Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
These easy buttermilk biscuits are incredibly soft, tall, flaky, and buttery. Serve these with some jam or gravy for an easy breakfast!
Making buttermilk biscuits from scratch is so much easier than you’d think. All it takes is seven simple ingredients and a little elbow grease — just a little!
Believe me, once you find out how easy it is to make your own biscuits you’ll never buy the pre-made kind again.
One thing I love about this buttermilk biscuit recipe is how versatile it is. Top the biscuits with your favorite sausage gravy, jam or marmalade, or a little butter and a drizzle of honey.
No matter how you dress them up, you’re going to love these biscuits!
Recipe Ingredients
Homemade buttermilk biscuits require just seven basic ingredients, so it’s important that you use all the right ones. Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy biscuit recipe:
- All-purpose flour: You need to spoon and level the flour when measuring it rather than scooping it straight from the bag. This will ensure that you don’t measure out too much by mistake, which would result in dense, dry biscuits.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are still fresh before starting. Both ingredients are important to get a good rise.
- Granulated sugar: Doesn’t make the biscuits taste sweet, it just gives them some flavor.
- Salt: Like the sugar, the salt flavors the biscuits and makes them taste more buttery.
- Unsalted butter: Needs to be cold before being cut into the flour. If you use warm butter, the biscuits won’t rise properly in the oven, nor will they be flaky.
- Buttermilk: The acidity of the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to help them rise as they’re baking in the oven. It also creates ultra tender biscuits! I highly recommend using real buttermilk for best results.
How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits
Before you start the recipe, it’s important to note that you need 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 stay cold.
- Prepare the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture: The butter can be cut into the flour mixture using a fork, a pastry cutter, or a food processor. You want to see small pea-sized crumbs of butter in your dry ingredients, a few larger pieces are okay though.
- Add the buttermilk: Pour the cold buttermilk into the bowl and mix just until the dough starts to come together.
- Work the dough together: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and very gently work it together with your hands.
- Fold the dough: Form the dough into a rectangle, fold it into thirds like a letter (as shown in the photo above), and then pat it back out into a rectangle. This folding process needs to be repeated two more times. By folding the dough over itself, you’re creating layers. These layers result in ultra flaky, fluffy buttermilk biscuits! Trust me here, it’s worth the extra step.
- Pat out the dough: After the dough has been folded a third time, pat it out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Make sure to measure here! If the dough is too thin, the biscuits won’t rise very tall.
- Cut out the biscuits: Use a floured 2.5-inch biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits, and arrange them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 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.
- Place them side by side on the baking sheet: Make sure the biscuits are touching each other like the picture above. Not only will this help the biscuits rise taller in the oven, but it will also give them softer sides.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with buttermilk: This step is optional, but it helps the tops turn a beautiful golden brown as they’re baking in the oven.
- Bake until golden brown: This will take about 15 to 17 minutes, depending on your oven.
How To Freeze Buttermilk Biscuits
Yes, you can either freeze the biscuits before baking them or after you have baked them.
- To freeze before baking: Place the cut out biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and freeze for 1 to 2 hours or until the biscuits are frozen solid. Place the biscuits in a large freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. The biscuits may be baked from frozen, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time. If they start to brown too much before they’re fully baked through, place a piece of foil over the top until they’re done.
- To freeze the baked biscuits: Once the baked biscuits have cooled completely, place them in a large freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature on the counter. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 300°F until warmed through.
Storage Instructions
These biscuits are best eaten the same day that they are prepared. However, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. I recommend warming them for a few seconds in the microwave or for a few minutes in the oven at 300°F.
For longer storage, you may freeze the biscuits as mentioned above.
Baking Tips
- Don’t overwork your dough! The more gentle you are with the dough, the more tender the biscuits will be.
- If you don’t have a circular cutter, you can use a knife to cut the dough into eight to ten square biscuits.
- I prefer to bake my biscuits side by side on the baking sheet so the sides are softer. If you prefer crisper sides, you can leave a little space between each one. Keep in mind that if you do, they may not rise quite as tall.
- If the dough feels a little too warm after you have cut it out, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes, then bake as directed.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes to Make!
Recipe Video
Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
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!
Ingredients
Servings: 10 biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (250 grams)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed (85 grams)
- ¾ cup cold buttermilk plus more for the tops of the biscuits (180 ml)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). 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 cubed cold butter and cut it 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 mix 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 into thirds (like a letter). Turn the dough, gather any crumbs, and flatten back into a rectangle. Repeat the folding 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. Make sure not to twist the biscuit cutter as you're cutting, just press the cutter straight down and pull it straight back up.
- Continue to gather any scrap pieces of dough, patting it back down to 1/2-inch thickness, and cutting it until you have 8 to 10 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 for 15 to 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!
Notes
Storage Instructions: Biscuits are best eaten the same day that they are prepared. However, they may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Reheat for a few seconds in the microwave or for a few minutes in the oven at 300°F.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.
Adapted from All Recipes and Food.com with some helpful research from King Arthur Flour.
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I made these for the first time because I had extra buttermilk left over from a different recipe I was making. If you don’t have a pastry cutter like me then use a pizza pie cutter and it worked perfectly. Also I didn’t have a round biscuit cutter so I used the top of a mason jar and that worked well too. Really enjoyed this recipe. Thank you!!
THEY LOOK GREAT, I’M GOING TO GIVE THIS A GO, TO MATCH OUR BEEF ROAST, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE.
Love this recipe. Delicious! Thanks for sharing!!
Great recipe! I’m thinking it’s just me, but i had to use a cup+ on buttermilk
Same here.
I used extra buttermilk too
First time making biscuits. Easy and delicious!!
Perfect scratch buttermilk biscuit recipe – just what I needed to go alongside some homemade apple butter. 🙂 Thanks!!
Re: Cutting the butter into your flour mixture. I’ve never owned a pastry cutter or a food processor! The way that has been passed down through my family is really easy. Take 2 regular kitchen knives, add your butter to your flour mixture, then holding one in each hand, with the serrated sides down, use them in a “pulling” motion away from each other towards the sides of your bowl. Keep repeating until your mixture is of your desired consistency. Really easy and you don’t need anything fancy to do it with! Yes, it may take a bit longer, but it does the trick! This technique has been passed down through goodness knows how many generations in my family!
How can you use these as dumplimgs? Just place the raw dough on top of your chicken stew? How long would you cook.them?
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine you could! I’m not sure how long you would need to cook them and it will depend on how large you make them too. I would just check them and make sure they look cooked through.
I used them as a crust for a chicken pot pie and I heated the gravy and chicken with the veggies in the oven while I was making the biscuits to be sure it would be fully cooked at the same time as the biscuits. I buttered the tops and baked the whole thing for the 17 minutes the recipe calls for. It was a huge hit! I rolled them down to the 1/2 size and cut a few out. Then I used the scraps to fill in the gaps( it was an oval pan) I think next time I will just make a half inch oval and put it on whole to see how that works.
That sounds fantastic, Chris! I’ll have to try that sometime!
Do these freeze well?
I haven’t tried it, but I do think it would be fine to freeze the baked biscuits once they’ve cooled.
I freeze a stick of butter and just grate out my 6 tablespoons…toss in back in the freezer just a minute then add to the dry…..simple dimple……
Perfect Biscuits!!
Thanks for the recipe! These biscuits are great and a favorite for us! I have family coming for the holidays and want to make these for breakfast one morning. Can the dough be mixed and refrigerated for cutting and baking a day or 2 later? Thanks again!
They won’t rise quite as tall if you let the dough sit too long. You can mix everything up, cut in the butter, then refrigerate it. When you’re reading to make the biscuits, just add the buttermilk and prepare them.
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS MELT IN YOUR MOUTH BISCUITS!!!
This was the first time I made any kind of biscuits and they didn’t turn out high and fluffy. I am sure it was my fault but I will keep trying. I am determined to make good biscuits. I made mine in the food processor and was not quite sure how many pulses to do . I am teaching my granddaughter to cook. Thank you for the recipe.
It can take a few tries to get them just right. If you’re using a food processor, you only need to do a few pulses until you see small pea-sized crumbs of butter. Hope that helps!
I love to cook, but I really never bake. A friend shared a phenomenal sausage gravy recipe with me and I felt I had to try homemade biscuits with it. I followed this recipe to the T and the biscuits were delicious! Light and perfectly tasty! Thank you!
Would you mind sharing the sausage gravy recipe?
Easy and taste great. Thank you for sharing.
Table spoon them in to boiling stew place lid to cover 12 to 15 min make sure not to lift lid till time is up 12 to 15 min nice fluffe and light A Mc Collum
Mine came out okay. I did minis because it didnt seem like quite enough dough to get 12. They didnt rise as high as I thought they would. Great texture and flavor.
Hi Danielle – I was never very good at making biscuits from scratch…but I had to tell you – I just made your recipe and they came out great! The only thing I did differently was to use my bench scraper to cut the dough into squares instead of using a biscuit cutter. It made 12 good sized biscuits. I have a small wall oven so I lowered the temp to 425° and they looked good at 14 minutes. Since I didn’t brush them with buttermilk before baking – I forgot – I brushed them with melted butter as soon as they came out of the oven. They’re sooooo good! This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
So glad they turned out great for you, Joey!
I have self rising flour, can I use that or would that through the hold recipe off?
Self-rising flour already has baking powder and salt added to it, so you would need to adjust the recipe for that. I would recommend using all-purpose flour if you can though, just to ensure you end up with the right amount of leaveners and salt in the biscuits.
I used spelt flour and watered down Skyr yogurt and they turned out perfect.
These were AMAZING!!
I have extra buttermilk that needs used now, can I make these and freeze them before I bake them so they taste good and fresh ?
Hi, Kimberly! I haven’t tried it, but I’m not sure that they would rise quite as well if you don’t bake them right away.
Made these biscuits yesterday to meal prep some breakfast sandwiches for the week! They froze well and tasted wonderful when I microwaved the sandwich for 1 minute 15 seconds. Thanks you for this recipe!
I’ve always struggled with homemade biscuits but these are AMAZING! Fluffy and delicious. No more homemade hockey pucks at my house 🙂
If you freeze the butter and grate it you don’t have to cut it in.
Great recipe! Rose beautifully. I found them a little salty but I did use regular butter instead of unsalted. Should I just leave out the added salt?
If using salted butter, you’ll want to reduce the salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
One of the best biscuit recipes I have tried! Family agreed!
Made today to remember my culture, my great grandma and thinking of my mom. These were soft tasty and fluffy all at the same time. Yummo. I did not use the sugar. My mom did not add sugar. I did everything else even the frozen butter.
Decided to try something I generally hate, baking. I just finished making these biscuits and I am IN LOVE. I never realized how simple biscuits were which translates to me being able to handle baking them!!
Thanks for sharing!
To my southern roots shame, I’ve never been able to make biscuits well. With this recipe – problem solved! I used lard instead of butter because I read it makes a flakier product. I keep it in the fridge just like butter. A pastry cutter is well worth the minor investment because it makes it much quicker to cut in the fat, though don’t let it hold you back if you don’t have one. Speed is important because it keeps the fat from getting too soft. I use a bench scrape to fold the dough. I pat it out to 1/2 inch, fold into thirds, and repeat that process about 3 times. The final pat is to 1/2 inch thick and then I use a biscuit cutter, straight down, no twisting. Oh, and brushing the tops with buttermilk is the bomb! Love this recipe.