These old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits are a Southern staple, and for good reason! Soft, buttery, flaky, and full of flavor, they’re the perfect addition to any meal. Made with simple ingredients like White Lily flour, cold butter, and buttermilk, they’re easy to make at home. And my family’s method is so much easier than rolling and cutting the biscuits. Using my tips and method, you can have gorgeous hot, fluffy biscuits ready in about 20 minutes.
If you’ve been looking for a biscuit recipe that you can make at home, this is the one. Thousands of readers have loved and found success with this recipe over the years, and I promise you can, too!
Thanks for the recipe with step-by-step directions…that’s what I need, biscuit making for dummies! 🤣 I made my first batch this morning, Christmas Day. They turned out great!
RHONDA
As a fourth-generation Southern cook, I’ve been making biscuits since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Along the way, I’ve learned what not to do and how to make the best biscuits you’ve ever tasted!
Cathead buttermilk biscuits
My family’s method for making homemade buttermilk biscuits is a little different from that of most recipes you’ll find. We make hand-rolled biscuits, meaning we don’t roll out the dough and cut the biscuits. You scoop up a big handful of dough, roll it lightly in your hand, and place it on the pan.
The biscuits are what’s called cathead biscuits because they’re about the size of a cat’s head!
This method produces soft and tender buttermilk biscuits every time. You almost cannot overwork the dough with this method because you’re barely touching it!
After making these old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits a few times, you’ll learn the feel of the dough and know when to add a little more flour or buttermilk. This tutorial will help you get there!
Testing results for buttermilk biscuits
- I’ve tested this recipe with less butter, just shortening, and a mix of shortening and butter. My preference is just butter and never less — always more.
- I’ve tested rolling and cutting the biscuits, and don’t see a reason to do that extra work. The method I use worked for my Granny for 90 years, so it works for me.
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
What to serve with biscuits
Is there anything that doesn’t go with biscuits? I don’t think so! First, you’ve got to set out some butter to soften. You can never go wrong with jam or my reader-favorite homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam.
Serve your homemade buttermilk biscuits with classic Southern meals like fried chicken and mashed potatoes, pork chops and rice, or just as part of your brunch spread with cheese grits casserole and a sausage breakfast casserole.
Ingredient notes
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
White Lily flour: The best Southern biscuits are ALWAYS made with White Lily flour. If I don’t have White Lily, then I’m not making biscuits.
You can make the biscuits using self-rising flour or all-purpose flour. My preference is for all-purpose flour. There are slight differences in both taste and rise. But the difference isn’t significant enough that I won’t ever use self-rising flour, which is so convenient when you’re in a hurry.
Unsalted butter: The butter needs to be cold. You can dice it and then stick it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to get it really cold.
Buttermilk: Use full-fat buttermilk, not fat-free or low-fat.
How to make buttermilk biscuits
Tips:
- I don’t grease my pan, but you can if you want. I would just do it very lightly. These biscuits have so much butter that they should release easily. You can also use a silicone baking mat if you prefer. You can also use parchment paper, although use caution with the oven being so hot!
- You want the flour and butter to become crumbly and well-mixed, but still have chunky butter pieces that you can feel.
- If the biscuit dough appears too dry and crumbly, you may need to add a little more buttermilk.
- Do not overwork the dough! The more you work the dough, the more likely your biscuits will turn out like hockey pucks. When the dough is ready, it will be smooth, slightly moist, and not as sticky.
- If you want soft sides, place the biscuits right next to each other. This technique can also help your biscuits rise a little higher. If you want crispier sides, give the biscuits some space in between.
- If you don’t bake immediately, refrigerate your biscuits, because the butter needs to stay nice and cold. Don’t refrigerate for more than an hour, as the buttermilk biscuits are best right after they’re put together. I usually get everything else done and bake the biscuits last, so they are hot as soon as we sit down at the table.
- Start by preheating your oven to 500°. I know that sounds high, but that’s what produces the steam and causes the biscuits to rise. You cannot slow-cook homemade buttermilk biscuits!
- Add flour to a large bowl. If you’re using all-purpose flour, stir in the baking powder and salt.
- Mix the cold butter into the flour with your hands or a pastry blender. You want to see pebbly chunks, and it should feel almost like wet beach sand.
- Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with a fork, making sure all the dry flour is mixed in.
- Dip your hands in flour and then gently knead the dough. Then scoop out large portions and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits for about 8 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below!
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Southern Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
If using self-rising flour:
- 4 cups White Lily self-rising flour
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced into small chunks
- 1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups full-fat buttermilk
If using all-purpose flour:
- 4 cups White Lily all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced into small chunks
- 1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups full-fat buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place 4 cups White Lily self-rising flour in a large bowl. If using all-purpose flour, whisk in the baking powder and salt.
- Mix in 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced into small chunks using your hands or a pastry blender. Smooth some butter into flat flakes and leave some as chunky pebbles.
- Make a well in the center of the flour and add 1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups full-fat buttermilk, using a fork to incorporate the flour from the sides of the well.
- Stir until the flour is all incorporated and you have sticky dough. Then dip your hands in flour and sprinkle a little more flour on the dough until you can handle the dough without it sticking to your fingers. If the dough appears too dry and crumbly then you probably need to pour in a little more buttermilk.
- Knead very gently by folding the dough into itself a few times.
- Once the dough is smooth and easy to handle, pick up a large handful of dough and roll slightly and place on pan, then flatten a bit until it’s about an inch high.
- Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Allow the biscuits to cool on the pan for just a couple of minutes, then remove with a spatula and cover lightly with a towel to keep warm.
Notes
- Most important: do not overwork the dough. You want to barely activate the gluten. This is not bread-making and you do not need to knead the dough for very long.
- Make sure your butter and buttermilk are COLD. Now, some folks will tell you that even using your hands to mix up the flour and butter will soften the butter too much, but I’ve made hundreds of biscuits over the years, and that method works just fine for me. If it makes you feel better, though, use a fork or a pastry cutter.
- The oven should be HOT when you put the buttermilk biscuits in there.
Nutrition
Questions and tips
Storage
I store my biscuits in an old biscuit tin that belonged to my great-grandmother. If you don’t have one of those, you can store your biscuits in a bread basket covered with a towel or in a plastic storage bag. I like the basket and towel better because they don’t get moist like in a bag.
You can reheat biscuits in the microwave for about 15 seconds or wrap them lightly in foil and reheat in an oven set at about 350 degrees F.
You sure can! There are two ways to freeze these buttermilk biscuits:
1. Make the dough, then set the unbaked biscuits on a parchment-lined pan. Place the pan in the freezer overnight, and then remove the biscuits the next morning and put them in a gallon-size airtight bag. When you want to cook a biscuit, bake it from frozen at 475°. This is the only case in which you’ll have the oven slightly below 500 degrees F, since the frozen biscuit needs to cook a little longer.
2. Bake the biscuits as directed in the buttermilk biscuit recipe. Allow to cool completely, and then place on a parchment-lined pan. Freeze overnight and then place in an airtight bag. When serving, allow to thaw completely, then microwave for about 12 seconds or reheat for just a few minutes in the oven.
You can make biscuits in an air fryer. I haven’t done it myself and don’t think I would, but I’ve seen recipes for cooking biscuits in an air fryer, so evidently, people are having some success with this method.
This is similar to the recipe l’ve been using for over 20 yrs. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar makes for a lighter biscuit. I also add 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Thanks for the recipe with step-by-step directions…that’s what I need, biscuit making for dummies! 🤣 I made my first batch this morning, Christmas Day. They turned out great!
So happy you made the biscuits! xoxoxo
Lucy – What an easy recipe compared to others! I followed exactly, including Lily’s SR Flour. mine took about 15 minutes at 500 – but wow how light and full of flavor! Two extra steps….after I cubed the butter into caper size cubes, I put the whole bowl of butter in the freezer for an hour. Second, after I mixed everything together I set the whole bowl of dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, took it out made 12 balls, pressed with a fork and into the 500 degree oven in about 4 minutes. But no cutting with biscuit cutter,rolling up scraps,so easy!
Yay! Sounds perfect!
I felt as reading this, as if I were writing it. We are from the south, and not only is this exactly how Mama taught me to make my biscuits, but,my husband grew up calling them cat head biscuits. He told me that they always said they were the size of a cats head. This bring back memories for us. It was nice to see someone makes them exactly like I do. This is a true southern buttermilk biscuit. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
Yum! So glad you found me on twitter so i could find your site! We are so closeby
My husband makes buttermilk biscuits nearly every weekend! Nothing beats them. Yours look great.
Thanks, Molly. Lucky you! My husband probably wouldn’t even know how to open a can of biscuits, much less make from scratch. But he does clean, so it all works out.
My husband makes buttermilk biscuits nearly every weekend! Nothing beats them. Yours look great.
Thanks, Sheila. That picture is of my great-grandparents, not sure of the date.
Good luck with the biscuits — and don’t give up if they don’t turn out great the first time. It really does take practice.
When I opened your blog and saw your pictures of the sweet couple, it brought tears to my eyes. They so remind me of my grandparents and the depression era that brought us such great foods. I try so hard to make biscuits, but they are always tough. Your step by step photos may be just what I need to be successful! They look delicious and my husband will be so happy tomorrow if I make mine look like yours. I’m a Southern cook who is deficent in baking breads and biscuits…not a good thing. Thanks for the great blog post
Sheila
When I opened your blog and saw your pictures of the sweet couple, it brought tears to my eyes. They so remind me of my grandparents and the depression era that brought us such great foods. I try so hard to make biscuits, but they are always tough. Your step by step photos may be just what I need to be successful! They look delicious and my husband will be so happy tomorrow if I make mine look like yours. I’m a Southern cook who is deficent in baking breads and biscuits…not a good thing. Thanks for the great blog post
Sheila