My easy homemade biscuits recipe (Southern style, of course!) is simple and quick to put together, and it's gotten rave reviews all over! I think you'll find them simple, fluffy, and delicious!
Great all by themselves. Or add jam, honey, or molasses.
Or you can make them into a breakfast sandwich with ham, egg, and cheese ... or just scarf them down fresh and hot out of the oven 😉
These biscuits are also perfect with chili or soup or as your go-to easy side bread for regular or special meals.
Crisp and flaky on the outside, soft and tender on the inside - can't you just taste them now!
Jump to:
Make them today - your family will thank you over and over again (and beg for more after they're all gone ...)
BTW, this recipe was handed down to me by my mom - a fabulous Southern cook.
She taught me a lot of what I know about good, down-home soul food - food that not only feeds the body but also the soul.
What You'll Need
2 cups all-purpose flour (if using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt)
1 tablespoon baking powder (leave out if using self-rising flour)
½ teaspoon salt (leave out if using self-rising flour)
½ cup butter, salted, cut in small pieces (if using unsalted, add ¼ teaspoon more salt than above)
1 cup milk (regular or buttermilk)
Because I'm not a fan of Crisco - it's highly processed, for one thing - I use butter in these biscuits.
And butter just tastes better and is actually better for you. Anything that's less processed will be better for you.
Keep in mind that you don't need to be afraid of fat (even in a Southern biscuits recipe). Truth be told, we need a certain level of healthy fats for digestion, joint health, and a host of other bodily functions!
I like to soften my butter in advance. This means leaving it out on the counter for an hour or two when I plan to make biscuits.
Note that you don't want melted butter - you just want it softened so it's easier to handle and mix together with your dry ingredients.
Once you're ready to make these easy homemade biscuits, you will cut the butter into small pieces into your large bowl (as in the above picture).
I like to mix all of it together with my bare hands, as I just feel like I get all of it mixed better and can tell how evenly the ingredients are distributed.
Make sure the dry ingredients, specifically the salt and baking powder, are well incorporated into the flour so you don't have patches of saltiness in your biscuits.
Many recipes will tell you to mix the dry ingredients separate before adding any liquids, which is a great idea. (I just don't always do this ;-))
After the dry ingredients are well blended, you will pour in the milk and combine with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. Take care not to over mix, as the biscuits could turn out tough.
Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out dough to about ¾ inch thick.
Note that it helps to flour your hands before you handle the dough. This way you don't add unnecessary flour, but it's easier to handle.
I like to pour out a small pile of flour on the counter nearby so I have easy access to more flour for my hands, the rolling pin, or the cutter.
After rolling out, you will cut out the biscuits with a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter.
Note that I actually used a glass, so you can really just use anything that's round and the size you want the biscuits to be.
Add each biscuit to an un-greased cookie sheet or iron skillet. For a higher rise during baking, make sure that the biscuits touch each other.
These butter biscuits are so simple and use readily-available ingredients. You'll have a batch whipped up in no time flat!
I like to serve them warm with more butter and possibly jam or honey.
And they are also perfect paired with your favorite soup for dipping, or you can serve them open-faced with gravy. Also delicious made into a breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon, or sausage (or all three!).
I hope you love these easy homemade biscuits as much as my family and I do! Let me know in the comments below.
Makes 7-8 Southern biscuits that are about 3 inches across.
Extra Tips For Easy Homemade Biscuits
If using self-rising flour, leave out the salt and baking powder (self-rising already has this included).
When using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon more salt per stick of butter (or ½ cup)
If using self-rising flour and unsalted butter, leave out the baking powder and add just ¼ teaspoon salt to your mix.
As oven temperature settings vary, you may have to cook them for a longer (or shorter) time.
Just keep an eye on them the first time you make them and make a note of how long they take with your oven.
Make sure to preheat your oven before baking the biscuits (as this will affect how they turn out).
More Tips & FAQs
The dough is supposed to be a bit sticky and hard to handle – this makes for softer biscuits. It shouldn’t be “wet,” but it will be “sticky.”
Therefore, you should flour your hands before handling the sticky dough, and make sure to add the dough to a floured surface.
You want it to be as sticky as possible while still being able to handle it – this makes for softer biscuits (as above).
It may be that you are not packing your flour like I do. I basically pack my flour before adding – scooping out the flour with the dry measuring cup in the flour bag and leveling on the side before adding to the bowl.
If you are adding your flour gently to your measuring cup or sifting, you will end up with less flour (which could definitely cause a problem with dough being too wet).
Other easy homemade biscuits to love:
I believe you'll also love my Cheddar Biscuit Recipe and my Blueberry Biscuits.
And my most recent Ranch Cheddar Bacon Biscuit recipe. Give them a try!
Soups you may love to serve your biscuits with:
Recipe
Southern Butter Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , packed (if using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (leave out if using self-rising flour)
- ½ teaspoon salt (leave out if using self-rising flour)
- ½ cup butter, salted, cut in small pieces (if using unsalted, add ¼ teaspoon more salt than above)
- 1 cup milk (regular or buttermilk)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter in smallish pieces.
- With your hands (or a pastry blender), combine flour mixture and butter until butter is pea sized and mixture is crumbly.
- Pour in milk and combine with a wooden spoon until well incorporated, taking care not to over mix.
- Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out dough to about ¾ inch thick.
- Cut out biscuits with biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Add each to ungreased cookie sheet or iron skillet. Make sure that biscuits touch for higher rise during baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until browned.
Video
Notes
- Dough shouldn’t be “wet,” but it will be “sticky.” You should flour your hands before handling the sticky dough (as above), and make sure to add the dough to a floured surface. You want it to be as sticky as possible while still being able to handle it – this makes for softer biscuits.
- Pack the flour before adding – scooping out the flour with the dry measuring cup in the flour bag and leveling on the side before adding to the bowl. If you add the flour gently to your measuring cup or sifting, you will end up with less flour (which could definitely cause a problem with dough being too wet).
W
Super delicious! I added lots of savory spices and also an egg wash on top with a little sprinkled salt before they baked.
Sally
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback!
Nichelle
I have been attempting to make biscuits from scratch for YEARS. They never turn out, either being too bland or rock hard, etc. These biscuits though... THESE are the biscuits my family and I have been looking for. So easy to make. I sifted through the comments and your additional advice was extremely helpful. I have a gas oven so I baked mine for 30 minutes in a cast iron skillet. I melted butter and brushed that on the tops 10 minutes before the timer was up (Highly recommend doing this!). My only wish is that I had made extra because these will be incredible with breakfast in the morning.
Sally
Thank you so much for your feedback, Nichelle! So glad they were a hit!
Robbie
These are the best biscuits I have ever made!!!!!! Also, the easiest recipe too!!!!! I can’t believe only 3 ingredients, I use self-rising flour.
My Years of trying different biscuits recipes are over!!!
Thanks so much for sharing!!
Sally
Awesome Robbie! So happy to hear!
Patricia Heinz
Hi Sally, I live in Denver and it's 7°outside. I just finished making these wonderful delights! I baked for 12 minutes at 450°on airbase cookie sheets. ABSOLUTELY YUMMY!!
THANKS for this great recipe.
Sally
Glad you liked them, Patricia! Perfect for a chilly morning!
Rose
Bought a new can of baking powder because mine was on the edge, and I followed the directions exactly. Worse biscuits I have ever made! Going back to my tried and true.
Sally
Thank you for taking the time to post this negative review, Rose. So many others would disagree. Life is too short to make crappy biscuits, so you should make the ones that work for you!
Diana C.
These biscuits turned out perfect! I was craving biscuits this morning but really didn't want to do the work so my husband made them with some very minor guidance. The only difference is I use a cheese grater to grate a frozen stick of butter and then toss the flour with the butter shavings with my hands. I find that any time I use this method the recipe turns out much more flaky.
I also use lactose free milk and it turned out the same as using regular milk.
Your recipe is simple and straightforward; so easy!
Thank you for posting this recipe. I have it saved in my favorites.
Sally
Awesome Diana! Many others have mentioned grating frozen butter. I must try this myself!
Kristin
Definitely my go to recipe for biscuits! I used to buy canned biscuits because of the convenience but I’ve really been making a conscious effort to make more recipes from scratch and these biscuits are amazing! My husband LOVES them and literally wanted them every morning for like 2 months straight, lol. Thank you for sharing and I will absolutely check out your other recipes.
Sally
You just made my day, Kristin! Thanks for letting me know how much you love the biscuits! I'll tell my mom, too, as this recipe came from her.
Pattie
I stared making these about a year ago. The first bite i took I closed my eyes and was transported back to my Granny's kitchen 55 years ago. SO SO GOOD!!!
Sally
That makes my day, Pattie! So happy to hear this!
Kim
Hi….I could only find 1% buttermilk at my grocery store. Will this work in your recipe?
Sally
Kim - That should work fine. Thanks for asking!
Cindy
I’m not an experienced biscuit baker. I found this one and decided to plan my meal around it. ( cream chicken ) the biscuits turned out wonderful. Seriously, so good, fluffy. . I did eat 2, lol. Had to have one with butter & jelly! Yum o!! I will be using this recipe again & again. The sticky part was a bit intimidating but so worth it!! Thanks for sharing!!
Sally
Awesome Cindy! Thank you!