Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Buttery with a slight tang from the buttermilk – perfect for topping with jam, gravy, or honey.
Texture: Crisp on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, with super flaky buttery layers throughout.
Ease: So easy! I’ve included plenty of tips for tall, flaky biscuits below.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Quick comfort food that everyone adores.
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Perfectly tender, buttery Buttermilk Biscuits are one of those treats where you just can’t stop at one.
Homemade Biscuits are a must for Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving celebrations. They pair beautifully with my crowd-pleasing Sweet Potato Casserole, delicious Cheesy Green Bean Casserole with Bacon, and my favorite Soft Pretzel Stuffing. With sides this good, who even needs turkey?!
But biscuits aren’t just for Thanksgiving—they’re wonderfully versatile and can be served sweet or savory. Whether they’re part of breakfast (think sausage & gravy!), a midday snack, or a fun dinner side, the possibilities are endless!
This biscuit recipe has become a reader favorite. Just take a look at one of the many glowing 5-star reviews:
Reader Love
These were FANTASTIC!!! It’s DEFINITELY a keeper recipe!! Thank you so much for all the extras that you included, i.e. the “laminating”, which I’ve not heard of!! They were SO TALL and YUMMY!!!!!!!
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Serve these warm, homemade biscuits slathered with jam for breakfast, alongside a cozy dinner, or as the ultimate Christmas or Thanksgiving side dish. Your friends and family will adore them!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits
Do I Have to Use Buttermilk in Biscuits?
For the very best flavor and texture, yes, I highly recommend using real buttermilk. After much testing using buttermilk substitutes and alternatives, I find that nothing quite compares to the tangy taste and thick texture of real buttermilk.
See my side-by-side experiments and read about the science of baking with buttermilk here.
Help – I Don’t Have Buttermilk!
If you can’t use real buttermilk, use 1 scant cup whole milk + 2 teaspoons distilled vinegar or lemon juice – just note that this will change the flavor and texture of the biscuits.
If you’re using this substitute, I recommend adding some mix-ins to the dough, such as shredded cheese, diced jalapeño, garlic powder, green onion, or everything bagel seasoning, to enhance the flavor of your biscuits.
How to Make Tender Biscuits
Be super gentle with the dough. I usually make biscuits by hand with a pastry cutter because you’re less likely to overwork the dough. I’ve also included instructions for using a food processor if that’s your preferred method.
I like my biscuits to be slightly crunchy on the outside and tender and fluffy on the inside, which is what this recipe produces. If you prefer very tender biscuits, use a southern-style flour such as White Lily, which has a lower percentage of protein. If you can’t find that, you can combine all-purpose flour with pastry flour for a similar result.
Whichever flour you use, make sure to measure your flour correctly. Too much flour will result in dense, dry, and tough biscuits.
Butter or Shortening for Biscuits?
I’ve also done side-by-side testing with biscuits made with butter vs. shortening and found I much prefer the taste and texture when using only butter. However, biscuits made with shortening create a more traditional Southern-style texture. Feel free to use half cold shortening and half cold butter for the best of both worlds.
How to Make Tall Buttermilk Biscuits
- Tall biscuits require tall dough: The dough should be 1 inch in height. You could even pat the Buttermilk Biscuits dough out to 1 1/4 inches for mile-high biscuits – but note you’ll end up with fewer biscuits.
- Use a metal biscuit cutter: You want to create sharp edges when you shape the biscuit dough so nothing prevents the biscuits from rising. A round cookie cutter also works.
- Do NOT twist the biscuit cutter as you shape the dough, as this seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising as nicely.
- Lamination: The most important step in creating tall biscuits is to “laminate” the dough. Take a look at the picture below to see the difference in laminating your dough makes. Check out my How to Make Tall Scones & Biscuits article for even more tricks.
How to Laminate Biscuit Dough
1. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and dust the dough with flour. I like to use a powdered sugar shaker to dust a little flour without using too much. Gently pat the dough out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle using your hands (no rolling pin needed!).
2. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Be quick and gentle with the dough, and only use as much flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking. Adding too much flour will create dense, tough biscuits.
3. Repeat this process two more times, rotating the dough 90 degrees before each fold. Use a bench scraper to easily move the dough. This process creates layers of butter similar to a croissant, so the biscuit bakes up tall and super flaky!
Baking Buttermilk Biscuits
- Keep the butter cold. Pop the tray of shaped biscuits in the freezer while your oven preheats. This keeps the butter extra cold. When the biscuits hit the heat of the oven, the steam from the water in the butter creates those tall, flaky layers.
- Ensure your oven is fully preheated before baking. This helps the biscuits rise tall. If you don’t have an oven thermometer to be certain, wait at least 10 minutes after your oven tells you it’s preheated. Learn more oven tips for baking here.
- Baking preferences: I prefer my biscuits to develop a golden crust, but some people prefer their biscuits to be paler and tender without a crisp crust, so adjust the baking time to suit your preferences.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Sure – simply double all ingredients in the biscuit recipe below and follow the instructions. No modifications are needed to make about 16 to 20 biscuits.
How to Store Biscuits?
Since Buttermilk Biscuits are best served the day they’re baked, use the make-ahead instructions just below to prep biscuits ahead of time.
How to Make Biscuits Ahead of Time | How to Freeze Biscuits
To freeze before baking: Place the unbaked, shaped biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Bake as directed in the recipe below, adding a few minutes to the baking time, or until golden brown.
To freeze after baking: Freeze baked biscuits in an airtight container for 1-2 months. Simply thaw to room temp, then reheat in the microwave or the oven at 300°F until warmed through.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup (237 grams) buttermilk, chilled
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. You can also do this in a food processor. The faster you do this, the better, as you want the butter to remain cold. Stir in the buttermilk until just combined. DO NOT overmix. The dough will be sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and dust the dough with flour. Gently pat the dough out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter. Repeat this two more times, rotating the dough 90 degrees before each fold.
- Pat the dough out into a final 1-inch thickness. If at any point the dough becomes too warm, pop it in the fridge until it’s firmed up slightly.
- Use a sharp 2-inch round metal biscuit cutter to push straight down through the dough to cut out circles. Don't twist the biscuit cutter, as this seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising as nicely. If you don’t have a sharp cutter, use a knife and cut squares instead.
- Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Reform the scrap dough into 1-inch thickness, being sure to work with it as little as possible, before cutting out more circles.
- Freeze the uncooked biscuits while you preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: At this point, the unbaked biscuits can be frozen and stored in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to bake. Bake straight from the freezer, adding a couple minutes to the baking time.
- Bake the biscuits until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.* Biscuits are best served the day they're baked.
Notes
This post was originally published in 2014 and recently updated with recipe changes and improvements and new photos. Photos by Joanie Simon.
Easy, and delicious! We used them for Hot honey Chicken biscuits and they turned out perfect.
Crunchy outside, tender inside. This recipe is a keeper
You’ve done it again. My family loves biscuits and gravy. Biscuits-in-a-can were general crowd pleasers, but this takes it all to a new level. Thank you for the recipe!
I have made these biscuits several times. I make mine in the food processer then continue to the counter. They turn out every single time, light and fluffy. I have added cheese and garlic to them and they still turn out great. Thank you for such a wonderful mouth watering biscuit
Dough came out real, real wet (and so I deducted a rating star for that reason). I had to add quite a bit of flour to get it to a point where it was not so soupy. Did some book folds and threw it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Took it out and it was fairly stiff but workable to cut the biscuits. I use a Mason Jar lid to cut biscuits and that worked out just fine.
Popped them back in the freezer on the parchment paper lined baking sheet while the oven heated up to 450. Checked bake at 12 minutes.
Didn’t get the rise I expected and that may be my fault as I didn’t use a real cutter or it could have been the soupy dough.
We love buttermilk biscuits and the flavor of these biscuits was just dandy. Had it with 15-Bean Soup for dinner and was going to save the remainder for breakfast but we had homemade apple jelly and that ended the biscuits.
Thank you for the tips. I’ve have a recipe I’ve used for years. I will try some tips to maybe get mine better, your recipe is excellent
Thank you for sharing this wonderful buttermilk biscuit recipe. My mother always used Crisco when we were growing up. However, I prefer real butter. After many recipes, I must say this recipe is #1. It’s an easy recipe that produces tall layered biscuits that are tender. The ultimate buttermilk biscuit. I will certainly share this recipe so others can have top notch biscuits too.
Look at those gorgeous layers!! YUM, I wish I could reach through my screen. So happy to hear how much you loved our recipe!
This is my favorite biscuit recipe! Love it so much! Just tried tripling it today and it felt a bit sticky. Any advise?
This is my go-to recipe (now that I found it!). Today I added grated orange and cranberry, as some will be joining macerated strawberries and whipped cream for strawberry shortcake later (I like to add a little surprise in the biscuit when I use them for shortcake), while others will receive a orange-Grand Mariner glaze (for brunch tomorrow). I’ve also added bacon and cheese and have made many other variations -perfect results EVERY time – light crumb, hold their shape (I use different shaped cookie cutters) and always moist and delish! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
These were FANTASTIC!!! It’s DEFINITELY a keeper recipe!! Thank you so much for all the extras that you included, i.e. the “laminating”, which I’ve not heard of!! They were SO TALL and YUMMY!!!!!!!
Woohoo! So happy to hear how much you loved this recipe 🙂 Your biscuits look amazing!
Very fluffy and soft. Great biscuit!!!! Super easy and just perfect.
I made these for the first time today. They came out wonderful! They were light and raised high…very tender and tasty. I’ll be making them again and again.
I put these on top of pot pie filling. Best biscuits ever. I’m on a roll with the recipes on here. I’m going to go look for a cinnamon roll here next. Thank you!!!!!
Drooling, that sounds amazing, Jen! Tessa’s all-time favorite Cinnamon Rolls recipe can be found here. They’re SO delicious, I can’t wait for you to try them! 🙂