Drop Biscuit Recipe

These easy drop biscuits come together in about 20 minutes and are perfect on the side of so many different recipes! They are the most buttery soft biscuits.

a drop biscuit in a basket with other drop biscuits - 4

If you have been holding back from biscuits at home, let this be the sign for you that that should change! This Drop Biscuit recipe is insanely easy and is bound to become a favorite in your home.

This recipe is courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen . They are such a great source if you are just learning how to cook. Their cookbooks don’t just provide great recipes, they teach you the whys behind cooking that are so invaluable and can be translated to other recipes.

I love this recipe for so many reasons. Mostly, I love how fast these come together – just 20 minutes from start to finish! Besides being so fast, I love that these biscuits rise perfectly. They are soft, moist, and don’t crumble. Finally, they have the perfect balance of ingredients so they don’t taste bitter, overly sweet, or greasy. They just taste like perfection.

I think I have made these 4 times in the past 2 weeks since finding your site! The whole fam loves them!

bowls of ingredients for biscuits labeled; flour, melted butter, buttermilk baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar - 5

Key Ingredients for Drop Biscuits

There isn’t a lot to this very easy drop biscuit recipe, including simple ingredients which I love. For the full recipe including all ingredients and their measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Cold buttermilk: It is important that the buttermilk is cold and full-fat. When the cold buttermilk is mixed with the hot melted butter, it creates clumps of butter, which is key to the final biscuit. Additionally, we have made these with lower-fat buttermilk and didn’t get the same results. Stick with full-fat buttermilk. If you don’t keep buttermilk on hand, see a perfect alternative below.
Hot melted butter: As mentioned above, when the cold buttermilk mixes with the hot melted butter, it creates little clumps of butter. When that is added to the batter and baked, the butter melts and creates beautiful little pockets of steam, which leaves you with the perfect biscuit.
All purpose flour: Read below on how to ensure that you have properly measured flour.

How to Make Drop Biscuits

This is a brief overview to show you just how easily this quick recipe comes together. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the full recipe, including all measurements.

Step 1: Mix together the dry ingredients

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

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Step 2: Combine the Cold Buttermilk and Hot Melted Butter

I suggest leaving the buttermilk in the refrigerator until right before you add it to the butter. Do this in a separate bowl from the flour mixture.

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Step 3: Combine the Ingredients

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and combine just until you don’t see streaks of flour and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

pouring buttermilk mixture from one glass bowl into a flour mixture in another glass bowl to make easy drop biscuits - 8

Step 4: Drop into Biscuits

I like to do this with a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup. Drop the biscuit dough onto a prepared baking sheet.

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Step 5: Bake and Enjoy!

These bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes and are great hot right out of the oven. Brush the baked biscuits with melted butter if desired.

Measuring Flour for Baked Goods

A key mistake in so many baking recipes is packing flour. This results in more flour than the recipe calls for, which means dry and crumbly baked goods. The best solution for this, hands down, is to weigh your flour. If you would like to go that route, this is the scale I recommend. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, follow the steps in my How to Measure Flour post. It will ensure you result in the correct amount of flour with no packing.

How to Measure Flour

Tips and Tricks for Quick Drop Biscuits

Preheat your oven. This is such a common step in recipes that I rarely mention it. But in baking recipes, especially recipes that bake for such a short amount of time, it is key. If your oven is cold when you put these in, they won’t bake properly. The oven needs to be preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit before you add the drop biscuits.
Measure the flour correctly. As mentioned above, packing flour and using too much is a common error in baking. Follow the steps in my tutorial post to ensure you have the correct amounts.
Grab both baking soda and baking powder. This recipe calls for both and they are not interchangeable; you will need to use both ingredients in this recipe.
Use fresh baking soda and baking powder. Baking soda and baking powder need to be replaced about every six months. They are responsible for the chemical reaction that creates the rise in baked goods. If they aren’t fresh, that reaction can’t take place.
Use buttermilk. The baking soda in this recipe requires buttermilk, which is acidic, in order to have its chemical reaction. It can’t be replaced with regular milk unless you add an acid. Read more on this below.
Use great baking sheets. The equipment you use to bake with can make a huge difference in the outcome. See my preferred baking sheets linked below.

Rimmed Baking Sheets

easy biscuit on a parchment lined baking sheet, being brushed with melted butter - 10

Making Buttermilk

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand and you are craving these biscuits, I have an easy solution for you using whole milk and vinegar. While it won’t be the same exact results as using store-bought buttermilk, you will end up with absolutely delicious biscuits. My tutorial on How to Make Buttermilk walks you through this easy substitute.

How to Make Buttermilk

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Storing Drop Biscuits

If you add melted butter to the top of these, you will want to eat them the same day. If you don’t, they will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for two to three days.

Freezing

These homemade biscuits freeze really well. To freeze them, skip brushing them with melted butter when they come out of the oven. Then place them on a wax paper-lined tray for a few hours in the freezer before transferring them to an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to three months. These will take just about 30 minutes to thaw at room temperature.

easy homemade biscuit being broken in half - 12

What to Pair with Drop Biscuits

These biscuits can be enjoyed any time of day, alone or with butter or jam. We have countless dinner recipes that these would pair perfectly with. But here are some recipes that always make me want to grab this biscuit recipe.

Prime Rib
Baked Chicken Thighs
Pork Roast

If you make this super easy biscuit recipe or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

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Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour read here about measuring flour so it does not pack (240 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk cold (236.6 ml)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly (113 grams)
2 tablespoons butter melted, for brushing on at the end, optional (28.25 grams)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt
In a smaller bowl, whisk the cold buttermilk and melted butter. It will start to clump together as the cold buttermilk drops the temperature of the butter. 1 cup buttermilk, 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients just until it starts to pull away from the side.
Using a well-greased 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop the batter and drop just less than a quarter cup of batter onto the baking mat, keeping an inch and a half between biscuits. You may have to bake them in 2 batches.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove the biscuits from the oven and brush with butter if serving right away. Serve warm. 2 tablespoons butter

Recipe Video

a drop biscuit in a basket with other drop biscuits - 13

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Fast Easy Biscuits

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