No Popeyes? No Problem — Thanks To A New At-Home Mix

My fast-food preferences are singular: Popeyes is the only drive-thru establishment I visit on a regular basis. My order? A fried chicken sandwich (the best chicken item on its menu), Cajun fries, and a biscuit. That meal has never let me down, and it's my go-to when I need a little bit of self-care. So, understandably, I was pretty ecstatic when I learned that the chicken giant was releasing biscuit mixes. Yes, please — I'll gladly take a never-ending supply of homemade Popeyes biscuits, especially if they're actually as good as the real deal. 

Popeyes released two versions of its biscuit mix: a Homestyle Biscuit Mix and a Cajun Cheddar Biscuit Mix. As a girl who appreciates options, this made me all the more excited to try them out. I made each mix according to the directions on the box, evaluating them based both on how they compared to my OG favorite and how good they were in their own right (taking flavor and texture into account). 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

As a diehard Popeyes fan, I knew what these biscuits should taste like — they're one of my favorite side dishes from the chain, after all — so that was the primary factor I considered when deciding whether to recommend them. However, I also judged each mix as its own product, asking myself whether I'd be happy with the result even if I'd never tried Popeyes' biscuits before.

There are upsides and downsides to mixes. The biggest downside is the labor and ingredients involved. Though you don't have to travel to a local restaurant or drive-thru, getting the biscuit in your hands is a little more labor intensive. Whether you cherish the ability to be a house hermit all day (personally, I fall into that camp) or whether a short drive is no big deal to you will determine whether these mixes are going to be your new go-to. After baking and eating more than my fair share, here's how the biscuits performed. 

I'll get the obvious out of the way — these look nothing like the biscuits you'd get from the Popeyes drive-thru. Popeyes' Homestyle Biscuits spread out quite a lot while baking, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. My biggest qualm was that they didn't brown on top, despite having been baked longer than the recommended 18 minutes. The dough was fully cooked through, though, so I know I didn't underbake them. 

In terms of the biscuits' internal structure, they were fairly similar to Popeyes' restaurant biscuits. The interior was light and fluffy, though I can't call it particularly flaky, but Popeyes' biscuits aren't very flaky, either. The flavor was spot-on, if a little more herbal than what you'll get at Popeyes. The fact that the biscuits lacked any sort of outer crisp (though the bottoms did brown a little) took away from them, but I still ate two in a row before putting them away so I wouldn't house the whole plate. 

I wasn't as endeared to Popeyes' Cajun Cheddar Biscuit Mix as I was to the previous one, but I'm also not the biggest fan of Cajun seasoning — except when it's used on fries. Similar to the last mix, these biscuits spread out quite a bit, and while the bottoms got crispy, the tops didn't brown at all. Any bit of color comes from the Cajun butter that gets brushed on the biscuits after they're baked. 

Moreover, after the Cajun butter was brushed on, I couldn't even taste the cheese in the biscuits. I would add more cheddar next time and leave off the Cajun butter (still brushing on regular butter, of course). I think that would make it a biscuit worthy of being called a cheddar biscuit. Its interior structure was the same as the last; it was just the flavor that left me feeling a little underwhelmed. If you're a huge fan of Cajun seasoning, you may feel different, though I definitely recommend upping the amount of cheese no matter which way you decide to bake these.

I could totally buy Popeyes' Homestyle Biscuit Mix again, and I'd even add some shredded cheddar to it if I was in the mood for something cheesy. As a whole, the biscuits were good, but don't expect them to be perfect dupes of what you'd get from Popeyes. If you're okay with that and would prefer to use a mix rather than making your own biscuits from scratch, go for it. 

I'd also recommend popping them under the broiler for a few minutes during the last few minutes of baking. I'd have done that with these, except that I wanted to stick to the box instructions to get the most accurate results. And, if you really want to go the extra mile with this mix, treat it like a from-scratch bake and cut in cold butter rather than using softened butter. That will keep the biscuits from spreading so much and will contribute to a flakier interior. I do appreciate that Popeyes made this mix more friendly for novice bakers. 

The biscuits are available as of May 26 at national retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, and Target. Price will vary depending on location. At my local Walmart, each mix costs $3.23 and makes 10 biscuits. At about $0.32 per biscuit, I think that's a pretty good deal; and if you make them with some of the modified instructions I suggested above, your resulting product would probably be even more crave-worthy.

The macros are the same for each biscuit, though the values represented don't seem to include the butter or the cheese that you'll add to the mix. Each dry mix has 0.5 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of protein per 3-tablespoon serving, with a total of 110 calories. Add to that a generous amount of butter (both in the biscuits and brushed on top), and you're looking at a significantly higher fat and calorie content.