Anyone (including you) can easily make tender flaky homemade biscuits from scratch! This recipe will guide you through the secrets to making the most scrumptious biscuits you’ve ever tasted.
Biscuits aren’t just a breakfast recipe either. Serve them with meals like chicken stew or sausage or bacon gravy. Buttery biscuits are perfect for dipping and sopping up rich sauces of all kinds.
How to Make Biscuits
Homemade biscuits are a quick bread just like a banana bread or pumpkin bread, which means no waiting around for hours for the dough to rise. Leavening is accomplished with both baking soda and baking powder for a light and fluffy lift.
TIP: You need to cut in the butter or shortening before adding the liquid, and it should be cold. The little pockets of butter create lift and fluffiness.
Use a pastry cutter if you have one or a sturdy fork. You could also pulse a few times in your food processor with the dough blade. You don’t want to incorporate the butter completely, it should be about the size of peas.
To Make Biscuits:
- Cut butter into dry ingredients (per recipe below).
- Mix in the milk and gently knead just a couple of times.
- Roll out and cut into rounds.
- Bake and serve warm with butter.
Don’t overdo the kneading. Unlike yeast bread, you don’t want to overdevelop the gluten in the flour. The best biscuits are so tender they practically melt in your mouth, and the way to achieve that effect is to not overwork the dough.
Variations
Biscuits will allow you to unleash your creativity in all kinds of fun ways. Add cheese, herbs or other seasonings to amp up the flavor. The next time seafood in on your menu, how about adding some shredded cheddar and Old Bay seasoning to the mix for yummy biscuits just like Red Lobster?
How to Store Leftovers
Homemade biscuits are easy to store. Depending on how long you want to keep them you can leave them on the counter, in the fridge, or store in the freezer!
- Room Temperature: They’ll keep a few days at room temperature covered in plastic.
- Fridge: Store in a baggie in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezer: Leftovers will keep in the freezer for more than 4 months. Store in freezer bags to prevent freezer burn, and so you can easily remove one or two as needed.
How to Reheat Homemade Biscuits
Homemade biscuits taste best served warm. They can go straight from freezer to oven or microwave without thawing first.
- Place on a cookie sheet in the toaster oven set at 350°F for 5 -10 minutes.
- Float a piece of foil on the top to prevent over-browning or burning.
Now bring on the butter and jelly and let’s eat some biscuits!
Easy Biscuit Recipes!
- Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits – light & flaky
- Garlic Cheddar Biscuits – explosion of cheese!
- Garlic Parmesan Biscuits – ready in 15 mins!
- Cheddar Bay Biscuits – just like Red Lobster
- Biscuits and Gravy – 3 ingredient gravy!
Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup butter cold and cut into small cubes
- ¾ cup milk or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a large bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add cold butter and cut in using a pastry blender (or fork). You’re looking for a somewhat crumbly texture. You want to see small bits of butter about the size of a pea.
- Gently stir the milk into the flour a little bit at a time. The mixture will somewhat cohesive but slightly sticky. It should also start to pull away from the bowl. You may not need all of the milk.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead about 10 times or until the mixture smooth. If the dough is super sticky or sticks to the surface add a little more flour. If too dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Gently pat out the dough until it’s 1-inch thick. Then using a large biscuit cutter to cut out biscuits and place them on a large baking sheet.
- Pat out any remaining dough and repeat the cutting out process.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Bread
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Have vegan family members. How is this with Crisco?
I’ve only tried this as written so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it works out for you!
Super easy! So good!! Thank you for sharing the yum <3
You’re very welcome Linda!
450 seemed a bit high, so I cooked them at 375 for 14-15 minutes and they turned out great.
TERRIBLE RECIPE. These biscuits turned out like a brick. NEVER AGAIN. I would not recommend.
Sorry to hear that Mary Theresa. This recipe is usually such a hit with readers. If they turned out dense the dough may have been over kneaded. Unlike yeast bread, you don’t want to overdevelop the gluten in the flour.
Mary Theresa, it is NOT a terrible recipe. I’m following the recipe and it’s perfect. You just don’t know how to follow directions nor do you know how to bake. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t post, sowing discord. No one wants that, hmm-Kay❕
These are super easy and taste SO amazing!! PERFECT with your sausage gravy, too! My family looks forward to our special Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast when I make this. We have decided I have to limit it to about once a month, though!
Homemade biscuits were so intimidating to me. This recipe was so simple and the biscuits were light and flaky. My son requested no more can biscuits. This is a great recipe. I topped with honey and butter.
I added to much milk and when it was time to make it smooth it didn’t work so I just put them in the oven I hope it comes out good
I also forgot to make them into circles
You could try adding a little additional flour to try and balance it out Keiah. Hopefully, they still turn out for you!
You do not need 4tsp of baking powder that’s way to much I used a 1/2 tsp and they can put perfect! I’ve been baking forever I’m German so I make a lot of cakes rolls and everything else!
Don’t use this recipe horrible
I’m sure your method and other cakes and rolls are lovely. Our readers have also had great success with this recipe.
Thanks for the tip, I will do this next time.
This is the best homemade biscuit recipe ever if all time! Delicious!
These are Scones not biscuits.
Hi D, these are our version of a biscuit. You can check out our yummy scone recipe here!
Too much baking powder. I could taste it heavily after they finished baking in a nasty aftertaste. However the texture, and color of the biscuits came out really good. I made a second batch with less baking powder and they tasted aye okay!
I followed the instructions exactly, and cooked for 11 and a half minutes, but the outside cooked faster than the inside, and left my inside with dough… Im sure it probably would have worked if I cooked for 12. Good recipe though.
If undercooked, you can try popping them back in the oven for a touch longer to reach that perfect texture Jacob.
Outstanding recipe. I just made these for breakfast. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed them Lauren!
Loved the biscuit recipe but why don’t you add dropping them on the pan in pieces so you get more crunchy parts. That is my favorite why to bake them.
That sounds delicious, thanks for sharing Michael!
My lawddd. These taste amazing thanks so much for the recipe. I wanted biscuits with my dinner and didn’t want to go to the store for butter milk. You saved me and now I have a new and improved biscuits
So happy to hear that you enjoyed them Kendra!
So good! My first time making biscuits from scratch, definitely will again!
For some weird reason mine rose beautifully but seemed to not rise evenly….kind of top heavy. I know not to twist the cutter because that seals the sides and can prevent the rise. So any idea what I did she I won’t do it again?
I brushed them with melted butter when I pulled them from the oven and even spread more when I broke into one, couldn’t resist. Butter makes them addicting!
Thanks for the recipe! Like your other readers, not going back to the canned!!
Super easy! No more store bought! Family loved them.
I just made this and they’re freaking so good!! We don’t need to buy store bought biscuits! Thanks for the recipe!!
Holly what Food processor do you use?
I use a Kitchenaid similar to this one (my exact one is no longer available).
Great recipe but I really wish that you would include the weight of ingredients, in grams, instead of or in addition to the volume measurements. This is very important especially in baking, and in particular when it comes to something like kosher salt which comes in various grain sizes. Someone who does not know this and uses table salt instead, will end up with a dish that is very salty and possibly ruined.
Thank you for the suggestions!