An easy gluten-free biscuits recipe made Southern style with buttermilk. Flaky and tender. The recipe has a dairy-free and Vegan option.
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Gluten-Free Biscuits
If you have been following my blog you probably already know that my husband is from the South- Knoxville, Tennesse to be exact. We spent many years living there and both of my oldest children were born there.
I adore Southern cooking. One of the main food groups in a Southern’s diet is buttermilk biscuits.
In the South, biscuits hold an honored place at your table, no matter which meal is being served. Biscuits are eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
One of the things my husband misses the most since we both went gluten-free is biscuits. For years I was able to buy a gluten-free drop biscuit mix that was pretty good and helped with his biscuit cravings.
Well, I can no longer find the Martha White’s gluten-free buttermilk biscuit mix. So it was time for me to get in the kitchen and work on a gluten-free Southern buttermilk biscuit recipe.
It’s taken me some time to perfect my gluten-free biscuit recipe and I am very excited to share it with you all!
How To Make Gluten-Free Biscuits- Step By Step
The first thing you are going to want to do is Preheat oven to 450° F. I know my oven takes forever to heat up and you want your oven to be nice and hot.
Cut the butter into small pieces and put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
If you do not have buttermilk you can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to the cup of milk and let stand 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator to keep cold. You can also make buttermilk out of dairy-free milk.
In a large bowl add the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (leave out if your flour already has it like the Pillsbury gluten-free flour) baking powder, salt, sugar, and give it a quick whisk or stir to combine the ingredients. (photo 1)
Cut in the butter (or Smart Balance or shortening for dairy-free) into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork into until it looks like the size of small peas. (photo 2 and 3)
Add in the buttermilk and the whisked egg (I whisk the egg right in the buttermilk) and stir until a soft dough forms. The dough will be sticky. (photo 4)
The key is to not over mix the dough because over-mixing causes the dough to yield tough biscuits. There is nothing is worse than a flat, tough biscuit!
Add one tablespoon of flour to a large piece of parchment paper. Please do not roll out the dough.
Place the dough on top of the floured parchment paper. Dust the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon of flour. (photo 5)
Gently fold the dough over on itself 2 times. You do this by folding the dough in half on top of itself and then doing it a second time. (photo 6)
With your hands form a dough round that is about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. If you make it any larger or flatter you will end up with hard, flat biscuits. (photo 7)
Cut out 2-inch biscuits using a biscuit cutter, the mouth of a glass or the lid of a mason jar. Do not twist cutter when cutting; this will crimp the edges of the biscuit causing it not to rise well. (photo 8)
Reform the dough scraps into a dough round and cut out more biscuits.. ( photo 9 and 10)
Put the biscuits in a greased large cast iron pan or a greased baking sheet. You will have 12 biscuits to bake. (photo 11)
Bake the biscuits for 15-20 minutes at 450° F. At the 15-minute point please check your biscuits to see if they are golden brown. Please watch your biscuits because all ovens are different.
I like to brush melted butter on top of the warm biscuits. Serve warm and enjoy! (photo 12)
Pro Tip For Freezing The Biscuits
You can batch make the biscuits and save some for later. Flash freeze the cut biscuits (unbaked) for 30 minutes on a parchment-lined baking sheet before placing them in a freezer bag and putting them back into the freezer. When you are ready to make your biscuits bake the frozen biscuits for 15-20 minutes at 450° F. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different.
The Best Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour For Making Biscuits
These gluten-free biscuits are made with an all-purpose rice flour cup for cup blend. A cup for cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend is one that already has xanthan gum it.
Most gluten-free all-purpose flour blends have xanthan gum already in them. The xanthan gum helps replace the elasticity and texture of gluten.
Make sure to check to see if the brand of gluten-free flour you are using has xanthan gum in it. If it already has xanthan gum in the blend, do not add any extra xanthan gum to the recipe or you will get gummy baked goods!
My favorite brand of gluten-free flour is Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
I test baked with the Pillsbury Gluten-Free, Betterbatter, Bob’s Red Mill Cup for Cup, and Great Value Gluten-Free Flour. The Bob’s Red Mill flour and the Great Value Flour has sorghum flour in it, which is different from the Pillsbury gluten-free flour.
The biscuits made with Bob’s Red Mill and Great Value Brand were not as fluffy and the dough was wetter. I have been also told by a reader that if you use King Arthur gluten-free flour you will need to reduce the amount of buttermilk to 1/2-3/4 cup. I have not personally tried this recipe with King Authur gluten-free flour.
I have not tried this recipe with either almond or coconut flour. These gluten-free biscuits should only be made with a gluten-free rice flour blend.
Almond flour does not have the same taste and texture of rice flour. Almond flour biscuits are also denser than biscuits made with rice flour. Gluten-free rice flour mimics the taste and texture of traditional wheat flour better than almond or coconut flour.
If you are looking for a biscuit recipe that is made with almond flour try Wholesome Yum’s Low Carb Paleo Almond Flour Biscuits recipe.
Pro Tip For Measuring Gluten-Free Flour
The best way to measure gluten-free flour is the “spoon & level” method. Using a spoon, scoop the flour into the measuring cup. After you’ve spooned the flour into the measuring cup, use the back of a knife to level off the top of the measuring cup. Friends, please do not scoop the flour out of the bag with your measuring cup.
There are so many ways to eat these tender and flaky gluten-free buttermilk biscuits. I love to drizzle them with honey or slather them with strawberry jam. I also like a savory sausage biscuit or a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit.
Dairy-Free Baking
I have also included a dairy-free option to this gluten-free biscuit recipe. My husband, myself and youngest son are all dairy-free as well. So now you too can enjoy a gluten-free and a dairy-free biscuit.
For this recipe, I tested it with both Smart Balance butter and shortening. I preferred the Smart Balance butter over the shortening.
I also used almond milk when baking the dairy-free version of this recipe. Almond milk is my preferred. dairy-free milk.
I also really like baking with cashew and coconut milk. If you need to be nut-free you could also use soy milk in this recipe.
Egg-Free Baking
Recipe updated December 2018
We recently found out that my husband has an egg sensitivity. My husband LOVES biscuits, so I knew that I had to try and make my biscuits egg-free.
I used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, which is also gluten-free. They turned out great! They were not as fluffy as my regular biscuits but they were just as flaky and delicious.
I made them both dairy-free and egg-free, so they would also be Vegan gluten-free biscuits. So if you also need to be egg-free or are Vegan you too can enjoy my gluten-free buttermilk biscuits!
Now my family can enjoy authentic Southern buttermilk gluten-free biscuits. I can’t tell you how happy my husband is.
I’ve also turned my gluten-free buttermilk biscuits into Gluten-Free Cinnamon Biscuits {Dairy-Free Option}!
Check out some of my other easy gluten-free breakfast recipes! Below are some of my reader’s favorites.
- Easy Gluten-Free Pancakes {Dairy-Free & Vegan Option}
- Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Muffins {Dairy-Free and Refined Sugar Free Option}
- Easy Gluten-Free Waffles {Dairy-Free & Vegan Option}
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Scones {Dairy-Free Option}
- Easy Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins {Dairy-Free Option}
These gluten-free biscuits are flaky on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside- which equals perfection in my book. They are easy to make from scratch, I promise!
★Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below in the comments!★
Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour I like Pillsbury gluten-free. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum ,leave out if your flour already contains it
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk dairy-free use almond, cashew, or coconut milk. Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to the cup of milk and let stand 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator to stay cold.
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter dairy-free/Vegan use Smart Balance butter, shortening, or Earth Balance butter
- 1 large egg egg-free/Vegan use Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour (I Like Pillsbury gluten-free)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F.
- In a large bowl add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and give it a quick whisk or stir to combine the ingredients. I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and put in the freezer for 10 minutes. If you do not have buttermilk make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to the cup of milk and let stand 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator to keep cold. You can also make buttermilk out of dairy-free milk.
- Cut in butter (or shortening for dairy-free) into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork until it looks like the size of small peas.
- Add in the buttermilk and the whisked egg (or egg replacer) and stir until a soft dough forms. (I whisk the egg right in the buttermilk) The key is to not over mix because over-mixing causes the dough to yield tough biscuits. The dough will be sticky.
- Add one tablespoon of flour to a large piece of parchment paper. PLEASE DO NOT ROLL OUT THE DOUGH.
- Place the dough on top of the floured parchment paper. Dust the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon of flour and gently fold dough over on itself 2 times. You do this by folding the dough in half on top of itself and then doing it a second time.
- With your hands form a dough round that is about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. If you make it any larger or flatter you will end up with hard, flat biscuits.
- Cut out 2-inch biscuits using a biscuit cutter, the mouth of a glass or the lid of a mason jar. Do not twist cutter when cutting; this will crimp the edges of the biscuit causing it not to rise well. Reform the dough scraps into a dough round and cut out more biscuits. Put the biscuits on a greased large cast iron pan or baking sheet. You will have 12 biscuits to bake.
- Bake the biscuits for 15-20 minutes at 450° F. At the 15-minute point please check your biscuits to see if they are golden brown. Please watch your biscuits because all ovens are different.
- I like to brush melted butter on top of the warm biscuits. Serve warm and enjoy!
- The biscuits can be stored in an airtight container. They are best enjoyed warm.
Notes
- I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- I test baked with the Bob's Red Mill Cup for Cup, Great Value Gluten-Free Flour and Pillsbury Gluten-Free flour. The Bob's Red Mill flour and the Great Value Flour has sorghum flour in it, which is different from the Pillsbury gluten-free flour.
- The biscuits made with Bob's Red Mill and Great Value Brand were not as fluffy and the dough was wetter. I have also been told by a reader if you use King Arthur gluten-free flour you will need to reduce the amount of buttermilk to 1/2-3/4 cup. I have not personally tried this recipe with King Authur gluten-free flour.
- The best way to measure gluten-free flour is the “spoon & level” method. Using a spoon, scoop the flour into the measuring cup. After you’ve spooned the flour into the measuring cup, use the back of a knife to level off the top of the measuring cup. Friends, please do not scoop the flour out of the bag with your measuring cup.
- For dairy-free option use Smart balance butter or shortening, almond, cashew or coconut milk.
- For egg-free use Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer. The egg-free biscuits were not as fluffy as the regular biscuits but were still flaky and delicious!
- If Vegan use egg replacer, shortening/Earth Balance butter, and dairy-free milk. The Vegan biscuits were not as fluffy as the regular biscuits but were still flaky and delicious!
- You can batch make the biscuits and save some for later. Flash freeze the cut biscuits (unbaked) for 30 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet before placing them in a freezer bag and putting them back into the freezer. When you are ready to make your biscuits bake the frozen biscuits for 15-20 minutes at 450° F. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different.
- I have the K&S Artisan Complete Pastry Cutter Set
- Mama says, "Check all of your labels!"
Patricia Farano says
We don’t need GF in our house but had friends over for dinner who do need GF. These worked very well and our guest ate three of them to go with pot roast and a GF apple crisp for dessert.
I do have a question. Why bring an egg to room temperature and then mix it in with cold buttermilk? I started to do that and then couldn’t figure out why, so I didn’t.
I baked some of the biscuit dough fresh and baked some from frozen. Much prefer the fresh over the frozen, although for a small family or single person, freezing does work.
Audrey says
Thank you so much for the awesome 5-star recipe review Patricia! I am so happy that you and your friends enjoyed the biscuits. The egg can be cold, as it was an oversight, but it is now corrected. It is important to have cold butter and cold buttermilk. Thanks again!
DebB says
These are really good and my husband liked them too (he’s not GF) A batch lasted me all week. They are nice and thick, so I slice them in half and pop them in the toaster to reheat then slather withEarth Balance and whatever else suits me. I used Bobs Red Mill 1 to1 G F flour since that was what I had on hand. Also used Earth Balance sticks. Making a second batch today for upcoming week. This is now my go to biscuit recipe. Will try with King Arthur brand next time.
Thanks for the recipe and detailed instructions!
Audrey says
Thank you so much Deb for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your husband enjoyed the biscuits and this is now your go-to biscuit recipe. This really made my day! You are so welcome, I love sharing what I make for my family. Thanks again!
Roberta L. Boyd says
Oh, my goodness! These were so good, my son asked if they were really gluten free. My husband has celiac disease, but the rest of us loved them too. No graininess, fluffy, just fabulous! I used Cup 4 Cup, brushed the tops with butter when they came out. Mine cooked in about 13 minutes. This is a keeper
Audrey says
Thank you so much Roberta for the awesome 5-star recipe review, this really made my night! I am so happy that everyone enjoyed the biscuits. Thank you for sharing what flour you used, as I know it will help others. Thanks again!
Lori Ring says
Best gf biscuits I’ve had yet!!!! Could not find Pillsbury Flour so used Arrowhead Mills AP Flour. Turned out perfect, or AWESOME as my husband said 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Audrey says
Thank you so much Lori for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the biscuits and they are the best you have had yet! Thank you for sharing which brand of gluten-free flour you used, as I know it will help others. I have not tried the Arrowhead Mills gluten-free flour, but I will look into it. You are so welcome, I love sharing what I make for my family. Thanks again!
Angela says
This recipe will make you believe in enjoying your food again! I nearly cried when I tasted the first bite!!
I’m from south Louisiana and haven’t had a real biscuit in almost a decade… my life just took a major turn with these biscuits.
Thank you for keeping my faith in gluten free goodness alive!! ❤️
-Angela R.
Audrey says
Thank you so much Angela for the awesome 5-star recipe review, this really made my day! I am so happy that you can enjoy biscuits again. I totally understand! You are so very welcome, I love sharing what I make for my family. Thank you again! Your review really made my heart happy.
Karen says
These are the BEST GF biscuits I’ve ever made. The tips in the instructions are key – I didn’t know not to mix too much and this has probably made all my previous biscuits hard. And baking in a cast iron skillet is a great idea. They turned out light and fluffy with a crisp bottom. SO yummy.
Audrey says
Thank you so much Karen for the awesome 5-star recipe review, this really made my night! I am so happy that you enjoyed the biscuits and they are the best you have ever made. I am so glad that you found the tips helpful. My favorite way to make biscuits is in a cast iron pan. Thanks again!
Pearl says
Awesome! I didn’t use eggs and replaced half of the flour with garbanzo bean flour and it was super delicious! Thank you so much! My husband has celiac disease and we have no other flours at home. Whenever I want biscuits I have no choice but to make them gluten-free. This is a great recipe!
Audrey says
Thank you so much Pearl for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your husband enjoyed the biscuits. Thank you for sharing what modifications you used, as I know it will help others. Thank you again!
Audrey T. says
These are tasty, light, fluffy! I will definitely make them again. I did a bit if substituting and they still baked up beautiful and tasty. Thank you for this recipe.
Audrey says
Thank you so much Audrey for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the biscuits and they baked up beautiful and tasty. You are so welcome, I love sharing what I make for my family. Thanks again!
Katie says
I used Bob’s red Mill gluten free flour and followed the recipe exactly, but the dough was pretty hard to work with so I used another 4 tbsp of flour to get them shaped and cut right. They were fluffy and soft and my whole family loved them! I heated up the few that we’re left over in the oven this morning and they were just as good! Will make again!
Audrey says
Thank you so much for the awesome 5-star recipe review Katie! I am so happy that your family loved the biscuits. Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour has sorghum flour in it, as it does not absorb liquid the same as the Pillsbury gluten-free and that is why you had to add more flour to the dough. I am glad that they turned out fluffy and soft and that you enjoyed them the next day too. I am really happy that you will make them again. Thanks again!
Laura Ewald says
I’ve never successfully made gf biscuits before so I was hesitant that these would turn out. I made every possible mistake, didn’t freeze the butter, realized my baking powder was 5 years past date, and added the butter, milk, and egg at the same time. So I was sure these wouldn’t be good. They were way too wet so I did drop biscuits instead. Success! They rose beautiful and tasted great, thanks so much. If they were this good with all my mistakes I can’t wait to see how they are following directions.
Audrey says
Thank you so much Laura for the awesome 5-star recipe review, it really made me smile! I am so happy that you enjoyed the biscuits. Thank you again!
CDew says
Best GF biscuits I’ve ever had. I used the Bob’s Mill GF Baking Flour. Froze the butter and then grated it quickly into the flour mixture for faster mixing. Did not add the sugar as I don’t like my biscuits sweet. This will be the only recipe I use from now on. I will add some sugar and use it as a peach cobbler crust in the near future. Yummy!
Audrey says
Thank you so much CDew for the awesome 5-star recipe review, it really made my night! I am so happy that these were the best gluten-free biscuits you have ever had and it will be the only recipe you use from now on. Using the biscuits for peach cobbler sounds yummy. Thanks again!