These Easy Buttermilk Biscuits are incredibly soft, tall, flaky, and buttery. Serve these with some jam, gravy, or your topping of choice for an easy and delicious breakfast!
Growing up, my mom used to keep store-bought buttermilk biscuits on hand all of the time. She would use them for things like monkey bread, chicken and dumplings, or just bake them for breakfast. To say that we were huge fans of buttermilk biscuits would probably be an understatement.
A few weekends ago, I decided to test some recipes and try my hand at homemade buttermilk biscuits. And let’s just say that it took quite a few tries to find the perfect recipe. I did some research to figure out how to get biscuits that were tall, soft, and flaky. This recipe delivers all of that and the best part? They’re SO easy to make! These biscuits only take about 15 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to bake. Which means that you can be enjoying homemade buttermilk biscuits in about 30 minutes flat.
So what makes a good biscuit? First, you’ll start with some all-purpose flour. You’ll also need a good amount of baking powder and some baking soda to help your biscuits rise. This recipe uses 1 tablespoon of baking powder (yes, you read that right) and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. You’ll also be using some salt as well as a little bit of sugar to help balance it all out.
Now here’s the most important part to making buttermilk biscuits. You want to use COLD butter and buttermilk in your recipe. I’m talking straight from the refrigerator cold, don’t leave them sitting on the counter while you’re prepping the other ingredients. You want cold pieces of butter in your dough so that when you put it into the oven, the butter melts and creates steam pockets, which gives you that soft, light, airy texture in your biscuits.
You’ll cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until you have small pea sized crumbs, then stir in your buttermilk just until the dough starts to come together.
Once you’ve mixed up the dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and work it together gently with your hands. Here’s another important thing, be very gentle with your dough. Overworking your dough can lead to tough, dense biscuits. Remember, we’re going for soft, light, and fluffy biscuits here!
You want to pat the dough into a rectangle, then fold it into thirds, pat it down again, and repeat the process two more times. Folding the dough helps to create those beautiful, flaky layers that you see.
I honestly don’t bother using a rolling pin to make these either, I just gently pat the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Just be sure to measure your dough before you cut it and make sure it’s actually 1/2-inch thick. I’ve made the mistake of not measuring it and guessing and the biscuits did not turn out nearly as tall.
The biscuits will only take about 15 minutes in the oven. Once they’re done, top them with anything you like! I personally love some jam or gravy on these biscuits. But honestly, these taste incredible with just a little melted butter on top too.
Baking tips for buttermilk biscuits
- Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are still fresh before starting. Both ingredients are important to get a good rise in these biscuits.
- Be sure to use cold butter and buttermilk in these biscuits. Prepare your dry ingredients first, then take your butter and buttermilk out of the refrigerator to ensure that they are cold.
- Don’t overwork your dough, make sure to work it together very gently.
- Be sure to fold the dough into thirds and pat it down three times. This helps to ensure that your biscuits are super flaky.
- When cutting your biscuits out, don’t twist your cutter. This will seal off the edges of your dough and they won’t rise as high. Just cut the dough straight down and pull the cutter right back out. I like to flour the biscuit cutter to make sure the biscuit dough doesn’t stick too.
- Lay the biscuits on a baking sheet touching each other. This will help them rise taller and give them soft edges when you pull them apart!
Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) cold buttermilk, plus more for the tops of the biscuits
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt until well combined. Add the in the cubed cold butter and cut into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter (you may also use a food processor for this step) until you have small pea sized pieces of butter. Pour the cold buttermilk into the mixture and gently work it together until the dough starts to come together.
- Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently work it together with your hands. Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold it in thirds. Turn the dough, gather any crumbs, and flatten back into a rectangle. Repeat this process two more times.
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it down into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle (make sure to measure!). Using a floured 2.5-inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits. Continue to gather any scrap pieces of dough, patting it back down to 1/2-inch thickness, and cutting it until you have 12 biscuits. I suggest trying to get as many as you can the first time, as you continue to work the dough the biscuits won't be quite as good.
- Arrange the biscuits on the baking sheet touching each other. Brush the top of each biscuit with a little bit of buttermilk.
- Bake at 450°F for about 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter if desired. Allow to cool for a few minutes, serve, and enjoy!
Adapted from All Recipes and Food.com with some helpful research from King Arthur Flour.
Bri says
February 23, 2019 at 8:43 pmI used this recipe to make my first homemade biscuits and they were awesome. I’ve now made them 3 times, and they keep getting better. At first they were a little dry, but I fixed that by cutting 2 additional tablespoons of butter into the dough and it was just what they needed. Depends on what your taste preference is but 10/10 would recommend this recipe for beginners.
Upnorthtype says
February 25, 2019 at 5:20 amI found my forever biscuit! I’ve been trying biscuit recipes for years and some were close, good, but never amazing. I followed your recipe exactly and couldn’t be more impressed. My husband and family feel the same. Next batch I’ll try the recipe using my own made buttermilk. I also used aluminum free baking powder. Awesome biscuits!
Maxmillyen Smith says
March 12, 2019 at 11:29 amGreat recipe better than the ones my roommate bought from a fast food restaurant.
Eli says
May 22, 2019 at 2:36 pmCând i replace buttermilk with Something else,?
Danielle says
May 24, 2019 at 11:08 amYou can make your own, I have a tutorial here.
Diane says
June 9, 2019 at 1:33 pmButtermilk is the best choice. If you don’t have buttermilk you can mix 1 cup milk with 2 tbs white vinegar or lemon juice and let sit for 10 minutes. You can also use 1/2 &1/2, but it’s just not the same flavor buttermilk brings.
Heidi says
March 16, 2019 at 8:05 pmI’ve been making biscuits for a few years. Today I tried your recipe and its now my go to biscuit recipe! Will be making them again tomorrow!
Sheila says
March 19, 2019 at 10:01 amCan I just lightly grease a pie pan to make these biscuits? Dont have pad or parchment paper?
Danielle says
March 19, 2019 at 1:11 pmYes, that would be fine!
NATALIE WHITTINGHAM says
March 23, 2019 at 9:17 amBest biscuits I’ve ever made. I’ve had a few flops in the past and my results are mostly inconsistent. Your tips were so helpful and on point. Thank you a million times over.
Danielle says
March 24, 2019 at 5:37 pmSo happy to hear that, Natalie!
Deb Haugen says
March 23, 2019 at 1:49 pmGreat recipe, add more sugar if you are wanting sweet biscuits for shortcake. I have made these many many times, and it never fails to make my neighbors happy when I bring them sausage biscuits for breakfast. Make your own egg McMuffins, so simple. Easy and quick!
David says
March 30, 2019 at 9:44 amVery Very salty. Everything went straight to the garbage can.
Anyway considering all the rest replies are positive I wonder if I did something wrong.
Danielle says
March 31, 2019 at 10:01 amDid you happen to use salted butter or self-rising flour? I don’t find this recipe to be too salty, but if you used ingredients with more salt in them that could cause that to happen.
Billy C. says
March 30, 2019 at 2:52 pmAwesome results on first try after several flops using other recipes. For the butter I grated the required amount from a frozen stick onto a small plate then kept it in the fridge til I had the oven preheated and the dry ingredients mixed. Very pleased with the results. Thanks so much for the tips.
Bruno says
April 1, 2019 at 9:45 amJust made them. They are awesome. I realized I rolled them out too thinly when I had way more than expected. But oh well. Still very good. Will definitely make them fairly often!
Greetings from Germany!
Avery Wasinger says
April 7, 2019 at 12:55 pmOMG THESE ARE SO GOOD! They are very quick and easy to make and are good for any meal!
Pea Jay says
April 7, 2019 at 5:58 pmI tried these today and they will be my go to biscuits….awesome and easy.
Mark says
April 20, 2019 at 1:28 pmMine did not rise much. Taste great, smelled great and you could see the layers in them but they just did not rise as much they barely made an inch in height. I followed the instructions and used the exactly ingredients. What might have caused them not to rise as well?
Danielle says
April 22, 2019 at 10:47 amSorry to hear that, Mike. It could be due to several reasons, the butter may not have been cold enough when the biscuits went into the oven, the dough wasn’t patted out thick enough or was overworked, twisting the biscuit cutter can also seal off the edges and prevent them from rising.
Catherine says
April 21, 2019 at 5:50 pmMy helpful hint here is this: Make your rectangle with as straight edges as possible and you don’t have to use a cookie cutter. I don’t. My 12 biscuits are never overworked!!
Michelle says
April 30, 2019 at 11:39 amCan you use salted butter and cut the salt to a half a teaspoon?
Thank you!
Danielle says
April 30, 2019 at 4:12 pmI think that would be fine!
Carol says
May 11, 2019 at 11:34 amJust made your biscuts. Tried to follow your recipe to the letter. They more than doubled in height. I used homemade buttermilk and baked them in an iron skillet. I’m 64 years old and could never make biscuts like my mom. But thanks to you now I can. I’ll use this recipe from now on.
Danielle says
May 12, 2019 at 9:08 amSo happy to hear that, Carol!
Betty says
May 12, 2019 at 10:02 pmI just tried this recipe. FANTASTIC!!!! How can I reheat the biscuits without drying them out? Also, can I pre-mix the dough the day before and keep it covered in the fridge to rollout and bake the next morning for fresh breakfast biscuits?
Danielle says
May 13, 2019 at 8:55 amYou could bake them in the oven for a few minutes and then brush with butter. I wouldn’t suggest mixing the dough up completely and then refrigerating it because once you add the buttermilk the baking powder and soda are activated. You could mix up the dry ingredients and cut in the butter, then in the morning just add the buttermilk.
Carol Brummett says
May 26, 2019 at 2:24 pmJust made your biscuit recipe, only milk I had was heavy whipping so I added one tablespoon lemon juice to one cup cream. After adding the whole cup, the dough was still dry so I added enough water to make the dough workable. Biscuits turned out awesome, very flaky, not so high, but taste like old timey biscuits. Thanks so much for your recipe.
Janet says
June 6, 2019 at 1:40 pmDo you happen to know how many calories in one biscuit?
Danielle says
June 7, 2019 at 8:03 amHi, Janet! I’m not sure on the nutrition info, but you can plug it into an app or website like My Fitness Pal to get an estimate.
sharon sporleder says
June 12, 2019 at 2:10 amI grate frozen butter into the flour.
sharon sporleder says
June 12, 2019 at 2:17 amI also use a bench scrapper to cut the biscuits into squares, no left over dough to re-roll.
Jayne Kozal says
June 12, 2019 at 6:21 pmReally good. Thanks!
Sana says
June 25, 2019 at 2:13 pmI usually get the store bought canned biscuits but decided to try to make them from scratch for the first time and used this recipe and we LOVED them. I was so happy with how they turned out and am so impressed with how easy and fast they were! They were just the tiniest bit dry for my taste so next time I’ll add a bit more butter and maybe more buttermilk too. But this ones definitely a keeper. I was just wondering how well you think these would freeze…if maybe I made them and cut them, froze them on baking sheet then stored them in the freezer on a ziploc or something?
Danielle says
June 25, 2019 at 4:02 pmThey may not rise as high if you make them, then freeze them. You can prep everything up until the buttermilk, refrigerate it, then add the buttermilk in the morning and make the biscuits.