Cheddar Bay Biscuits

The first time I tried cheddar bay biscuits at that famous seafood chain, I honestly forgot about the shrimp on my plate. I was locked in on those warm, cheesy, garlic-butter biscuits. So I set out to make my own cheddar bay biscuits at home that hit the same cozy, salty, buttery notes… without a box mix and without any mystery ingredients.

In this post I’ll walk you through my go-to cheddar bay biscuit recipe, how I keep them fluffy and tender every time, and how to store or freeze them safely. If you love a good copycat cheddar bay biscuit recipe that’s fast, simple, and seriously addictive, you’re in the right place.

What Makes These Cheddar Bay Biscuits So Good

I build this cheddar bay biscuits recipe to stay close to what people love about the original restaurant biscuits:

• Buttery with crisp golden edges
• Soft and fluffy inside, never dry
• Packed with garlic and cheddar
• Finished with a warm garlic-parsley butter on top

The real biscuits showed up on the menu in the 1990s as garlic cheese biscuits and were renamed “Cheddar Bay Biscuits” a few years later to match the chain’s seaside theme. Food writers who’ve dug into the story also point out that “bay” in the name is branding, not a reference to Old Bay seasoning.

So in this homemade cheddar bay biscuits recipe, I skip Old Bay and lean on garlic powder, butter, cheddar, and a quick parsley finish instead.

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Ingredients You Need For This Cheddar Bay Biscuit Recipe

These are simple pantry ingredients. I keep them on hand just for biscuit emergencies.

Dry ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 cup cold buttermilk

If you don’t keep buttermilk around, you can mix about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into enough whole milk to make 1 cup, then let it sit about 10 minutes. Many buttermilk substitutes follow this same ratio.

Cheese

• 1–2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I usually go for about 1 1/2 cups, medium or sharp)

Pre-shredded cheddar works here. Several biscuit and cheddar bay style recipes use bagged cheese without issues, so I don’t stress about shredding from a block for this one.

Garlic butter topping

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• A pinch of onion powder
• A pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2–1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

That last buttery brush on top is what makes these really feel like true cheddar bay biscuits.

Step-By-Step: How I Make Cheddar Bay Biscuits

This cheddar bay biscuits recipe is a drop-biscuit style, so there’s no rolling and cutting. I just mix, scoop, and bake.

1. Heat the oven and prep the pan
   • Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C).
   • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper so the biscuits don’t stick.
2. Melt the butter
   • Melt 1/2 cup unsalted butter in the microwave or on the stove.
   • Set it aside so it cools just a bit while you mix the dry ingredients.
3. Mix the dry ingredients
   • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together:
     • 2 cups all-purpose flour
     • 1 tablespoon sugar
     • 1 tablespoon baking powder
     • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
     • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4. Combine buttermilk and melted butter
   • In another bowl, pour in 1 cup cold buttermilk.
   • Add the melted butter and stir.
   • You’ll see little soft clumps of butter form in the buttermilk. That’s exactly what you want. Those tiny bits of butter help create flaky, tender cheddar bay biscuits, similar to how cold butter works in traditional biscuit dough.
5. Bring the dough together
   • Pour the buttermilk–butter mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
   • Stir gently until everything is just combined and you don’t see dry streaks of flour.
   • I stop as soon as the dough comes together. Overmixing can make biscuits tough, and multiple biscuit recipes warn about this same thing.
6. Fold in the cheddar
   • Add 1–2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.
   • Fold it in so the cheese is scattered through the dough without working it too hard.
7. Portion the biscuits
   • Use a 1/4-cup measuring cup, a large cookie scoop (about 2 oz), or a big spoon.
   • Scoop 3–4 tablespoons of dough per biscuit and drop it onto the lined baking sheet.
   • Leave a little space (about an inch or two) between each scoop so they can spread slightly.
8. Bake
   • Bake in the preheated 425°F oven for 12–15 minutes, until the cheddar bay biscuits are golden on the top and lightly browned around the edges.
   • You’re looking for a dry, set surface and a fluffy interior. This baking time matches a lot of tested cheddar biscuit recipes.
9. Mix the garlic butter topping
   While the biscuits bake, stir together in a small bowl:
   • 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
   • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
   • A pinch of onion powder
   • A pinch of kosher salt
   • 1/2–1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
10. Brush and serve
    • As soon as the cheddar bay biscuits come out of the oven, brush them generously with the warm garlic-parsley butter.
    • Serve right away while they’re hot, fluffy, and shiny with butter.

At this point, my family usually “taste tests” at least two biscuits before we even sit down at the table.

How I Store, Freeze, And Reheat Cheddar Bay Biscuits Safely

These biscuits disappear fast at my house, but when I do have extras, I follow general food-safety guidance plus what multiple biscuit recipes suggest for leftovers.

Cooling

• Let the cheddar bay biscuits cool on the pan or a rack until they reach room temperature.
• Cooling helps prevent condensation that can make them soggy in a closed container.

Room-temperature storage

• Once cool, you can keep them in an airtight container at room temperature up to about 2 days in a cool, dry spot.
• Several storage guides for cheddar bay biscuits give that same 1–2 day window at room temp.

Because these biscuits contain cheese and butter, I don’t push room-temperature storage longer than that.

Refrigerating leftovers

• For longer storage, move the biscuits to the fridge in an airtight container.
• U.S. food-safety guidance for leftovers with perishable ingredients usually recommends 3–4 days in the refrigerator at or below 40°F (4°C).

I stick to that 3–4 day window for cheddar bay biscuits as well.

Freezing cheddar bay biscuits

Multiple sources agree baked cheddar bay biscuits freeze well for up to about 2–3 months without much loss of quality.

Here’s what I do:

• Let biscuits cool completely.
• Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until firm.
• Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container, pressing out as much air as possible.
• Label with the date so you know how long they’ve been in there.

Reheating

To bring them back to life:

• From room temp or fridge:
  • Bake at 300–350°F (150–175°C) for about 5–10 minutes, until hot in the center.
• From frozen:
  • Either thaw in the fridge overnight, or bake from frozen and add a few more minutes, checking often.

For food safety, U.S. agencies suggest reheating leftovers to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). I follow that for anything with dairy or cheese, including cheddar bay biscuits.

A quick extra brush of melted butter with a pinch of garlic powder after reheating makes them taste almost freshly baked.

What To Serve With Cheddar Bay Biscuits

These biscuits are basically a side dish love language. Here’s how I like to use them, based on what a lot of people pair with restaurant-style cheddar bay biscuits:

• Seafood dinners – shrimp, salmon, crab legs, or a simple baked fish. That combo mirrors how they’re traditionally served at the seafood chain and in many copycat menu suggestions.
• Soups and chowders – creamy potato soup, Zuppa Toscana-style soups, or clam chowder all match the cheesy garlic vibe really well.
• Salads – a big green salad, Caesar salad, or a simple tomato-cucumber salad with a bright vinaigrette balances the richness.
• Chicken or turkey dinners – roasted chicken, creamy skillet chicken, or turkey cutlets with gravy are all popular pairings in home-cooking guides that feature cheddar bay biscuits on the side.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits FAQ

Notes, Tips, And Nutritional Disclaimer

Quick notes and pro tips

• Use cold buttermilk. When it hits the melted butter, it creates tiny butter clumps that bake into pockets of tenderness. This trick shows up in several modern biscuit recipes and gives a great texture.
• Don’t overmix the dough. As soon as the flour disappears and the cheese is folded in, you’re done. Overworking the dough is a common reason biscuits turn dense.
• Serve them fresh. Almost every cheddar bay biscuits recipe agrees they taste best hot from the oven, brushed with butter right away.

Nutritional values (approximate)

Based on nutrition data for restaurant cheddar bay biscuits, one biscuit typically falls around:

• Calories: roughly 150–190
• Fat: about 7–10 g
• Carbs: about 16–23 g
• Protein: around 3–9 g

Homemade cheddar bay biscuits using this recipe are usually in that same neighborhood, but the exact numbers depend on biscuit size, precise cheese amount, and specific brands. For a medically accurate or diet-critical breakdown, I recommend running your ingredients and servings through a trusted nutrition calculator.

Nutritional disclaimer

I’m not a dietitian or medical professional, and any nutrition ranges here are based on third-party databases that pull from restaurant and branded product info.

If you need exact macros or have health conditions that require precise tracking, please weigh your biscuits, log your exact ingredients in a reputable calculator, and follow advice from a qualified health professional.

Your Turn

If you bake a batch of these cheddar bay biscuits, I’d love to hear how they turned out for you:

• Did you go heavy on the cheddar or keep it closer to 1 cup?
• Did you pair them with seafood, soup, or something totally different?
• Did you tweak the garlic or add your own spin?

Drop your questions, reviews, and creative variations in the comments of your own post, and share this recipe with anyone who’s obsessed with restaurant-style cheddar bay biscuits but wants a fast homemade version.