Best Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

a stack of buttermilk biscuits with a honey dipper

5 from 9 votes

This homemade buttermilk biscuits recipe is crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside, and made with just a few simple ingredients. They can be made vegan with a couple easy swaps.

Prep Time2

Bake Time12

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 8 3" biscuits

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups (240g) sifted flour¹
▢ 3 teaspoons baking powder
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda
▢ ½ teaspoon (2g) granulated sugar
▢ ⅓ cup (37g) vegetable shortening or unsalted butter² plus more for brushing³
▢ 1 cup (240mL) buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar into a large bowl.
2 cups (240g) sifted flour1, 3 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon (2g) granulated sugar
Add the cold fat to the flour mixture and blend with a fork or pastry blender until it becomes coarse crumbs.
⅓ cup (37g) vegetable shortening or unsalted butter2
Add the buttermilk all at once and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened⁴ and create a shaggy dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 to 5 times⁵, patting with floured hands into a disc about ½" thick.
1 cup (240mL) buttermilk
Using a biscuit cutter dipped in flour, press cutter straight down into the dough and place cut-out biscuit onto a large baking sheet. Brush biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Bake biscuits for for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush again with more melted butter. Biscuits are best served warm, but leftovers can be stored at room temperature up to 3 days. Biscuits freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Warm or toast as desired.

Notes

Flour: you can use all-purpose or bread flour. "Sifted flour" means sift it and then measure it.
Shortening/butter: regardless of whether it's shortening or butter, be sure to keep it refrigerated until you are ready to add it to your dough.
Brushing with butter: if you want to keep these biscuits vegan, I do not recommend brushing them with shortening, but rather dairy-free butter.
Mixing the dough: once you add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients, stir only until the dry ingredients are just moistened to avoid over-mixing.
Knead the dough: be sure not to over-knead the dough. Over-kneading can result in tough biscuits.

Recipe republished with permission from Life, Love, and Good Food

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Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.