5-Ingredient Garlic Cheddar Biscuits Recipe

We're bread-lovers over here. We've never met a carb we didn't love, and meals always seem somehow incomplete without some form of bread. But, all too often, we don't have time to make dinner rolls, and the ones in the freezer aisle always leave us wanting more. We once thought it was strange to serve biscuits with dinner — after all, they're a breakfast food, right? — but these 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits changed our minds.

This quick-and-easy drop biscuit recipe can be made at the last minute. It's ready to eat in less than 20 minutes and results in a dozen soft, buttery biscuits that are positively overflowing with sharp cheddar and garlic flavors. They remind us of Red Lobster's cheddar bay biscuits, but they're easy to make on a budget and only require five ingredients. You'll love this fool-proof drop biscuit recipe if you've experienced biscuit fails before too. Say goodbye to all that kneading and cutting that can lead to dense, chewy biscuits, and say hello to the tender biscuits you deserve.

The ingredients list for our 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits is short and sweet. You only need self-rising flour, garlic powder, buttermilk, unsalted butter, and sharp cheddar cheese. If you don't have self-rising flour, don't fret. According to King Arthur Baking Company, you can add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder for every cup of all-purpose flour as a substitute.

When it comes to buttermilk, we used powdered buttermilk because it's easier than figuring out what to do with leftover buttermillk. This shelf-stable product is good for up to three years, so you'll always have some on hand when you need it. Simply add 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of the powder to 2/3 cup water. Mix it well to remove the clumps, and the liquid is instantly ready to use. If you don't have buttermilk for powdered buttermilk, Food Network explains that you can make your own at home. Add one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk. Stir the mixture and let it stand for ten minutes to let the mixture thicken.

We've already explained how to make your own self-rising flour at home, but what about Bisquick? If you have a box of Bisquick on hand, can you use it to make these 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits? In short, yes, but Bisquick is not as "clean" as self-rising flour because it contains added ingredients.

Self-rising flour contains wheat flour, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, and monocalcium phosphate), and salt. The Bisquick ingredient list is similar, but it also contains vegetable oil, corn starch, dextrose, sugar, sugar, DATEM (an emulsifier that helps strengthen dough), and monoglycerides (a preservative). These added ingredients give Bisquick its signature flavor that consumers have loved since it came out in 1931. But it also means you'll be adding extra sugar and trans fat to your diet. Bisquick once contained lard, but the Orlando Sentinel reported they removed all animal products from their mix in 1988, replacing the lard with hydrogenated oils.

There are several different types of biscuits, from cream biscuits that don't use butter to sweet potato biscuits and skillet biscuits. When it comes to biscuit-making techniques, you'll find that some require the dough to be rolled and cut, while others instruct you to drop the batter onto the baking sheet. We've made rolled biscuits before — our 3-ingredient biscuits rise up tall as they bake, and they're super soft and flaky inside — so we decided to make drop biscuits for this 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits recipe.

Drop biscuits have more liquid, making the dough too loose to form into individual biscuits. Instead, we'll use a measuring cup to portion out the dough and drop each biscuit directly onto the baking sheet. The result is a flatter biscuit with a crumbly texture and an irregular look, but the interior is ultra moist and tender. They won't work well as a sandwich biscuit, but they're perfect for serving with eggs on the side for breakfast or as a bread side for soups and stews.

Making these 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits couldn't be easier. Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can also use a silicone baking mat or spray the sheet with nonstick baking spray. Then, melt 1/2 cup of the butter and let it cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine the self-rising flour and two teaspoons of the garlic powder. In another bowl (or a large measuring cup), combine the buttermilk and the slightly cooled melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry flour mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula until the flour is moistened. You don't want to over-mix, which can lead to tough biscuits, so it's okay if some small clumps of flour remain. When the biscuit batter has come together, gently fold the cheese into the mix, taking care not to over-mix but ensuring that the cheese is distributed throughout the dough.

You can use pre-shredded cheese if you have to, but we definitely recommend grating the cheese yourself for the best 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits. Freshly grated cheese melts better, and it's also free from preservatives. Pre-shredded cheese often contains cellulose, potato starch, and natamycin to keep the cheese from clumping in the bag (via Taste of Home). It also costs more than block cheese because it's convenient and ready to use, but it doesn't take long to grate your own cheese (especially if you're using the grating attachment on a food processor).

We chose sharp cheddar cheese for our test batch, but you can absolutely use mild or medium cheddar if that's what you have on hand. In fact, you could swap in most cheeses here. Avoid the really soft cheeses like ricotta, brie, camembert, or cream cheese, as they will add extra moisture to the biscuit dough. Super melty cheeses don't work well here, either, so avoid mozzarella and or American cheese. Instead, look to harder cheeses, like pepperjack, Parmesan, or Gruyere.

When the cheese is incorporated, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Don't worry about shaping the biscuits into neat little shapes. They will pool out a little as they bake, and you want them to have craggly tops.

This recipe should make about 12 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits, which should fit on a single baking sheet spaced at least 1 and 1/2 inches apart. Pop the baking tray into the oven and bake for ten to 12 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown. You can use a toothpick to test for doneness, inserting it into the middle of the biscuit to see if it comes out clean. We prefer to use an instant-read thermometer since the melted cheese can make it confusing to know if the biscuits are finished. A thermometer offers a sure-fire measurement, and the biscuits are cooked through when the thermometer registers between 200 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit.

While the 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits are baking, prepare the garlic butter topping. You can skip the extra butter if you're concerned about adding extra calories, but this decadent topping tastes delicious! It's super easy to make, too. Simply combine the remaining three tablespoons of melted butter with a 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. If you want to give the biscuits a color-contrasting finish, add a teaspoon of freeze-dried chives or dried parsley to the mix.

When the biscuits are finished baking, use a silicone brush to coat each biscuit with the flavored butter mixture. If you have extra butter left after brushing the biscuits, start over with the first biscuit and add a second layer.

Serve the biscuits warm, or allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. The cooled biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days on the counter or as long as a week in the fridge. The cold refrigerator will solidify the butter, so we recommend heating the biscuits briefly in the microwave or in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven to take off the chill before serving.

Earlier, we mentioned that drop biscuits aren't ideal for making sandwiches, but there are so many different ways to serve these tasty treats. Serve them by themselves for a light, on-the-go breakfast or a snack to tide you over between meals. They're also very porous in nature, so they'll soak up any sauce they're paired with. Don't be afraid to smother them with sausage or mushroom gravy to create a cheesy version of biscuits and gravy. For dinner, serve them on the side of soup, or use them as the biscuit topping for chicken pot pie.

If you end up with more leftovers than you know what to do with, chop the 5-ingredient garlic cheddar biscuits up and use them to make savory bread pudding. They also work exceptionally well as breadcrumbs or croutons. Give the chopped pieces a brief toast in the oven and use them as a garnish for soups and salads. Or pulverize the toasted pieces for breadcrumbs and add a ton of flavor to meatloaf, meatballs, or baked pasta dishes.