Southern Biscuit Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)
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:
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- 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.
Nothing was better as a kid in the hills of West Virginia than momma’s homemade cat head biscuits and daddy’s poor mans gravy with big chunks of fried bologna mixed in. When I was little bologna came in chunks and we only got to buy a chunk once a month from daddy’s wages of being a miner. Eating that bologna when it was first brought home was so heavenly and we were blessed with a sandwich. Then to make it last a little longer daddy would make his poor mans gravy (milk, flour, bacon grease) cut a few chunks fry it up in that bacon grease, then add his flour stirring until it was just the right brown, then add the milk and thicken it up. While daddy was making his gravy, momma was busy making her big ol’ cat head biscuit to pour that gravy over. We would open that big ol’ light fluffy biscuit, top it with a gob of home churned butter which we called cow butter (as if there were really any other in my childhood) pour that hot, creamy thick bologna gravy over the top and we were eating a meal fit for a king! Makes me drool to just think about it!
No one in my family made biscuits, but I am determined to be a biscuit maker in my family. I have been trying out different recipes and not really getting the results that I’m looking for. This recipe looks great! Few ingredients I usually have on hand and its not time consuming. This is important to me because I am trying to cut back on my grocery bill so the fewer the ingredient the better. Also I work full time, so I don’t have a lot of time in the evenings to bake biscuits from scratch. Christy, I’m making your Ground Beef Stew from your second cookbook. I’m going to make these biscuits tonight to go along with it. Thank you!
My grandma taught me how to make biscuits. I would spend most of my weekends with her and we would make some of the best biscuits. We had biscuits every Sunday after church with her amazing fried chicken. Yum! I sure miss them days.
My mama was divorced with three kids. She would get up every morning and fix us biscuits in a great big green Tupperware bowl. She kept her flour there and would scoop out her Crisco drop in into the well of flour and start pouring the buttermilk! Mixing with her hand, right there in the bowl. She’d patty each one out onto her sheet and bake them up. Once home from work she would fix dinner, still in her heels, and homemade biscuits once more. We always had breakfast and dinner at the table. We didn’t have much, but we never realized this until we were older. We were rich in a much bigger way! Great memories!
My Aunt Ruthie always left biscuits in the freezer. I would go to her house after school and “pop” 2 into the oven. I couldn’t wait until they were done! Mmm good! ! I have tried to duplicate hers but never could. I can’t wait to try your recipe. It looks so simple and good!
I grew up with my mother making homemade biscuits! I have never made them from scratch but buy the frozen Pillsbury ones and absolutely love those!!
My grandmother made the best biscuits. They were so soft and fluffy. I use to believe they stayed that way for days – but they never lasted that long. She used to get so made at me because I would dip the biscuit right in her can of molasses and leave crumbs in the can. She always asked who did it, but she new who the guilty party was. I would love to say that I’ve made as good – but not. I really miss those biscuits and can’t wait to try the three ingredient one you provided in the blog.