There is a particular style of cheddar biscuit that shows up on the menu of a very good seafood restaurant, dropped from a spoon and baked tall until the top is brown and the middle has turned to liquid. This no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits recipe rebuilds that idea without the wheat flour.
Almond flour and coconut flour give the dough its structure, Greek yogurt supplies the moisture that a wheat biscuit gets from buttermilk, and sharp cheddar is folded both into the dough and into the top of every mound.
There is also a hidden cheddar pocket inside each biscuit, sealed in before it goes on the sheet. Fifteen minutes of prep, 19 to 23 minutes in the oven, and eight tall biscuits at about 118 calories each.
The result is a browned, crumbly outside wrapped around a pocket of liquid cheese. That contrast is the whole point, and it is what you are buying when you make these no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits.
Why You’ll Love These No-Added-Sugar Cheddar Herb Biscuits
- A molten centre. 1.5g of cheddar is enclosed inside each mound before baking, so the middle turns to liquid cheese.
- No wheat flour. ⅔ cup (70g) almond flour and 2½ tbsp (18g) coconut flour do the work instead.
- Garlic and parsley. ½ tsp garlic powder in the dough and 1 tbsp fresh parsley on top once they come out of the oven.
- Dropped, not rolled. There is no rolling pin anywhere in this recipe, which is exactly what keeps the biscuits tall.
- 8 biscuits at 118 calories. 3g net carbs, 7g protein, 8g fat and 2g fiber per serving.
- Cheese on top and inside. 36g folded into the dough, 12g sealed in the centres and 12g scattered over the mounds.
- No rolling pin. No-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits are dropped from a spoon, so the whole recipe fits one bowl and one sheet.
- Better the next day. The parsley sits on top, and the crumb firms up slightly as the biscuits cool.
Ingredient Notes
The dry mix is ⅔ cup (70g) almond flour, 2½ tbsp (18g) coconut flour, 1 tsp (4g) starch-free baking powder and ½ tsp (2g) garlic powder. Whisking them together first is what stops the baking powder from settling into the bottom of the bowl.
Coconut flour is the absorbent one in this dough, and it is why these no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits need the 5-minute rest before the cheese goes in. It drinks the yogurt and keeps the crumb from turning sandy.
The wet mix is 1 large egg (50g), ½ cup plus 1 tbsp (140g) FAGE Total 0% Greek yogurt and 2 tsp (10g) melted unsalted butter. Greek yogurt is doing the job buttermilk does in a wheat biscuit, and it keeps the crumb tender.
½ cup (60g) reduced-fat sharp cheddar, shredded, is split three ways across the recipe. Buy a reduced-fat sharp cheddar with no added sugar on the ingredient panel, because the sweetness in an ordinary bagged sharp cheddar quietly undoes the whole recipe.
1 tbsp (4g) fresh parsley, chopped, is not an optional garnish. It goes on after the biscuits cool for 5 minutes, when the leaves are still soft but no longer steam.
Nothing in this dough is sweetened, and nothing needs to be. Sharp cheddar and garlic powder carry the flavour on their own, which is the difference between these no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits and a sweet cheese scone.
When I want to confirm what an ingredient actually contributes, I work from USDA FoodData Central, the reference behind the gram weights in the card below.
How to Make No-Added-Sugar Cheddar Herb Biscuits
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line an 18 by 13-inch baking sheet with parchment. Whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and garlic powder together in a large bowl.
In a second bowl, whisk the egg, the Greek yogurt and the melted butter until smooth. Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until the dough is thick and slightly sticky, then rest it 5 minutes so the flours can drink up the moisture.
The dough should pull away from the side of the bowl in one piece. If it looks sandy, no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits need a few more seconds of folding before the dough comes together properly.
Reserve 24g of the shredded cheddar. Fold the other 36g into the rested dough, working just until the cheese disappears, because overmixing is what makes these heavy in the hand.
Divide the dough into 8 portions. Put 1.5g of the reserved cheddar inside each portion and enclose it gently, pinching the seam closed so the pocket stays buried through the bake.
Weighing the 1.5g portions on a scale is the fiddly part, and it is worth doing. Uneven pockets are the reason some no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits come out with a heavy, cheesey base and a dry top.
Drop the portions onto the baking sheet, shaping tall, irregular mounds about 2 to 2½ inches wide. Do not flatten them, and leave the spacing you would for any other bake, since they spread a little as they rise.
A rough, uneven shape is the right look here. These no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits are meant to have a rustic top, and a neat row of identical rounds comes out of a different recipe entirely.
Scatter the remaining 12g of cheddar over the tops and bake for 19 to 23 minutes, until they are golden-brown and cooked through. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then on a wire rack for another 5, before scattering over the parsley.
Break one open while they are still slightly warm if you want to see the cheese pocket run. The crust stays crisp enough to hold in your hand, and the centre stays soft enough to spread on a piece of low-carb bread.
Success Tips
Keep the mounds tall and do not flatten them. This is the one instruction that decides how the biscuits turn out, and pressing them flat is how you end up with a dense round instead.
Seal the cheese pockets well. A split seam during the bake means the cheddar escapes into the bottom of the sheet instead of staying molten in the middle.
Let them cool before serving them warm. Two five-minute rests stand between the oven and the plate, and they are what stop no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits from tearing when you pick one up.
Avoid overmixing and overbaking. Almond flour browns faster than wheat does, so if the tops are deep golden before 19 minutes have passed, take them out anyway.
Rotate the sheet halfway through the bake if your oven runs hot at the back. It is the difference between eight evenly browned no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits and two that are darker than the rest.
Storage
Refrigerate airtight for up to 4 days. Reheat them briefly in a hot oven rather than a microwave, which dries the crumb out faster than the crust.
Store them plain, not stacked under anything heavy. The tops of these no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits are soft enough to take a mark from whatever is sitting above them.
FAQ
Why does the dough need to rest?
The 5-minute rest gives the almond and coconut flour time to absorb moisture from the yogurt. Skip it and the dough spreads on the sheet instead of holding the tall mound shape.
Can I use regular cheddar instead of reduced-fat?
You can, but check the label first. What matters for these no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits is that the cheese has no added sugar, since a sweetened cheddar is the fastest way to lose the no-added-sugar result.
Can I shape these with a biscuit cutter instead?
You can, but the recipe drops them freehand on purpose. A cutter compresses the mound, and the height is exactly what these no-added-sugar cheddar herb biscuits need to keep.
What do these biscuits go with?
My No-Added-Sugar Broccoli Cheddar Soup is the obvious pairing, since it wants exactly the same sharp cheddar flavour in a bowl. My No-Added-Sugar Meatloaf turns these biscuits into the bread to cut alongside it.
For a table, my No-Added-Sugar Deviled Eggs make a good starter next to them, and my No-Added-Sugar Eggplant Parmesan is the main course they belong beside.
No-Added-Sugar Cheddar Herb Biscuits
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line baking sheet with parchment.
- Whisk almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and garlic powder.
- Separately whisk egg, yogurt and melted butter.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture until thick and slightly sticky.
- Rest dough 5 minutes to absorb moisture.
- Reserve 24g cheddar. Fold remaining 36g into dough.
- Divide into 8 portions. Place 1.5g reserved cheddar inside each portion and gently enclose.
- Drop onto baking sheet, shaping tall, irregular mounds about 2–2½ inches wide.
- Sprinkle remaining 12g cheddar over the tops.
- Bake 19–23 minutes until golden-brown and cooked through.
- Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then on a rack 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.
Notes
- Keep mounds tall; do not flatten.
- Cheese pockets create soft, melted centers.
- Avoid overmixing or overbaking.
- Use reduced-fat sharp cheddar without added sugar.
- Refrigerate airtight up to 4 days.