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
Can I make the biscuits the night before and put them in the oven the next morning. Also, can I bake the biscuits in a standard baking sheet?
Hi Ida! You can refrigerate the pre-cut biscuits overnight. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, arrange the biscuits close together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (Make sure they’re touching.) The bottoms may not be quite as crispy.
I’ve always been hesitant trying American recipes, i tend to google recipes that are from Australian websites. But i had heard alot of positive thing about Sallys baking addiction and have always wanted to make American style biscuits. I made these biscuits to top a chicken pie, i added full fat milk and a little shredded cheddar and holy moly they were amazing. Definitely will be making these biscuits again to have with cream and jam.
I am normally a big fan of Sally’s recipes, and this one did not disappoint! I didn’t have honey in the pantry, so I opted to use the same amount of sugar by the teaspoon. I also used just baking powder as the leavening agent, like the original recipe states, and they turned out great! They were so flaky on the outside and fluffy on the inside. If you make this, definitely don’t skip the folding process, as it makes the biscuit incredibly fluffy. This is now my new go-to biscuit recipe!
Great biscuits for our weekly Sunday biscuits and gravy. The boys gobbled them up with no leftovers.
Followed recipe except I used whole milk and not buttermilk. Not a fan of the sub buttermilk using vinegar.
Looking forward to next Sunday using buttermilk.
These biscuits are truly delicious and incredible. I omit the honey in the recipe we love them that way. They’re flaky and just heavenly, fun to make as well, and I like baking them in my cast iron skillet.
Delicious biscuits and great instructions! Made these to go with chili the first time and my son in law ate four of them. He asked for another batch for breakfast! Good thing these are easy to make and easy clean-up! Oh – in place of pastry cutter, freeze your butter and use a cheese grater to shred. That’s what my daughter had, and it worked ‘grate’ (hah-ha)!
Best biscuits recipe I’ve ever made, great hit for Sunday breakfast.
I made these for breakfast yesterday and used Greek yogurt combined with half and half to make buttermilk, which was a fantastic substitute. However, the biscuits were dry when trying to fold them (a lot of loose flour that would not combine) so I threw in a tablespoon of Greek yogurt for moisture and they came together perfectly. I was worried they would turn out hard or dense because I thought I might have over worked them, but they were still really good. My girls said these were the best biscuits yet!
We did eat them for breakfast this morning and they were still really good. This is my new go to biscuit recipe! I think the mix of baking powder and baking soda makes a difference. Also, I have added cream of tarter to baking powder only biscuits and that also results in a good crumb with a lighter and fluffier biscuit, so this is a similar solution.
For anyone wondering about not adding honey, the biscuit is still fantastic without it.
Love this recipe! I do have a question though… I made them again this morning and I forgot the honey! I’ll still eat them
But does the honey do anything for the bake on them, or is it mostly flavor?
Thanks!
Hi Carrie! The honey balances out the salty flavor. Let us know how they taste!
This is the best biscuit recipe ever. I’ve shared it with friends and family over the years. The techniques are fabulous. Now that we’re empty nesters, I don’t need such a big batch, and I don’t like the biscuits after they’ve been frozen. Can this recipe be halved? Thanks!
Hi Dominique, halving the recipe should be fine. So glad it’s a hit!
These biscuits are incredible and soooo easy! I made them for dinner last night and had to make them for breakfast again this morning because my kids and husband couldn’t get enough of them!
As a note, I never use buttermilk since we don’t keep it in the house. I always have kefir because we drink it regularly. I always sub out buttermilk for kefir and it comes out perfectly .
Very nice biscuit. Came out great. I did not have fresh buttermilk. I used the powder mixed into milk rather than water. I ate these with butter and honey also jam. They would be good for gravy also.
WOW! Outstanding results. I used a food processor to mix the butter a flour. Just follow the instructions and you just might enjoy the best biscuit you’ve ever tasted.
Keep an eye out on the cooking time. I baked mine at the very low end of time.
Made this recipe for about the 6th time, and they turned out terrible. Dense and almost rubbery. Realized the change in baking powder / baking soda. The original recipe was much better. I also remember cooking them for 16 mins not 20?
These Buttermilk Biscuits were excellent! No changes made, make sure to read all notes & watch recipe. Step by step & very easy. I made dough & refrigerated it at 3/4” thick slab so when my stew was out of oven I cut biscuits, put in buttered cast iron pan, brushed top e buttermilk & baked 19 min in my oven amazing!!
Best Biscuits i’ve ever made and i have made many recipes. I was making biscuits and gravy. And the salty from sausage gravy on the honey butter biscuits was amazing. Too make making much easier I grate the butter and freeze then mix in flour mixture. No more pastry blender for me. My 7 yr old grandson had two helpings and requested to have these biscuits everyday.
Best Biscuits i’ve ever made and i have made many recipes. I was making biscuits and gravy. And the salty from sausage gravy on the honey butter biscuits was amazing. Too make making much easier I grate the butter and freeze then mix in flour mixture. No more pastry blender for me. My 7 yr old grandson had two helpings and requested to have these biscuits everyday.
Hi Sally, I love everything I’ve made from your recipes. People think I’m a great baker, all thanks to you. If I need more than the amount of buscuits this recipe makes can I double it or do I need to make two batches. Thank you
Hi Connie, thank you so much for making our recipes! We would make multiple batches instead of doubling this recipe.
I have been loving your recipes for years now as I know they are tried and true, and therefore can be trusted to be good. I have been making this biscuit recipe for years now as my go to biscuit recipe. It was always good but the other night, I made it the new way. I have to say that it really improved it, so much so that my husband and I both noticed it right away! They rise taller and the crust is crispy, but very tender and flaky on the inside. I will definitely make them this way from now on. Thank you for the improvement!
I try ALL my new recipes out on my family as they are the most honest critics. When I say they loved these biscuits, its an understatement. They ask me to make them at least once a week.
I have tried so many biscuit recipes with no luck on getting a rise-until now! This is so easy and soo good! Thank you!
These turned out awful for me. Barely rose at all, after 20 mins in the oven were burnt and dried out. Should’ve removed after 15 mins.
My butter was cold, baking powder fresh, didn’t twist the 3” biscuit cutter. Folded dough exactly according to instructions. No layers were visible on the finished product. Biscuits were touching when I baked on a sheet pan. I only baked a few at a time, is that the problem?
Wanted to love these, I’ve made other biscuit recipes before with much better results. Sally’s other recipes have been so good in the past. No idea what went wrong. Any ideas?
Hi Rachel, I’m happy to help troubleshoot what went wrong here. It sounds like you did everything right, so this is a tough one. Could it be your oven that’s the culprit? Do you ever have issues with things baking unevenly or browning too quickly? Did you use a conventional oven setting or convection/fan-forced? We always recommend conventional baking setting; if you are using a fan oven that can dry out and overcook baked goods like biscuits. If using a fan oven, you would need to decrease the temperature. Hope this helps, and thank you for giving this recipe a try!
I’ve made these so many times! The addition of the baking soda really set them over the top! The only biscuit recipe I’ll use.
As long as I use aluminum-free baking powder, I’ve never had chemical after-taste from the old recipe.
Hi Sally! My mom is sugar/sweetener free, so I was wondering what would happen if I made these without the honey? Would they still be good?
Hi Reese, 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!
I always use this recipe! Even being a Southern girl, I never really liked biscuits until these. I have never placed them on the baking sheet touching. Is there a reason for this?
They are absolutely the best biscuits.
Hi Lynne, placing them together with the sides touching helps them to rise tall in the oven. So glad this recipe is a favorite for you!
Can I use pizza flour for biscuits
Hi Diana, that should work just fine. The biscuits will be chewier.
Great biscuits. Moist and fluffy. I cooked on baking sheet at 400°. Will use this recipe from now on.
These were excellent. Light and tender with some crispy bits on top. Thank you!
Great recipe! Simple, comes together quickly, and helps me use up that 1/2 gallon of buttermilk (which I use almost exclusively for SBA recipes)! Kids were big fans of the honey butter topping.