Biscuits – Dairy or Dairy Free Vegan – Easy buttery and delicious biscuit recipe for breakfast, brunch or dinner.
Southern-style biscuits more closely resembled a cracker at first. They were known as beaten biscuits and did not rise in the oven when baked. When the Southern part of America was first settled by Europeans, cornbread was far more popular since the humid climate was not well suited to growing wheat. Once transportation improved and wheat could be shipped in from the Midwest, biscuits became a popular alternative to cornbread.
Soft biscuits first appeared in America during the 1800s. They are often considered to be the original quick bread. By mid-century, once baking soda and baking powder became common, farmer’s wives were serving them with at least one meal a day. The biscuit dough was rolled and a drinking glass was used to cut the dough into round circles. This method was handy, but it had a habit of pinching the edges of the dough in such a way that that it would not rise fully. When sharp-edged biscuit cutters began appearing around the 1870s, it became possible to cleanly cut several biscuits at a time, at a much faster pace.
Here is my favorite way to make biscuits. The recipe is made with butter, but can easily be modified as dairy-free and vegan using the ingredient suggestions below. Both dairy and non-dairy versions of this biscuit taste buttery amazing, flaky and delish. I love topping mine with melted butter and honey, or with scrambled eggs for breakfast – what are your favorite toppings?
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Biscuits - Dairy or Dairy Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, salted margarine OR buttery flavored shortening, frozen
- 1 cup milk OR unsweetened non-dairy milk (almond, cashew and soy milk work well)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons additional salted butter OR margarine
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a large bowl. If you have extra time, chill dry ingredients in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before proceeding. If not, that's ok-- cold ingredients provide a better result, but it's not a requirement here.
- Add frozen butter, margarine or shortening to the bowl cut into small pieces. Use a pastry cutter or fork to combine the dry ingredients with the fat until only small pieces remain and it looks like sand.
- Whisk together milk or non-dairy milk with lemon juice.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients. Stir gently while pouring in the milk mixture 1/3 cup at a time. You may not need all of the liquid.
- Stir until just slightly combined, the mixture will be sticky.
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface, dust the top with a bit of flour and then fold the dough over on itself 4-5 times. Resist the urge to knead the dough, it will result in dense biscuits. Form into a 1-inch thick disc, handling as little as possible.
- Use a 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter and push straight down through the dough, then slightly twist to cut out as many biscuits as possible.
- Place biscuits on a greased baking sheet in two rows, making sure they just touch along the edges. This will help them rise uniformly. Gently reform the remaining dough and cut out one or two more biscuits. You should end up with 7-8 biscuits total. Gently press a small divot in the center of each biscuit with your thumb (again, helps them rise uniformly).
- Brush biscuits with the 2 T. melted butter or margarine.Bake in the 450 degree oven for 20 minutes or until fluffy and golden, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
- Best if eaten while still hot, fresh from the oven.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Research Sources:
Egerton, John, Ann Bleidt. Egerton, and Al Clayton. Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History. New York: Knopf, 1987. Print.
Smith, Andrew F. Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Sohn, Mark F. Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture, and Recipes. Lexington, KY: U of Kentucky, 2005. Print.
I’m sensitive to milk but can eat yogurt and butter. I mixed roughly 1/2 cup Dannon whole milk plain yogurt with 1/2 cup water while aiming for a milk-like consistency. For the 20 minutes, I put the butter in the freezer and the dry ingredients in the refrigerator. Very nice taste and consistency. Thank you for a great recipe!
I used full fat oatmilk and earth’s best “butter” and I couldn’t tell they were non dairy. The biscuts came perfect! Great recipe!
Best tea biscuits I’ve ever made! I followed the recipe using almond milk and butter they turned out nice and soft. I ended up with 7 large size biscuits. I will definitely be making them again. Thanks!
Wow wow wow!!! These are so freaking good! Took two seconds to make and taste so so good!
Can I substitute oil for the marg in the dairy free version? If so how much?
I do not recommend this substitution. Shortening would be a better sub here, and should work cup-for-cup as a sub.
Best vegan biscuits I’ve ever made! Fluffy and “buttery”. Wow. I was suspicious of the lemon juice but no lemony flavor noted. Great recipe thanks!!
Glad you enjoyed them Sarah!
Just used this recipe today. Vegan version. The whole family loved it!
I made these exactly as directed with a few exceptions. I used an iron skillet and did the drop method for a more rustic, less uniform look. And I made a seasoned herb butter to brush over the top. I would like to also add that you can put shredded cheese into the dry mixture and make them cheesy. We don’t eat dairy so I use Daiya. Delicious!!!
These were pretty good for dairy-free/pareve biscuits. I made them in the processor with almond milk and used half margarine and half Crisco. They were soft and well risen. I would make again.
BH
What if you use a soft wheat self-rising flour such as “White Lily “?
What would be the measurements?
Thanks
My biscuits are very flat!
Cindy, did you accidentally leave out the baking soda and/or baking powder? They should rise nicely if all ingredients are incorporated.
Just tried the butter free biscuits, I took a lot of short cuts lol. But they came out great. Will definitely recommend this site to others. 5 out of 5 keep up the good work!
I made these this morning and they turned out wonderful. I wish that they had risen just a little higher, so I may add some extra baking powder next time. Perhaps I put just little too much flour on surface? Either way, they are very easy tweaks. I also grated all of my butter for less handling. Absolutely delicious and my family raved about them! Thank you so much for sharing. This is now my official “Go To” Biscuit recipe. 🙂
I went vegan a few months ago. Recently used this recipe to make vegan biscuits and “sausage” gravy with Earth Balance and unsweetened cashew milk. Definitely satisfied the craving! Love your recipes!
These sound delicious! but you said they were dairy free when there is butter in them…?
Barra there are two versions above – one contains butter and one is dairy-free.