Southern Biscuit Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)
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Crafted with a mere trio of essential ingredients, this timeless Southern biscuit recipe stands as an enduring cornerstone of Southern culinary tradition. These biscuits, embodying a perfect fusion of simplicity and flavor, hold a cherished place in Southern households. Soft, fluffy, and undeniably delectable, they transcend the boundaries of mealtime, seamlessly transitioning from a morning indulgence to a savory accompaniment for dinner.
Each bite carries with it a taste of Southern heritage, a testament to the art of Southern comfort food. The simplicity of the ingredients belies the rich and comforting flavors that emerge from the oven. Tender and buttery, they exude a warmth that envelopes the senses. Slathered with butter or adorned with gravy, these biscuits become a canvas for a multitude of culinary delights, adapting effortlessly to various accompaniments. These flaky butter biscuits go perfect so many types of soups like Creamy Vegetable Soup, Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe, Vegan Butternut Squash Soup, and Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients To Make Homemade Biscuits
- (self-rising)
- Shortening
- Milk or buttermilk
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make This Classic Southern Biscuit Recipe
Place the flour into a medium bowl and add the shortening. Cut in with a fork or pastry cutter.
It will look like this when you are done.
Not incredibly different but you won’t be able to really see the shortening anymore once it is incorporated into the flour.
Most recipes will tell you to cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles peas. I’ve never, in my life, seen peas that look like this, or a flour/shortening mixture that looked like peas. It must have been a high imagination day when that analogy was thought up.
Add in your milk.
Stir that milk in until your dough starts to stick together good.
Sprinkle flour onto a surface. I like to lay out a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle it on top of that for easy clean-up later.
Dump your biscuit dough out onto the floured surface.
Now you need to knead it.
However, you don’t want to over-knead it or you’ll end up with my Daddy’s hockey pucks.
I tell my kids “In biscuits, as in relationships, it’s never good to be too kneady.” LOL
Then, I cut your Southern biscuits.
Cut your biscuits with a biscuit cutter or small glass that has been dipped into flour to keep the cut biscuits from sticking to it.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place your cut biscuits in it, making sure the sides touch. This helps them to rise because they support each other as they bake and rise up.
I tell my kids “You want them touching because biscuits are like good friends, they help each other rise up.”
Bake these at 500 for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and brush tops of these classic southern biscuits with melted butter, if you’d like. Enjoy all the delicious .
How To Store Homemade Biscuits
- Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat in a low oven or in the air fryer.
- You can also freeze the baked biscuits or unbaked for up to 3 months. Thaw both the and overnight in the fridge before reheating as above or following the instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Why does the recipe have such a large range for how much milk to use?
Sometimes, your flour will need a little more, sometimes a little less. I could have used a little more in this tutorial but it’ll turn out just fine. Biscuits are really hard to mess up, so if yours end up a little dry, no worries, they’ll still be delicious! They’ll actually absorb honey and butter a little better. My daddy used to make hockey puck biscuits on Sunday morning but they still tasted good and we gobbled ’em all down! What’s even better, if there were any left we could use them as weapons on each other out in the backyard. Always a plus side!
How do I avoid over-kneading my Southern biscuit dough?
To avoid over-kneading, I press my dough into a ball and then press it out flat. I do this no more than two or three times. The dough should still stretch. If it rips or tears then it’s probably over kneaded. So once the dough is soft and springs back a little, it’s done.
Can I Create Any Variations With This Recipe?
Here are some fun variations to make with this Southern biscuit recipe:
-
- For a savory alternative, add shredded cheddar cheese, chopped chives, or chopped bacon to your dough.
- For sweet, sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar into your dough.
- To make a scone-like biscuit, add dried fruits.
What Can I Serve With These Biscuits?
These pair best with your favorite Southern . This might be fried chicken, , pimento cheese dip, or bacon, egg, and cheese for the ultimate breakfast sandwich.
You may also enjoy these other Southern biscuit recipes:
- Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
- Pimento Cheese Biscuits
- Easy Chicken and Dumplings (With Canned Biscuit)
- Biscuit Pretzels
- Drop Biscuits Recipe
- Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups White Lily self-rising flour see notes if using all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 2/3-3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Place flour into a medium bowl and cut in the shortening until well incorporated. Stir in just enough milk until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.2 cups White Lily self-rising flour, 1/4 cup shortening, 2/3-3/4 cup milk
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead two or three times. Roll dough out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or small glass that has been dipped in flour. Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Who taught you how to make biscuits? Who made the biscuits in your family? Maybe you’ve never had a biscuit or to you, a “biscuit” is what we think of like a cookie – that’s just fine, too.
My mama made biscuits using bacon drippings instead of shortening and put them in a sizzling hot cast iron skillet to bake. I have never been able to duplicate that crispy crust on the bottom
You have to have the hot cast iron skillet, just the same way you get that crispy brown crusty bottom on homemade corn bread! I always put bacon grease in skillet and heat it up in the hot oven before pouring in the corn bread batter or placing the biscuits. My Mother always put the biscuits down in the hot grease then turned them over to the other side so both sides had a coating of bacon grease before they baked! Heavenly
I remember my mamaw making “biscuit-bread”…it was the best thing I have ever put in my mouth. She had no measurements for her recipe, she would put in a handful of this and a little bit of that and it was perfect every time!!! Unfortunately for my mom and me, the biscuit gene is recessive. I have just recently started making 7-Up biscuits and my family of all boys love them!!
When you asked about biscuit memories, my Big Mama’s face popped right up in the front of my mind. She was born in 1887 and raised a family in Waco, TX during the depression and on. There were 8 kids in my mother’s family and when all the siblings and grandchildren got together we couldn’t all fit in the little house were Big Mama lived. But with as many of us as there were, there were always more than enough of her fluffy, delicate and delicious biscuits to go around, like six or seven dozen at the big meal. My memory is putting my Mother’s homemade peach preserves on Big Mama’s steaming hot biscuit slathered with butter. Oh heavens, it’s making my mouth water right now. I miss both of those wonderful women everyday and know that they are up in heaven eating biscuits and jam right now!! Thanks Christy!
Oh my I love a good homemade biscuit!! Can’t get White Lily flour here in the midwest so would truly love to win this!!!
Like others my mom used canned biscuits, my pop was the same, I do remember my grandmother’s though and they were as light as a feather and always a treat when she came to stay with us. I am going to try this recipe, I basically have given up hope of homemade biscuits though, LOL. My family does LOVE your recipe for Hoe Cake so that is a treat I make at least every week or two! I always seem to find friends and family that have need of your cookbooks, such wonderful gifts to share!
Not growing up in the South my mother always made homemade bread twice a week. We very seldom ever ate “store bought” bread. Moving to the deep South I learned to make biscuits from a close friend and told to never use anything but “White Lilly”. Following her advise I don’t roll out and cut but rather pinch off and roll by hand. My family now especially likes my angel biscuits, and I do too. Now that I’m married to a southern man I alternate between biscuits and corn bread. Also use White Lilly self rising corn meal mix. Best for both worlds.
My mother’s biscuits were out of the can. It has only been in the past 10 years that I have attempted to make biscuits from scratch. (What a difference!) I did not know about baking them with their sides touching. It makes a lot of sense. Christy, you never fail to teach me something.