These homemade biscuits are soft and buttery with dozens of flaky layers. This biscuit recipe requires just 7 ingredients and they’re ready in about 35 minutes.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips.
One reader, Marcia, commented: “Finally, a biscuit recipe that worked for me. I especially appreciated the notes which, in fact, had me change some things I had been doing. The detail at all levels, both visual and written, is very helpful. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Maggie, commented: “One of my favorite biscuit recipes! They are so consistently flaky and delicious, every single time! ★★★★★“
It’s quite serendipitous that this “side dish” may taste even more remarkable than the main event. No, no… it WILL taste more remarkable. Just look at the big buttery layers! Nothing can compete.
What Are Biscuits?
The term “biscuits” has different meanings depending on where you live in the world. In the U.S., biscuits are similar to a dinner roll, but are denser and flakier because they aren’t (typically) made with yeast. Since there’s usually no yeast and the rising agent is either baking soda, baking powder, or both, biscuits are considered a quick bread, like banana bread and no-yeast bread. In other parts of the world, people may consider these American-style biscuits to be more similar to scones, and what they call “biscuits” are more like what we call cookies.
7 Key Ingredients in Homemade Biscuits
You need just 7 basic ingredients for my homemade biscuits recipe:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cold Butter
- Cold Buttermilk
- Honey
With so few ingredients, it’s important to reach for quality ingredients and avoid any substitutions.
Baking Powder AND Baking Soda
Until recently, this biscuits recipe called for just baking powder as the leavening agent. In recent years, I’ve found that the texture, color, and flavor excels when using a combination of both baking powder AND baking soda. If you’ve always made this recipe using 2 Tablespoons of baking powder, you can certainly continue to do so! However, by reducing the baking powder to 1 Tablespoon and adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the biscuits brown more, have a flakier texture, crispier edges, and you don’t risk a bitter chemical aftertaste.
Success Tips for the Best Homemade Biscuits
After perfecting this recipe over the past 8 years and developing other biscuit recipes, let me share what I’ve learned along the way. I’ve made plenty of mistakes so you don’t have to. These tried-and-true tricks will turn your flat, dry biscuits into the best biscuits ever. And that’s a guarantee.
- Cold Fat: For flaky layers, use cold butter. When little pieces of butter melt as the biscuits bake, they release steam and create little pockets of air—this makes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside while remaining crisp on the outside. It’s the same thing that happens when making these ham & cheese scones.
- Buttermilk & Honey for Flavor: Buttermilk and a teeny drizzle of honey balance out the salt. Buttermilk creates the most tender biscuit! I have plenty more on this topic in my Baking With Buttermilk post (including a buttermilk substitute recipe).
- Don’t Over-Mix: Never overwork biscuit dough. Overworking and over-handling biscuit dough will result in tough, hard, and flat biscuits. Mix the ingredients together *just* until combined. Dough will be crumbly; that’s normal.
- Flatten & Fold Method: The most important step of all is folding the dough together. Turn the scrappy dough out onto a work surface and flatten it with your hands. Fold, flatten, turn, and repeat.
- Don’t Twist the Biscuit Cutter: When cutting the dough with a biscuit cutter, do not twist the cutter. Press the cutter down into the dough firmly. Twisting it will seal off the biscuit edges, preventing the biscuits from rising.
- Bake Close Together: Biscuits rise up nice and tall when they are touching, pressed snuggly against one another in the oven.
How to Make Your Homemade Biscuits
Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add the cubed butter. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, like when making pie crust or this savory quick bread, or pulse in a food processor. Cut/blend in the butter until you have coarse crumbles, like this:
Add the buttermilk and honey. Mix everything together until you have a shaggy dough, like this:
Pour it out onto a work surface and bring the dough together with your hands. It will be dry and shaggy with some moist spots. That’s all perfectly normal:
Fold & Flatten the Dough
Flattening and folding biscuit dough creates multiple flaky layers, just as it does when we make homemade croissants, rough puff pastry, homemade cruffins, mille-feuille, and croissant bread. This step will take you no more than 2 minutes and you’ll be rewarded with the flakiest biscuits in the world. First, shape dough into a rectangle, about 3/4-inch thick:
Then fold one side into the center:
Then the other side:
Turn the folded dough 90 degrees so it’s now horizontal, gently flatten, and repeat that folding process 2 more times.
After you’ve folded and flattened 3 times, flatten into a 3/4-inch rectangle once again, then use a biscuit cutter to shape into rounds. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can cut into 8 to 10 squares.
Arrange close together in a cast iron skillet (no need to preheat it), or on a lined baking sheet. Again, make sure the biscuits are touching so they will rise nice and tall.
Before baking, brush the biscuits with buttermilk to help the tops brown evenly.
Honey Butter Topping
The honey butter topping is optional, but will set your biscuits apart from the rest. When the biscuits come out of the oven, brush with melted butter + honey. You use both ingredients in the biscuit dough, keeping the count at 7 ingredients total.
Serve your homemade biscuits with jam or homemade raspberry sauce, cinnamon butter, or biscuits and gravy—I love this particular recipe. Or a swipe of homemade honey butter really kicks it up a notch! You could also create delicious breakfast sandwiches with these breakfast sausages.
So Many Variations
I bake biscuits often, and use the same process and success tips when making all of my favorite variations including cheddar biscuits, everything bagel biscuits, and zucchini biscuits. I also make biscuit-topped vegetable pot pie and biscuit breakfast casserole. And you can absolutely turn these into dessert with my recipes for biscuit-topped berry cobbler and homemade strawberry shortcake.
I make these biscuits on almost a weekly basis, and what makes them a hit every single time is the combination of very cold butter and buttermilk. Additionally, the careful folding and flattening method helps produce dozens and dozens of flaky layers. Follow the recipe below closely.
Bake the biscuits in a cast iron skillet, which helps the edges crisp up beautifully. Additionally, use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the biscuits with a little buttermilk before baking.
You can use a food processor to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients, but if you do not own one, you can use a pastry cutter instead. A pastry cutter is an extremely helpful baking tool.
Homemade Biscuits (Popular Recipe!)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8-11 biscuits
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These homemade biscuits are soft and buttery with hundreds of flaky layers! This biscuit recipe only requires 7 simple ingredients and they’re ready in about 35 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for hands and work surface
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder (see Note)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (see Note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (270ml/g) cold buttermilk, divided
- 2 teaspoons (14g) honey
Optional Topping
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon (21g) honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Make the biscuits: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Cut/pulse until coarse crumbs form.
- If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour 1 cup (240ml/g) buttermilk into the well and drizzle honey on top. Using a large spoon or spatula, fold until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly with some wet spots.
- Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands. The dough will become sticky as you bring it together. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface as needed in this step. Using floured hands, flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side on top. Turn the dough 90 degrees, so it’s now horizontal. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4-inch-thick rectangle.
- Cut into 2.5- or 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough because this seals off the edges of the biscuit which prevents them from fully rising.) Re-roll scraps until all the dough is used. You should have about 8–11 biscuits. Arrange in a 10-inch cast iron skillet (see Note) or close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching.
- Brush the tops with remaining buttermilk. Bake for 18–20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven. If adding the optional topping, whisk the melted butter and honey together. Using a pastry brush, brush the warm biscuits with honey butter topping. Serve warm.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked biscuits freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator, then warm up to your liking before serving. You can also freeze the biscuit dough. Prepare the dough in steps 2 through 4. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap (plastic wrap is best for freshness) and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 5. Also, after step 4, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before continuing with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Pastry Cutter or Food Processor | 2.5- or 3-inch Biscuit Cutter | 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet (or Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper) | Pastry Brush
- Baking Powder: In 2025, I updated this recipe to use both baking powder and baking soda. I’ve found that the texture, color, and flavor excels when using a combination of both. If you’ve always made this recipe using 2 Tablespoons of baking powder, you can certainly continue to do so! However, by reducing the baking powder to 1 Tablespoon and adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the biscuits brown more, have a flakier texture, crispier edges, and you don’t risk a bitter chemical aftertaste.
- Butter: Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Keep butter as cold as possible until you need it. I recommend placing the cubed butter in the freezer for about 15 minutes before you begin.
- Buttermilk: You can substitute whole milk for buttermilk if desired. However if you’d like the tangy flavor, which I highly recommend, you can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. (You need 1 cup in the recipe, plus 2 Tbsp for brushing—you can use regular milk to brush on top.) Whisk together, then let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Whole milk is best for the DIY sour milk substitute, though lower-fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. (In my testing, the biscuits don’t taste as rich or rise quite as tall using lower-fat or nondairy milks.)
- Cast Iron Skillet: If your cast iron skillet isn’t well seasoned, I recommend greasing it with a little vegetable oil or melted butter. Brush a thin layer of either on the bottom and around the sides. No need to heat the cast iron skillet before using, though you certainly can. Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes before arranging the shaped biscuits in it.
- Flavors: Try my flavorful biscuit variations: cheddar biscuits, zucchini biscuits, and everything bagel biscuits.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 212
- Sugar: 2.4 g
- Sodium: 283.5 mg
- Fat: 9.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 25.4 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are the best biscuits I have ever made. My family is hooked. Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Few times making this biscuit recipe and it’s amazing. I added raisins today and I have added cheese also. Is there a thing where you put a thumb imprint on top of biscuit to make it rise more evenly.
Hi D, we’ve never tested that trick! So glad you enjoy these.
This is gonna read like one of those 1-star horror story comments you see on these blogs sometimes, but stick with me because these biscuits still came out tasty! (i even rated the recipe 5 stars!)
So I’m a piss-poor planner and i tend to fudge recipes. you will see why:
1. i didn’t have any butter in house, so I used margarine (and i didn’t check to see if it was salted or not, it was blue bonnet and i hardly ever use it so I have no clue if that’s considered salty or not).
2. I did the DIY buttermilk, but we only have rice vinegar (it’s a tad sweeter and tangier than distilled or white wine) in the house and i forgot to whisk it before I let it stand
3. my food processor is too small to make the regular batch of this so i did followed the recipe for the bowl method
4. i don’t have a pastry cutter, so i tried using a dutch whisk and then gave up and just used my hands to create the lumps
5. forgot i don’t have honey (except for this teeny sampler jar that is all but crystalized) so i skipped it in the dough
6. forgot to count how many times i had to fold over the dough
7. i do not own a biscuit cutter-ring-thingy so i used a cup instead
8. i am also bad at measuring without a ruler so I rolled my dough out probably too thin? or my cup was too small (maybe 2in diameter instead of the 2.5in-3in recommendation) so i ended up with 15 or 16 biscuits (i wasn’t counting and i ended up stacking some at the end and making mega-high biscuits)
9. i don’t own a cast iron skillet either so i used a baking sheet
IN THE END, i did put the optional honey butter on the biscuits as they came out of the oven because i love honey butter on biscuits, it just doesn’t seem right not to have it.
and these biscuits still came out tall and flaky and golden brown.
I can’t claim that they came out perfect exactly like the recipe (especially because of the margarine i used, i have no idea if this is how Sally intended flavor wise). BUT i can say mine came out tasting ALMOST exactly like the ones from the can but WAY better texture (also ironically less salty than the ones from the can, if you can believe it. i always had an issue with how salty the premade dough was), AND i got more biscuits with this recipe.
did i make sally’s recipe? i have no idea, but i sure tried with what i had 🙂 did i like the biscuits? yeah! my family liked it too.
oh! i also tried out using them as biscuits for strawberry shortcake and they’re just as tasty there. although WAY less sweet than her SSC recipe says, i’ll have to try the sweet biscuit recipe next. but if you’re in a pinch you can definitely use these biscuits as your base for strawberry shortcake too. but i’d recommend making your own whipped cream too, the can just doesn’t have the best texture and flavor.
thank you sally! and thanks whoever read this far. i fudged the recipe as much as i think is possible without completely botching it, and the product still came out pretty good. so i wanna say it’s “fool-proof”…or Fae-proof, at least 😉
First time I’ve made biscuits from scratch, and I used this recipe. They are heavenly, and I will be making them again! Thank you
I have some extra cake flour, can I use it for these biscuits. I have made this recipe with regular flour and buttermilk diy and they turned out great. This time I’m going to use buttermilk.
Hi Diana, we’re so glad you love these biscuits! We don’t recommend cake flour in this recipe–-it’s simply too light.
Delicious, flaky biscuits that were easy to make. My husband loved the biscuits—said they were “wonderful.” Love this recipe.
O M G
These are the best biscuits I’ve ever had, anywhere, in my lifetime. Was I even living before? I will always mark time as before or after these biscuits. Thank you
Weight of the flour is wildly off. Flour should ALWAYS be measured by weight because even “spooned and leveled” flour can vary from person to person. Wish I had caught that 313 grams is very obviously more than 2.5 cups of flour- ESPECIALLY flour that’s been spooned and leveled. No idea where 313 came from. Guessing the weights for the rest of the ingredients are off as well.
Hi Ashley, all-purpose flour is around 125g per 1 cup, making 2.5 cups around 313g. It is not too much flour at all; it’s exactly what you need and how I make the biscuits.
Thank you for providing the weight. measurements, Sally! They are so. helpful! Love your recipes!
This was my first attempt at biscuit making. I am pleased with the taste, the rise, and they browned well in the cast iron pan. I just need practice with the dough handling. But definitely will be making these again!
Hi there! I’m about to make these but don’t have a biscuit cutter. Can I use a cup in place of that or what do you recommend? So excited to try these!!! Thanks!! 🙂
Hi Michaela, you can use a cup, or even just cut them in to squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Just make sure not to twist when pushing if you use a cup, go straight down.
Best biscuits ever. I’ve always struggled with biscuits but these come out perfect every time. Thank you for making it easy!!
Wow! Not using biscuit mix anymore and I was searching for the perfect biscuit recipe. THIS IS IT! OH! My! Goodness!! They are the best! And very forgiving., Thank you so much! I knew if I looked here, they would be amazing!!
DELICIOUS! Just a suggestion: when I’m working with a sticky dough and want to make sure I don’t add too much flour I find an oiled board scraper in one hand with my other hand well floured helps a lot when working the dough into a cohesive mass and then folding/kneading. I also oil my work surface first before putting down the flour. It makes for easier cleanup!
The bottoms were hard and the dough didn’t raise, although it was not hard like the bottoms. What did I do wrong?
Hi Laura, We’re happy to help troubleshoot. It could be the butter, did it seem quite warm? Make sure not to over-mix the dough. Over-mixing can cause flat, hard biscuits rather than tall and fluffy. Also, be sure not to twist your biscuit cutter. Twisting it seals off the edges and prevents them from rising. This helps them to rise nice and tall! Is your baking powder expired? It may be worth getting a fresh one. Hope these tips help!
These biscuits were excellent. I did not make the honey topping. I served them with chocolate gravy. My grandkids loved them.
Absolutely perfect!!! Flavor, texture, layers…on point! I can see why these are made weekly in your house. I made mine on a 1/4 sheet baking pan. Really was testing the rise and crispness to the bottom. But it’s so different than my other recipe so now I’ll have to make another batch in my cast iron. Shucks. Lol. Thank you for sharing!
These were AMAZING! I used kefir instead of buttermilk, and a cast iron pan, and they came out absolutely gorgeous. So flaky, buttery, and golden (at 21 minutes) and all the wonderful biscuit layers of goodness. My family loved them with jam, honey, or just some more butter. They tasted so much better than any store bought, and I’ve already used this recipe several times! #1 tips after making them several times is those written above, I can confirm very cold butter and not twisting the biscuit cutter as you come down really makes a difference, though they are still delicious either way. The best part was that these are so, so easy…I’ve always been nervous when working with breads, but these were both simple and fun to make!
Thanks and quick question, what bread recipe would you recommend that I could try next that isn’t too hard? I really liked how easy and tasty these were and would love some more recipes like this.
Hi Leila, we’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe! If you’re looking for another quick bread (no yeast), this soda bread is a favorite. If you’d like to try your hand at yeast bread, this artisan bread is perfect for beginners. Let us know if you give either a try!
These were quite delicious and a hit with my husband. but had a hard time getting the dough to look like the one in photos above.
My biggest note would be that your have the width measurement of the cutter but not the depth in the recipe. I used 3″ but only 1/2″ high so it was difficult to cut through (I didn’t twist, just pressed to counter) on 3/4″ dough. I suppose I could use a glass next time.
My husband is a “biscuit purist” so he voted against the optional topping. We just slathered with additional butter. I think I need to have one for lunch today with a slice of bacon! YUM!
These get high marks from the family! This will now be my go-to recipe for biscuits.
So yummy! Our favorite biscuit recipe by far!
very disappointed in the altered recipe. Old one used aluminum free baking powder and was much better than this one. Glad I wrote down the old recipe. Feels like it was just changed to make the recipe relevant again for search algorithms… but it was easy enough to find before. just disappointing
Hi Ray, thank you for your feedback. I’ve been making this way for a couple years now, and had the baking soda version in the recipe’s notes. I republished the recipe because of all the new photos added. Appreciate your feedback!
I love this recipe. Thank you!
I am wondering…can you par-bake biscuits? I was thinking I’d love to cook these until they are risen, but not golden so when I serve dinner to friends, I can just pop them in the oven for (still in the skillet) for 5-8 minutes rather than 20 to warm up and brown the top! Please let me know your thoughts
Hi Stephanie, I’m really unsure. I fear that the biscuits won’t rise at all after refrigerating (after the par-bake), and that it will take quite awhile for the biscuits to brown after par-baking, pausing to refrigerate, and then baking again. Let me know if you test anything though.
All I can say is WOW. Best biscuit recipe I’ve ever used! I don’t have a food processor and I used a basic circular cookie cutter. So I literally did the bare minimum and they still came out fantastic. This will be my go to biscuit recipe till the angels carry me home.
I baked these today and it was more simple than I thought to bake biscuits! They turned out so well! I used heart shape cutters and they were adorable!
The only thing I tweaked on your recipe was I bake them at 500 Degrees for 10 12 mins and frozen ones I put in oven at 500 degrees and bake for 18 or 20 mins. And both ways, brown way better… Btw best buttermilk biscuits around…
Can I use leaf lard and butter combo for the biscuits?
Love your wonderful recipes !
Hi Joey, we’re so glad you’re enjoying our recipes! We haven’t tested them with lard, but let us know if you do any experimenting.
These are the BEST biscuits ever. My husband wants them almost every weekend. They are easy enough to make with dinner as well.
I noticed that the 20 minute mark was too long, and the biscuits came out a little too dark (in my opinion). I think the original instructions said 15 minutes, right? The recipe would have been updated since then, but I just thought I’d add my experience. 15 minutes seems to be the perfect time to pull out the biscuits. But I guess that could depend on how hot individual ovens get…??? Anyways— love all of Sally’s recipes. She’s the bomb.
Hi Monique! Yes, between 15-18 minutes originally but I found a few extra minutes is ideal so they are fully cooked. Are you using a cast iron skillet or something else? Thank you for your feedback!
Im.sure these are amazing! Question, your biscuits for pot pie are slightly different. Would you recommend one over the other for pot pie and if yes, why? Thanks. Love your stuff!! My go to site Thanks
Hi Katriona, great question! The biscuits for the pot pie are essentially a scaled down version of these. We use milk in those biscuits, though, since we’re using milk in the vegetable filling (so no need to buy an extra ingredient!). However, you could use buttermilk instead if you wish.
These look fabulous and I can’t wait to try them. Can you tell me if the honey that’s mixed into the dough is necessary? Is it added for just the taste? I normally prefer no sweetener in my biscuits but maybe I’m missing something. Thank you!
Hi Nancy, These biscuits are not overly sweet. We recommend keeping the honey in the dough (you can use just plain melted butter instead of honey butter on top) but you can leave it out if desired. Enjoy!