15 Creative Recipes That Use Canned Biscuits as a Shortcut (2024)

Shortcut Steamed Bao Buns

Trendy steamed buns might look too complicated to make at home, but not with this spin, which had our Test Kitchen asking, "Why didn't we think of this before?" Skip stirring and kneading dough from scratch for these mini taco-shape appetizers, and go for our fluffy steamed canned biscuit recipe instead.

Test Kitchen Tip: Opt for rotisserie chicken or any leftover protein you have in the fridge for the filling. The just-spicy-enough sauce makes any filling taste gourmet.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Canned biscuits form the tender, flaky crust for decadent cheesecake bars. Spread the dough to cover the bottom of the pan, then top with a luscious cream cheese, vanilla, and orange zest mixture. Before baking, finish them with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, and they become a tasty riff on Spanish sopapillas.

Sloppy Joe Bombs

These bite-size appetizers take the "sloppy" out of the classic sandwiches. Instead, biscuit dough encloses sloppy joe filling (ground beef, red sweet peppers, pickle slices, and tomato sauce). You can pick these up, dip them in tomato sauce, and enjoy with no mess.

Pull-Apart Stuffing Ring

If you're looking for a way to make traditional holiday stuffing a little easier, this recipe for canned biscuits marries stuffing and monkey bread into a super-simple, utterly delicious side dish. Use the biscuits in place of bread cubes, and bake with chopped onion, celery, apple, and warm fall seasonings.

Mini Everything Bagel Pizzas

Want to know how to make canned biscuits better? This quick, easy meal, or shareable appetizer—you decide—uses rolled out refrigerator biscuit dough like a mini pizza crust. Just top with cream cheese, mozzarella, Everything Bagel seasoning, and smoked salmon for a super-tasty, upscale pizza.

Baklava Monkey Bread

Usually a layered dessert with nuts and honey, this version of baklava turns canned biscuits into a Mediterranean dessert. Stack the dough, walnuts, pistachios, and cinnamon. To make the dish as nice and gooey as the best monkey bread, cover everything with honey and brown sugar syrup.

Turkey Cheeseburger Minis

No grilling is required for these mini cheeseburgers. Rather than traditional patties and buns, this recipe shapes refrigerator dough into a cup for ground turkey, sweet peppers, and cheese. Pile on your favorite toppings for a classic burger, like ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish.

Caramel-Stuffed Monkey Bread

This canned biscuit recipe uses just four ingredients, and "bakes" in your slow cooker. Fold the dough around chocolate-covered caramels, then roll each one in cinnamon sugar. It's that simple–but if you want some extra gooeyness, drizzle the monkey bread with extra caramel sauce or chocolate before serving.

Beef and Vegetable Biscuit Bake

Clean out your fridge with this vegetable-rich casserole recipe. Its canned biscuit topping sure makes the produce an easier sell for picky eaters. Brussels sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, and onion are coated in a slim but creamy sauce that's made with fat-free milk rather than heavy cream.

Apple-Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

If apple pie and monkey bread joined forces, the result might look something like this cream cheese-iced delight. Coat canned biscuits in flaxseeds and cinnamon-sugar before layering with apple slices and walnuts. Bake for 25 minutes, frost, and prepare to play tug-of-war over the last bite.

One-Pot Mixed Berry Cobbler

This is one easy (and delicious) dessert recipe when you use refrigerator biscuits. Starting on the stove, all you have to do is dump cherry pie filling and fresh berries in the pot. Once that's hot, top it with biscuits (along with a bit of lime zest and coconut for pizzaz) and bake to bubbly perfection—and don't forget the ice cream.

Upside-Down Pizza Casserole

Two simple swaps—including a refrigerator biscuit crust—make this meal taste like you sweated over the stove and rolled dough for hours on end. No one needs to know you spent only 20 minutes preparing this four-ingredient feast.

Test Kitchen Tip: Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and snipped basil for the full pizza parlor treatment.

Tomato-Avocado Wafflewich

You've seen all kinds of recipes for refrigerator biscuits, but this one is unique. Get out your waffle iron and use biscuit-dough waffles in place of bread for a cheesy toasted sandwich. Stuffed inside the double-decker waffles, you'll find savory fixings like bacon, avocado, tomato, and melted cheese.

Chocolate-Caramel Monkey Bread

Caramel rolls meet monkey bread in this decadent dessert recipe. Refrigerator biscuits make them taste like a rich, homemade pastry. Once they're wrapped around chocolate-covered caramels (just imagine the molten center in each bite!), drizzle with even more caramel, and top it all off with sliced almonds.

Pumpkin-Shape Meatball Biscuits

This canned biscuit recipe is obviously perfect for fall, but delicious enough to crave all year. The mini pumpkins are rolled-out dough, each stuffed with a hearty meatball, basil pesto, and mozzarella cheese. Wrapping them in kitchen twine gives them the signature look, and a sprig of rosemary creates a cute stem.