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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Awesome! A keeper for sure. I may try soaking them overnight next time but they were soooo good!!
Despite being quite easy to make, these flattened quite a bit and looked like cookies, just like other people commented. I would use less milk and butter next time, or I would cut the cold butter into the flour just as the traditional way of making biscuits.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet. I was looking for an easy whole wheat biscuit recipe and this one sounded good and easy. But I don’t have enough butter. Is there any way I can substitute oil for some of the butter?
Hi. You could sub coconut oil.
We cut the baking powder by 1/4tsp for high altitude and added a minced garlic clove. YUM!
Way, way, way too much butter! They were flat and greasy, but I squished out as much butter as possible and crumbled it over top of chicken and broccoli Alfredo and it made a tasty crust. Next time I will cut the butter back to a half or fourth of a stick.
I made these last night. I had 1 cup of light cream in the fridge and used some of this in lieu of the butter & milk… just enough until the dough came together. Also, we sprinkled a little Old Bay on the tops just for fun. Super easy, fast and tasty! Nice addition to our soup. Thanks!
Made these last night and they flattened out like cookies. I did put the dough onto an already heated cookie sheet, and they tasted good. Should I try to adjust the butter or add more flour?
Hi Kathy. They aren’t going to be fluffy like a traditional biscuit. Do make sure your baking powder is fresh. I also would not drop them on a hot sheet and be sure it is not greased. :)
I found that the recipe didn’t require the entire amount of milk. I added a little at a time until it was a wet, sticky consistency, but not too wet or runny. Maybe that was your issue also? Did you add all the milk at once?
I had the same problem. One thing that helped was I cut the cold butter into the flour with a pastry cutter instead of melting it. That is the way the Bisquick version does it and it keeps the dough a little more firm. They were still flatter than the Bisquick ones but not nearly as flat as before.
Can the cheese and milk be substituted with vegan cheese and almond milk? Also, silly question, but can a larger batch be frozen after baking for use within weeks?
Hi Tiffany. It would be an experiment because those are not subs we have made. I do, typically, have no trouble subbing with almond milk. You can definitely freeze this recipe.
Absolutely delicious. This one is a keeper. I used to much butter. Will decrease the amount when I make them in the future.
I used “Too” much butter :)
Absolutely delicious. This one is a keeper. I used to much butter. Will decrease the amount when I make them in the future.
I loved these! So easy & yummy! I doubled the amount of garlic powder & thought the flavor was great. I am going to try using half the butter next time like some suggested & see how it tastes. My husband didn’t even mind that they were made with whole wheat flour & he is usually picky about that. I paired it with the broccoli cheddar soup for an easy weeknight meal.
I made these cheddar garlic biscuits last night for dinner. They were so easy and so good! My husband said they tasted like the ones at Red Lobster, and ate 3 of them!
These are called “crack biscuits” by my husband. I add in 2 grated zucchinis, and we like them even better that way! I love how easy they are!
Ooh, that sounds really good! I’ll have to try that next time!
I’ve been looking for a whole wheat drop biscuit recipe and now I’ve found it. Only change I made was 1/2 stick a butter instead of 1 stick of butter. They were so, so delicious. This recipe is a keeper!
Hi. I am a bit confused by the question. I’ve had no trouble with the biscuits rising as long as the batter isn’t over-worked.
how did you get 1 1/4 tsp of baking powder?how well did they rise?
Lisa, how on earth am I supposed to eat these in moderation?? They’re amazing!! Especially fresh out of the oven. I see that folks have tried all kinds of modifications, and the biscuits are very forgiving and accommodating. Really great recipe, thanks! I’m going to try your plain biscuit recipe to modify this pull-apart breakfast recipe http://www.veryculinary.com/2014/04/06/breakfast-pull-apart-bread/
What would make them fluffy like the Red Lobster biscuits — buttermilk instead of whole milk?
Thanks!!
Hi Kathryn. Not sure but you could certainly try buttermilk. :)
These were soooo yummy and really easy to make BUT way too much butter! The first time I made these I felt like I was eating biscuits drenched in melted butter :-/. I used 1/4 of a stick instead and they came out perfect!
These are great, the second time around I wanted something less rich or an already heavy dinner. So I doubled the wheat flour, baking powder and salt but halved the butter and cheese and added the doubled amount of milk. They came out perfect. I also left out the garlic powder because my kids complained they were to garlicky,though I disagreed:)
I made these for lunch with some chicken soup. I was out of milk, so subbed in some plain yogurt and a few spoonfuls of the broth from the soup, reduced the butter to a third of a cup, and they turned out great!
Well, I thought they were great. My three-year-old took one bite and told me, very seriously, “Mommy, I tried this kind of biscuit and I hated it.” More for me! I froze the rest for lunches.
I love how easy this recipe is, so that I can just throw them together as an afterthought.
Just made these for dinner and boy were they a hit. I cut butter back to 1/2 stick and they puffed up well. Looked just like red lobsters And tasted like it as well!
Does anyone know if these freeze well? We have a new baby due in about 6 weeks, and I’m trying to freeze as much as possible.
Hello Emily. They do freeze well. ~Amy
Made these for the first time tonight. Why did I wait so long?? These are amazing. They remind me of the cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster, but I like them better knowing they are real food. Thanks for this great recipe.
I was looking for something quick to make with soup tonight, but I didn’t have any cheddar. I subbed shredded parmesan and used minced garlic instead of powder, and these were unbelievably good! I am not going to fess up to how many of them I ate.
These tasted delicious but mine also spread out flat-ish like a cookie as another reader commented. I like the suggestion of baking in a muffin tin next time to help retain some shape/height. I wonder if using softened vs. melted butter would also help the biscuits retain some shape and height. I did use the white whole wheat flour… followed all directions. Like I said the taste/texture is great but they just don’t really look like biscuits :)
Can these be made ahead of time and then reheated? Or can the dough be made be put on the baking sheet, frozen, and then cooked later? I’m trying to find a way to get as much prep as possible done prior to Thanksgiving. Thanks!!
Hi Jennilee. We’ve not tried but I think it will work fine. ~Amy
I haven’t made anything from the cookbook itself, but I did subscribe to the fresh 20 meal planning for a year, and it was absolutely amazing. It’s healthy, and it’s delicious – the only meals that my husband and I both *consistently* find tasteful enough (and the hubby likes spicy foods). They use enough spices that everything tastes good, even things we thought were going to be weird. :) I’m looking forward to trying your recipes as well, I just recently found the blog!
These are great! So tasty and using ingredients I always have in the house. They go terrific with your Butternut Squash soup.
We made these tonight. So super scrumptious and addicting. However, I wonder if we could get by with using only a half a stick of butter (instead of a whole!)to make it a little healthier. I could not help but think of all the butter that was sitting in my tummy after eating 4 of them!!
Made these for dinner last night. My 3 yr old helped and the whole family loved them! We used 2 cloves garlic instead of the powder. I had to remind my husband that there was a whole stick of butter and 1 cup of cheese in the batch, he wanted to eat them ALL! Thank you for an easy, fast, and yummy recipe!
Made these tonight but accidentally used only 1/2 stick butter–they came out fine. I found them to be salty and will reduce the salt next time. The dough seemed a bit wet to me so I added a small scoop of white flour–probably 1-2 Tablespoons. Love the garlic taste and texture! Yum!
Totally delicious! I added some chopped Brazil nuts and they were even better!
I made these a few times and they are delish! Last night I used fresh pressed garlic added to the melted butter instead of the garlic powder and it tastes and smells amazing! A lot better than garlic powder.
My dough seemed really dry when I spooned it onto the cookie sheet. Then when cooked they fell apart into small pieces. What did I do wrong? The flavor was great, but they were really hard to eat. Should the melted butter have been room temp?
Hi Kristin. It is hard to know what might have happened. I made these last week and while they aren’t lofty like other biscuits they should not have fallen apart. The butter should have been melted. Did you use a full fat milk? Maybe give them another try. ~Amy
I made these and they were wonderful! I noticed that you list 1/2 cup of butter and then say “1 stick”. I am pretty sure that 1 stick is 1/4 cup (not 1/2). that seems consistent with a couple of the comments that say that there seemed to be too much butter. I used 1/4 cup when I made them and that was perfect. Thanks for sharing these great recipes!
never mind – I am a space cadet! I am wrong about the equivalences. I did use the recommended amount of butter (thinking i was using less) . . .and these were delicious!
Will the recipe be ok if I use almond milk instead of dairy milk?
Hello Susan. I think that should work just fine. Enjoy.
~Amy
THESE BISCUITS ARE AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! I ran out of Garlic Powder (I know who does that) so I used fresh minced garlic instead and OMG its like heaven lol. I also sprinkled a little oregano and Parmesan cheese on top. Yum!
These were SO good. I used 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour. yum.
We doubled this recipe but forgot to double the butter – and they turned out even better (to us, at least) than they had when we made them exactly according to recipe!