. Will try it tomorrow. Is there any substitute for butter?
You can use coconut oil for a butter substitute. But you will lose a little flavor so maybe adding herbs or a little more cheese would help.
How much garlic do you suppose you would use in lieu of the garlic powder?
Yes, agreed! I want real garlic! :-)
Kim – We use garlic powder (not garlic salt) in some recipes because it distributes the flavor more evenly and is milder than raw garlic. We have kids and if they bite into a chunk of mostly raw garlic they can sometimes view the recipe as “too spicy.” Sauted garlic is another story…the garlic mellows out and whatever fat is used in cooking spreads the flavor evenly. Given the small amount of garlic in this recipe, I would not recommend a substitution. But you could always try it out!
Thank you!
These look so good!
I’d imagine you could easily add dried or fresh herbs to them right?
Yes – great idea! :)