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.
I made these today and they are so easy and delicious. I added cinnamon and topped with a little cherry preserves. Thank you!
Mel, I see that the amounts listed in this recipe are different than the ones in your cookbook. Which should I use? Thank you!
You can use either! It’s the same basic recipe – the version in the cookbook makes about 9 to 10 biscuits and the one online makes about 12 biscuits.
Fluffy and buttery, truly the BEST drop biscuits!
So easy! So fluffy! So yummy! We are a “traditional” biscuit family but if you only have 20 minutes and no time to knead, this is the perfect recipe. My family gobbled these up. Better than bisquick!!!
I’ve made these 3 times this week! 😅 They’re fast, easy and delicious!!
Made these today. Quick, easy, and most importantly, delicious. My deeply Southern Mom would have approved.
Love making these! With gluten free flour I add 4 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of buttermilk.
Do they freeze well?
Yes, they freeze great!
I’ve made these multiple times now and everytime they come out perfect. Light and wonderful. No longer will I waste my time putting frozen butter through the food processor, or rolling, folding, and cutting out dough circles; drop biscuits are the default winner in this household.
this recipe is bland and makes 8 tiny biscuits. Not worth it.
I love this recipe. I modify with using season salt, add garlic and onion powder and omit the sugar. Great for a dinner biscuit.
thank you so much for this recipe bb! bomb as heck. you did your big one with this thank you girl. Our measuring cups must have had special powers because the dough came right out! Lucky me! cant wait to make these for someone’s husband
Delicious! So simple and easy. I creamed a little butter and honey for serving. They were perfect.
Mel, these are perfection!
Good, but INCREDIBLY salty. Had to add more other ingredients to balance it out.
Absolutely delicious! Will definitely make these again! Was wondering though if the dough freezes well??? Like if I make the dough, but just not bake them?
Hi Allyson, I actually haven’t tried it with this recipe, but I *think* it should work pretty well!
Love love love these biscuits!!! Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Best biscuits I have ever had. Oh my gosh. Very easy recipe, few ingredients. I have no complaints. Wow!
This recipe was simple and the biscuits were wonderful. Received many compliments
These drop biscuits were absolutely light, flaky, and delicious! I was in the mood for biscuits with sausage gravy, and this was a fast, easy recipe. Instead of buttermilk, I used 1 TBSP vinegar to 1 cup milk, and let it sit for a bit in the fridge. My biscuits were still very light and flaky! That trick with the melted butter mixed into the cold milk is brilliant! The only thing is I forgot the sugar, but they were fine even without it. This will be my new go-to drop biscuit recipe!
i’m 19, was never taught how to cook/ bake, and have never made biscuits before and these came out heavenlyyyy! i added parmesan and rosemary which made them so good that everyone who tried them said “holy f!”. im definitely adding this to my recipe index.
I watched my grandma make homemade biscuits everyday..but just really paid attention to her recipe..when I made this recipe it took me right back to her kitchen.. my granddaughter loved them..Thank you..Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Safe New Year.
These drop biscuits are the very best, crispy outside and melt in your mouth inside. I did use lemon and almond milk to make my buttermilk and they still came out PERFECT!!! I’m making more today.
We had a standard drop biscuit recipe that our family loved. These took it over the top! Next time I’ll brush a honey/butter mixture a few minutes before they are done.
Excellent!! Very light and flaky. Very simple to make.
Can the batter be frozen and thawed prior to baking? Or, how long can the batter be refrigerated? Thank you!
You can refrigerate the unbaked biscuits a couple days in advance. I haven’t tried freezing, but that should work, too!
We LOVE these biscuits but since it’s hust my husband and I, I freeze any biscuits I am not needing that day. I freeze them on a parchment lined baking sheet several hours or overnight. Then pop them in freezer bag for future meals. Adding 2 minutes or so o the baking time ( since they’re frozen) usually does the trick and they’re as delicious as always. Such a great recipe!
These are absolutely fabulous and sooo easy to make. Thank you for sharing this gem of a recipe!
Speaking of recipes, did you ever find the one for the strawberry bluebarb jam? It sounds intriguingly delicious.
Hey Lizzie – I have looked EVERYWHERE for that recipe – I thought I had it in my canning notebook, and it has disappeared. So sad!