Quick and easy prep plus no shaping means more time for you.
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Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Three simple ingredients go from start to finish in under 20 minutes.
- Buttermilk biscuits are perfect for brunch, dinner, and dessert.
- Grating the butter instead of cutting it in is not only easier, but it also creates big air pockets, making the biscuits even flakier when they are baked.
With a buttery, golden-brown exterior and warm, flaky layers inside, three-ingredient drop biscuits taste like old-fashioned Southern comfort (not the booze!).
These homemade biscuits are dolloped (dropped) into a skillet so you don't need to fuss with a biscuit cutter—easy and delicious, what more could you want?
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- For the best drop biscuits, just use regular 'ol buttermilk. Some people like to combine whole milk and a tablespoon of white vinegar or make sour cream biscuits, but it's not the same. Buttermilk substitutes are simply not as good as the real thing—trust me!
- Mix in some shredded cheddar or grated parmesan cheese, or sprinkle it on top before baking. Pepper Jack is another great option.
- Amp up the flavor by adding sliced jalapenos or crispy bacon bits—yum.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Add self-rising flour to a large bowl. Shred cold butter with a box grater.
- Pour buttermilk into the flour/butter mixture. Stir until it comes together.
- Prepare the skillet with bacon grease.
- Drop biscuit dough into skillet using a ¼ cup measure. Bake and enjoy while warm.
🥫 How to store leftovers
Buttery biscuits taste best hot and fresh. They aren't quite as satisfying reheated a second time.
Since this easy drop biscuit recipe doesn't use any preservatives like grocery store biscuits do, they'll dry out quickly if kept at room temperature.
We like to transform leftover biscuits into homemade bread crumbs the second day.
If you want to save the leftovers, I recommend freezing them, tightly sealed in plastic wrap. Then, toss them in a freezer bag or airtight container for extra protection.
You can keep 'em frozen for up to three months, and they'll thaw quickly at room temperature.
Fluffy biscuits anytime you get a craving—that's what I call a good deal.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Self-rising and all-purpose flour aren't the same. For easy drop biscuits that turn out fluffy and light, be sure to pick up a bag of self-rising flour. Everyone in the South agrees: White Lily brand is best!
- Cold butter and a hot oven are keys to flaky, tender biscuits. So, let the oven preheat all the way before you even gather up the ingredients.
- Use traditional, good-quality butter for the best biscuits. Low-fat butter, Crisco, and margarine are big no-no's.
- Freeze the stick of butter for a few minutes so it's easier to grate.
- Using a fork is the best way to combine the ingredients together. The dough is a little too sticky to use a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Don't overmix the dough or the biscuits will be tough. Since you're scooping the dough instead of cutting, it doesn't have to be smooth.
- If you don't have any bacon grease, use a little melted butter instead.
- A large ice cream scoop will work in place of a measuring cup if you just realized yours is in the dishwasher—ugh!
👩🍳 FAQs
It won't take long at all. Just mix until everything pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Some people think the butter should "disappear," but long, visible shreds of butter mean extra flaky biscuits!
Add another splash if the flour keeps falling to the bottom of the bowl instead of forming into a dough. Remember, less is more. You can always add another few tablespoons of milk, but it's much harder to fix dough that's too wet.
No worries. If you don't have a skillet, or you're cooking something else delicious with it, just use a prepared baking sheet for the biscuits.
Nope and nope! This easy biscuit recipe is simple. They're just like mom and grandma made, no fuss or stress—just pure comfort.
📚 Related recipes
- Angel Biscuits get their name because of the light and fluffy texture, a cross between a dinner roll and biscuit. They're oh-my-heavens good.
- Prefer to use all-purpose flour? This traditional Buttermilk Biscuit recipes is easy, quick, and delicious.
- Cheddar Cheese Biscuits taste great for sandwiches, sliders, or snacking. The key is using cheese in the dough and on top.
🍽️ Serve with...
- Breakfast—Drop biscuits and Sausage Gravy sticks to your ribs and keeps you full for hours. Fun for holidays and easy enough for everyday.
- Dinner—Southern Smothered Chicken cooks in just one pan, and the creamy sauce is so satsfying scooped up with a biscuit... or two.
- Dessert—Top biscuits with some honey butter or strawberries and Clotted Cream for a simple, sweet snack.
📞 The last word
I grew up with these. My mom made strawberry shortcake with them every single summer.
Yum!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Drop Biscuits From Scratch
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease
- 2 cups self-rising flour, , I prefer White Lily
- ¼ cup butter, ice cold
- ⅔ to ¾ cup buttermilk, , might need a little more or a little less
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475F with an iron skillet in it if you plan to use a skillet for baking.
- While the oven is preheating add flour to a mixing bowl.
- Using the big holed side of a grater, grate the butter into the flour and stir to make sure the butter isn't in just one spot.
- Pour in ⅔ of the buttermilk and stir lightly with a fork - just until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. You may need a little more buttermilk.
- Carefully, using a hot pad, remove the iron skillet from the oven to a heat proof surface.
- Brush the skillet with bacon grease.
- If you're using a skillet drop the biscuits by ¼ cup measure into the skillet, leaving a little room between each.
- If you're not using a skillet drop the biscuits onto a greased, heavy baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Serve hot.
Notes
-
- Self-rising flour and all-purpose flour are not the same. Be sure to use self-rising.
- Cold butter and a hot oven are keys to flaky, tender biscuits. So, let the oven preheat all the way before you even gather up the ingredients.
-
- Use traditional, good-quality butter for the best biscuits. Low-fat butter, Crisco, and margarine are big no-no's.
-
- Freeze the stick of butter for a few minutes so it's easier to grate.
-
- Using a fork is the best way to combine the ingredients together. The dough is a little too sticky to use a wooden spoon or spatula.
-
- Don't overmix the dough or the biscuits will be tough. It doesn't have to be smooth since you're scooping the dough instead of cutting.
-
- If you don't have any bacon grease, use a little melted butter instead.
-
- A large ice cream scoop will work in place of a measuring cup if you just realized yours is in the dishwasher—ugh!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published March 13, 2018. Last updated July 27, 2023 for more helpful information, tips, and editorial improvements.
✍🏻 A note from Marye...
I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.
Homemade drop biscuits are so easy that you can have them pretty much every night! Since there's no kneading or rolling to be done they don't make much of a mess AND you can't overwork them! They always rise high and light and tender! Drop biscuits from scratch have a buttery, bigger taste then those from a mix - try it and see!
Pretty much every one I know has a recipe for drop biscuits. If you're from the South the recipe probably calls for White Lily self-rising. It's just a fact.
My mom wasn't a baker but during strawberry season she made enough biscuits for shortcake to fill Jacob's Well.
Not the real well, y'all. The swimming hole down south of where I live. It's pretty close to Austin.
Anyway, she always made drop biscuits because it was quick and easy. She could come in from working outside and stir up the biscuits and be back outside in 30 minutes start to finish.
Then we had strawberry shortcake for supper. As much as we wanted and as much as we could eat.
Those are NOT the same things, by the way. I always wanted more than I could eat.
As far as I knew everyone's mom had a recipe for drop biscuits and there was really no reason to publish one.
Well, like so many other times in my life I was wrong.
I got to talking with someone a few weeks ago and they were bemoaning the fact that they missed their grandmother's drop biscuits and that none of the recipes they'd found tasted like hers.
So I dug out my recipe, and by dug out I mean I sifted through the memory portion of my brain where I store recipes, and I gave it to her with instructions to make it exactly as written AND to let me know what she thought.
Ok y'all, about that memory portion of my brain - when I get old (not like now but like when I'm 97) and start losing my memory I'm pretty sure that the only things I'll retain are recipes.
Anyway - so she got back to me and she was so excited because they absolutely tasted like her grandma's.
Honestly, I didn't doubt it for a minute.
What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness! Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!
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