While these are a rolled biscuit, they taste very similar to Cheddar Bay Drop Biscuits from Red Lobster. They’re flaky and soft on the inside with a crispy exterior. If you don’t have (or care for) whole wheat, I also include instructions for using unbleached flour instead.

Article originally published February 6, 2014. Updated and republished.

There’s nothing like a bowl of hot soup and homemade biscuits on a cold wintry night. Some of our favorite soups for those kinds of nights are Chicken Vegetable Soup and Ham and Bean Soup. When I have the time, which isn’t very often, I like to make a big batch of these Whole Wheat Cheddar Biscuits while the soup simmers.

This batch makes approximately 48 3-inch biscuits so you can make some and freeze the rest for later. If they don’t go too fast in our house, I freeze them wrapped in sheets of wax paper then put into a freezer safe bag and freeze until ready for use. When I need a quick meal I can pop them out and into the oven. Fresh biscuits in 20!

Do you have to use whole wheat flour?

While these are a whole wheat cheddar biscuit, you can make them non-whole wheat as well. I’ve tested this recipe with both whole wheat/white flour blend as well as unbleached white flour. I generally don’t use all-purpose white flour, so while I tested it using a blend, I have not tested it using just all-purpose white flour. You can easily sub the whole wheat/white flour for an equal amount of unbleached flour, though.

If I had to guess, I’d say you likely need to add a little extra all-purpose white flour if that’s all you use. If you want to try it, I would gradually add 1/4 cup at a time after the 6 cups the recipe calls for, incorporating well before adding more. The dough should be easy to handle and just slightly stick to your fingers but easily be incorporated back into the dough.

If you make these with whole wheat flour, the biscuits will be a little denser and will not rise quite as much as those using unbleached or white flour. (If you scroll to the bottom you will see some of my older images use whole wheat flour and are more dense.)

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Can you use gluten-free flour instead?

While you may have similar results with a Measure for Measure flour as that’s the point of that gluten-free flour blend, I have not tested it to see what results you would get. I would not try to use any other gluten-free flours and expect similar results as the recipe would need to be developed with those flours for good results.

What if you don’t have cream of tartar?

You can skip the cream of tartar, but cream of tartar helps your biscuits rise, so skipping it will change the texture and rise of them. That being said, there are many substitutes for cream of tartar, but I’m including my go-to for baked goods that I learned when I was learning how to bake when we were in the Mennonite Church.

The easiest substitute for cream of tartar in this recipe is to use buttermilk instead of regular milk or regular milk with a tablespoon of vinegar added to sour it.

Do you have to add parsley?

You can skip adding the parsley if you want without needing to adjust the recipe in any other way. The parsley doesn’t add a significant amount of flavor.

Do you have to include cheese?

Skipping the cheese feels a lot like sadness. However, you can skip the cheese if you want to. It will make the biscuits slightly drier and change the flavor a bit (and obviously, they’ll no longer be whole wheat CHEDDAR biscuits).

Is it okay to substitute non-dairy milk in this recipe?

Yes. You absolutely may substitute a non-dairy milk. My favorite options are coconut milk or oatmilk.

I hope you and your family enjoy these biscuits as much as our family does. If you have any other questions I haven’t addressed, please reach out via the comments or send me an email. I’ll respond as quickly as I can.