Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits made easy thanks to simple ingredients for a soft, flakey, and buttery taste. Prepare them ahead of time for dinner, or serve them fresh for breakfast or holiday brunch! Egg-free option.
Why You’ll Love This Southern Classic
If you didn’t already know, I’m originally from Texas, and that means I grew up eating all kinds of really good foods. As a result, although I’ve traveled and lived all over the world, I often still find myself craving some of the traditional comfort food recipes from home such as Mac and Cheese, Creamy Sweet Corn Cauliflower Grits, and One Pot Shrimp Jambalaya Lentil Bowls. No matter what season I’m in or what occasion I’m cooking for, these meals always hit the spot! Not to mention, they’re always a hit with guests, too!
However, I noticed that while I have created lots of main dish recipes inspired by the Southern comfort foods I love, I don’t have a ton of side dishes or appetizers. So, obviously, that had to change as soon as possible, especially with the holiday season rolling around! Wasting no time, I got in the kitchen to create a gluten-free biscuit recipe!
Gluten-Free Biscuit Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients for this recipe. Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details!
Unlike other options, this gluten-free biscuit recipe is very similar to traditional biscuit recipes, making it super easy to create! In fact, you likely already have everything you need waiting for you in your kitchen. All we did was make a few simple swaps using:
- Gluten-free flour
- Xanthan gum – Optional
- Eggs
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Other pantry staples
Foodie Swap: For an egg-free biscuit, skip the egg, and mix in cream of tartar in with the dry flour. Just be sure to reduce the flour by 1–2 tablespoons to keep the texture soft and help the biscuits lift properly.
Buttermilk is Essential for Flavorful Biscuits!
Buttermilk is a slightly thicker milk that has been soured, which allows the proteins to curdle. As a result, buttermilk is lower in fat than traditional milk or cream. However, it’s a crucial ingredient to baked goods! When baking soda is combined with the lactic acids in buttermilk, the acid neutralizes the metallic taste that can sometimes occur with baking soda. It also gives the bread a nice tang!
Nutrition Tip: Did you know you can make your own buttermilk or dairy-free buttermilk? If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by combining 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup of milk (or dairy-free milk), and let it stand in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
How to Make the Perfect Flakey Biscuits
In all honesty, this recipe couldn’t get much easier. However, we’ve tested it out too many times to count to make sure you get the best gluten-free biscuits ever. As a result, we decided to share a few of our best baking tips! These pointers will get you started, but don’t forget to take a look at the directions below for the full recipe!
- Grate the Butter. The secret to creating the flakiest biscuits ever is to grate the butter into the dough!
Baking Tip: The easiest way to grate butter is by freezing it solid and using a cheese grater to grate it into pieces. Then, the butter stays cold while you’re preparing the biscuits and melts into the dough as they bake for irresistible texture and flavor!
- Measure Carefully. Make sure to measure the flour carefully for these biscuits. Using too much will make them too dense!
- Don’t Overmix! Mix the dough ingredients until they are just-combined. Overmixing will cause it to become tough.
- Freeze the Butter. For extra flakey gluten-free biscuits, freeze the butter, and use a cheese grater to grate it into the flour.
- Coat the Dough in Flour. To prevent the dough from sticking to the table, your hands, or itself, coat it in flour when cutting the biscuits.
- Prevent Waste. If you have leftover dough scraps, piece them together and roll them out to form more biscuits and reduce the amount of dough wasted.
Vegan Option?
Vegan gluten-free biscuits will have a slightly different taste and texture than the original recipe due to the ingredient swaps. For instance, plant-based butters do not grate as easily into the dough as dairy-based butters. Therefore, vegan biscuits won’t be quite as flaky. For the best texture, use a plant-based buttermilk with a little fat in it (similar to low-fat dairy buttermilk) and a plant-based butter that’s at least 80% fat with minimal water and a firm, stick-style consistency so it bakes like real butter. I prefer to use Miyokos European Style Cashew Milk Butter.
See recipe card below for egg substitute.
Storage & Preparation
These gluten-free buttermilk biscuits are best served warm and fresh. However, if you want to make them ahead of time, there are several ways to prepare and serve them!
Room Temperature: Keep leftover gluten-free biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Fridge: For longer-lasting results, place your biscuits in an airtight container or sealable bag, and store them in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freezer: To store biscuits, first make sure they are completely cool. Then, wrap them in foil, place them in an airtight container, and keep them in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Reheating:
• Oven: Warm biscuits at 300°F for 8–10 minutes.
• Microwave: Heat one biscuit for 10–15 seconds (add a damp paper towel on top to keep it soft).
Freezing Unbaked Dough (Meal Prep Tip):
Cut the biscuit dough, then flash-freeze the pieces on a baking sheet for 30 minutes. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2–3 months.
How to Bake Biscuits From Frozen:
Place frozen biscuits on a lined baking sheet. Bake at 425°F, adding 2–4 extra minutes to the original bake time, or until risen and golden.
Serving Suggestions
This gluten-free biscuit recipe is delicious all by itself topped with melted butter, warm honey, jam, or homemade nut butter. However, it also forms a great base for many delicious meals including:
How to Make the Best Gluten Free Biscuits Recipe
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 biscuits 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These gluten free biscuits are fluffy, flaky, and delicious for an allergy-friendly addition to your favorite breakfasts, casseroles, and more!
Ingredients
- 2 to 2 ¼ cups (300-310 g) gluten-free all-purpose flour (I have made these with Cup4Cup Multipurpose Gluten-Free Flour and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 — Cup4Cup works best.)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Optional: ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum
(Add only if your flour blend does NOT already contain xanthan gum.) - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons raw sugar or honey
- 6 ½ tablespoons cold butter, grated or cut into small cubes.
- ¾ cup cold buttermilk plus 1 tablespoon if needed (about 13 tablespoons total), plus extra for brushing
- 1 large egg* see note for substitute
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Cut in the butter. Add the cold grated or cubed butter and work it into the flour mixture using your fingertips or a pastry cutter until pea-sized crumbs form.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Fold with a spatula until just combined. The dough should be sticky and slightly shaggy — not dry. If it feels too dry, drizzle in up to 2 additional tablespoons buttermilk to help bring it together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface or parchment. Pat into a rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Cut into 3 sections, stack them, and press back together. Alternatively: fold the dough into thirds like a letter.
- Pat or roll the dough to ½–1 inch thick. Cut out 2 to 2 ½-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter. (Thicker dough + smaller cutter = taller biscuits.)
- Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet, close together but not touching. Freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 20–30 minutes. This helps them keep their shape.
- While chilling, preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Brush the tops with buttermilk (or whisked egg for deeper color). Bake for 15–18 minutes, or until tall and golden.
- Cool briefly and serve warm.
Notes
Egg Substitute: For egg-free biscuits, add ½ teaspoon cream of tartar and reduce the salt to ½ teaspoon (instead of 1 teaspoon). Egg-free dough runs a little drier, so cut the flour by 1–2 tablespoons to keep the texture soft and help them rise. If the dough still feels dry, mix in 1 extra tablespoon of buttermilk.
GF Flour & Baking Tips: Gluten-free flour blends absorb moisture differently, so the dough texture can change from batch to batch. If the dough is too wet, the biscuits will spread instead of rise. Add 1–3 extra tablespoons of flour until the dough is soft, tacky, and able to hold its shape. Also make sure your butter stays very cold, your baking powder is fresh, and the oven is fully preheated—these all help the biscuits lift and stay fluffy.
For dairy-free: Use dairy-free butter and dairy-free buttermilk substitute (¾ cup unsweetened plant milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice, set aside to curdle for at least 10 minutes before using).
Storage: Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container for 1–2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer (wrapped and fully cooled) for 2–3 months.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- chill time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
- Category: breads
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One 2 ½ inch biscuit
- Calories: 195
- Sugar: 1.8 g
- Sodium: 215.6 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.8 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Cholesterol: 40.5 mg
Hi! Thank you so much for this recipe! Does it call for salted or unsalted butter?
Unsalted! I just updated the recipe card to note that as well. Let me know if you have any other questions about the recipe, happy to help!
Not allergy friendly because it has dairy in it.
Hi Kay! I always give dairy free and/or egg free options. For the dairy free options I recommend using like to use Miyoko’s Creamery cultured vegan butter. It’s soy free made with coconut oil and cashew and works really well with baking!
Hi! How would this recipe freeze? I want to make a large batch and thinking about freezing some.
Hi Jessica! To store the biscuits, first make sure they are completely cool. Then, wrap them in foil, place them in an airtight container, and keep them in the freezer for 2-3 months. Happy baking!
Could you freeze the biscuits once formed and bake at a later date?
You mean Freeze raw dough? Yes, that should work just fine! I have a note up top in the blog about how to flash freeze, store, then bake.
Freeze the dough for quick, warm biscuits whenever you need them! To do so, flash freeze the prepared dough by placing the cut biscuits on a baking sheet, and placing them in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Then, place them in a sealable freezer bag, and store them in the freezer. When you’re ready to bake them, place them in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 425 F
Will I get the same results if I use almond milk instead of buttermilk? My son is gluten and dairy free. (I’d also use non dairy “butter”)
Can you still use egg? If so, I think you could easily make this dairy free. We often make vegan buttermilk. Replace buttermilk with 1 cup coconut milk or a non dairy milk with fat in it, then add 2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Mix and set it aside for 10 minutes to “culture.” Dairy free butter will work just fine too! I like the soy free earth balance.
I tried to make a similar recipe but the biscuits didn’t grow. What could be the issue and what would help them bake successfully?
Hi Jenny! Hmm that’s a tough one. What exactly do you mean by similar? What kind of flour did you use? Was your baking soda fresh? How much (if any) xanthan gum was included? All of these factors can have a big impact on how your biscuits grow in the oven.
I did a recipe that was gluten free but didn’t include the eggs. I was wondering if the eggs are also vital in making a biscuit rise. The flour contained xanthax gum, it’s bobs red mill gf. Is it a good brand?
I would use a gluten all purpose flour without thr xanthan gum so you can customize it the portion of xanthan gum added. Check my notes. Each brand is different so just depends on how much xanthan gum is in their 1:1 mix. Ya know? Also, when I made this without eggs, they didn’t rise nearly as much as the one with eggs but we’re still flakey. Were yours flakey or chewy?
These turned out so tender and flakey. Delicious recipe!
Awesome! So glad! What brand of flour did you use?
Amazing! I only wish I doubled the recipe so we had more!
next time. 🙂