Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Name: Buttermilk Biscuits
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour ((240g)); 1 tablespoon baking powder; 2 teaspoons granulated sugar; ¾ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cubed (85g)); ¾ cup plus 2 teaspoons cold buttermilk (divided (180mL))

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The best biscuits are delectably buttery, tender on the inside, and slightly crisp on the outside. These flaky buttermilk biscuits tick all those boxes and then some! Give them a try and wow your family with a fresh tray of homemade biscuits.

Buttermilk is an essential ingredient in this recipe for tender biscuits that get a good rise in the oven. I cover all of the “whys” and a few substitutes below. Fresh biscuits are so tasty with a smear of jam and butter (or leveled up with honey butter). I also like serving them with hearty sausage gravy for a big, satisfying brunch. For more biscuit recipes, try my homemade biscuit recipe, drop biscuit recipe, or cheddar biscuit recipe!

What You Need to Make This Recipe

Ingredients needed to make buttermilk biscuits.

Flour — all-purpose flour works well. It’s a good idea to weigh the flour to ensure you don’t accidentally use too much. Too much flour will result in dry or dense biscuits.

Leavening — baking powder and baking soda help the biscuits rise. In this recipe, most of the rising power comes from the baking powder. Baking soda, however, reacts with the acid in the buttermilk, giving the biscuits a little bit of extra lift, but it is mainly used here for achieving a beautiful golden crust.

Sugar — granulated sugar adds the faintest sweetness and also helps the biscuits brown in the oven.

Salt — I recommend using sea salt, not iodized salt (table salt), which can taste bitter in baked goods.

Butter — to avoid overly salty biscuits, opt for unsalted butter. And make sure it is cold. This is vital for flaky buttermilk biscuits! If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt by ¼ teaspoon per stick used.

Buttermilk — buttermilk is the star of this recipe, producing tall, fluffy biscuits with a subtle tang and tender crumb. If you don’t have buttermilk, see below for substitute options.

How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits

Set of two photos showing butter being cut into dry ingredients and wet ingredients added to dry.

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the butter and toss in the flour to coat. Using a pastry cutter, cut in until the butter is pea-sized.

2. Gently stir in ¾ cup buttermilk until shaggy dough forms.

Set of two photos showing dough rolled out then folded.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and pat dough into a 10-x8-inch rectangle, about ¼-inch thick, with the long edge facing you.

4. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter, gathering any crumbs and placing them on top of the dough. Then, turn the dough 90 degrees, and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 10-x8-inch rectangle again, about ¼-inch thick.

Repeat the process of folding, turning, and rolling two more times. This is called lamination, and it is how you get perfectly flaky layers. On the final roll, shape the dough into a 10×5-inch rectangle, about ½ to ¾-inch thick.

Set of two photos showing dough cut with a circle cutter and brushed with buttermilk.

5. Using a floured 2½-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out 8 biscuits, re-rolling scraps if desired to cut 2 more biscuits. Place biscuits in an even layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with the sides of the biscuits barely touching.

6. Brush the tops with the remaining 2 teaspoons of buttermilk. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown on top. Let the buttermilk biscuits cool slightly on the baking sheet, about 5 minutes, before serving.

A plate with buttermilk biscuits with some honey and butter. A jar of honey in the background and more biscuits.

How Buttermilk Makes Great Biscuits

Buttermilk produces delicious, fluffy biscuits! The acid works with the leaveners to help the dough rise, so you end up with wonderfully tall biscuits. It also helps break down the proteins in the flour to produce tender biscuits. Outside the science, buttermilk adds delicious flavor with a subtle tanginess along with creaminess from the fat in the milk. On that note, choose whole buttermilk, not fat-free, for the fluffiest biscuits.

What to Serve with Buttermilk Biscuits

You can’t go wrong with a thick smear of homemade strawberry jam and butter on these buttermilk biscuits. You can also spread creamy honey butter on them or drizzle with honey or sorghum syrup. If you prefer savory biscuits, load them up with sausage gravy or make breakfast biscuits with eggs, cheese, and sausage sandwiched between two halves. They are also the perfect side to a homemade breakfast casserole and crispy air fryer bacon.

How to Make Tall Fluffy Biscuits

Keep things cold: Perhaps the most important step to make tall, fluffy biscuits is using cold ingredients. The butter basically needs to go straight from the fridge into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Don’t leave it sitting out as it may soften. And you definitely don’t want to use softened or melted butter. Once the cold butter melts in the hot oven, it will release steam and create air pockets, which create height.
The dough should also stay cold until it goes into the oven. If you have a particularly warm kitchen, consider chilling the bowl you’ll be using in the refrigerator beforehand.
Preheat the oven fully: Another easy way to get tall, fluffy biscuits is to make sure your oven is hot. The oven needs to be at 425°F before placing the dough inside. The high temperature will help the buttermilk biscuits fluff up nice and tall.
Make your biscuits cozy on the baking sheet: How you arrange the biscuits on the baking sheet also affects their height. Having your biscuits barely touch or no more than ½” apart gives them support as they rise, so they will end up taller than if they are very spaced out on the baking sheet.
Double the recipe. Follow the steps for laminating the dough but instead of rolling it to ½ or ¾ inch thick, roll the dough until it is 1-inch thick before cutting out the biscuits. As you can see in the image below, you get a good amount of extra height with the thicker rolled dough. You can keep the same size cutter or go larger (up to 3″ round) for bigger biscuits, perfect for turning into breakfast sandwiches.

Two buttermilk biscuits showing their different heights.

Buttermilk Substitutes

Buttermilk isn’t necessarily an ingredient everyone has on hand all the time. So, if you want to make buttermilk biscuits right now but don’t have it in your refrigerator, I’ve got you covered with a few substitutes!

My tutorial for how to make buttermilk only needs milk and an acid (vinegar or lemon juice). Mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Set aside for 10 minutes and voila! An excellent, simple buttermilk swap.

Alternatively, you can mix ¾ cup plain yogurt with ¼ cup water, or ¾ cup sour cream with ¼ cup water. The acid in the yogurt will work just as well as the buttermilk.

Are Biscuits Better Made with Butter or Crisco?

I find that it’s hard to beat the flavor of a butter biscuit. If you use butter, you end up with flaky, tender layers because the butter melts and creates air pockets in the hot oven. While maintaining the cold temperature of the butter can make it slightly intimidating to work with, once you do it, you’ll see just how easy it is! It is definitely my preferred fat to use in biscuits.

Crisco (also known as shortening) works in biscuits, but since it has no flavor, they can turn out a bit bland. Shortening biscuits tend to be softer and more crumbly than butter biscuits and are slightly more cake-like. If this is the texture you prefer, Crisco is a good option!
For the best of both worlds, you can use half butter and half Crisco to make buttermilk biscuits.

Can I Freeze the Biscuits Before Baking?

Yes, the biscuits can be frozen before you bake them. After cutting the biscuit dough into rounds, place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for about 1 hour. Once they’re solid, transfer them to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 1 month.
You can bake the biscuits from frozen. Just add about 5 minutes to the baking time.

Pro Tips for Making This Recipe

Measure the flour. Using too much flour will result in dry biscuits. The best way to avoid this is to weigh the flour using a kitchen scale. If you do not have one, fluff up the flour in its canister and spoon it into the measuring cup, then level off the top. Do not scoop directly from the container.
Use cold ingredients. Cold butter and cold buttermilk are so important for fluffy, tall homemade biscuits. The drastic temperature difference in the oven will create steam, helping the biscuits to rise and produce those coveted layers.
Don’t add more liquid. The shaggy dough will seem like it doesn’t have enough liquid to come together, but after the first fold and roll, you will be amazed how nicely the dough forms. Trust the process!
Biscuit variations: You can add different flavorings to the biscuits! Try fresh or dried herbs like chives, thyme, oregano, or rosemary. For cheesy biscuits, fold in shredded cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese. Crumbled bacon and diced jalapeno are also delicious additions. These should all be added after you cut in the butter, but before pouring in the buttermilk. For garlicky biscuits, whisk ½ teaspoon garlic powder along with the other dry ingredients at the very beginning.
Don’t over-mix. Over-mixing the dough will give you hard, flat biscuits. It will be crumbly at first, and come together throughout the folds.
No twisting! When cutting the biscuits, be sure not to twist the cutter. Twisting seals the layers of butter and pastry that you have created, which will prevent your biscuits from rising as tall and can cause biscuits to fall over in the oven.
To use a cast-iron skillet: You can also bake these buttermilk biscuits in a medium 10-inch cast-iron skillet for 8 biscuits or a large 12-inch cast-iron skillet for 10 biscuits. The skillet doesn’t need to be lined or sprayed before baking.
Don’t skip the buttermilk on top! I love the buttermilk brush on top because you get a lovely tang from the beginning that really sells the homemade, tender biscuit.

A platter with buttermilk biscuits with honey in the background and another plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why aren’t my buttermilk biscuits fluffy?

Two main causes of non-fluffy biscuits are using too much liquid and overworking the dough. At first, the dough will seem very dry and you may be tempted to add more buttermilk. But this is a recipe where you need to trust the process because it will form a cohesive dough without additional liquid.
Over-mixing the dough to try and force it into a smooth dough will also give you dense, flat biscuits. The dough looks very shaggy at first but it will come together as you gently flatten, fold, and roll it.

How to store leftovers

Biscuits are best served soon after they’re baked. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the oven. Alternatively, you can freeze them (see below for info).

Can the biscuits be made ahead of time?

Yes, you can prepare and cut biscuits ahead of time and freeze the unbaked biscuits for up to 1 month. While buttermilk biscuits are best enjoyed the same day you bake them, you can also freeze baked biscuits in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw baked biscuits out on the counter and reheat in the oven until warmed through.

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If you’ve tried this buttermilk biscuits recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

Buttermilk Biscuits