These incredibly easy and delicious 4 Ingredient Barbecue Cups are the perfect dinner for leftover smoked, crockpot cooked, or store-bought ready-made barbecue!
These fun and super easy barbecue cups are the perfect weeknight dinner or hand-held entertaining treat! They’re kid-friendly as well as a hearty adult fave! A simple baked blend of meat, cheese, bbq sauce, and sauce inside golden brown buttery flaky biscuits is the equation for deliciousness.
You can make these barbecue cups with SO many meat options: leftover barbecued beef brisket, chicken, or pulled pork. You can also make them with leftovers from my Crockpot Pork Carnitas or Amazing Pulled Pork recipes. Not only that, but you can also make them with a store-bought rotisserie chicken, packaged ready-made barbecue, or cooked ground chicken, beef or turkey.
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Taco Cups, Pizza Cups, and barbecue cups all take less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish! They’re sure to be added to the “Quick to Make, Easy to Please” dinner rotation!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Like Barbecue Cups
- Convenient & Easy Dinner: Bbq cups uses store-bought and leftover ingredients, making it super quick and easy. It's a great way for using up leftover barbecue or cooked meat.
- Easy Recipe: Doesn't get much easier than 4 simple ingredients and a meal less than 30 minutes from start to finish!
- Kid-Friendly: These cheesy barbecue cups are the perfect size and flavor for little hands and picky eaters. They're also fun to customize with different toppings!
- Crowd-Pleaser: Barbecue Biscuit Cups are ideal for parties, game day, or casual get-togethers.
- Delicious: The combination of meat, barbecue sauce, cheese, and flaky layers biscuit dough is irresistible.
Ingredients
Scroll Down for Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Full Recipe Card Below
- Rotisserie Chicken, Leftover or Store-Bought Barbecue or Cooked Ground Beef, Chicken, or Turkey: Versatile protein options that are easy to use.
- Barbecue Sauce: Coats the meat in a sweet, tangy glaze.
- Cheddar Cheese: Melts to add a creamy, savory layer.
- Refrigerated Pillsbury Grands Jumbo Biscuit Dough: Forms the base and holds everything together, providing a buttery, flaky texture.
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED
How to Make This Recipe
- In a large bowl, combine your meat of choice, barbecue sauce, and ¾ cup of cheese. Mix until well combined.
- Butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray a 12-cup muffin pan. Split 6 of the biscuits horizontally by gently peeling them apart at the middle layer.
- Using a tamper tool, press one of the biscuit halves in each of the muffin tins so that it covers the bottom and up the sides. Alternatively, flatten the biscuit halves with your fingers on a flat surface so that they become 4 inches in diameter, and then press them into the muffin tins.
- Fill each muffin tin with 3-4 tablespoons of the prepared cheesy barbecue filling.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top of each filling.
- Bake at 375°F for 14-16 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the biscuits are golden brown.
- Gently run a knife around the edge of each biscuit to loosen, then transfer to a serving tray. Optional, serve with toppings.
Expert Tips and Substitutions
- Protein Options: Use any cooked meat you have on hand, such as pork, chicken, beef, or turkey. It can be pulled, shredded, or chopped. Lean ground beef, chicken, and ground turkey all work great too! BBQ beef biscuit cups using leftover brisket or roast beef are my family's favorite version.
- Cheese Varieties: Substitute cheddar with mozzarella, Monterey Jack, or pepper jack for a different flavor profile.
- Sauce Tips: Experiment with different barbecue sauces, like honey barbecue, spicy, or smoky, to customize the flavor. The amount of barbecue sauce needed in the mixture will depend on how moist the meat is to start. If your meat is already sauced heavily, you’ll need only ½ cup or less of sauce. If it’s dry or has no sauce, you’ll need ¾ cup or more.
- Vegetarian Option: Use a plant-based meat substitute or black beans for a vegetarian version.
- Add Veggies: Include diced bell peppers, onions, or corn in the barbecue mixture for extra flavor and texture.
- Topping Options: Some excellent toppings for these barbecue cups are Easy Overnight Pickles, sliced green onions, black olives, pickled jalapeños, and additional barbecue sauce.
- Extra Yummy Mix-ins: Chopped jalapeños, diced onion, cooked, crumbled bacon, baked beans, and sliced olives are all great options to mix in your meaty filling.
What to Serve with Cheesy BBQ Biscuit Cups
BBQ Biscuit Cups are a versatile dish that pairs well with a variety of side dishes. A few of our favorites are a side salad, the Best Macaroni Salad, Crispy & Garlicky Green Beans, perfect Apple Pie Baked Beans, and Broccoli Cranberry Salad!
Storage and Freezing
Allow the barbecue cups to cool completely after baking. Place in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
Alternatively, you can freeze the biscuit cups for longer storage. To freeze them, follow the same steps as above and then place the container or bag in the freezer. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. To use them, simply thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat them in the oven or microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can fully prepare them up to 12 hours in advance. Simply cover the pan with cling or press wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Yes! You can use an 8 ounce can of crescent roll dough rolled out and cut into squares instead of biscuit dough. You can also use 24 wonton wrappers. For these, place one wrapper in each prepared tin, add 1-2 tablespoons of the filling in each, add another wonton wrapper, then the remaining filling.
Absolutely! You can get creative with the filling. See “Expert Tips and Substitutions” for more barbecue cup fillers!
Not this version. However, you can substitute the biscuit dough with the homemade dough by mixing 2 ¼ cups gluten-free Bisquick mix, ½ cup cheddar cheese, and ⅔ cup milk. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the dough into each muffin cup and press up the sides.
More Easy Recipes Like This
- Beef Mac and Cheese
- Chicken and Green Beans
- Frito Taco Casserole
- American Goulash
- Crock Pot Sloppy Joes
Barbecue Cups
Ingredients
- 1 ¼-1 ½ pounds cooked pork, chicken, beef, or turkey homemade or store-bought
- ½-3/4 cup barbecue sauce see note below
- 1 ¼ cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1 16-16.3oz can jumbo southern homestyle buttermilk biscuits
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, combine shredded pulled pork, barbecue sauce, and ¾ cup of the cheese. Mix until well combined.
- Butter or spray with nonstick spray a 12-cup muffin pan. Split 6 of the biscuits horizontally by gently peeling them apart at the middle layer. Using a tamper tool, press one of the biscuit halves in each of the muffin tins so that it covers the bottom at up the sides. Alternatively, flatten the biscuit halves with your fingers on a flat surface so that they become 4 inches in diameter, and then press into the muffin tins.
- Fill each muffin tin with 3-4 tablespoons of the prepared cheesy barbecue pork filling.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese on the tops of each filling.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and edges of biscuits are golden brown.
- Gently run a knife around the edge of each biscuit to loosen, then transfer to a serving tray. Optional, serve with toppings.
Emily Nichols
Ridiculously easy and especially yummy! Made them with Crescent Rolls since that’s what I had. Love how you can prep them in advance.
Laura Ashley
AWESOME!! I’m so excited you made them and them and liked them so much too!
LuAnne
Great!! Made coke slaw and baked beans and had a meal
Laura Ashley
That is fantastic, LuAnne! Thank you so much!!
Audra Ellis
Using Crockpot Barbeque Beef from the day before, this was a quick weeknight dinner using leftovers. My family loved it! My only recommendation would be to skim the fat off the Crockpot Beef leftovers before putting the beef in the biscuit cups. There was too much fat going on for me but to no fault of the recipe.
Laura Ashley
Oh that's a great tip, Audra! Thank you! I'm happy that you made them!
Diane Woods
Another great recipe to feed our family! This one is a keeper!! Thank you!
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much! I'm so happy it was a hit!! 🙂