Easy Flaky Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
These easy flaky buttermilk drop biscuits are amazing. No rolling, no cutting out…they are just as delicious as finicky, classic homemade biscuits.
Biscuits are probably one of the most oft-made carby side dishes in our house. Long before I conquered the intimidating-to-me classic, rolled out biscuit, drop biscuits were there to save me.
In fact, I probably can’t even begin to count how many times we’ve made these easy flaky buttermilk drop biscuits. And by “we” I literally mean all of us. They are so easy, even my kids can make them with hardly any helicoptering.
They’re the perfect beginner biscuit recipe. But they’re delicious enough to stick around as an all-time favorite.
Let’s Make Them
Toss all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium-ish bowl. This recipe makes about 12 biscuits.
Here’s the secret to this recipe
Then, in a liquid measuring cup or smaller bowl mix together the buttermilk and melted butter.
This, right here, is the secret to getting such an easy drop biscuit to be flaky and tender.
As the warm, melted butter mixes with the cold buttermilk, small clumps of hardened butter form. It’ll look a little curdled and gross, but don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours, because those small bits of butter are what make the texture of the biscuits absolutely perfect.
Add the butter/buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to combine everything together.
Don’t Overmix
Just like any other good biscuit recipe, you don’t want to over mix the dough. Mix just until everything is combined.
A few little lumps and bumps here and there are just fine.
How to drop the biscuits
Since these are “drop biscuits” – you don’t need to mess around with rolling out the dough and cutting out the biscuits. The dough literally gets dropped right onto a baking sheet.
Lightly grease a 1/4-cup measuring cup with cooking spray and scoop out a pretty even mound of biscuit dough.
You could also use a large #20 cookie scoop {aff. link}. Basically you want about 1/4 cup of dough for every biscuit.
I use a butter knife to gently extricate the tad bit sticky dough from the cup. If you’re measuring cups have special powers, perhaps the biscuit dough will just fall right out.
Lucky you. 🙂
Plop those biscuits onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
You can space them a couple inches apart, or you can put them much closer together if you want the attached-, pull-apart biscuits vibe going on.
Bake them in a piping hot oven for about 12 minutes. Maybe 14. Maybe 13 1/2. Watch them closely. Every oven is a bit different.
These easy flaky drop biscuits are insanely delicious right out of the oven. Smother them with butter and jam, and I guarantee you won’t even care what else is being served for dinner, why the laundry hasn’t magically folded itself, or what your name is.
They are that good.
Even next-day, these biscuits are super tasty. We like to warm them up with a quick 8-second stint in the micro, but it’s not necessary. And let’s be honest, there usually aren’t any leftovers.
A couple extra notes
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled
- The jam you see slathered on those biscuits is a strawberry bluebarb (blueberry + rhubarb) concoction I made and canned last summer and is easily the tastiest jam I have ever made and wouldn’t you know it, I only made six jars, and now I can’t find where I wrote down the recipe. I’ve literally torn my house and pantry and unorganized recipe note files apart to no avail. I’m drowning my sorrows in drop biscuits, hoarded jam jars, and chocolate.
- I have made this recipe with buttermilk substitutions like lemon juice + milk and sour cream + milk, and while they work in a pinch, nothing beats real, live buttermilk in this recipe.
FAQs for Simple Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
I just pop them in a ziploc bag and store them at room temp (we pop them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds for a quick warmup before eating the leftovers).
Yes, you can make the batter and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake.
The recipe relies on acidity (from the buttermilk) to turn out properly so the biscuits are tender and fluffy. Using plain milk may not yield the same results. But you can sub in half sour cream/half milk for the buttermilk.
Easy Flaky Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk chilled (see note)
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) butter, melted and slightly cooled (I use salted butter)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a 2-cup liquid measure or small bowl, stir together the chilled buttermilk and melted butter until the butter forms small clumps and the mixture looks curdled.
- Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture slightly pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
- Using a greased 1/4-cup measure or large #20 cookie scoop, portion the dough and drop them onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake the biscuits until the tops are golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush with additional melted butter. Serve warm.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from America’s Test Kitchen
Recipe originally published May 2011; updated January 2020 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Wow, this is one of those “don’t need to look anymore” recipes.
Thank you so much. Think that honey butter recipe will go well with these!
Made these tonight and they were super yummy! Thank you!
These are my new go-to biscuits!! Undercooked just a bit they Saar perfect for breakfast sandwiches, a little overdone and they’re sturdy enough for biscuits and gravy… Cook them just perfect and they’re dessert with honey and butter.
Thank you!!
Thank you- I lost my standby recipe and this looks similar. I triple the recipe, mixing all dry ingredients in a food processor then adding in cold butter to texture of peas. Then I freeze this in three freezer bags, dividing in thirds by weight. When I want biscuits – simply grab a bag, dump in bowl, break up clumps with my hands and stir in buttermilk or yogurt. Bake as you instruct. It is a great treat to have fresh biscuits easily on hand!
Just made these easy biscuits! I used half whole wheat. They turned out fantastic! How about my husband said they were the best homemade biscuits he’s ever had, I think it’s because I covered them with butter and honey 🙂 I’m going to cover the rest with strawberrys and whipped cream!!
DS – I give credit for all the recipes I use unless they are originals of mine. You’ll note under the recipe that I got this from America’s Test Kitchen (the parent company of Cook’s Illustrated).
This recipe was *borrowed* from the November 2007 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.
Brittany – sorry, I just realized you said you already read through the comments!
Brittany – I’ve never frozen these so I can’t tell you exactly (did you read through the comments…someone may have tried it) but my recommendation would be to freeze them before baking. Good luck if you try it!
Hi Mel! I tried to read through the other comments to see if you already answered this question, but didn’t see it anywhere…
Are these freezable? If so, would you reccommend freezing them before or after baking?
Thanks so much!!
These biscuits are amaaaaazing! I have no need to try and make fussier biscuits after these easy and delicious ones! I am convinced that they are a piece of what heaven must be like when they are fresh from the oven! I don’t use buttermilk because I never have it on hand, but I don’t think it makes a difference because my boyfriend and myself enjoy them all the same. Thanks for this recipe!
Made these for dinner tonight, with chili, and they are AWESOME! …we won’t say how many of these I ate for dinner (4), but between these biscuits and the S’more cookie bars I’ve eaten today…I think I’ve consumed an entire stick of butter. Oh boy.
Made these tonight! They were super yummy and probably the easiest biscuits I’ve ever made. I love that I didn’t have to cut in the butter! Thanks for sharing.
This recipe calls for meaningfully more butter than any biscuit recipe I’ve ever seen (probably why they’re so good!). I reduced it to 4T butter and left everything else the same and they were still probably the best scratch biscuits I’ve ever had. I think buttermilk is such a treasure of an ingredient (which I improvised with skim milk and vinegar).
These are AWESOME! I did decrease the butter by half and increase the milk a splash with no noticeable difference. Followed another reviewer & froze the leftover that didn’t fit on the pan & cooked them up the next day. They seemed even more moist! Will definitely make more to have on hand in the freezer. Must make chicken soup to have with it now…
These are truly wonderful biscuits. They are easily adapted to gluten-free/vegan. Just use a a true all-purpose GF flour (Pamela’s or Better Batter would work great here), or make your own and be sure to add some xanthan gum, probably 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. for a full recipe. (I cut the recipe down to 1/4 since it’s just me eating these, and I only used about 1/8 tsp. of xanthan which was perfect for me.). I made my ‘buttermilk’ by adding adding some cider vinegar to plain, unsweetened almond milk and let it chill out in the fridge for a little while. I replaced butter with soy-free Earth Balance. Everything came to together beautifully, and the result was fluffy, tender biscuits with great taste and not even the slightest hint that they were g-free.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m definitely using this one from now on.
xx
Mel, I made these today and substituted in one cup of whole wheat flour and they turned out soooo good! Plus they took about 5 minutes to throw together, yay! Thanks again.
Loved these oozingly fantastic buttery biscuits!!! Used 1/2 C. whole wheat flour and home-made buttermilk (1 C. milk, 3 tsps vinegar) and cooked them on waxed paper on a cookie sheet – crust was equally delicious — especially hot out of the oven!!! A buttery explosion of — as Mel calls them — THE BEST — drop biscuits!!! TFS Mel! Delicious!!!
Oh, wow … delicious. So perfectly fluffy and perfect for savory or sweet scone-like breakfast biscuits. Will definitely be using this basic recipe to experiment some more! Used a bit of shredded sharp cheddar and buttermilk substitution (white vinegar in milk). Amazed and so pleased at how easy and yummy these are! I’m going to be the biscuit rock star in my house.
Just made these with homemade sausage gravy for our Sunday breakfast. Wow. I can’t believe how easy they are to put together…and how fluffy and buttery they were! No more buying packaged biscuits again! The only thing I did differently was by making a substitute buttermilk with 1c milk with 1 tbs white vinegar…thank you for this recipe- it’s a keeper.
These are fabulous! I surprised the husband with these, but next time I make them I will reduce the oven temperature. I ended up surprising the husband initially with the smoke alarm. LOL
It was too late to get bread made for dinner so I opted for these biscuits instead. Oh my goodness! These were so delicious!!!!! They were the perfect compliment to chicken noodle soup on a cold, wet and dreary night. Another winner Mel 🙂
Finally got around to making these today……they are amazing! So easy, tender and very tasty! Thanks for sharing!
Mel you are a life saver! I cook just about the same things every week and I want something diffrent and not out of a box! Are these also called Cathead biscuits if so my grandmother used to make these when I was growing up! I would love to make these with some white gravy!!! Yummo
These are the best biscuits ever! Period. The end. These are so easy and taste delicious. I have no desire to try any other biscuit recipe. 🙂
If I don’t have buttermilk, I add a tablespoon of vinegar to to a cup of milk and they turn out great. As much as I would love to eat a full batch for dinner, I usually freeze some for later. I’ll drop the dough onto a small cookie sheet and put them in freezer for several minutes. After that I wrap them in plastic wrap.
I’ll cook the frozen ones at 475 and I think it usually takes around 20-25 minutes for them to cook.
Thanks for sharing!!
I’ve made these as written and they’re delicious … but last night I made them again with 100% whole wheat flour and they were fantastic! Delicious and a bit less guilt! The whole family loved them.
Melanie,
I have loved this America’s Test Kitchen recipe for awhile now–it IS the BEST drip biscuit recipe around 😉 I use 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 white flour and the texture and taste I actually like better than the all white flour. The wheat flour gives them a little more flavor, kind of a nutty taste. I also use the ‘homemade’ buttermilk trick with powdered milk (because I am so cheap and rarely have buttermilk in my fridge). Just use 1 c. water, 2 T. lemon juice and 3 T. dry powdered milk=1 c. buttermilk. It works perfectly and they are SO amazing! I will be blogging about a Biscuit & Gravy recipe with homemade turkey gravy with mushrooms, peas, carrots, etc. over these bicuits. We had it for dinner tonight and it was CRAZY good!!! Thanks for another great recipe–love them all!!
Just made these, I love the flavor…which I can thank the butter for 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!!
These were awesome! Reminded me of the biscuits at a local chicken place in Marble Falls, Texas-so good with honey! We live in Australia-so a little “home” cooking always tastes great!
I made the biscuits using powdered buttermilk. They turned out light and fluffy. My husband said, “they are good enough to eat by themselves.” I could taste baking soda in the biscuits so if I make them again I will only use 1/4 teaspoon of soda. Thanks for the recipe. Maybe I will try the red velvet cake this week.
this is EXACTLY the recipe my bakery uses for its brunch biscuits, and you’re right–having made them every sunday for the past few months, i can state with certainty that they couldn’t be simpler to make! bonus–they’re dead tasty too. 🙂
I love love love real biscuits, but without the fuss and folding -these were buttery and delicious
I will be trying this one for sure! I don’t like messing with the rolling and cutting too much either.
Perfect timing – I made these last night and they were SO good. Much better than any drop biscuits I’ve made before and easy too! I couldn’t believe how light and moist they were. Thanks!
Just made them! Added 1/2 c raisins and 3 more tsp sugar…with blueberry jam and a dab of whipped cream…oh dear… 🙂
All day I’ve been thinking that I needed some sort of bread to go with our dinner, but I didn’t want to invest the time in rolls. Thanks for this, I’m excited to try it!
I am not really a biscuit lover (although I do like your cheddar and herb variety), but if you say these are good, I believe you. I’ll try them soon!
Hey Mel-
We love cheddar biscuits at my house. How do you think these would work if I added a little cheddar cheese?
Michelle – they would probably taste delicious….it’s definitely worth a try!
These look delicious, and easy. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I just made the cream biscuits from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook yesterday and they are really good too.
you SERIOUSLY must be reading my mind!! I’ve never made biscuits in my life, but I am getting ready to make some fresh strawberry preserves (lazy person preserves, as I call them), and I think these are going to be the perfect ‘vehicle’ for the delicious preserves!!!! can’t wait to try them!
You are definitely allowed to call something ‘the best’ because everything I make from your website is ‘the best!’ I trust ya 🙂
I’m excited to see a biscuit recipe with that much rise that doesn’t call for shortening 🙂
These look amazing and we love biscuits at our house. We have them often and I can’t wait to try this version!
Okay….don’t knock this before you’ve tried it……We prepare fresh strawberries (sliced and slightly sweetened) and pour them over a warm (maybe buttered) biscuit for an instant shortcake and it’s delish!! These will probably work great for this.
All my life I’ve eaten strawberries and drop biscuits, this is our family’s, (and extended family’s), idea of strawberry shortcake!
I always have buttermilk in the fridge so guess what I’m making this weekend? I’m excited that they aren’t the complicated rolling and folding that I usually think of when I think of biscuits.
Have you tried these with wheat flour? If so, how did they do? They look delicious!
Elisabeth – I haven’t tried them with wheat flour.
yum!
easy, buttery delicious biscuits!
I bet they’d go awesome with ham and homemade mac and cheese.
Can’t wait to try these – I get tired of always buying canned biscuits or frozen rolls. I’m hoping these turn out better than past biscuits I’ve made LOL
I am soo trying these this Sunday!! Thanks for all the amazing recipes!!! Have you thought about putting together a cook book..so we can have all these amazing recipes in one place!! =)
I’ve been thinking about biscuits like this for a couple of months now. I think it may be time.