18 Light and Flaky Homemade Biscuit Recipes

Flaky Biscuits — The Spruce / Cara Cormack

The South is famous for many iconic foods and biscuits are surely near the top of the list—but, this beloved baked good can be be found around the globe. Biscuits can be buttered hot and served plain, or topped with sausage gravy, ham, or chicken. They're even used to make old-fashioned biscuit pudding dessert, breakfast casseroles, and stuffing or dressing.

The good news is, you don't have to be a pastry chef to make delicious biscuits, but there are a few technique tips to know. Soft wheat flour produces a higher and lighter biscuit than harder wheat flour, and many cooks swear by buttermilk, self-rising flour, shortening, and other "secrets."

The real key, however, is in the handling of the dough. Once the dough is moist, work it just a few times, or only until it holds together. Pat the dough out or roll it lightly and cut it into rounds or squares. The biscuits you cut after you re-roll the scraps will be a bit denser, so keep them in a designated portion of the baking pan.

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Make-Ahead Buttermilk Biscuits

The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

Prepare and freeze these easy make-ahead buttermilk biscuits and bake one or a dozen whenever you like. The savory pucks are made with butter and buttermilk, but add a tablespoon or two of sugar if you like them slightly sweet.
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Paleo Biscuits With Almond Flour and Honey

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Need something to put that Paleo Pepper Gravy over? Look no further these crunchy yet crumbly biscuits are totally Paleo and delicious at that. No matter what type or flavor you are looking for in a delicious, paleo-friendly biscuit you can adjust it and get exactly what you want.
03 of 18

Easy Homemade Breakfast Biscuits

The Spruce Eats / Tara Omidvar

For easy, flaky, homemade biscuits, this easy recipe is made from nothing more than flour, baking powder, shortening, milk, and a bit of salt. These biscuits are simple to make and fast, making them perfect for breakfast time, but they're also a delicious side dish for dinner, too.
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Quick Beer Biscuits

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

These easy quick beer biscuits take no longer than 25 minutes from start to finish. The savory rounds are excellent with soups and stews (like this chicken stew) or dipped into a hearty chili.

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Flaky Biscuits

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

This recipe for flaky biscuits is really foolproof, but each batch you make will be better than the last. Practice really does make perfect in this case. Notice the different ingredients and proportions in this biscuit recipe. The bread flour is necessary because, for flaky layers, you need more gluten, or protein, in the biscuits.
06 of 18

Duck Fat Biscuits

Diana Rattray

Duck fat has many uses since it has a fairly high smoke point. It's great for roasted and deep-fried vegetables, and it's even making a name for itself as fat for baked goods. These duck fat biscuits are a prime example.
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Sour Cream Biscuits

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

You can easily go sweet or savory with sour cream biscuits, which pair wonderfully with syrup and jam or topped with slivers of country ham or sausage gravy.
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Blueberry Biscuits

The Spruce Eats / Anita Schecter

For breakfast or brunch, bake blueberry biscuits. Fresh berries and lemon zest give them an inviting flavor, while the lemon glaze adds the ideal finishing touch.

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Buttermilk Biscuits

The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

Say hello to the classic Southern biscuit. These straightforward buttermilk biscuits contain a combination of butter, flour, and buttermilk to form a fluffy, light round.
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Sausage Cheddar Biscuits

The Spruce / Leah Maroney

Cooked sausage, cheddar cheese, and herbs add to the savory goodness of these sausage cheddar biscuits. The biscuits are a little out-of-the-ordinary—in a good way!—because they are baked in a casserole dish.
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Savory Pumpkin Biscuits

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Here's yet another tasty way to use pumpkin pureé—in savory pumpkin biscuits! A small amount of brown sugar and a dash of cayenne help deepen the pumpkin flavor and add a zippy kick.
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Brown Butter and Sage Biscuits

The Spruce / Nita West

These brown butter and sage biscuits have an extra nutty flavor. The combination of herbs makes them an excellent choice for Thanksgiving dinner or the leftovers.

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Easy Cream Biscuits

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

The heavy cream provides the fat in these rich easy cream biscuits. All you need is five simple ingredients and a bit of melted butter for the golden-brown tops.
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Dairy-Free Vegan Bisquick Biscuits

The Spruce

You may not know this, but Bisquick Pancake and Baking Mix is actually dairy-free and vegan, which allows for all sorts of variations on this simple biscuit recipe. Add your favorite herbs, spices, or even dairy-free cheese to your dough to add a personal touch to these simple treats.
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Pennsylvania Dutch Lard Biscuits

The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

The rich culinary heritage of the Pennsylvania Dutch means their classic cooking methods and ingredients are still used on a daily basis. When it comes to biscuits, lard gives them the perfect texture. Easy to make, these savory biscuits can be on your table in less than 20 minutes.
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Sourdough Biscuits

The Spruce / Christine Ma

This recipe is great for sourdough bakers who do not like wasting starter. These biscuits are not sourdough in the true sense because biscuits are a quick bread and sourdough requires fermentation. The taste is more like buttermilk biscuits, except here the cultured tang comes from sourdough starter discarded as part of the refreshment process.

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Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Pete Scherer

Cheddar Bay biscuits were invented by Red Lobster executive chef Kurt Hankins, sometime in the late eighties or early nineties. Cheddar bay biscuits are dropped, which means that to form the biscuits, you simply scoop some dough and drop it on the baking sheet, no rolling or cutting necessary.
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Irish Soda Drop Biscuits

The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

Irish soda drop biscuits are a great twist on the classic Irish soda bread, a quick bread that uses baking soda (or bread soda, as it is referred to in Ireland) as the leavening agent, instead of yeast. The buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to form little bubbles in the dough, making for a light and airy bread.

18 Flaky Homemade Biscuit Recipes