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Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits are flaky and delicious. Learn how to make biscuits from scratch with this recipe and instructions.
Buttermilk Biscuits
These Buttermilk Biscuits check all the boxes. They are quick and easy to make, they have a soft, flaky inside, and they have a perfect golden brown outside. Plus, they also have that yummy tangy buttermilk taste. You’ll never make the stuff from the tube again! I love using this biscuit recipe for biscuits and gravy, strawberry shortcake, and breakfast sandwiches. However, they are great with just some butter and honey or jam. My favorite topping is this Strawberry Freezer Jam!
Ingredients in Our Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
- Flour – We use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Baking Powder – Baking powder is the leavening agent for these biscuits. It makes them nice and tall and fluffy!
- Sugar – Just a touch of sweetness makes these biscuits taste amazing.
- Salt – Just a little bit of salt for flavor.
- Cream of Tartar – Cream of Tartar, when combined with a liquid like buttermilk, helps to activate the baking powder.
- Butter – Make sure you use COLD butter. It makes all the difference in the texture. Pop the butter in the freezer for a few minutes before using, but don’t freeze completely.
- Shortening – Shortening aids butter in the creation of flaky layers, but it helps the biscuits stay tender. The shortening can be room temperature because it has a higher melting point than butter.
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk gives the biscuits a nice tangy flavor and helps bind everything together.
- Melted Butter (Optional) – If desired, then you can brush melted butter on the tops of the biscuits right after they come out of the oven.
Recipe Tip
Mixing the Ingredients
This buttermilk biscuit recipe is simple to make. Just follow these steps and you’ll be enjoying delicious biscuits in no time!
- Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. Then, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Then, add the butter and shortening to the bowl. I like to cut the shortening into small cubes and if I have time I like to grate the cold butter with a cheese grater. Grating the butter makes it easier to mix into the flour mixture.
- Use a pastry blender, pastry cutter, or your hands to mix the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients. You want the mixture to become crumbly, with no crumbs bigger than the size of a pea.
- Once the mixture is crumbly, make a large well in the center of the bowl. Pour all the buttermilk into the well.
- Then, use a fork or your hands to mix the buttermilk into the flour mixture. Once the buttermilk is incorporated, start folding the dough back on itself and pressing down. Do this until the dough forms a ball.
Preparing the Dough and Baking
- Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead it about 5 times until it isn’t sticky to the touch.
- Pat with your hands or use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a rectangle about 3/4-inch in thickness.
- Using a biscuit cutter, a cookie cutter, or the rim of a glass, cut out the biscuits. Try to get as many biscuits out of one rectangle of dough as you can.
- Roll the scraps together and repeat until all the dough is used.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and then place the cut out biscuits about 1 inch apart on the paper.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.
- Serve your buttermilk biscuits immediately.
Try to cut out as many biscuits as possible the first time you roll out the dough. The more you roll the dough, the tougher it gets. This results in biscuits that are a little less tender and flaky. We find that you get the best yield if you roll the dough out in a rectangle.
Questions
These buttermilk biscuits are best right out of the oven. However, if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container on the counter. For best results, heat before serving again. Biscuits will keep for a few days.
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, don’t fret. You can still achieve that creamy texture and tangy flavor. To replace buttermilk in this recipe, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a 1 cup measuring cup. Fill the rest of the cup with whole milk. Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes and then add it to the dry ingredients.
If your buttermilk biscuits don’t grow nice and tall in the oven, there are a couple of things that might have gone wrong. First, check the expiration date on your baking powder. Baking powder is the key leavening agent in this recipe. If you’ve had yours for over a year, it might not be doing its job.
Next, you might have over worked your dough. If you knead the dough too much or roll it out too firmly, you can stunt the growth of the biscuits.
The last reason that your biscuits might be too short is if your butter wasn’t cold enough. If the butter melts too early in the oven, it doesn’t produce the airy, flaky layers.
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How to Make Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup butter, cold
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
- Using a pastry blender or your hands, mix in the butter and shortening until coarse crumbs form. Create a well in the middle.
- Add buttermilk to the well and stir with a wooden spoon or your hands until a dough ball forms. Knead the dough about 5 times, until it holds together without being sticky.
- Roll out on a floured surface, to about ¾ inch thickness. Cut the dough into circles with a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, or the rim of a large glass. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Serve immediately.
Perfect recipe to make with kids. They love baking with me. We enjoyed these biscuites with some jam, thank you.
There is nothing like homemade biscuits! This recipe was easy to follow, and they came out perfect. Definitely a great addition to our dinner!