Homemade Southern Biscuits are easier to make than you think, and you can make them perfectly on your first try. In fact, you can make them in five easy steps. This is a quick and simple recipe for biscuits at home that bake up perfectly golden on the outside, flaky and buttery on the inside every single time.
This is a great recipe for all of us to have under our belt, but if you’re a lady hailing from the South, it’s pure necessity. It requires few ingredients, and in less than 10 minutes, you’ll have homemade Southern biscuits baking up mile-high in your very own oven.
SOUTHERN BISCUIT INGREDIENTS
- All-Purpose Flour
- Cold, Unsalted Butter
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda
- Milk
It doesn’t take much to make Southern Biscuits at home. The base is a mixture of flour, along with two leaveners — the baking powder and baking soda — and salt.
Butter serves as the fat, making them flavorful and tender and milk is the liquid that brings it all together and binds the dough. If you happen to have buttermilk on hand that needs to be used, make these Buttermilk Biscuits instead!
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SOUTHERN BISCUITS
Now, let’s move on to our 5 easy steps for making Homemade Southern Biscuits from scratch.
- Mix dry ingredients.
- Cut in the butter.
- Stir in the milk.
- Pat out the dough and cut the biscuits.
- Bake.
1. MIX YOUR DRY INGREDIENTS
Your homemade biscuits will begin with a mix of dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda, and salt. Add the ingredients to a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
2. CUT IN THE BUTTER
Once your dry ingredients are mixed up, it’s time to cut in the butter. But first, you must cut the butter.
Cut the butter into small cubes and scatter across the bowl, then cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
You can do this using a pastry blender, or two knives if you want to be super old-fashioned about it. Continue working until it resembles small peas scattered throughout the mix…obviously, they won’t be green.
WHY COLD BUTTER FOR BISCUIT DOUGH?
One of the most important ingredients in Homemade Southern biscuits is the butter, and more specifically, the temperature of the butter. When working butter into a pastry dough (which essentially what homemade biscuits are), it is important the butter is cold. Very cold.
The cold butter helps to create little steam pockets throughout the makeup of the dough, in turn, creating layers and one heck of a flaky homemade Southern biscuit.
Moving on to step three.
3. ADD THE MILK
Milk is all you need to bind the ingredients and form the dough. Add the milk, and stir with a sturdy, wooden spoon until evenly incorporated. If the spoon didn’t fully do the trick, just get in there with your hands and lightly knead a few times to bring it all together.
4. CUT THE BISCUITS
Lay the biscuits out on a floured work surface and pat them into a rectangle or dough round, about 1″ thick. From here, you can either cut the biscuits into 2″ squares using a knife or using a round cookie cutter.
You can re-combine the scraps up to two times to get the most out of your dough.
5. BAKE
Biscuits bake at a high temperature so be sure to preheat your oven before you get started. This way, you can be confident it is reading true to temperature when it comes time to bake.
Place your Homemade Southern Biscuits on a baking sheet prepared with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and let ’em go in the oven until they are golden-brown, flaky perfection.
USE HOMEMADE SOUTHERN BISCUITS FOR…
These Homemade Southern Biscuits can be served at numerous occasions, at just about any time of day. You can bake up a big batch over the weekend, freeze what’s left behind, and reheat them on the weekdays for a quick-fix breakfast.
Use them to serve up the crowd-pleasing breakfast favorite Biscuits and Gravy, or serve them on the side of just about any comfort food dinner. In fact, we dressed up this very recipe and transformed it into Red Lobster’s famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits for a savory, dinnertime side dish! Or, keep it simple and top them with a little extra smear of butter and a drizzle of honey and call it dessert.
This is everything you need to know to get those perfect homemade Southern biscuits right on your very first go-round, and one you’ll be able to put to good use for a lifetime! They’re quick, easy, and perfect for big family breakfasts or even breakfast on the go. Biscuits are portable, you know? However (or wherever) you should choose to consume them, please, enjoy.
5 MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits are extra tender, super flavorful, and equipped with layers for days! Add this recipe to your biscuit repertoire!
- Homemade Biscuits and Gravy features homemade biscuits and the best recipe for scratch-made sausage gravy — a creamy white gravy speckled with black pepper and pork breakfast sausage!
- Easy Drop Biscuits with Cheddar and Chives are great for a quick weeknight side dish, and an all-time savory favorite to pass around the table!
- Homemade Garlic Bread is quick and easy to make, and a wonderful accompaniment to pasta night! Featuring a simple spread made up of butter, oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.
- Easy Homemade Cornbread feeds a crowd and makes for one impressive presentation ballooning out of its cast iron pan, and always bakes up tender and moist!
A quick and simple recipe for Southern Homemade Biscuits that bake up perfectly golden on the outside, and flaky and buttery on the inside.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for working with dough
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 3/4 cup whole milk
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Preheat the oven to 400° and have ready a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine.
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Scatter the cubes of butter across dry mixture, and using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the cubes are the size of peas.
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Add the milk and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Lightly knead the mixture a bit with your hands (only if necessary) to bring it all together.
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Transfer the dough to a work surface dusted with flour and pat out so that it is 1" thick. Cut into 2" squares or use a biscuit cutter to form the biscuits. You can re-work the scraps up to two times to make more biscuits.
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Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden-brown. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Video
Makes 12 biscuits.
I love how easy it is to make these cuties. Definitely something that I need to make in large quantities because no matter how many of them I end up making, they will be gone in a minute! 🙂
Trying these for the first time and I’m out of parchment paper…should I grease the cookie sheet?
Nonstick foil is another great substitution, but lightly greasing the pan shouldn’t hurt 😉
Southern biscuit is my guilty pleasure! Love the buttery smell and flakey texture, and this needs to happen.
These biscuits are perfection! They’re so tender and flaky and they’re the perfect start to a leisurely Saturday. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve never had Southern biscuits but they look really good and easy to make. Definitely going to give them a try!
My son can’t have Dairy so I subbed earth balance “butter” (its the closest consistency and taste to real butter) and Silk Original Soy and it turned out wonderful! Everyone loved them!! Thank you!
That’s awesome, Kelley! So glad to know that 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I made these tonight instead of my usual biscuit recipe and my family LOVED them. My husband asked when I can make them again.
Sara! That is so great!!! Thank you for sharing that 🙂
My hubby is from Georgia and loves biscuits! I’ll uave to surprise them with these delish bites.
Oh my… These biscuits look so fluffy. I love that these are made with such a few and easily available ingredients. This is sure to be a hit at my place. Will make this very soon. Thanks for sharing☺
I love biscuits and this sounds like a pretty foolproof recipe. Thanks for sharing!
The biscuits looks so flaky and delicious. You shown an easy way to make perfect biscuits.
Could I bake these in my cast iron in the oven? Could mix all ingredients in my kitchen aid? I’ve been looking for this recipe and this is actually the recipe I’ve been look looking for!!
Hi there! Yes, you could bake them in your cast iron skillet! My husband does that all the time 😉 Be sure not to overmix the dough if using your stand mixer though!
made these to make breakfast sandwiches and they concluded very flavorful, buttery, light inside and crispy outside. Perfect for sandwich of bacon/egg/cheese. I made 6 instead of 12 as I wanted them substantial for fillers. I always make 7 up biscuits but now will make these instead.
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you enjoyed them 🙂 Your breakfast sandwich sounds DIVINE!
There’s nothing i love more than a fresh baked flaky biscuit! These look incredible – and my hubby’s birthday is coming up – he loves biscuits so I’ll definitely have to try these!
I need a biscuit recipe that I can make and rewarm at a family function. Would this be a good recipe to make and rewarm in the oven the next day? Thanks!
Hi Jeanna! Personally, I like my biscuits fresh, but my husband and kids will split these in half the next day (and even the next after that) and throw them under the broiler for a minute or two for quick reheating. They LOVE them! Hope you have a wonderful gathering 🙂
Does the dough freeze well?
Hi Lynn! The only pastry dough I’ve ever frozen is pie crust. That seems to do well — biscuits might, however, not sure their rise would be affected since biscuits contain a leavening agent whereas pie dough does not. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try. If I get around to it first, I’ll definitely let you know 😉 Great question!
Hello! I froze them already baked, and they are still good
Can you use self rising flour? It’s all I have???
No, it’s best to stick to the exact recipe. Glad you asked!
I have tried several bicuit recipes in the past, but I was never happy with the results. This recipe is so easy to put together and for the first time I was absolutely delighted with the outcome Thank you so much for sharing!
You are welcome, Alicia! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
I just made these, they are still sitting on the stove warm! My Southern mom just said they were delicious!! Thank you for this recipe, it will become a staple at my house!!!
It’s definitely a staple here 😉 Thanks so much, Mary!
Just made the biscuits and have to say, not a fan. I followed the recipe exactly and my biscuits don’t look anything like yours. My biscuits never grew very much. At some point I will try them again but it was pretty disappointing.
I made these with the food processor. Worked well. Was fast. These are yummy biscuits.
Made sausage gravy and had strawberry jalepeno jam with them and it was a hit!
Made these this morning for my husband. They are perfect, easy and delicious. Great recipe.
Hi, I’m wondering why your biscuit recipe uses both baking powder and baking soda? I thought baking soda would only be needed in addition to baking powder if there is an acid in the recipe. Thought I understood why each or both are used, but now I’m confused again.
Hi, Sam! Baking soda is also used to help tenderize baked goods. Hope that helps.
Can I substitute buttermilk for the regular milk?
Hi Angela! Here is a recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits: https://www.theanthonykitchen.com/homemade-buttermilk-biscuits/
can you use regualr table salt instead of the sea salt and if so how much. Thank you so much……
Sea salt is milder in flavor than regular table salt. I would recommend cutting the quantity back to a 1/2 tsp, just to be safe, if using table salt.
They were nice a fluffy but way too salty!! Tasted like play dough lol . Will not be making again.
Hi Laura! Happy to troubleshoot with you — was the interior cooked through? And was sea salt used in the recipe or table salt?
I’ve been experimenting with biscuits lately and these are my favorite so far. Quick, easy, and amazingly delicious. I froze my butter first and cut into small pieces since I dont have a pastry cutter. Worked like magic in creating the flaky layers I was after! Thanks!!
Not sure what happened on my end, but they didn’t work. Didn’t rise. Copied step for step 🙁 Big flop. I hoped it would have worked given the great reviews.
Hi Christina! It sounds like either one of your leaveners might have been old (or expired), or your butter wasn’t cold enough. I’m so sorry! Wishing you all the baking success in the future!
Wow! love the recipe!
Hi, I’m a Senior and wondered if I used Salted butter, being as I don’t have unsalted on hand…Could I use the salted buttered and not add sea salt. Thank you. They look delicious.
I think you could get away with that 😉