Best Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Aug. 21, 2026
These Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are a result of my husband’s biscuit obsession. These are easy to make and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. My family fights over these, as they’re tender, fluffy, and perfect for drizzling with honey butter. Enjoy these while they’re fresh and warm from your own oven.
In This Article
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Amy’s Notes
Decades ago, I discovered my husband’s buttermilk biscuit obsession. It manifested itself whenever we went out for fried chicken. Sharing wasn’t high on his priority list, so I had to fend for myself when biscuits arrived. These buttermilk biscuits are warm, soft, and fluffy – just the way we love all our homemade breads. Your family will devour these with any delicious dinner recipes. Here’s what you’ll love:
- Quick and Simple: We appreciate the ease of store-bought refrigerated canned biscuits, and they do come in handy for fun recipes like these 30-Minute Steamed Buns. But this homemade version is totally manageable.
- No Rising: One of the best parts about making biscuits is that it requires no rising. Unlike yeast breads, there’s no first rise, second rise, or any rise.
- Just 7 Ingredients: Pantry ingredients you already have, and you don’t even need a rolling pin, Add this to your list of wonderful bakery recipes made with 10 ingredients or less.
- Tender and Buttery: These are golden, tender, moist, buttery, and absolutely perfect. Eat these right out of the oven and see for yourself.
Key Ingredients
These biscuits require no yeast – only simple pantry ingredients your kitchen likely already has.
- Flour – Use unbleached all-purpose flour. This makes up the bulk of the biscuit and is also used to keep your working surface from sticking.
- Baking soda – Leavening agent that works in coordination with the acid in the buttermilk to help the biscuits rise.
- Baking powder – Another leavening agent to help make the biscuits light and airy.
- Butter – We recommend unsalted butter. You use this ingredient cold to cut into the dough.
- Buttermilk – Known for its thick, tangy flavor.
How to Make Buttermilk Biscuits
These biscuits come together quickly and incorporate a few classic baking techniques such as cutting in cold butter. The images below provide a quick step-by-step tutorial.
- Combine dry ingredients and cut in the cold butter until it resembles course meal.
- Gently add in the buttermilk until all wet and dry ingredients are combined.
- Pat dough out until 1/2′ thick on a floured surface.
- Fold dough 5 times into a ball and gently press down until 1′ thick.
- Use a round biscuit cutter to cut the dough into rounds.
- Place the dough rounds on a baking sheet 1′ apart.
How to Prep Ahead
I’m all about recipes you can make ahead of time. You can have homemade southern buttermilk biscuits ready in no time if you prep ahead.
- Prepare Dough: Make the dough and cut it into biscuit rounds before placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Instead of baking them, cover the tray with cling wrap and place in the freezer.
- Freeze: Once the biscuits are frozen, place all of the frozen biscuits into a gallon ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Bake From Frozen: Place the frozen biscuits on a parchment-lined tray and bake. Add an additional 5-10 minutes to bake time.
- Bake Thawed: Thaw biscuits in fridge and bake as instructed in the recipe.
Watch Us Make These Buttermilk Biscuits
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Optional: 1/2 cup sugar for topping, honey, or butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F, with rack on middle position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or a food processor, cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal. There should be little bits of butter that are still intact. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved. Gently add the buttermilk and fold with a rubber spatula just until combined wet/dry ingredients are combined – don't over-mix. If it's too dry, add a bit more buttermilk. Dough should be relatively wet.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Gently, use your hands to pat dough out until it's about 1/2" thick – do not use a rolling pin; it will help to have a little bowl of oil and coat your palms with oil.
- Use your hands to fold the dough 5 times into a ball and then gently press the dough to 1" thick.
- Use a round biscuit cutter to cut dough into rounds. I used 2.75" cutter. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet. For soft edges, place them touching each other. For crusty edges, place them 1 inch apart.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until biscuits are light golden brown on top and bottom. Do not overbake. Serve warm; top with sugar if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tougher biscuits. If you have one, a food processor works well, because the ingredients stay colder and there’s less chance of over-mixing.
- Leftover scraps can be made into a few more biscuits, but they may not be as tender, due to extra handling.
- Be sure to pat dough down gently with hands rather than use a rolling pin; rolling will increase toughness.
- This recipe is part of our Breads Collection.
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Nutrition (per serving)
What to Serve with Buttermilk Biscuits
Biscuits are a versatile, hearty, and all-around delicious option for a variety of meals. You really can eat them for any meal of the day. You can enjoy these buttermilk biscuits:
- With soup – Soup is easily one of the most popular meals to serve with biscuits for a cozy weeknight dinner. Speaking of cozy, check out these cozy soup recipes.
- In a casserole – Most casseroles are made with a carb base such as bread or potatoes. Check out Biscuits and Gravy Casserole for a delicious breakfast option or these Cheesy Bacon Pull Aparts for dinner.
- Pair it with a protein – The classic chicken and biscuits meal is popular for a reason! Enjoy biscuits paired with your favorite protein like these Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders.
- Enjoy smothered in your favorite topping – Devour these delicious biscuits on their own covered in butter, honey, jam, or any other topping you can smear on top to melt in your mouth with every bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buttermilk is fermented milk made of water, milk proteins, milk sugars, and fat. It’s thicker than regular milk and has a distinct tangy smell (some people describe the smell as closer to sour milk while others explain it smells almost like vinegar). The flavor is similar to plain yogurt, and it’s acidic.
The key difference between buttermilk biscuits and regular biscuits is that regular biscuits do not utilize buttermilk as an ingredient. Buttermilk adds a distinct tangy flavor and also yields a puffier biscuit thanks to the way the acid in buttermilk reacts with the leavening agents.
When stored at room temperature, buttermilk biscuits will stay good for 1-2 days in an airtight container. To keep them fresh for longer, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Unfortunately, milk is not a good substitute for buttermilk. Buttermilk contains a higher level of acid than regular milk which interacts with the baking powder and baking soda to help the biscuits rise. Buttermilk gives these biscuits the best tangy buttermilk flavor that buttermilk biscuits are famous for, and it also yields the best fluffy outcome.
Add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then add enough whole milk to reach the 1-cup line. Stir gently and let it sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes until it slightly thickens and curdles before using.
Dense biscuits usually stem from three common issues: warm butter, overworking the dough, or twisting the biscuit cutter. Ensure your butter is ice-cold so it creates steam pockets as it melts in the oven. Press straight down with your cutter without twisting to avoid sealing the edges.
Yes. Cut the dough into rounds, arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen rounds to a airtight freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake them directly from frozen, adding 5 extra minutes to bake time.
Yes. Just adjust the added salt. If using salted butter, reduce the table salt in the recipe by half (from 1 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon) to prevent the biscuits from becoming overly salty.
More to Bake and Eat
- 30-Minute Steamed Buns – That’s right 30 minutes to amazing steamed buns! Try these for a quick weeknight option.
- Easy Pull-Apart Sticky Buns – Looking for something sweeter? Give these sticky buns and whirl and discover your new favorite delicious breakfast option that’s perfect for holidays.
- Homemade Dinner Rolls – These come together in just 1 hour and are just the ticket when you want fluffy, buttery, and warm rolls fresh from the oven.
- Lemon Monkey Bread – This one is for all lemon lovers! Lemon Monkey Bread pops with a tangy lemon flavor that we adore.
- Cheddar Bay Biscuits – This recipe is even better than the restaurant’s.