These Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits will become the lightest, most tender biscuits you'll ever have, gluten free or not!
Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits were originally posted on May 29, 2020 and have been updated with new pictures, a new video, and new tips and tricks for success!
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I have a serious problem...I can't stop buying cookbooks! Is there such a thing as Cookbooks Anonymous? Believe it or not, I usually buy cookbooks that AREN'T gluten free. I want to be able to experience ALL the cookbooks, especially those with pastries and such that aren't ever supposed to be gluten free. I suppose you could call it a hobby of mine, trying to convert gluten-filled recipes into gluten free.
A while ago I purchased Joanna Gaines' first cookbook, Magnolia Table. Many of the recipes in her book sound fabulous, but the one that really caught my eye was her biscuit recipe. When I first found out I had celiac, I attempted to make a gluten free biscuit recipe. To say it was horrible was actually doing it more justice than it deserved. I could barely stomach them, nor could my husband or anyone else in my family. When Joanna described testing her biscuit recipe for over a year, I knew it had to be THE one to try. And boy, oh boy, was I right. With a little tweaking for gluten free, the softest, most tender, fluffy biscuits were born, gluten free or NOT!
ingredients for buttermilk biscuits
- Kim's all purpose gluten free flour blend - a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn't been tested.
- Baking powder - hear me out on this one. There is a hefty amount of baking powder in these biscuits. Joanna Gaines' recipe calls for self-rising flour. Since there is no known gluten free self-rising flour, we have to make our own. Baking powder and salt are added to regular (all purpose) gluten free flour and blended. This mimics self-rising flour.
- Butter - there's a LOT of butter in these biscuits and I'm not apologizing for it at all!
- Buttermilk - you can't very well make buttermilk biscuits without buttermilk. Go for the full fat stuff if you can get it. We'll talk more about substitutions down below.
how to make gluten free biscuits
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Add butter and cut in using two forks, a pastry blender, or your clean fingers until the size of small peas.
Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in a medium measuring cup. Pour into flour mixture and stir until a sticky, wet dough forms. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
Bring dough together on lightly floured surface, kneading lightly until smooth. Roll out until nearly one inch thick. Cut straight down with floured biscuit cutter, only turning the cutter after the dough has been fully cut through.
Place biscuits on greased baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush biscuits with melted butter and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and very well risen.
Prefer to Watch?
how to serve biscuits
- plain
- with butter
- with butter and jam
- with clotted cream and jam
- as a sandwich with sausage
- as a sandwich with bacon, egg, and cheese
- as a sandwich with boneless fried chicken
- alongside fried chicken
- split open and smothered with sausage gravy
- any other way you can think of!
Tips for Best Biscuit Making
To ensure the lightest and softest biscuits ever, follow these tips for the best biscuit making:
- Make sure to use the coldest ingredients possible--cold butter, cold eggs, and cold buttermilk
- After chilling the biscuit dough initially, knead it just a few times to smooth it out.
- Roll or pat the dough out to ONE INCH tall. You'll get less biscuits, but the highest and fluffiest biscuits you'll ever have!
- After cutting out the biscuits, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven. This will allow the butter to firm up again.
- For a golden brown, slightly salty, biscuit top, brush them with melted salted butter before and after baking.
more gluten free breakfast quick breads
- Gluten Free Lemon Loaf
- The BEST Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Fluffy Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancakes
- Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Dairy Free Zucchini Bread
- Gluten Free Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
- Gluten Free English Scones
- Gluten Free Basil Cream Biscuits
- Gluten Free Yeast Free Cinnamon Rolls
These biscuits are so light and airy! If you haven't already purchased Magnolia Table cookbook, check it out here. It's one of my favorites, and that's saying a lot (you know, with my cookbook addiction and all).
Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 4 cups (560g) Kim's all purpose gluten free flour blend (a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn't been tested)
- 4 tbsp (45g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (6g) salt
- 1 tsp (4g) baking soda
- 3 sticks (339g) butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch thick slices
- 2 large eggs, cold
- 1¾ cups (420g) buttermilk, cold (I prefer to use full fat buttermilk. If you use a reduced fat/fat free buttermilk, you will need to reduce the amount used just until a sticky dough forms)
- 2 tbsp (28g) butter, melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the butter pieces and using either a pastry cutter or your hands (I like to use my fingers), cut (rub and flatten) each piece of butter into the flour mixture until small pea-sized pieces remain.
- Mix together buttermilk and eggs in a measuring cup and pour this into the flour mixture. Stir with a spoon until a sticky, wet dough forms.
- Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough briefly just to bring it together. Roll or pat out the dough to about 1 inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter.
- Place the biscuits side by side (touching) in a ¼ sheet pan (9 by 13-inch) or similar size baking pan. Chill while preheating the oven to 400° F.
- Brush the biscuits with melted butter.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly browned and very well risen.
- Cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Magnolia Table cookbook.
cheryl
I have not made these yet but have a couple of questions. I don’t usually have buttermilk on hand, is there a substitute? I am curious about the inclusion of an egg, I don’t usually see that in a biscuit recipe.
Charles May
I love your recipes, they show lots of thought and caring. If I wanted to delete the whey Isolate, what can I substitute in its its place?
Thank you for your work
Kim
Hey Charles, thanks so much for your compliment, I appreciate that!
I don't use the whey protein in this recipe so you definitely want to make sure you're using the right flour blend (my AP flour blend). For both blends, there are many substitutions listed within the recipe post if you want to read through that.
Pam Abramson
These were flaky but looked like hockey pucks. Followed the recipe to a t. I’ll eat them but they were grainy and flat.
Kim
Then you didn't follow the recipe to a T unfortunately. If you used my flour blend (with a superfine white rice flour as recommended) you will not have grainy and flat biscuits.
Shabana Waheed
Hi! So I followed this to a T. They taste a bit bitter. Like too much baking powder? They’re really crumbly and kinda mushy once butter is on them. What do you think went wrong
Bonnie Quinn
Hello Kim, have you ever froze these before baking them?
Bonnie L Quinn
Ok, I did it anyway... And if it got any better then what I tasted I'd cry lol these are hands down the best biscuits I've tasted in 10 years!! And I'm very excited I can make a ton and freeze them, for later enjoyment!
Cissy
Can They be frozen then baked from the straight from the freezer 🤗
Kim
Yes! You'll need to add more time to the bake. Start with 5 minutes, but it might take an extra 10 minutes.
LaVerne Tysinger
Thank You for the best biscuit recipe and the BEST flour blends.
I have been gluten free for almost 20 years and have tried almost every flour blend recipes and commercial ones and yours are THE BEST. I made the Buttermilk biscuits this morning and my husband said they was the BEST . I had made the Cheddar Biscuits and he LOVE them and he isn't gluten free but I have definitely won hm over with these two recipes. THANKS again for all your super recipes.
Kim
Awe, it is my pleasure and I'm thrilled you're having great success with my recipes and flour blends 🥰