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.
Do you know if these freeze well? Im just wondering with the dairy free options if they would freeze as well as the regular buttered biscuits. Or if you can easily double the recipe?
They should freeze well. Doubling baked recipes can be problematic, I recommend making two separate batches instead.
Instead of milk could I use heavy whipping cream I have extra and I don’t know what to use it in
Hi Clint– yes, you can. The flavor will be amazing, but they might come out just a touch heavier than they normally do. Enjoy!
No chance yet. But will very soon. Always look for kosher food. Thankful for you
My mom could make these and I loved them when I was a boy. A big glass of cold milk goes great with this.
The date honey would go quite well with these biscuits
Can I use buttermilk? If so, do I need to adjust the leavening?
Hi Tracy– yes. No need to adjust leavening, just cut the lemon juice (buttermilk naturally contains the required acid). Enjoy!
I love a good biscuit drenched in butter and honey, perfect!
I like honey soaked peaches on buttered biscuits. Yum, now must make this dish before peaches are over with.
Shared!
I have those plates!
A co-worker’s wife used to split them open, butter them, then sprinkle a little sugar on it, then would spoon a little coffee on it. Sounded good and it was very interesting to watch her do the little ritual, but I never tried it (yet).
Tori, do you workout like a maniac? How do you stay so slim with all that good food?
OMG,, Just Bliss.. 🙂
sausage gravy.
Sometimes I use butter and grape or strawberry jam instead of honey. These look amazing!!
Butter and preserves
butter and honey !
It is a scone!!! 😉 Love England
That looks sooo good! Just like how my Nana makes them
I grew up on biscuits made fresh once or twice a day. They were routinely made the old-fashioned southern way, with buttermilk and (pork) lard. I like them with butter and honey or homemade blackberry jam or redcurrant jelly. I love them with paper-thin slices of country ham. A delicious breakfast dish is to yop them with creamed dried beef, or creamed sausage gravy and a very runny fried egg, or buttered and accompanied by bacon, fried country ham and saggs, all doused with redeye gravy.