Homemade Cheddar Biscuits
Homemade Cheddar Biscuits are cheesy, buttery and perfect to serve alongside any comfort food. This cheddar biscuit recipe is easy to assemble and bake in your own home. All you need are 6 ingredients and a little time to have the best crusty, fluffy cheese biscuits at home. No box mix required.
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Real talk: it’s hard not to love a biscuit, and I developed this recipe while pregnant with our first child.
More real talk: I’m still obsessed with this combination of flavors a decade later.
I actually made and shared this recipe for my friend, Kelly, who blogged at Hidden Fruits and Veggies back in 2015.
While my recipe writing standards have evolved (and are now reflected in this post and the recipe card below), these biscuits remain delicious and the perfect companion to hearty winter meals, like soups, stews, chili… or anything that you want to sop up with something crusty and fluffy.
Why I love this recipe:
It’s hard not to love a buttery, flaky biscuit, and this one is no different.
This Cheddar Biscuit recipe is incredibly straight-forward to make and endlessly versatile (because you can serve them with dinner, turn them into breakfast sandwiches or honestly just eat them warm with a pat of butter).
Also, they deliver exactly what you want from a biscuit: they’ve got flaky layers, gooey cheese and are wonderfully satisfying.
Please note that these are NOT a copycat recipe for the Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster. They don’t have Old Bay Seasoning, and they are not a drop biscuit recipe. If you’re looking for that, you need to find a different biscuit to make.
More biscuit recipes to make at home: Homemade Butter Biscuits | French Onion Biscuits | Vegan Sweet Potato Biscuits with Olive Oil and Sage | Chili Cheese Biscuits | Classic Buttermilk Biscuits
What you need to make this recipe:
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- Rimmed sheet pan
- Large mixing bowl
- Pastry blender
- Pastry brush
- Box grater
- Round biscuit cutter set (or square set or a sharp knife)
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here are the simple ingredients you need to get at the store:
- All-purpose flour — we keep unbleached AP flour in our house, but the regular kind works, too. I have not tried this with a different flour or a gluten-free flour blend and do not recommend it at this time.
- Baking powder — this is our leavener. Make sure yours is fresh. It is not the same thing as baking soda.
- Kosher salt — I use a medium-grain kosher salt, like Diamond Crystal. You can use the same amount of sea salt.
- Unsalted butter — unlike most baked goods, this needs to be COLD. I like to throw a stick of butter into the freezer about an hour before making biscuits so I know that it will hold its shape.
- Sharp cheddar cheese — this cheese performs double duty and adds so much flavor to the biscuit dough. Half of it is shredded and the other half cubed. This gives us the optimal gooey cheese texture throughout each biscuit.
- Milk — we keep 2% or whole milk in our house always, so those definitely work with this recipe. I have not tried this one with a lower fat or non-fat milk, though I am sure that it can work. You could probably use the same amount of buttermilk in this recipe, though I have never tried it.
How to make Cheddar Biscuits
Prepare. Throw a stick of butter into the freezer. (Cold fat is KEY for biscuits!) Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients. Measure the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Prepare the butter. Use a sharp knife or a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into cubes.
Add the butter to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut it into the flour mixture, working quickly so that the butter does not warm up too much. The mixture will look grainy and the butter pieces will be in pea-sized chunks. You want it to be as even as possible.
Measure in the cheese. Add the shredded and cubed cheddar cheese. Stir to incorporate with a rubber spatula.
Add the milk. Pour it in slowly. Add about ¾ cup first, then add extra if the dough is dry.
Combine the dough. Use your hands to gently mix it, then turn it out onto a floured surface and form into a ¾” tall round or rectangle. Don’t overwork the dough here, as the butter will melt, and we want it to remain as cold as possible!
Cut the biscuits with a round or square biscuit cutter. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. You can brush the tops of biscuits with melted butter or leave them be.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.
Enjoy warm with your favorite cozy recipes.
how to store:
Store the cooled leftover biscuits in an airtight container for up to a week. They need to be kept in the refrigerator due to the cheese.
You can also freeze them solid on a jelly roll pan, then transfer them to a freezer bag. Defrost in the fridge before reheating in the toaster oven.
Quick tips and tricks to the best scratch made biscuits:
- Keep the ingredients at the proper temperature! The butter needs to be cold or almost frozen so that the biscuits get a beautiful rise.
- In the same vein, work fast! The fat needs to remain cold, so having everything pre-measured and the oven screaming hot before you get started is important.
- Add in some different flavors by adding herbs and spices to the batter. A sprinkle of paprika, onion powder or garlic powder adds some different vibes, as do chopped chives or parsley.
We love to pair these biscuits with…
Soup. This recipe originally was served alongside Roasted Cauliflower Soup, but it’s also excellent alongside Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup.
Stew. If you’re in the market for something heartier, try it with Slow Cooker Beef Stew.
Chili. Since chili and cheese go together like PB&J, try these biscuits with Texas Chili, Shiner Bock Beer Chili or Beef and Buffalo Chili.
Just want to make this recipe? Scroll on down to learn how to make it in your own kitchen…
Cheddar Biscuits
EQUIPMENT
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and cut into ¼” cubes
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup sharp cheddar cubes about ¼” to ½” cubes
- ¾ to 1 cup 2% milk
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We’ll email a link directly to you so you can come back to it later! Plus, you’ll receive new recipes delivered to your inbox each week.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients — flour, baking powder and salt — in a large bowl. Stir until combined.
- Add the butter to the dry ingredients, cutting it in with a pastry cutter or a fork until the butter has been cut into pea-sized pieces. The mixture will look grainy, and you want it to be as even as possible.
- Add the shredded and cubed cheddar cheese, stirring to incorporate.
- Pour in the milk slowly, adding about ¾ cup first, then adding extra if the dough is dry.
- Combine the dough using your hands, then turn out onto a floured surface and form into a ¾” tall round. Don’t overwork the dough here, as the butter will melt, and we want it to remain as cold as possible!
- Using a biscuit cutter to form the biscuits, and transfer the formed biscuits to the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits have browned.
- Enjoy warm!
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
The texture on those cheddar biscuits–> RIDICULOUS. craving one right this second.
Oh my heavens! These look amazing. They remind me of the biscuits from Red Lobster!!