3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

With a few simple tips and tricks, you can make the best 3 ingredient buttermilk biscuits from scratch! These fluffy, flaky, buttery treats rise a mile high, creating layers upon layers of old-fashioned goodness.

If you love biscuits as much as we do, be sure to try these flaky biscuits, these light and airy angel biscuits, and these easy drop biscuits, too! And when you need a quick option with minimal effort, this 3 ingredient biscuit recipe is the absolute best! They are perfect with country ham, sausage gravy, or jam for breakfast, or equally delicious alongside soup, chili, pot roast, or pulled pork for dinner.

How to Make 3 Ingredient Biscuits | 1-Minute Video

In the Southeastern United States, “biscuits” are typically soft leavened quick breads, similar to scones (but not sweet), and made with baking powder and/or baking soda instead of yeast. While the recipe and ingredients are incredibly simple, there are a few tricks to mastering the perfect tall, flaky biscuit recipe. Just stick with it, learn as you go, and follow my tips in the instructions below. You’ll ultimately achieve perfect 3 ingredient biscuits — and boy, are they delicious!

How to Make Biscuits Rise High

If your ideal biscuits include tall, buttery, flaky layers, then you’ve come to the right place. After years and years of practice, I’ve learned a handful of simple ways to achieve those elusive mile-high treats:

• Very cold ingredients are essential. Biscuits get their light, fluffy texture when cold butter expands in a very hot oven, creating pockets of steam. That’s why this recipe calls for freezing the cut biscuits for about 10-15 minutes before baking.
• The oven must be very hot — in this case, 475°F. When the cold biscuit dough interacts with the high heat of the oven, the water in the butter and buttermilk heats rapidly and releases steam, pushing the dough upward. If an oven is set at a lower temperature (such as 350°F or 400°F), the fat inside the dough heats too slowly and melts before the biscuits can fully rise.
• Folding the dough on itself multiple times builds visible layers.
• Do not twist a round biscuit cutter — just punch straight down and pull it straight back out. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high.
• Arrange the Biscuits with Sides Touching. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet so that they’re all touching their neighbors. This will help them “climb” in the oven so that you get that great, tall lift!

What does buttermilk do for biscuits?

Buttermilk is a classic Southern pantry staple that we always keep on hand! From fluffy pancakes to salad dressing, hoe cakes to fried chicken, it’s an important ingredient in so many of our favorite recipes — including these homemade buttermilk biscuits! The buttermilk serves a couple of purposes in an old-fashioned biscuit recipe that you can’t achieve with regular milk:

• Flavor: the buttermilk gives the biscuits a nice, subtle tanginess
• Acidity: the acid in buttermilk helps the biscuits rise, because the acid from the buttermilk reacts with the alkaline baking soda, causing it to give off carbon dioxide. Baking powder will also react with buttermilk’s acidity to a small degree.
• Texture: the fat and acid in the buttermilk also yields a fluffy, light, and tender crumb.

The amount of buttermilk that you need will vary, depending on the day. Start with 1 cup, and then add more if the dough feels too dry and crumbly. If it’s humid or rainy, there’s already moisture in the air and in the flour, so you will likely need less liquid in your dough. On a cold, dry winter day, you may need a bit more buttermilk to bring the dough together.

I get my buttermilk at a local country market near our house — and this is the REAL stuff — the liquid that runs off a batch of fresh butter. It makes the most delicious biscuits and cornbread! The buttermilk that you buy in a grocery store is probably just cultured milk (check the label) — which is a far cry from the real thing. If you have access to a local dairy or similar small market, I highly recommend getting your hands on the ultra-thick, ultra-rich buttermilk that will truly make your homemade biscuits stand out.

Buttermilk Substitutes

Don’t have buttermilk? No problem! In a pinch, you can make your own buttermilk at home to use in this recipe. To do so, pour either 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a large measuring cup. Add enough milk to equal 1 cup of liquid. Give it a stir, let it sit for about 5 minutes, and then use it in the recipe as directed!

3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe with All Purpose Flour

If you don’t have a bag of self-rising flour in your pantry, that’s no problem. 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 ½ cups of self-rising flour, so you would need to combine 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour with 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon of salt.

Serving Suggestions for 3 Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

These 3 ingredients biscuits are suitable for just about any meal, at any time of day. Serve them on their own for breakfast with honey butter, jam, or apple butter. Add eggs on the side, use them to make an egg sandwich with sausage, bacon or cheese, or stir up a skillet of sausage gravy. In Virginia, country ham biscuits are a classic snack!

On the dinner table, here are some entrées that go well with buttermilk biscuits:

• Crispy Fried Chicken, Cornflake Chicken or Pecan-Crusted Chicken
• Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Oven-Baked Pork Tenderloin, Cider Braised Pulled Pork, or BBQ Pork
• Oven BBQ Chicken Breast or Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
• Egg Salad or Chicken Salad
• Shrimp and Grits
• Crock Pot Ribs or Baked Baby Back Ribs
• Crab Cakes or Crab Imperial
• Shrimp Creole
• Dutch Oven Beef BBQ, Cast Iron Skillet Filet Mignon, Grilled New York Strip Steak, Steak Salad or Bourbon-Glazed Beef Tenderloin
• Classic Beef Chili, “Good Luck” Southern Chili, Easy White Bean Chicken Chili or Texas Chili
• Beef Stew, Chicken Stew or Brunswick Stew
• Southern Fried Catfish
• Frogmore Stew
• Grandmother’s Hamburger Soup, Corn Chowder, Tomato Soup or Split Pea Soup
• Ranch Style Beans, Southern Lima Beans, Slow Cooker Cowboy Pork and Beans or Black Eyed Peas with Bacon
• Rosemary Oven Roasted Chicken

Recipe Variations

• If you don’t have buttermilk or self-rising flour on hand, see my notes above to make your own buttermilk and your own self-rising flour at home.
• Grating the butter into the flour is easier, in my opinion, than using a pastry cutter, pastry blender, or food processor to cut or pulse the cold butter into the flour. Any method will work, though, so pick whichever works best for you. Ultimately, you should see small pea-size pieces of butter throughout the flour that resemble coarse crumbs.
• Add cheese. About 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or Pepper Jack would be delicious.
• Stir in diced pimentos and shredded cheese for “pimento cheese” biscuits.
• Add seasonings or herbs. Try a bit of garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, or chives.
• Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the dough into squares instead of rounds.

Tips for the Best Three Ingredient BIscuit Recipe

• Keep the butter very cold. It doesn’t need to be frozen before grating, since I find that frozen butter is much harder to work with. Just a really firm, chilled stick works perfectly.
• Properly measure the flour. Always spoon and level the flour — do not scoop it out of the package. Incorrectly measuring the flour packs it too tightly into the measuring cup and results in dense, dry biscuits.
• Keep the dough cold. I’ll say it again — the key to tall, fluffy, and flaky biscuits is cold ingredients. Don’t forget to chill the dough in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking.
• Arrange the Biscuits with Sides Touching. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet so that they’re all touching their neighbors. This will help them “climb” in the oven so that you get that great, high rise.
• Don’t twist the round cutter. Firmly press the cutter down into the dough, and then pull it straight back out. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high.
• Brush with melted butter. A quick swipe of melted butter adds a ton of rich flavor and buttery taste to the warm biscuits.

More Easy Biscuit Recipes to Try

7UP Biscuits

30 minutes mins

Butter Swim Biscuits {Just 4 Ingredients!}

45 minutes mins

Cathead Biscuits

45 minutes mins

For even more inspiration, check out this convenient collection of 25 Southern biscuit recipes!

3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

5 from 3 votes

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 15 minutes minutes

Chilling Time 20 minutes minutes

Total: 50 minutes minutes

Servings 9 biscuits

Calories 255 kcal

With a few simple tips and tricks, you can make the best Southern buttermilk biscuits from scratch with just 3 ingredients!

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 ½ cups self-rising flour (I prefer White Lily brand)
• ½ cup (1 stick) very cold salted butter
• 1 cup very cold whole buttermilk, well shaken
• 2 tablespoons melted salted butter

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• Place flour in a large mixing bowl. Using the larger holes on a box grater, grate the stick of butter into the flour.
  
• Use your fingers to coat all of the butter with flour, and then work the butter into the flour with your finger tips for about 2 minutes. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk, and stir with a wooden spoon (or with your hands) just until a shaggy dough comes together.
  
• Turn the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Fold the dough over onto itself 6-8 times, just until it comes together. Pat the dough into a rectangle that’s about ¾ inch thick. Use a 2 ½ -inch round biscuit cutter to punch out the biscuits (do not twist the cutter). Arrange the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet with sides touching. Re-roll the scraps and cut out additional biscuits until all of the dough is used. If time allows, place the biscuits back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill again before baking.
  
• Bake for 11-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the hot biscuits with the melted butter. Serve warm.
  

Video

Notes

• If you don’t have buttermilk or self-rising flour on hand, see my notes above to make your own buttermilk and your own self-rising flour at home.
• Add cheese. About 1 cup of grated cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Pepper Jack would be delicious.
• Stir in diced pimentos and shredded cheese for “pimento cheese” biscuits.
• Add seasonings or herbs. Try a bit of garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, or chives.
• Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the dough into squares instead of rounds.
• Keep the butter very cold. It doesn’t need to be frozen before grating, since I find that frozen butter is much harder to work with. Just a really firm, chilled stick works perfectly.
• Properly measure the flour. Always spoon and level the flour — do not scoop it out of the package. Incorrectly measuring the flour packs it too tightly into the measuring cup and results in dense, dry biscuits.
• Keep the dough cold. I’ll say it again — the key to tall, fluffy, and flaky biscuits is cold ingredients. Don’t forget to chill the dough in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking.
• Arrange the Biscuits with Sides Touching. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet so that they’re all touching their neighbors. This will help them “climb” in the oven so that you get that great, high rise.
• Don’t twist the round cutter. Firmly press the cutter down into the dough, and then pull it straight back out. Twisting the biscuit cutter seals off the edges of the biscuits and they therefore will not rise as high.
• Brush with melted butter. A quick swipe of melted butter adds a ton of rich flavor to the warm biscuits.
• Recipe adapted from White Lily Flour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1biscuitCalories: 255kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 5gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 141mgPotassium: 74mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 438IUCalcium: 40mgIron: 1mg

Keyword: 3 ingredient biscuit recipe, 3 ingredient biscuits, buttermilk biscuit recipe, buttermilk biscuits, homemade buttermilk biscuits

Course: bread, Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Southern

Author: Blair Lonergan

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