Homemade biscuits don’t have to be fussy. This 3 ingredient biscuit recipe is quick, simple, and always reliable!
With just self-rising flour, cold butter, and tangy buttermilk, you’ll have tall, flaky biscuits on the table in about 30 minutes. Perfect for beginners and seasoned bakers, this recipe is one you’ll turn to again and again.
Table of Contents
Before You Get Started
My great Aunt Bee never steered me wrong — especially in the kitchen — and these easy 3-ingredient biscuits are no exception! Here are a few of her best tips to help your biscuits turn out light, tall, and buttery:
- Self-rising flour is key. It already has the leavening and salt included, which gives the biscuits their classic lift. White Lily is my go-to.
- Keep your ingredients cold. Cold butter and buttermilk create the steam that makes biscuits fluffy.
- Don’t twist your cutter. Press straight down and lift straight back up so your biscuits rise high.
- Fold gently. A few turns of the dough builds flaky layers without overworking it.
- Chill before baking. A quick rest in the fridge helps the biscuits puff beautifully in the oven.
Step-by-Step: How to Make This 3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe
- Cut in the butter. Start with flour in a large mixing bowl. Cut cold butter into small pieces or grate frozen butter with a box grater. Toss it in the flour so every piece is coated.
- Shortcut Tip: grating frozen butter makes the dough come together faster.
- Mix with buttermilk. Stir in the buttermilk until you have a soft dough that just holds together.
- Get the Texture Right: Add a splash more buttermilk if it feels too dry and crumbly, or a little bit of extra flour if it’s too sticky. You definitely do not want a wet dough.
- Shape and cut. Turn the dough out on a floured counter. Fold it over itself a few times, then pat it into a ¾-inch thick slab. Use a biscuit cutter to punch out rounds.
- Remember: press down, don’t twist. Otherwise you seal off the edges of the biscuits and they won’t rise as high.
- Chill and bake. Place the biscuits close together in a cast iron skillet or dish. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then brush the tops with melted butter and bake until golden. Finish with another swipe of butter when they come out of the oven.
Serving Suggestions
These biscuits work for breakfast, lunch, or supper:
- Spread with honey butter, blueberry jam, this blackberry jam recipe, or apple butter.
- Sandwich with eggs, sausage, or bacon.
- Pair it with fried cabbage.
- Smother with sausage gravy or stuff with country ham.
- Serve as a side with chicken corn chowder, chicken and noodles, crock pot beef stew, Dutch oven pot roast, chili, or ham and bean soup with canned beans.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: Biscuits are best warm from the oven, but you can bake them up to 3 days ahead. Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Warm them in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes.
- How to Freeze Biscuits: Let baked biscuits cool, then freeze in an airtight bag or container for up to 3 months. Reheat straight from frozen in the oven.
- How to Freeze Biscuit Dough: Cut out the biscuits, place on a tray, and freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer bag and bake from frozen, adding about 5 extra minutes.
Recipe Variations
- Lard or Shortening. You can replace 2 tablespoons of the butter with 2 tablespoons of either shortening or lard. While butter has more flavor, the shortening or lard will give the biscuits an even lighter, puffier texture.
- Add Cheese. Stir in shredded cheddar or Parmesan for cheesy biscuits.
- Herbs. Mix in chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, or chives for a bright, savory addition.
- Brush with garlic butter right out of the oven.
- You might also like these 4-ingredient heavy cream biscuits.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why didn’t my biscuits rise? Usually the flour is expired (so the leaveners don’t activate), you used all-purpose flour instead of self-rising, or the cutter was twisted and sealed the edges.
- Can I make these without buttermilk? Yes, mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Can I use all-purpose flour instead? Yes, you can make your own self-rising flour by adding 2 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt for every 2 cups of flour.
- How do I get them extra fluffy? Keep the ingredients cold, fold gently, and chill the dough before baking.
- Can I make drop biscuits instead? Yes, spoon the dough onto a sheet pan instead of cutting into rounds.
I just made these biscuits. Not only are they extremely easy to make, but they are the best I’ve ever made! They’re so light and fluffy, they’re like eating clouds. I’ll use this recipe forever!
– Sandra
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
3 Ingredient Biscuits
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Chilling Time 10 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Easy, buttery biscuits that bake up tall, fluffy, and golden with only 3 simple ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour (I prefer White Lily brand)
- ¼ cup very cold butter, cut into pats, plus additional for brushing (I prefer salted butter)
- ⅔ – ¾ cup very cold buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray an 8-inch or 9-inch round pan with a light coat of cooking spray and set aside. Place flour in a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or forks to work the butter into the flour until the lumps are about the size of large peas. Alternatively, you can freeze the butter and use the large holes on a box grater to grate the butter into the flour. Then use your hands to make sure that the flour pieces are coated with flour.
- Add ⅔ cup of buttermilk to the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until a soft dough forms. It should hold together when pressed, but shouldn't be too wet. Add small amounts of additional buttermilk slowly, as needed, until the dough reaches this consistency.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 1 minute (folding the dough back over on itself), adding flour to the counter and your hands, as necessary, to prevent sticking. Pat the dough to ¾-inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out the individual biscuits. Firmly press the cutter down into the dough, but do not twist. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high. I used a 2 ½ -inch cutter here, which yielded 6 large biscuits. You can also use a smaller 1 ½- or 2-inch cutter to cut out more biscuits. Roll out the dough once or twice more to use up the remaining dough scraps.
- Arrange the biscuits in the prepared pan. At this point, the dough will be a bit warmer from working with it, so I like to place the pan of biscuits in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to chill again.
- Just before you put the biscuits in the oven, brush the tops with melted butter.
- Bake for 14 -15 minutes, or until the biscuits are a light golden brown on top. Brush the tops of the biscuits with additional melted butter when they come out of the oven; serve warm.
Notes
- Make sure that your self-rising flour is fresh. When the package is old or expired, the leavening agents in the flour may not activate properly and your biscuits will not rise.
- How to Make Buttermilk at Home: You can make 1 cup of homemade buttermilk by using regular milk + either lemon juice or white vinegar. To do so, pour 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a measuring cup. Add enough milk to equal 1 cup. Give it a stir, let it sit for about 5 minutes, and then use it in the recipe as directed.
- How to Make Self-Rising Flour: If you don’t have a bag of self-rising flour in your pantry, that’s no problem. Combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Nutrition
Serving: 1biscuitCalories: 235kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 6gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 90mgPotassium: 80mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 281IUCalcium: 39mgIron: 0.4mg
I have always wanted to learn to make biscuits! Thanks to you and Aunt Bee for super recipe! See old dogs can learn new tricks! 61 years young!
– Stacy
More Popular Biscuit Recipes to Try
Cheddar Biscuits with Chives and Bacon
50 minutes mins
Sweet Potato Biscuits
33 minutes mins
Flaky Biscuits
45 minutes mins
If you love biscuits as much as we do, be sure to try these farmhouse-favorite flaky biscuits, a batch of these 3-ingredient buttermilk biscuits, and these classic Southern buttermilk biscuits, too!
Originally published in September, 2018, this post was updated in October, 2025.
I used this as the basis for a blackberry shortcake. Delicious!
I love that idea. Thanks, Shelley!
Hello! Blair, I wanted to know. If, I don’t have Self-rising Flour, can I uses Baking Powder, in my Flour, to make my Biscuits? And, do I’ve to uses Baking Soda as well?
Thanks for hearing me out. And, I’m looking forward to hearing back from you soon.
Hi Virginia!
You can make 1 cup of self-rising flour by placing 1 cup of all-purpose flour in a bowl. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
This recipe calls for 2 cups of self-rising flour, so you would need to combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Hope that helps!
Amazing! They have become a classic!
Thank you, Phillip!
I love this recipe! I don’t even do the folding, just drop them on baking dish to cook. Everyone in the family begs me to make these.
Thank you, Dianne! We’re so happy it’s such a hit.
Would regular All-Purpose flour work as well?
Hi Nassera! We haven’t tested it but it should work with the proper adjustments. The general rule of thumb is to substitute one cup of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda for every cup of self-rising flour. Hope that helps!
Excellent. I grate my butter, put it in the freezer, measure my flour, put it in the freezer, both for 15 minutes. When ready to make, I dust my surface and measure my buttermilk. I bring out my flour and butter, mix together with dough whisk, add buttermilk until it all comes together, drop on my floured surface to knead. I cut each biscuit, placing them on parchment on a cookie sheet, then to my freezer for flash freezing. When ready to bake I follow the directions. They cook beautifully and RISE UP high, and taste delish!!!!!
If I want my biscuit sweet for perhaps a shortcake, I brush the tops with butter and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Viola, dessert! Thanks Blair!
Such a great idea to turn it into dessert! We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe and appreciate you taking the time to leave your feedback!
I just wanted to “Thank you” for all of these awesome recipes. I am going to try them all. I know it takes a lot of time and patience to make all of this to happen so beautifully. I was looking through your recipes and remembered my Mom and Grandmother making a few of these. You brought back some wonderful memories, Thank you , God Bless you and yours .
Your note made my day, Linda. I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the recipes. I hope that you get to try a couple of them soon!
I love this recipe. I’ve been making them for a couple of years and they never disappoint. Super easy and they come out great every time.
Thank you, Barbara! I’m so happy to hear that!
My family and I Loved these biscuits
Thank you, Patricia!
White Lily is the only brand of flour that I use for biscuits! In my opinion, there is a noticeable difference. I don’t keep buttermilk on hand, so I sub “sour” milk. Vinegar/Lemon juice and milk. Another idea to try, if interested, frozen butter grated into your flour. Makes nice little beads of butter in the biscuits. Again, just a personal preference.
I totally agree, Candace. You can tell a difference in texture and “lift” with the White Lily flour. Definitely the only self-rising brand I buy. 🙂 And yes — grated butter is so easy! That’s how my dad always made his biscuits, and I often do the same now.
Biscuits are in the freezer, can’t wait to put them in oven. Done, they look yummy! And l am 74 years old. I never made biscuits that turned out good. My mother in law always made cat-head biscuits, they were to die for. Thanks for sharing. My daughter made your recipe a couple weekends ago, they were so good. No more store bought frozen biscuits.
Hi, Ruby! I’m so glad that you and your daughter have enjoyed them! 🙂
Biscuits are in the freezer, can’t wait to put them in oven. Done, they look yummy! And l am 74 years old. I never made biscuits that turned out good. My mother in law always made cat-head biscuits, they were to die for. Thanks for sharing. My daughter made your recipe a couple weekends ago, they were so good. No more store bought frozen biscuits.
I love this recipe!!! Not only do I use it when making biscuits, but I also use it for dumplings when making chicken and dumplings. They are light and fluffy EVERY TIME.
Thank you, Lauren! We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe.