Recipe Summary
Easy to make, perfectly buttery, flaky, and layered Southern Biscuits!
11gFat
4gProtein
If you grew up anywhere near a Southern table, you know biscuits were not optional. Warm, buttery, and pulled apart in flaky layers, they showed up at breakfast, at supper, and just about everywhere in between. These southern biscuits are the from-scratch recipe I kept coming back to after years of chasing the ones I remembered.
I went looking for this recipe in earnest when I lived in England and then Ireland and missed a proper Southern biscuit something fierce. My mom had her version, but ingredients have changed over the years and hers never quite turned out the same for me. This one does — every single time. My biggest baking tip holds here: use the freshest, best-quality ingredients you can get, especially the baking powder.
❤️ Why You’ll Love These Southern Biscuits
- Tall, flaky layers. Frozen grated butter and a simple fold-and-stack method give you biscuits that pull apart in sheets.
- Five ingredients. Flour, baking powder, salt, butter, buttermilk — nothing you have to hunt for.
- Ready in 25 minutes. Ten minutes of hands-on work, fifteen in the oven, and they are on the table.
- As Southern as it gets. Butter and honey, biscuits and gravy, or split under fried chicken — these hold up to all of it.
Why This Southern Biscuit Recipe Works
There are a lot of biscuit recipes out there, but three things make this one reliably deliver that tall, flaky, layered result.
Frozen grated butter. Cold butter is non-negotiable in a good biscuit, but frozen and grated takes it further. It distributes through the dough in tiny pieces that turn to steam pockets as they bake — and those steam pockets are your layers.
Layering and folding. Before cutting, the dough gets folded and stacked a few times. That is what builds the distinct layers you can see and pull apart once the biscuits come out of the oven. Do not skip it, and do not rush it.
Never twisting the cutter. Press straight down and lift straight up. Twisting seals the cut edge and stops the biscuit from rising tall. A small thing that makes a big difference. If you love a good from-scratch bake, our Dutch oven bread is another one worth keeping in the rotation.
What You’ll Need
Just five ingredients go into these biscuits — the full amounts are in the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour — the base; no special flour required.
- Baking powder — the lift. Make sure yours is fresh, or the biscuits will bake up flat.
- Salt — for flavor and balance.
- Unsalted butter — frozen, then grated. This is the heart of the layers.
- Buttermilk — for tang and tenderness. No buttermilk? Stir a teaspoon of lemon juice into a cup of milk and let it sit five minutes.
How to Make Southern Biscuits
Here is the short version — the full step-by-step is in the recipe card below. Grate frozen butter into the dry ingredients, stir in cold buttermilk just until the dough comes together, then pat it out, fold and stack it three times, and cut. Bake hot at 450°F until golden. Keep the dough cold and your hands quick, and the biscuits do the rest.
Tips for Flaky Biscuits
- Keep the butter cold. Frozen and grated is the move. If it starts to soften while you work, put the whole bowl in the freezer for five minutes.
- Do not overwork the dough. Mix until just combined and stop. Overworked dough turns dense and tough — a few shaggy bits are perfectly fine.
- Flour your hands, not the dough. Extra flour worked into the dough dries the biscuits out. Flour your hands and surface instead, and handle the dough as little as possible.
- Cut straight down. No twisting. A sharp-edged drinking glass works if you do not have a cutter, as long as you press clean and straight.
What to Serve With Southern Biscuits
A good biscuit is one of the most versatile things on a table. Keep it simple with butter and honey or a good jam straight out of the oven. Make it a meal by splitting them under sausage gravy, eggs, or a piece of fried chicken. And do not overlook them as a side — biscuits are wonderful next to soups and chili, soaking up every last bit at the bottom of the bowl.
If you really want to do these biscuits justice, turn them into biscuits and gravy — and pour a cold glass of sweet iced tea alongside. That is about as Southern as a meal gets.
Southern Biscuit Troubleshooting
- Flat biscuits. Usually old baking powder — it loses potency over time. Test it by dropping a teaspoon into hot water; if it bubbles vigorously you are good, if it just sits there, replace it.
- Dense biscuits. Overworked dough. Once you have mixed and folded, stop. The more you handle it, the more gluten develops and the tougher the biscuit.
- Lopsided rise. You twisted the cutter. It seals one side of the edge more than the other. Press straight down, lift straight up, every time.
- Pale tops. The oven is running cool. Preheat it fully, and if the biscuits are baking through but staying pale, move the rack up a position for the last few minutes.
Southern Biscuits FAQ
Can I make biscuits without buttermilk?
Yes. Stir 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup of milk and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It curdles slightly and works just like buttermilk.
Why are my biscuits flat?
Almost always old baking powder — it loses its potency over time. Test it in hot water; if it does not bubble vigorously, replace it. Twisting the cutter when cutting can also keep biscuits from rising.
Can I freeze biscuit dough?
Yes. Cut the biscuits, freeze them on a tray until solid, then transfer to a bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the time.
Why do you grate the butter?
Grating frozen butter spreads it evenly through the dough in tiny pieces without overworking it. Those pieces melt into steam pockets in the oven, and the steam pockets are what create the flaky layers.
Do I need a biscuit cutter?
No. A sharp-edged drinking glass works fine. You can also skip cutting altogether and slice the dough into squares — no scraps and no re-rolling.
How do I store leftover biscuits?
Biscuits are best the day they are baked. Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two, and warm them briefly in the oven to bring back the texture.
If biscuits are already on your mind for brunch, this sausage biscuit casserole takes the same cozy flavors and turns them into a make-ahead dish for a crowd.
Southern Biscuits
Ingredients
Method
- Place the butter in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt, mix well.
- Using a box grater, grate the hardened butter then add to flour mixture, mixing through. (By grating the butter, this eliminates the cutting the butter into the flour step).
- Add in the buttermilk and stir until the dough is moistened. Fold-out dough onto a lightly floured parchment sheet. Roll or with flour-dusted hands, pat dough out into a rectangle. Cut dough into thirds, then stack the dough to form 3 layers. Roll or pat out again and repeat the same process 2 more times.
- Roll or pat dough out again until about 3/4 inch thick and either cut into rectangles or using a 2 1/2 - 3 inch circle cutter, gently cut out biscuits. DO NOT TWIST cutter, simply press down firmly. ( You can gather scraps and roll out again to cut remaining biscuits, but they will not be as "perfect" as the first batch).
- Place the biscuit dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. For soft sides, place biscuits with sides touching, or for crispier edges place 1 - 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated 450°F oven for 10 - 15 minutes, or until golden.
- Best served same days as baked.
Nutrition
Notes
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You had me at biscuit! Yummy! I can’t wait to make this!!
Thank you Elaine! Hope you enjoy!
Beautiful biscuits! Pass the sausage gravy, please!
Thank you Amanda! Yes, sausage gravy!!!
I LOVE homemade biscuits. They are so much better than canned.
Completely agree. Thank you Kimberly!
In the ingredients can you substitute butter milk with something else & what would be the limitations. Thank you in advance..
Hello Travis!
When I’m out of buttermilk and must make biscuits, I usually use regular milk with a bit of lemon juice or white vinegar – 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. For other options, this is a great article to refer to https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/substitute-buttermilk-baking-article I hope this helps and that you enjoy the biscuits! 🙂
Oh, these look so incredibly flaky and buttery! The easiest recipes are always the best
Thank you Katrin, and yes the easiest recipes are so tasty!
These look so perfect, and so tender. The perfect comfort food for the cold winter months ahead!
Thanks Taylor! 🙂
This is similar to the recipe l’ve been using for close to 10 yrs. I made the following changes; 1 & 1/2 cup of flour & 1/2 cup of cake flour & 3/4 cups of buttermilk, it makes biscuits lighter. I have a cast iron pan l only use for baking biscuits ?
Sounds so good, and I absolutely love my cast iron pans too, for just about everything!
I’m not sure I’ve ever left a comment on a recipe before. I’ve tried 100s of biscuit recipes, came up with my own which was amazing, but I lost when my computer crashed, and I’ve finally found a replacement. These biscuits are perfect!! I tripled the recipe and am freezing the extras. Seriously, the best biscuits I’ve ever had!
Thank you so much Ashley for letting me know!!! You’ve made my day! I’m so glad that you were able to find a replacement recipe, I’ve lost so many recipes like that, and that’s kind of why I started a blog, lol…to keep track of them. Enjoy!
Do you freeze the dough or the baked product?
Hi Amanda! You can freeze the dough in a sealed container or freezer bag until you are ready to bake. Allow them to thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours before baking. Alternatively, you can fully bake them and then freeze as well, this I have not personally done, but have had others who have tried and succeeded. My thought is thta they may not have as freshly baked taste this way though. I hope this helps! 🙂
Beautiful biscuits! Pass the sausage gravy, please!
This is similar to the recipe l’ve been using for close to 10 yrs. I made the following changes; 1 & 1/2 cup of flour & 1/2 cup of cake flour & 3/4 cups of buttermilk, it makes biscuits lighter. I have a cast iron pan l only use for baking biscuits ?
I’m not sure I’ve ever left a comment on a recipe before. I’ve tried 100s of biscuit recipes, came up with my own which was amazing, but I lost when my computer crashed, and I’ve finally found a replacement. These biscuits are perfect!! I tripled the recipe and am freezing the extras. Seriously, the best biscuits I’ve ever had!
My family love biscuits. These are by far the lightest highest biscuits I have ever made. Delicious and easy too. They are a winner
Hello just came across your recipe they look amazing!! I’m not a fan of buttermilk could I use halve heavy cream 1/2 milk instead do they have to be made with buttermilk?
Hiya Reba! I’ve made many biscuits without buttermilk and used a mix of creams/milks before to improvise. I have also used milk that has just started going off, not great for drinking but makes wonderful biscuits. I hope this helps! 🙂
can you make the biscuits and freeze them before baking them??
Hello Adele! I personally haven’t tried, but a friend has. You can freeze the premade biscuits for up to a month, the only drawback is that they will not rise as much once frozen. I hope this helps. 🙂
I’ve been looking for a biscuit like this! The only thing is mine didn’t rise with all the layers. It must be one of my ingredients 😌 , or I may just need more banking powder. Flavor is on point and I can’t wait to have them with my kiddos and both sausage gravy and chocolate gravy!
Hi Sarah! I’m so glad you found this recipe. I will say that to ensure the layers are there, the baking powder needs to be fresh. I know from experience, lol. If I haven’t used my baking powder in a while, I buy a new one so that I can get the best results. I will also buy a bag of new flour too for the same reason just to be on the safe side. I hope everyone enjoyed! 🙂
Is really only 2cups flour? I followed the recipe exact and the dough was very runny. I did add more flour, but it didn’t get the right consistency.
Hello Gail Ann! I’m not sure why yours turned out on the runny side. I did double-check my quantities and they are correct and what how I make them, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. I know from personal experience that if I use only a dry or only a liquid measuring cup to measure both the liquid and dry ingredients, then I end up with a mess and the recipe might not turn out as it should. Hopefully, if you give it a go again, it will work. Have a wonderful new year!
New fav recipe for biscuits!, made them two Saturdays in a row 💕
Yah! I’m so happy they’re your new favorite! Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
Can i use milk or heavy cream instead of buttermilk?
Hello Linda, If you use milk for the buttermilk, just use the same amount of milk with 1 tsp of lemon juice mixed into and allowed to “rest” for about 5 minutes. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Stacy, I have never responded to a recipe and I have made biscuits for 30+ years. Your technique produce the best biscuits I have ever made or eaten. For others thinking about this recipe follow the technique. Many previous recipe have the same ingredients but results are very different using this technique.
Hello Sherry! OMG, thank you so much, I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe and enjoyed them! And thank you for taking the time to respond and leave a comment!!! 🙂
After 2 failed attempts at another biscuit recipe, that called for far too much butter. (Yes, it IS possible to put too much butter in a biscuit recipe.) I turned to this recipe and was thrilled with the results. I made the first batch and IMMEDIATELY mixed up a double batch and baked those to deliver to some friends and family with some Strawberry Freezer Jam I had just finished making. This recipe is definitely a keeper and your instructions are fantastically and perfectly detailed. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much, Ashlea! I’m so glad that this is a keeper recipe for you and that you enjoyed them so much! (Especially with yummy Strawberry Freezer Jam!) 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe. I always thought making biscuits was going to be a long process, but this recipe is super quick and makes great biscuits! Definitely makes it easier to make a fully.homemade breakfast on those mornings where I don’t really want to do anything. Today we are trying to fry the biscuits in oil and covering with cinnamon and sugar (to make donuts just like mom used to make with canned biscuits). Hoping it goes well!
Oh my goodness, thank you so much Tara!!! I’m so glad that you love this recipe, it’s one of my absolute favorites too. I think I need to try making them with the cinnamon and sugar … that sounds amazing!
Ok, I have to admit that I do buy frozen biscuits
(mainly only as a time saver) but my kids do like them. I do make homemade occasionally. We were going to have breakfast for dinner and I went to the freezer and there were NONE!! I was REALLY hungry for biscuits so, of course, I went to Pinterest. Stacey, your recipe was the second one I looked at. I thought, I have all the ingredients and they sound easy! I tried them and OMG!!! These were by far the best biscuits I have ever made!! EVER!!
Definitely going to be my go to recipe from now on!!
Thanks for sharing your delicious biscuit recipe!! 💜
Kelli thank you so much for letting me know, you have made my day! I’m so glad that you are loving on my biscuits!!! Keep enjoying them 🙂
I added lemon zest to the dough to give the biscuits that slightly elevated bright flavor to pair well with the macerated strawberries. Delish. Lots of layers to these biscuits!
Oh lemon would be a definite yum and yes… with strawberries…. sounds yum! Glad you enjoyed them and experimenting with them!
Stacey,
we liked the biscuits! Just baked them 30 mins ago and they are gone! 🙂 Thank you!
I don’t have buttermilk, but used Greek Yogurt+water. Works too.
Since I’m not American, but hubby is, I do try to cook and learn a lot of American recipes from food bloggers as you.
Thankful for your job!
Hi Vicky! Thank you!!!! I’m so glad that you like the biscuits! And happy that you tried it with the Greek yogurt and water as a substitute…great idea!
Hello, Dear Stacey!
For a long time, my friends from USA, have been telling me how delicious Southern biscuits are. They sent me pictures and different recipes, but I wasn’t particularly impressed. I decided to dig through the net to get an idea of what these biscuits should actually look like, and whether I would find a recipe that would not be questioned. I found you and your recipe. The biscuits I made became perfect. I sent pictures to my friends who had sent me their recipes, and they were all amazed. One of them told me that his biscuits had never looked so good, and asked for the recipe. I sent the link to him.
He was fascinated.
I wanted to tell you this story of your recipe, because this recipe is now a favorite in an ordinary Bulgarian family, very, very far from USA.
Thank you for that.
Thank you Tanya! I’m so glad that you had the opportunity to give them a try! And I love your story, thank you again for taking the time to share! 🙂
I will start off by saying I am not a baker of any kind….today I watched my cousins kids that are 8 and 7, for the most part they watch way to much tv, so I decided to try something in the kitchen with them. I picked buscuits but not this recipie and although it was great fun teaching them about measurements and such it wasn’t the best recipe. So I began a search for a different one and ran across yours, I will definitely be trying it! I do have a question about step 5, how thick should the layers be before cutting into thirds and stacking?
Hi Paula! I’m sure your cousins’ kids would not only enjoy making these but also gobbling them up! I usually try to make them about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick…the thicker the taller so I always lean toward the 1/2 inch mark. Just keeping in mind that too thick the longer the bake time might be depending on how hot your oven runs. 🙂
I made your biscuits this afternoon here in chilly Nova Scotia. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I’ve made biscuits before in my lifetime and while they were pretty good, they don’t even come close to yours! I guess the rumours are true … Southern girls know their biscuits! Thank you ever so much for this recipe. It has become my ONLY biscuit recipe from this day forward!
Oh my goodness Judy! Thank you so much for letting me know, I’m so happy that y’all enjoyed them. You made my day!!! 🙂
This was the easiest, fun first time biscuit recipe. Thank you!
Next is Banana Pudding~
Thank you, Anna! I’m so glad you tried my favorite biscuits and enjoyed them! … next, enjoy that banana pudding 😉
Mine were flat, wondering why they didn’t rise? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hello Wendy! Thank you for reaching out! Some of the possible reasons that the biscuits didn’t rise are that the butter/fat ingredient is not cold enough, the other would be that the oven wasn’t hot enough when the biscuits went in the oven. Other possible reasons: fully mixing the dry ingredients first, followed by fully incorporating the butter … I have done this one myself, I was in a hurry, dumped all the butter in, and didn’t fully incorporate it, plus I allowed my butter to warm up too much and therefore it wasn’t cold enough and I had flat biscuits. I now like to go ahead and grate my frozen butter stick, put it in a Ziploc bag, then place it back in the freezer for when I need it. Hope this helps!
I love this recipe, so fabulous and flaky. I added one tablespoon of sugar and placed the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes before kneading. A total hit, no more canned biscuits for me.
Oh thank you so much, I’m so glad you love it! AND I love the tweaks you made!!! Thank you 🙂
*****
I hate having to get out everything to make biscuits that being said I make 3 recipes at a time and store in my freeze. When I want to make biscuits I measure out the amount needed and make from 4 to 10 biscuits as many as needed. I found that I can have a pan ready to bake by the time my oven heats. Everyone knows frozen butter makes the best biscuits.
Hi Stacy, I don’t generally leave remarks on food recipes but I had to say thank you for such a great recipe, I have never had such a tasty biscuit before and the layers are wonderful, I have been cooking for years and I love trying new recipes and I have to say this one is right at the top. Thank you!
Thank you so much Leilani! You made my day!!!
Used to make biscuits for a bakery, I thought this would be close enough, but it’s definitely not.
This biscuit recipe has become a must have for my family! I double the batch and freeze half of them. My husband can not have butter milk so I use 1 cup whole milk, 1 cup heavy whipping cream! Lovely…
Yay Eileen!!! I’m so happy that y’all have adopted this recipe into your family! And yes, milk and whipping cream are certainly great substitutes for the buttermilk in this recipe. I’m glad y’all enjoy them, you’ve made my day!
Hie Stacey
I made these beauties, first time to make flaky buiscuits. l tripple the recipe and used self raising flour and added some sugar. They turned out great, flaky , crispy outside and fluffy inside.My daughter and l thoroughly enjoyed them. Adding the recipe to my favourites. Thanks for sharing
These are so good! I added a 1/4 of sugar to mine when I made a double batch and it was even better!
OMG, I have been trying for YEARS to find a biscuit recipe that comes close to those refrigerator biscuits my husband likes. While even most biscuits have been my Achilles heel my whole life (60 yrs) these are out of this world. So easy, I made a ‘test’ batch whipping it up in the amount of time stated in the recipe. I thought I had made them a little too thin on the roll out but they puffed up like no bodies business. So l will be making these from now on. So easy so tasty!! Thank you for this recipe!!
The best biscuits I ever made. The recipe was well written and easy to understand.
I loved this recipe it was so yummy