Buttery, flaky, cheesy low-carb biscuits are a gluten-free, keto-friendly dream come true. This article explores a recipe for keto cheddar bay biscuits, a convincing and perfect copycat of Red Lobster's famous biscuits. Whether you're a biscuit lover, following a keto diet, or simply looking for a delicious gluten-free alternative, this recipe is sure to satisfy.
Why Keto Cheddar Bay Biscuits?
For those following a keto diet, finding suitable bread replacements can be challenging. These keto cheddar bay biscuits offer a bready alternative, similar to popovers or classic biscuits. They are versatile and can be adapted to various flavors, such as garlic-butter biscuits or used in breakfast sandwiches and mini biscuit sliders.
Many people following a low-carb or Keto diet are looking for a healthy way to incorporate bread into their daily meals and these biscuits definitely do the trick.
The Magic of Almond Flour
Just like raw cashews are magical in making creamy sauces, almond flour is extraordinarily useful for keto baking. Almond flour is a wonderful gluten-free and grain-free flour for making keto-friendly baked goods. It provides a base for these biscuits, offering a texture similar to all-purpose flour. While almond flour has a slight almond taste, it can be easily masked with stronger savory flavors like herbs, garlic, and cheese.
Almond meal, which is ground unblanched almonds (almonds ground with the skins on), can also be used. Both work well as a gluten free flour in baking and they can sometimes be used interchangeably.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Key Ingredients and Their Roles
- Almond Flour: The main ingredient that takes the place of wheat flour, providing a light and fluffy texture. Blanched almond flour is recommended for a texture similar to all-purpose flour.
- Cheddar Cheese: Essential for cheddar biscuits, providing flavor and texture. You can use cheddar or use what you have. You can also omit if you do not want to add. Be sure to shred the cheese yourself as the pre-shredded cheese contains other ingredients.
- Baking Powder: A leavening agent that helps the biscuits rise. Use Baking Powder or Baking Soda this helps the biscuits rise.
- Sour Cream: Adds moisture and richness to the biscuits. Use FULL FAT sour cream.
- Butter: Contributes to the buttery flavor and flakiness of the biscuits. Use unsalted butter.
- Old Bay Seasoning: A quintessential seafood seasoning that adds a distinctive flavor to Cheddar Bay biscuits. Substitute for Bay Seasoning - 1 teaspoon Garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, parsley.
- Egg Whites: When whipped, egg whites contribute to the biscuit's texture.
Step-by-Step Recipe Guide
Here's a general outline of how to make these delectable keto cheddar bay biscuits:
- Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 350-450 degrees F, depending on the specific recipe. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients: almond flour, baking powder, salt, and any desired seasonings like garlic powder or Old Bay.
- Incorporate Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients: eggs, sour cream, melted butter, and any other liquids specified in the recipe.
- Mix Wet and Dry: Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking until smooth.
- Stir in Cheese: Stir in the cheddar cheese.
- Prepare the Dough: Cut in the butter with a fork until it looks like coarse meal. Use a fork to mix in the heavy whipping cream a little at a time, and then mix in the eggs. Cut in the white cheddar until it forms a dough. Fold in the yellow cheddar.
- Form Biscuits: Distribute biscuit batter to muffin tins sprayed with cooking spray or use a SMALL cookie/ice cream scoop to get 22 biscuits. If you want to use a large/full size scoop you will get approximately 11 biscuits with about 4 net carbs each.
- Bake: Bake at 400°F for 10-12 minutes or until biscuits are golden.
- Serve: Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips for Perfect Keto Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Keep Wet and Dry Separate: Keep the wet from the dry ingredients until your oven is ready to go. The baking powder reacting with the sour cream is what creates the leavening, and we want to make full use of that quickly.
- Don't Overmix: To make sure that you have the flaky texture, don’t overmix the dough. Just combine until all ingredients are mixed together and then bake.
- Use Quality Ingredients: Use unsalted butter and FULL FAT sour cream.
- Grease the Muffin Tins: Definitely use cooking spray for the muffin tins, or olive oil or butter. These biscuits are delicate when fresh, and we want them to come right out of the tins.
- Cool Slightly Before Removing: Once done and out of the oven, give the biscuits a minute to cool. Then use a knife to run around the edges, loosen them up, then gently lift them out to cool completely.
- Watch the Video: I highly recommend watching the video to see exactly what the dough should look like.
- Don’t Overbake: Make sure to not to overbake your biscuits. Once you remove the biscuits from the oven, given them a few minutes to finish baking on the baking sheet.
Serving Suggestions
These keto cheddar bay biscuits are versatile and can be enjoyed in various ways:
- As a Side Dish: Serve them as a side to your favorite keto meal or your favorite bowl of soup.
- Breakfast Sandwich: Use these Keto Cheddar Biscuits to make a breakfast sandwich with sausage, veggies, eggs, meat, cheese and veggies.
- With Butter: Top with a pat of butter while they’re still warm.
- With Keto Chili: They are great with low carb soups, like Keto Chili or Mushroom Chicken.
Storage Instructions
- Room Temperature: Store cooled biscuits in a resealable bag at room temperature.
- Refrigerator: Store you leftover keto biscuits in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will last about 5 days in the refrigerator. To reheat you can heat in the microwave or in the oven.
- Freezer: These biscuits freeze well! Wrap them in parchment paper, pop them into a zip-top freezer bag, and defrost them as you need them. Simply, prepare and bake your biscuits as normal. Once they have cooled and reach room temperature, you can freeze in a freezer container. We like to lay them flat on a cookie sheet and freeze as individual biscuits, Once frozen then store in a freezer container to serve later. If your biscuits are frozen, let them thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator before heating them in the microwave.
Keto Diet Overview
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates for energy. This metabolic state, known as ketosis, can lead to weight loss and other health benefits. On keto, you are eating mostly veggies, fat, and protein, and limiting carbohydrates. A lot of recipes call for cheese or cream cheese. If you are new to the Keto lifestyle or just trying to eat low carb. These Keto biscuits are a great place to start.
Variations and Additions
- Different Cheeses: Cheddar cheese is great, but you can mix in some pepper jack cheese or Colby Monterrey Jack.
- Cream Cheese: Adding in some cream cheese changes the texture of your biscuits as well. It does require a little more work as you need to let your cream cheese get to room temperature before mixing in.
- Seasoning: Change the seasoning by adding in some different seasoning.
- Garlic Butter Topping: If you want regular cheesy biscuits just leave off the garlic powder and seasoning in the butter topping.
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