Easy Drop Biscuits
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You can make these tender, fluffy Drop Biscuits in just 20 minutes! This easy recipe pairs well with soups and chowders for a simple, fast dinner. Scroll down to view the how-to video!
If you love my super popular biscuit recipe, you’re going to love this equally delicious but much quicker easy drop biscuit recipe!
While I love the flavor and texture of traditional homemade biscuits, I don’t always have the time or energy to prepare and laminate a dough. Drop biscuits are an easier, faster alternative, and while they don’t have the same flaky layers, they are still just as flavorful and satisfying.
Only 10 minutes to prepare and another 10 to bake! They’re the perfect side for a weeknight dinner, especially when you have a crowd to feed.
I like to serve these drop biscuits alongside a bowl of potato soup or chicken corn chowder. They’d even work well on top of my chicken pot pie with biscuits! Or, if you’re having biscuits for breakfast, you could just douse them with sausage gravy. Yum!
What You Need
I use just a few common ingredients in my drop biscuit recipe, making it perfect for a last-minute side or breakfast.
- Butter. Melted butter saves time (no pastry blender needed) and guarantees a tender, flavorful biscuit. Use unsalted since we add salt in ourselves.
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour–do not use self-rising or cake flour.
- Sugar. Just a little bit of sugar gives a rich, well-rounded flavor without making them sweet.
- Baking Powder and Soda. I use a combination of both to give my biscuits a fluffy, light texture.
- Salt. For a perfectly balanced biscuit, I add just a teaspoon of salt.
- Buttermilk. Providing both flavor and acidity, buttermilk is essential in this drop biscuit recipe. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can always use my quick and easy buttermilk substitute instead.
SAM’S TIP: My drop biscuit recipe halves easily, so if you aren’t feeding a crowd, you can make a small batch of biscuits.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Drop Biscuits
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl or measuring cup, slowly drizzle melted butter into buttermilk and whisk until combined (it may separate a bit).
- Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and gently fold together until just-combined. Do not overmix.
- Drop 3-tablespoon-sized scoops (I like to use an ice cream scoop) on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2” apart. Bake in 450F oven for 10-12 minutes or until tops are light golden brown.
SAM’S TIP: Like my vanilla cake and chocolate chip muffins, this batter can be easily overmixed, resulting in dry, dense biscuits. To avoid this, make sure to take care when adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Take your favorite shredded hard cheese and mix it in after you add the buttermilk. You could alternatively make my garlic cheese drop biscuits.
From technique to texture, there are major differences between these two types of biscuit. Rolled biscuits have flaky layers, while drop biscuits have an airy, fluffy texture. As far as technique goes, it’s all in the name: drop biscuits start as batter that can simply be dropped by spoonful onto your cookie sheet. Rolled biscuits are cut from dough that has been laminated (folded over onto itself again and again), which is a more intensive process than simply mixing and dropping.
No. While their ingredients are similar, scones are sweeter and richer than biscuits. Biscuits are typically served with savory dishes, and scones are usually paired with a cup of tea or coffee.
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Easy Drop Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (236 ml) buttermilk
Instructions
- Arrange a rack to the center of your oven and preheat oven to 450F (230C).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside (alternatively you may bake biscuits directly on ungreased baking sheet).
- Cut butter into 8 pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. Set aside to allow to cool.8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pour buttermilk into a large measuring cup or medium-sized bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in melted butter until combined (it is OK if the butter separates a bit).1 cup (236 ml) buttermilk
- Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture and use a spatula or spoon to gently fold together until ingredients are just-combined. Don’t overmix or the biscuits may be dense and dry.
- Scoop batter by approximately 3-Tablespoon-sized scoops and drop on prepared baking sheet, spacing biscuits at least 2” apart.
- Transfer to 450F (230C) oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are beginning to turn a light golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for several minutes before serving. If desired, brush additional melted butter over the biscuits while they are still warm.
Notes
Storing:
These biscuits are best served warm but may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Hi I’m making this now and I have a question. Most recipes I’ve seen say to put the oven at 450. Is there a benefit to having it at 425 vs. 450?
Hi Deb! This is the temperature that yielded best results with my tests and so is what I recommend. 450 helps the biscuits bake quickly and doesn’t allow them to spread too much, yielding soft, fluffy biscuits. I hope that helps! 🙂
Wonderful! I was feeling lazy & didn’t feel like messing with frozen butter and made these instead! These were delicious with your sausage gravy recipe!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them, Misty! 🙂
Thank you ! Reminded of mom’s Sunday morning breakfast from the 50’s. Drop biscuits (we called them catheads) sausage, gravy and fried taters. I have always heard you are not baking food, you are baking memories. Thank you again for this recipe. They were great.
Wonderfully delicious….I did half oil half butter ! They were incredible
I also used this recipe to make blueberry lemon drop biscuits, just added an bit of sugar with lemon zest
Outstanding recipe, made it vegan with vegan butter and full fat oat milk. Made it with my daughter like my dad used to make with me. Everyone loved them. Thanks for the great recipe.
We’re so happy they turned out with those substitutions, Sean! Enjoy 🥰
They taste great and the
texture is good
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
I’ve never made biscuits and this recipe looked good. So AMAZING!!!!! Turned out perfectly!! I only made one batch and afterwards wished I’d doubled it. Super super easy!!!! Will be my go to recipe when I don’t have time to make buns!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Eva! 🙂
I make terrible biscuits though I know all the rules and sometimes they aren’t bad. But these are the only one i will need. Best drop biscuits ever!
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them so much, Maureen! They really are so simple and tasty. 🙂
Love these biscuits!! Easy and quick to make and love that there is only 2 tbsp of sugar! These are my go to biscuits every time! 🙂
Love this recipe! I use this for quick dinner biscuits, easy breakfast with gravy, and in chicken and dumplings. I haven’t used any other biscuit recipe in over a year, and my kids will probably be using it for their families too! Also, I used this last week to go with a catfish dinner, as a base for herb and cheddar biscuits. I added about 2tsp garlic and herb seasoning, at least a cup and a half of shredded cheddar, and (accidentally!) doubled the butter…. They were so delicious, I made them again last night to go with our St. Paddy’s Day leftover cottage pie. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! It’s a beloved favorite for my family!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Pixi! 🙂
Hello, Can these biscuits be frozen after baking them?
Hi Susan! They can be frozen after baking. I use them to make breakfast sandwiches and freeze them all the time. 🙂
I never write reviews- too lazy😂 and i have never tried drop biscuits until I saw your easy peasy recipe!! So dang good and so easy to mix! This will will my “go to” biscuit recipe from now on – thanks for sharing all of your great recipes!
We are so happy you made our recipe AND came back to leave a review 😊 It means a lot to us! Enjoy the biscuits, Susanne.
Wow! Just wow! Fantastic drop biscuits! Thanks so much for the great recipe.
Hi Sam,
You are my go to person whenever I need a recipe. Every recipe I have tried of yours has been wonderful as is this biscuit recipe! I decided at the last minute I wanted biscuits with dinner. I went to you and found these biscuits. They were so quick to make. They are tender, not dry at all and have just a hint of sweetness. We loved them.
Thank you,
Hi Maureen! Thanks so much for trusting our recipes and leaving such a kind review. We’re so happy you loved the biscuits! 😊
I live in North Carolina in the United States. Here in the south biscuits are a big deal. Even though my husband and I both love biscuits, in our 31 years of marriage I have never made one from scratch. I made this recipe last night and oh my gosh! I ate two of them with my dinner, slathered in butter. He ate one with butter then had one with honey on it. This morning he had a ham biscuit for breakfast. These were a huge hit and nice and easy to make. Thanks Sam!
We’re so glad you loved them, Debbie! Homemade is always better ❤️ Thanks so much for your five star review–enjoy!
These biscuits are incredibly easy to make, fluffy and buttery! I used whole milk instead of buttermilk.
Hi.can I add more sugar if I want them sweeter?
Hi Asia! Yes, or you could always sprinkle the tops with sugar before baking. We suggest you try our scones as well, since they’re meant to be sweeter. 🙂
Sam: can your drop biscuits be cooked on top of a stove, on top of a stew in addition to baked in the oven? Thank you.
We haven’t tried this ourselves, so we can’t say for sure. Our guess is that they won’t brown and may be more of a biscuit/dumpling hybrid. If you try this, can you please let us know how it turns out? 🙂 Thanks Kathy!
can I double or possibly even triple this recipe?
Sure thing! 🙂