Copycat Popeyes Strawberry Biscuits

Just when you thought one of the great fast food havens couldn’t get better, they take their divine, already-buttery biscuits and turn them into an irresistible sweet confection. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reigns supreme in many categories: sides (mainly the biscuits), fried chicken, red beans and rice, cajun fries, fried chicken sandwiches, and everything else under their bright orange rooftop.

Tell Me More About These Strawberry Biscuits

The OG Popeyes biscuit stands out from the rest because of its airy, flaky layers. It tastes like a buttery cloud easily consumed on its own, but is next-level with a schmear of warm honey butter. So, why mess with something that’s already a standout? Because why just have savory biscuits when you can have dessert biscuits too? 

The menu addition features the biscuit recipe, but studded with pieces of strawberry and finished with a simple icing drizzle. Imagine if a Strawberry Toaster Strudel had a biscuit cousin—but she’s clearly prettier and the life of the party. They’re not too sweet with the just right amount of each ingredient. 

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How To Make Popeyes Strawberry Biscuits at Home

When recreating this recipe I used strawberry preserves over fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries because it’s budget-friendly, always available (unlike out-of-season strawberries), and full of concentrated flavor. Much like Popeyes version, I wanted these to be biscuits with pockets of strawberry flavor instead of strawberry biscuits—this ensures they aren’t overly sweet or overpowering with strawberry flavor, and the integrity of the biscuits is not compromised by overmixing. 

To do this I folded in the preserves much like you would fold a laminated dough like croissants or kouign-amann. After each fold, I popped the biscuits into the freezer briefly to resoldify any melty butter pockets and firm up the preserves to make folding easier.

After a few folds, you can either cut out biscuits or simply use a knife to cut squares, avoiding the fussiness of rerolling dough scraps (my personal preference). Pop them in the oven, then brush with melted butter for an even richer texture. While the biscuits cool, make the icing and drizzle as much as you like on top. Serve with even more preserves on the side or as-is. These are wonderful for a spring or summer potluck, but they’re even better as a sweet brunch treat.

Tips for Making Strawberry Biscuits

• Make sure your butter and buttermilk are cold — The pockets of butter will create steam that lead to airy, flaky layers. Cold buttermilk will help preserve the cold butter.
• How to mix in the butter — You can use a pastry cutter or gently rub the butter into the flour with your fingers. Using your fingers allows you to feel the size of the butter, but the heat from your hands can cause it to melt slightly so just be aware.
• Overmixing can cause dense, dry biscuits.
• Don't twist the cutter — If using a cutter for the biscuits, dip the cutter in flour then press down on the dough but don’t twist. The flour will help the dough to not stick and easily release from the cutter. If you twist when cutting, you will seal off the edges and prevent them from properly rising in the oven.
• Use a knife to avoid scraps — Instead of using a round cutter, just cut the biscuits into squares or rectangles. You won't have any dough scraps to worry about.
• Crowd the pan for softer, taller biscuits — Placing the biscuits closer together or even allowing them to touch will force them to rise higher rather than outwards, making them even softer because of the air pockets.