These easy buttermilk biscuits are a must for weekend breakfast! All you need are 6 ingredients, one bowl, and 30 minutes to make these buttery, soft, and flaky buttermilk biscuits from scratch. This quick and easy biscuit recipe makes a small batch of just 6 delicious, homemade biscuits.
I developed a whole new appreciation for buttermilk biscuits during our recent trip to the south. We ate so much incredible food during our time in Charleston and Savannah, and still one of the highlights was the biscuits that were served for breakfast at our B&B in Savannah. The biscuits were hot and flaky and dripping in honey. They practically melted in your mouth. They were just SO GOOD!
I found myself craving buttermilk biscuits after we returned home to Pittsburgh, so I rolled up my sleeves and put on my apron. I love making homemade biscuits because they're just so quick and easy. No need to wake up early in order to make breakfast. These small batch soft and flaky buttermilk biscuits take just 30 minutes from start to finish, so you can roll out of bed whenever you want and still be eating breakfast in no time! Plus, all you need are 6 ingredients and one bowl!
How to Make Quick & Easy Buttermilk Biscuits from Scratch
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add cubes of cold butter to the bowl and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms. Add buttermilk and stir until the dough is moistened.
- Knead the dough gently a few times on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to the dough and use a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. Re-roll the remaining dough to cut additional biscuits.
- Bake the biscuits for about 15 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden.
- Place the biscuits on a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm.
And here's a tip! When cutting the biscuit dough into circles, press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up, rather than twisting the cutter in the dough. Twisting the cutter can seal the edges of the dough, limiting the biscuits' rise.
The biscuits are delicious plain, and I love them with a drizzle of honey or a spread of jam. But they're great for so many things! You can top them with sausage gravy, use them in place of an English muffin to make eggs Benedict, or use them as the bread of a sandwich (this is especially great for a BLT). The options are endless!
Love these quick and easy buttermilk biscuits? Leave a review and be sure to check out these other easy breakfast recipes!
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Quick & Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 biscuits 1x
Description
All you need are 6 ingredients, one bowl, and 30 minutes to make these buttery, soft, and flaky buttermilk biscuits from scratch. This quick and easy biscuit recipe makes a small batch of just 6 delicious, homemade biscuits.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp. granulated sugar
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup (4 T) unsalted butter, cold
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Slice the cold butter into cubes and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms. Add the buttermilk slowly and stir until the dough becomes moistened.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently a few times. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to ½ inch thickness. Dip the edges of a 2 ½ inch circle cutter in flour, then use it to cut the dough into circles. (Tip: Press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up to cut the dough, rather than twisting the cutter in the dough. Twisting the cutter can seal the edges of the dough and limit the biscuits' rise.) Re-roll the remaining dough to cut additional biscuits.
- Place the biscuit dough circles in a cast iron skillet or close together on a a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the edges are slightly golden, about 15 minutes.
- Place the biscuits on a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm with the toppings of your choice.
Notes
Storage: Biscuits are best when fresh but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.
- Category: Breakfast
Keywords: buttermilk biscuits, homemade biscuits, small batch biscuits, flaky buttermilk biscuits, easy buttermilk biscuits
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This post was updated in August 2020 to provide an improved user experience.
Perfection! Without a doubt the best I've ever made. I especially like the amount of biscuits it makes, exactly right for my 8" C.I. griddle that I pre-heat. Thank you so much...I will make these often
I’m so glad you love this recipe! Happy baking!
What if you don,t have buttermilk.
Hi Phyllis! If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can make your own. Combine 1/2 cup milk and 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice or distilled vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until the milk curdles, then whisk it together to combine. You can use this mixture in place of the 1/2 cup buttermilk in the recipe.
Finally the perfect small batch buttermilk biscuit recipe. These came out so soft and delicious and were a breeze to make. I only had White Lily self-raising flour so I did have to adapt a bit but the method is spot on. My new go-to.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Shelley! I'm so glad that you love this recipe! Happy baking 🙂
xx Allison
Will try these tomorrow 😊❤️sounds Great! Thanks and God Bless!
Super good and super easy! Made my own "cheater" buttermilk and turned out great. Love the small batch.
★★★★★
Thanks, Jill! I'm so glad you loved this recipe!
xx Allison
Allison, I absolutely Love this recipe and love the small batch! My biscuits were perfect and reheat incredibly well! I did add two tablespoons of natural starter and reduced the flour by a tablespoon and buttermilk by a tablespoon! I like adding my starter to just about everything. These were sooooo good!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the glowing review, Gail! I love the idea of adding a bit of starter, and I'm so glad that you loved the biscuits!
xx Allison
Finally I've found the perfect biscuit. The small amount was exactly what I was looking for
Pressed dough out with fingers and folded dough 5 times. I was able to get 3 large biscuits. Nice tall and fluffy. Delicious
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing your review, Sherri! I’m so glad to hear you loved the biscuits!
So... this recipe needs double the amount of flour. My dough was extremely wet with just one cup of flour.
★★
Hi Amy! I'm sorry to hear that this recipe didn't meet your expectations. The dough for these biscuits does have more moisture than some other biscuit doughs, though the dough should not be extremely wet, as you mentioned. I've had lots of success making deliciously buttery biscuits with this recipe.
-Allison
Quick and easy indeed. These biscuits were light and fluffy as well. I added melted butter before and after baking (couldn't help myself). Good recipe 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
★★★★
So glad you loved the recipe! Thanks so much for your review, Raquel!
-Allison
What starter are you talking about?
Hi Ruth! Are you referring to Gail's comment above? I believe that she was referring to a bit of homemade sourdough starter. I haven't tried adding sourdough starter to this recipe, so I can't personally vouch for it, but she seemed to like it 🙂
-Allison
My biscuits never rise. Followed recipe exactly.
★★★★★
Hi Susan. My first suggestion would be to double check the freshness of your baking powder. Both baking soda and baking powder work best when replaced 3 months after opening to ensure that they're fresh and will give your baked goods the proper rise.
-Allison
Made biscuits..was an easy recipe to make. I grated frozen butter, instead of cutting pieces into flour. It took longer than 15 mins to cook..maybe oven temp, size, or pan cooked in.
Great flavor, but did not rise like pictured (checked expiration date of all ingredients.) Will try again and follow exact recipe.
Hi Sharon! The size of the butter pieces in the dough contribute to the biscuits' rise and flakiness, so I definitely recommend following the recipe and cutting the butter into the flour rather than grating the butter.
- Allison
What size of cast iron pan did you use? Did you put anything in the pan so they wouldn't stick?
Hi Rose! The cast iron skillet shown in the photos is just 6 inches and only fits 4 biscuits. For baking a full recipe (6 biscuits), a skillet that's 8 or 10 inches would be best. The biscuits shouldn't stick to a well seasoned cast iron skillet so I don't add anything to the skillet. Sometimes I'll bake the biscuits on a baking sheet, which I do line with parchment paper.
- Allison
Love this recipe!!!
★★★★★
I’m so glad to hear it! Thank you for your review, Tom!
- Allison
I attempted this recipe and they were awful!! Make good paperweights! Not flaky, didn’t rise. Looked like stones 🥺
★
Mine didn’t rise even with fresh ingredients. I’m thinking it was because all I had was whole milk in hand and no lemon or vinegar to make buttermilk with. Flavor was good tho so I’ll try again
Hi Tori! This dough definitely relies on buttermilk, so I'm not surprised that whole milk didn't yield great results. I would recommend store bought buttermilk rather than substituting a DIY version made from milk and lemon/vinegar for optimal results. Happy baking!
- Allison
Love this recipe!!!
Thanks for sharing it. Make it all the time and my wife and I can’t get enough. So easy and delicious!!👍😊
Thank you so much for your review, TJ! I'm so glad to hear that you and your wife love this recipe 🙂
- Allison
Allison, I have not ever been able to make biscuits from scratch, but am hoping for success tonight! They went together easily, using all the correct ingredients. Needed a biscuit for dinner and am in quarantine, so could not go out and get any. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
These biscuits were delish but I did need a bit more flour
For years I made biscuits every Saturday morning. A whole batch is just too much for us now and biscuits are best when eaten the some day. These little gems are delicious and just the right amount for us empty nesters. Normally I have self-rising and AP flour but this morning I only had self rising. I simply left out the baking powder and salt. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Hi Delilah! Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad that you love this recipe, and I agree... a small batch recipe just makes sense when biscuits are best eaten the same day. Happy baking!
- Allison
Best biscuits I’ve ever made. Not salty at all however I did use non salted butter. Thanks!!
I'm so glad that you love them! Thank you for your review, Vanessa!
- Allison