Buttermilk Biscuits

Published: May 3, 2022 · Modified: Oct 28, 2022 by Melissa · 33 Comments

The best recipe for extra tall, flaky and fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits. They taste amazing on their own or piled high with sausage gravy, butter, or jam! This is the only biscuit recipe you need!

hand holding a biscuit so that you can see the flaky layers on the side

The Best Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

I have a tried-and-true butter biscuit recipe that I use all the time. I use it so often that I have it memorized. That being said, I was on the hunt for a traditional buttermilk biscuit recipe. That's the funny thing about loving to cook and bake - you're always looking for the next best recipe. Why use buttermilk in a biscuit, you might ask? Well the acid from the buttermilk reacts more prevalently with the baking powder and it lends to biscuits that are extra tall and fluffy. This recipe is also unique in the fact that there's an egg in it. Yes friends, an egg in a biscuit recipe. I found that it made the dough really nice to work with and made the biscuits extra tender.

These biscuits are perfection.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour: this is the back bone of the recipe, I like using it because I always have it on hand!
Sugar: just a little to add a little flavor and balance
Baking powder: this is what helps react with the buttermilk and make extra fluffy and tall biscuits
Salt: just a bit for balance and flavor
Butter: using cold butter and working it into the flour makes for flaky layers in your biscuits
Egg: not traditional in biscuits but this helps everything come together
Buttermilk: this is the ingredient that helps to add tenderness and flakiness to the biscuits as well a flavor! It's magic. If you are new to using buttermilk or don't have any on hand, read this post for substitutions or how to make your own.

Buttermilk Biscuits Step-by-Step Instructions

Add your sugar, baking powder, and salt to the flour and mix to combine.
Grate the butter into the flour and mix to combine.
Add the egg and buttermilk and stir until it all comes together.
Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out and cut with a biscuit cutter.
Bake, serve, and enjoy! These are great on their own, but butter/jam/and or honey on top or to make breakfast sandwiches with or to serve under some sausage gravy.

Storing Leftovers

These are best stored in an air-tight container at room temperature (for 1-2 days) or in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can reheat them gently in the oven and they are good at room temperature. They also freeze very well.

pan of biscuits ready to be served on a light blue table

Tips and Tricks for Making the Best Buttermilk Biscuits of Your Life

Use a biscuit cutter. No biscuit cutter? Use a knife and cut the dough into squares. A sharp edge when cutting biscuits keeps the flaky layers from getting mashed together.
Make sure your baking powder is fresh. Baking powder plays a big rolE in this recipe. If you don't cook much, be sure to check the expiration date before adding it to your biscuits.
Use cold butter and cold buttermilk. The cold helps to form the flaky layers.
Pro Tip: use a cheese grater to grate cold or even frozen butter into Your flour mixture. Then you can finish working it in with a fork or pastry blender. It speeds up biscuit making a ton.
This recipe makes very large biscuits. You can make smaller biscuits by rolling out the dough to 1 to 1 ½ inches thick before cutting, getting almost double the number of biscuits. Adjust baking time as needed.

biscuits on a white baking sheet all lined up, fresh out of the oven

Frequently Asked Questions:

Do I need a biscuit cutter to make this recipe?

I prefer to use a biscuit cutter. However, if you don’t have one, simply use a knife and cut the dough into squares. A sharp edge when cutting biscuits keeps the flaky layers from getting mashed together.

Why use cold butter for biscuits?

Using cold butter helps to form the flaky layers that you want in a biscuit. Using cold butter will create the texture that makes these so desirable. Pro Tip: use a cheese grater to grate cold or even frozen butter into your flour mixture. Then you can finish working it in with a fork or pastry blender. It speeds up biscuit making a ton.

Why is it important to not over mix biscuits?

If you over mix or overwork the biscuit dough it will become tough and won’t be as tall as you want them. You want to mix the ingredients just until all the ingredients are combined. If the dough is still just a bit crumbly then you know that you haven’t over mixed the dough and you are good to go!

What can I substitute for buttermilk?

One of the best parts about buttermilk is that you can make it at home and substitute it for so many things. I wrote a whole post on buttermilk, it's substitutions, and how to make it at home. You can find more information on buttermilk here.

Other Biscuit Recipes You'll Love

Pumpkin Biscuit Recipe
Maple Cornmeal Biscuits
Sausage Gravy to go with these amazing biscuits (the perfect breakfast!)
How to Bake Bacon in the Oven (so great for breakfast sandwiches with this recipe)

If you’ve tried this easy homemade easy buttermilk biscuit recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation.

The Best Buttermilk Biscuits

★★★★★

5 from 9 reviews

Author: Melissa Griffiths
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 9-12 biscuits 1x

Print Recipe

Description

The best recipe for extra tall, flaky and fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits. They taste amazing on their own or piled high with gravy, butter, or jam!

Ingredients

Scale

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup cold or frozen butter
1 large egg
1 cup cold buttermilk (buttermilk substitutes here)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together to combine well.
Use a cheese grater to grate the butter into the flour mixture. Then use a pastry cutter or a fork to combine the butter and flour mixture well (you can use a fork for the whole process but using a cheese grater first works super well - I recommend it). The goal is to have pea-sized pieces of butter mixed into your flour mixture.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg and buttermilk. Use a fork to whisk the two together and slowly bring in the flour mixture.
Stir until the biscuits just come together, taking care not to over mix.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and finish combining by lightly kneading the dough together.
Roll the dough into a 2-inch-thick slab. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can and place them on the prepared sheet, 1 inch apart.
Re-roll the dough and cut more biscuits until you have used all of the dough, adding a bit of flour to your work surface and rolling pin as needed. You should end up with 9-12 biscuits.
Bake the biscuits for 15-18 minutes until the tops are very golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve right away.

Notes

Use a biscuit cutter. No biscuit cutter? Use a knife and cut the dough into squares. A sharp edge when cutting biscuits keeps the flaky layers from getting mashed together.
Make sure your baking powder is fresh. Baking powder plays a big role in this recipe. If you don't cook much, be sure to check the expiration date before adding it to your biscuits.
Use cold butter and cold buttermilk. The cold helps to form the flaky layers in between.
Pro Tip: use a cheese grater to grate cold or even frozen butter into your flour mixture. Then you can finish working it in with a fork or pastry blender. It speeds up biscuit making a ton.
These make very large biscuits. You can make smaller biscuits by rolling out the dough to 1 to 1 ½ inches thick before cutting, getting almost double the number of biscuits. Adjust baking time as needed.
Don't have buttermilk? See buttermilk substitutions and how to make it yourself here.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Category: Side
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

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If the pictures in this post didn't get you hungry, you much have just eaten. I can't wait to make these again! When I was recipe-testing, I made 3 different recipe variations at once so we could compare them side by side. My kids had so much fun eating biscuits and telling me what they thought. This was the clear winner and I'm sure you'll see why.

Enjoy this amazing biscuit recipe from my kitchen to yours!

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