Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Name: Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus a bit more for dusting the counter); 2 teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; 7 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold and cut into small pieces); 1 large egg; ¾ cup buttermilk

by Katerina Petrovska

5 from 2 votes

Updated Oct 31, 2026

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This is the best buttermilk biscuits recipe! These flavorful and fluffy homemade biscuits are ready in 25 minutes with just seven ingredients. No rising, no chilling, and you mix the dough in one bowl. They’re soft, buttery, and perfect with any meal.

Three buttermilk biscuits stacked up, with a bite missing from the top biscuit.

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Is there anything better than a warm, flaky biscuit smothered with butter next to a cozy bowl of cowboy stew or shrimp and grits? I think not! These buttermilk biscuits are SO easy to make and SO fluffy, buttery, and delicious. All you need are pantry staples like flour, butter, and buttermilk, and they’re done in about half an hour.

About My Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Ready in minutes. These biscuits don’t need to rise or chill. Just mix the dough, cut out the biscuits, and bake.
Light, flaky layers. Buttermilk is the secret to the best biscuits! The acidity in buttermilk creates a super fluffy, airy crumb.
Serve them with any meal. Biscuits are perfect for dunking into soups, stews, and chili, and for serving as a side with slow cooker chicken pot pie, a saucy casserole, or a holiday dinner.

What Are Biscuits?

In the US, biscuits are a bit like dense, flaky dinner rolls. Since they’re (usually) made without yeast, American-style biscuits rely on baking powder and/or baking soda for leavening. This actually makes them a kind of quick bread, similar to banana bread or scones.

Ingredients for Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk biscuits ingredients with text labels overlaying each ingredient.

All-purpose Flour – Measure the flour using a digital kitchen scale or the spoon-and-level method. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Then, level the flour using the back of a knife. Don’t scoop flour directly from the bag, as this leads to overmeasuring (and very dry biscuits!).
Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt – This recipe uses both leaveners, plus salt, for the best texture, color, and flavor. To make your biscuits light and tender, make sure your baking soda and baking powder aren’t expired.
Butter – Cold from the fridge, and cut into cubes.
Egg – Helps bind the dough, keeping the biscuits soft and tender. If you’re out of eggs, make my butter swim biscuits recipe instead.
Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk in the fridge, you can make my homemade buttermilk substitute: Add 1½ tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Next, add enough milk to make 1 cup. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes so it curdles, stir, and it’s ready to use. Use this homemade version as a 1:1 substitute in any recipe that calls for buttermilk, whether that’s biscuits, pancakes, or mashed potatoes.

How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits

I cut the butter into the dry ingredients by hand, but if you’d like, you could mix the dough in your food processor, but don’t over-blend! Follow the steps below, and pull a steaming tray of biscuits from the oven in 30 minutes.

Cold butter added to a bowl of dry ingredients. — Cut in the butter.

Wet ingredients added to a well made in the bowl of dry ingredients. — Cut in the butter.

A ball of biscuit dough on a countertop. — Make the dough.

A round biscuit cutter cutting out biscuit dough. — Make the dough.

Prep. Preheat the oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk 2 cups of flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Cut in the butter. Add the cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, work in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse crumb.
Add the wet ingredients. Make a well in the middle of your crumb and add the egg and buttermilk. Stir the ingredients together to form a rough dough.
Knead the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop. Using your hands, knead the dough lightly until it holds together.
Cut the biscuits. Press the dough into a disc about ¾” thick. Then, use a biscuit cutter to cut the dough into 2½” rounds. The best technique is to push straight down on the cutter and twist. You can dip the cutter in flour if it’s sticking.
Repeat. Roll up the dough scraps, press them into another circle, and repeat until you’ve cut out all the biscuits. I usually shape the last bit of dough into a biscuit by hand.
Bake! Arrange the buttermilk biscuits on your prepared baking sheet, leaving space for them to rise. Bake the biscuits at 425ºF for 15-17 minutes until they’re golden brown on top.

Tips for the Best Biscuits

Use cold butter. Cold butter makes flaky layers. The butter melts and releases steam while the biscuits bake, creating pockets of air throughout. The same thing happens when you make a pie crust.
Do not over-knead the dough. Similar to overmixing the batter for baked goods recipes, overworking the biscuit dough results in tough biscuits.
If the dough is sticky while you’re cutting out the rounds, dipping the biscuit cutter in a little flour helps.
Twist, or not to twist. I’ve heard from some bakers that twisting the biscuit cutter is a big no-no because it seals the edges of the dough, preventing the biscuits from rising. I’ve never experienced this with this recipe, but if you’re concerned about flat biscuits, you can simply press the cutter down firmly instead.
Easy variations. With this classic biscuit recipe on hand, you can try more recipes like Red Lobster-inspired Cheddar Bay biscuits and sweet blueberry biscuits.

Assorted homemade buttermilk biscuits served on a white plate.

What to Serve With Homemade Biscuits

Butter and jam. Nothing beats a warm biscuit with butter and homemade strawberry jam or plum cardamom jam.
Soups and chili. Serve them alongside my Buffalo chicken chili, creamy crab soup, or turkey chowder.
Comfort food dinners. Buttermilk biscuits are perfect with Mississippi pot roast, Swiss steak, or beef pot pie!
More favorites. Try them with my Southwest stuffed sweet potatoes or use them to soak up leftover turkey gravy at Thanksgiving.

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5 from 2 votes