These Easy Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are tall, flaky, and packed with buttery layers, made from simple pantry staples in under an hour. This easy buttermilk biscuit recipe delivers every single time.
Maybe it's my Southern roots, or maybe it's just because biscuits are so dang good, but nothing compares to a warm, fluffy biscuit straight out of the oven! Over the years, I experimented endlessly to create THE ultimate biscuit: rich in butter, perfectly tender, and never tough. Whether you enjoy them with honey or smothered in homemade Sausage Gravy or Country White Gravy, this is the only recipe you'll ever need.
Table of contents
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter: Cold butter is the secret to tall, flaky layers. As the ice-cold butter melts in the hot oven, it creates steam pockets throughout the dough. Shredding or cubing it and keeping it in the freezer before mixing ensures it stays cold.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the ideal protein balance for structure and tenderness.
- Leaveners (Baking Powder & Baking Soda): Using both gives these biscuits a fast, dramatic rise and extra fluffiness. The baking soda also neutralizes the buttermilk's acidity and helps the tops bake up rich and golden-brown.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds a subtle touch of sweetness. You can substitute with equal parts honey if needed.
- Cold Buttermilk: Adds essential moisture and classic Southern flavor while activating the leaveners for a light, airy crumb. Need a quick substitution for buttermilk? Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar (apple cider or white) to 1 cup of milk and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and exact measurements.
How To Make Buttermilk Biscuits
Making scratch-made Southern biscuits is surprisingly quick and simple! Below is a visual step-by-step guide showing exactly how the dough should look at every stage, from cutting in the butter to creating those iconic, flaky trifolds.
- Add the Butter: Add the cold butter directly on top of your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut in the Butter: Work the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or your fingers until you get coarse, pea-sized crumbs.
- Mix in Buttermilk: Pour in the chilled buttermilk and gently stir just until a shaggy dough comes together. Do not overmix.
- Pat Out the Dough: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently pat it into an even rectangle.
- Begin folding: Begin your trifold by folding one-third of the dough over onto itself (like a letter).
- Complete the Trifolds: Finish the fold and check out the side profile to see those initial buttery layers! Repeat 3 times.
- Cut: Gently pat out the dough to 1-inch thickness, cut into rounds with a sharp cutter, and arrange them in a buttered cast-iron skillet so their edges touch.
- Bake: Bake until tall, fluffy, and golden brown!
See the recipe card below for the full recipe.
👉 Sky's Tips
- Keep the Ingredients Cold: Keep your butter and buttermilk in the fridge (or freezer for the butter) right up until you use them. As ice-cold butter hits the hot oven, it creates steam pockets that force the dough upward into tall, flaky layers.
- Pat, Don't Roll: Always pat your dough out by hand rather than using a rolling pin. Rolling pin pressure compresses the dough and overworks the gluten, making biscuits tough instead of tender.
- Never Twist the Biscuit Cutter: Press your cutter straight down into the dough and pull straight up. Twisting the cutter pinches the raw edges of dough together, sealing them shut so the biscuits can't rise to their full height.
- Bake with Sides Touching: Nestling your biscuits close together in a cast-iron skillet or pan forces them to push off one another as they expand, climbing upward into taller, fluffier biscuits.
How To Store, Freeze, and Reheat
To Store: Store leftover baked biscuits in an airtight container or sealable bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To Freeze Unbaked Biscuits: Arrange cut, unbaked biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour until solid. Transfer them to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 450°F, adding 2-3 extra minutes to the bake time!
To Freeze Baked Biscuits: Let the baked biscuits cool completely, wrap them tightly in foil, and place them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm directly in the oven.
To Reheat: For that fresh-baked texture, reheat biscuits in a 350°F oven or toaster oven for 5-7 minutes until warm and crisp on top. (Microwaving works in a pinch for 15 seconds, but can make the crust soft).
There is truly nothing better than pulling a skillet of warm, towering, flaky Southern buttermilk biscuits out of the oven. Serve them piping hot with a drizzle of honey, slathered with salted butter, or smothered in rich gravy for the ultimate comfort food breakfast.
-Sky🩷
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📖 Recipe
Easy Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 ounces unsalted butter cubed and chilled
- 2 cups all purpose flour extra for dusting
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk chilled
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F. Lightly grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with butter, or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt until well combined.
- Add the cold cubed (or shredded) butter to the flour mixture. Using your fingers, a pastry cutter, or a fork, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse, pea-sized crumbs.
- Pour in the chilled buttermilk and gently stir with a wooden spoon just until a wet, shaggy dough starts to form. Don't worry if there is still a bit of dry flour lingering at the bottom of the bowl, do not overmix!
- Dust your work surface generously with flour and scrape out the dough, along with any remaining dry flour from the bottom of the bowl. Lightly flour your hands and gently pat the dough out into an even rectangle about ½-inch thick. (The patting and folding process will naturally incorporate all the remaining flour).
- Using a bench scraper or floured hands, fold one-third of the dough over into the center, then fold the opposite third over top (like folding a letter). Gently pat the dough back down into a rectangle. Repeat this trifold process 2 to 3 more times to build distinct, flaky layers.
- Pat the dough out to a final thickness of 1 inch. Flour a 2 or 2.5-inch round biscuit cutter and press straight down into the dough without twisting. Place the cut biscuits into your prepared cast-iron skillet so their edges are lightly touching. (Gently press remaining dough scraps together to cut out final biscuits).
- Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes, or until tall, fluffy, and golden brown on top. Brush immediately with melted unsalted butter upon removing from the oven. Enjoy!
Shandi says
Perfect biscuits! My husband said they remind him of his granny's biscuits!
Simply Scratch Made says
That's a great compliment!
Anonymous says
My FAVORITE biscuit recipe!
joe says
I'm so glad i found your site. How big do you cut your biscuits. The diameter. thanks
Sky Pilgreen says
Hi Joe, I use a biscuit cutter that measures about 2.5 inches in diameter. Thanks so much for asking, and I hope you enjoy the biscuits!