Soft, flaky, and buttery, these Easy Homemade Biscuits are made with just a few pantry ingredients, no special equipment, in 30 minutes. Keep this perfect biscuit recipe on hand year-round to complete any breakfast or dinner.
Easy Homemade Biscuit Recipe
A recipe for soft, buttery, homemade biscuits is something that everyone needs in their recipe box. But not just any biscuit – the perfect biscuit has a soft and light texture, is super flaky, offers a rich, buttery flavor, and doesn’t take hours to prepare. That’s exactly what you’ll find in this easy buttermilk biscuits recipe.
These biscuits are a perfect holiday side dish staple, but they can also be enjoyed for breakfast or as a side dish to almost any dinner all year round.
Why You’ll Love These Buttermilk Biscuits
Here are a few reasons why I think this is the BEST homemade biscuit recipe.
- Quick and easy. Not including the short chill time for the butter, these biscuits come together in about 30 minutes without any special equipment.
- Only 6 ingredients. These homemade biscuits are made with just 6 ingredients – and I bet you have most of them in the pantry. I usually just have to grab some buttermilk at the store.
- Flaky and buttery. Using cold butter and buttermilk helps create soft, flaky biscuits. Plus the butter in the biscuits and brushed on the top just after baking adds an extra touch of buttery goodness.
Ingredients Needed
This homemade biscuits recipe requires just a few simple ingredients.
(Scroll down to the recipe card below for details and measurements.)
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to appropriately measure by using the “spoon and level” technique. Too much flour will affect the texture of the biscuits and make them dry and crumbly.
- Baking powder – Ensures the biscuits rise up nice and tall in the oven.
- Granulated sugar – For just a touch of sweetness.
- Coarse salt – Adds extra flavor to the biscuits.
- Unsalted butter – Butter is critical to making soft flaky biscuits. It’s very important the butter stays chilled until ready to use. I use unsalted butter, since we’re adding salt.
- Buttermilk – Adds flavor and makes the biscuits super tender. Be sure to use full-fat buttermilk and make sure it’s very well chilled. (If preferred, whole milk can be used instead of buttermilk. Avoid 2%, skim, or non-dairy alternatives for this recipe.)
How To Make Homemade Biscuits
Here’s how to make the absolute best, super flaky, buttermilk biscuits.
(Scroll down to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions and don’t miss the video below.)
- Freeze the butter. Freeze the butter for 30 minutes before beginning the recipe.
- Make the biscuit dough. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Grate the chilled butter over the flour mixture. Toss, then cut in the butter with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chilled buttermilk with a wooden spoon until just combined.
- Fold the dough. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and gently work it together with your hands. Fold the dough in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten the layers. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, fold in half, and flatten again. Repeat this step 5 more times.
- Form the biscuits. Use your hands to flatten the dough to a 1″ thickness. Use a lightly floured biscuit cutter and press straight down into the dough, dropping the biscuit onto the baking sheet. Make the cuts as close together as possible then gently rework the dough to cut another biscuit or two.
- Bake. Bake at 425F for 12 minutes, until the tops are just lightly golden brown. Brush with melted butter immediately after removing from the oven.
Tips for Success
Here are a few key things to keep in mind when making these buttermilk biscuits.
- Freeze the butter and keep the buttermilk chilled. This produces the best light, flaky biscuits. You want the butter to slowly melt in the oven, not while you are making the dough. Keep the buttermilk in the fridge right up until it’s time to use it.
- Grate the butter. Grating the butter ensures better distribution throughout the dough.
- Take care to not over-work the dough. Stir in the buttermilk just enough to combine the ingredients and then work the dough only as much as you need to. You only need to fold and rotate about 7 times. Doing much more than that can cause dense biscuits.
- Adjust the texture of the dough. If you find the dough is too sticky when working with it, add in just a bit of flour. If it seems too dry, add a touch more buttermilk as necessary.
- Do not use a rolling pin. Gently use your hands to flatten the dough into a rectangle before cutting out your biscuits.
- Cut the biscuits close together. To get as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, make sure to cut them as close together as you can. You should be able to get 4 or 5 biscuits out of the dough before you need to rework it.
Serving Suggestions
Light, flaky, and buttery homemade biscuits can be served in so many ways. They’re the perfect addition to a holiday meal, whether you’re serving up turkey or ham, and pair nicely with other classic holiday sides like green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole.
For breakfast, you can enjoy them warm with your favorite jam or jelly. I’m partial to fig jam and peach jam! For a savory option, you can use these biscuits to make biscuits and gravy or top with a fried egg, breakfast sausage, and cheese for a breakfast sandwich.
Of course, you can also just serve these anytime as a side dish to dinner. I recommend them warm with some butter!
Video: Easy Homemade Biscuits
How to Store Buttermilk Biscuits
- Room temperature. Store homemade biscuits in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. Pop in the microwave for a few seconds to enjoy them warm.
- Freezer. You can freeze both baked and unbaked biscuits. If freezing the unbaked biscuits, flash freeze on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag. You can bake directly from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. For baked biscuits, place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter and pop in the microwave to reheat.
More Biscuit Recipes To Try
- 7 Up Biscuits
- Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
- Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Apple Cheddar Biscuits
- Pumpkin Drop Biscuits
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Easy Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , very well chilled (see note)
- 3/4 cup cold full-fat buttermilk (or more, as needed)
Instructions
- Place the butter in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until combined.
- Using a box grater, shred the chilled butter over the flour mixture, then stir to coat. Cut in the butter with your hands (or a pastry blender) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the cold buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined, being sure to incorporate anything on the bottom of the bowl, too (careful not to over-work the dough).
- Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together. (If the dough is too sticky, add a bit of flour until it is manageable. Alternatively, add just a touch more buttermilk if it seems overly dry.)
- Fold the dough in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten the layers together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating this step 5 more times but taking care to not overwork the dough.
- Use your hands (do not use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough to a 1″ thickness and lightly dust a 2 & 3/4-inch round biscuit cutter with flour.
- Making cuts as close together as possible, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place on the baking sheet with space in between. (Gently re-work the dough to get out another biscuit or two until you have at least 6 biscuits.)
- Bake for 12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
- Right out of the oven, brush with a bit of melted butter. Serve warm and enjoy.
These came out great ! One question. I’ve made these twice and each time after baking the biscuits are sitting in butter. I’ve tried cooking from frozen or right after cutting the biscuits. The shredded butter was kept in the freezer for 24 hours before completing the recipe. The flour was kept in the freezer for an hour after putting it in the bowl and for 15 mins after mixing with the frozen butter. I’m not sure what I could be doing wrong.
I didn’t have buttermilk so used whole milk and added some Vinger to it – worked just fine. Everyone loved them.
I’m ditching all my other biscuit recipes – this was PERFECTION. Light and fluffy with flaky layers as promised. I did use buttermilk as written, but rarely have it in the house so will try whole milk next time. This was 10/10.