These Homemade Biscuits Made with Milk are soft, buttery, and easy to make in as quick as 20 minutes. Based on the sweet milk biscuits my Grandma used to make, this updated version skips the self-rising flour so you can bake them with the flour most people already have in the pantry. No buttermilk, no special flour, and no grocery runs. Just beautiful biscuits.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
These Simple Homemade Biscuits are made with all-purpose flour, cold butter, and regular milk, so you can make tall, soft, buttery biscuits without and without hunting down self-rising flour or buttermilk.
They are based on the sweet milk biscuits my Grandma Olga Mae used to make, but I updated the recipe after hearing from so many readers who wanted to make them with the flour they already keep in the pantry. You still get tender biscuits with golden tops, crisp edges, and that warm homemade biscuit smell in about 20 minutes.
Jump to:
How are Milk Biscuits different from Buttermilk Biscuits?
Biscuits made with milk and those made with buttermilk tend to differ primarily in height, flavor, and tenderness. Buttermilk, along with baking soda, snips some of the protein strands that can lead to a tough biscuit that doesn't rise. It also adds a subtle tangy flavor.
Even I, with all the biscuits, and the muffins, and even cornbread, all made with buttermilk, sometimes run out of buttermilk. If I don't have it, I can make cream biscuits or yogurt biscuits, but I really wanted to recreate the sweet milk biscuits of my childhood.
So I use a combination of real butter, minimal handling of the dough, a gentle folding technique, and proper cutting of the biscuits to ensure that your biscuits rise tall, taste buttery, and practically melt in your mouth.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- No buttermilk needed - Regular milk gives these biscuits a soft, tender texture and makes them easy to pull together anytime.
- Made with all-purpose flour - No need to buy self-rising flour.
- Fast and simple - The dough comes together quickly and bakes into tall, golden biscuits in minutes.
- Soft, buttery texture - These are not meant to be super layered biscuits. They are tender, fluffy, and perfect for butter, jam, honey, gravy, or breakfast sandwiches.
- Easy to make by hand or with a food processor - Use whatever method works best for your kitchen and your biscuit-making mood.
These biscuits made without buttermilk will earn a permanent spot in your back pocket: simple ingredients, no buttermilk panic, and a delicious biscuit payoff.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This easy homemade biscuit recipe uses just a few really simple ingredients. Read on for more info about major ingredients and how you can make changes, if needed.
- All-purpose flour - This updated recipe starts with all-purpose flour because it is what most people already have in the pantry. Make sure to measure it correctly, preferably with a kitchen scale, because too much flour can make biscuit dough dry and hard to bring together.
- How to use self-rising flour instead: If you do have self-rising flour, you can absolutely use it here. Replace the all-purpose flour with the same amount of self-rising flour and leave out the baking powder and salt. Keep the sugar in the recipe if you want that classic sweet milk biscuit flavor, or leave it out if you prefer a more savory biscuit.
- Kosher salt - I use kosher salt in my baking because it seasons without making everything taste salty. If using table salt, use half as much.
- Sugar - Just a little sugar helps with browning and gives these sweet milk biscuits that old-fashioned flavor without making them taste sweet. You can leave it out if you want.
- Milk - Whole milk works best here because the fat helps keep the biscuits tender, but 2% milk will work. I would skip skim milk if you can, since it does not bring much richness to the dough.
- Unsalted butter - Cold unsalted butter gives you the best flavor and texture while letting you control the amount of salt in the recipe. You can use salted butter if that is what you have, but the biscuits may taste a little saltier.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Have a lot of sour cream to use up? Try making my simple Sour Cream Biscuits. Light, fluffy, and flaky, they're the perfect side for breakfast or dinner!
Quick Recipe Video
Instructions
In most of my biscuit recipes I use my cut-and-stack technique for building flaky layers. I don't do that with this recipe, because Grandma's sweet biscuit recipe was tender and soft, without distinct layers, and I really loved them so much.
As always, I recommend you read all of the instructions, look at the pretty pictures, gather your ingredients, and make some delicious soft textured biscuits.
- Start by lining a large sheet pan with parchment paper or with aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray.
Step 1: Place self-rising flour and cold butter cut into cubes into the bowl of your food processor and pulse 6 to 8 times.
Step 2: Alternatively you can use a pastry cutter or use a finger snapping motion to bring the flour and butter together.
Step 3: You should end up with butter and flour the texture of lumpy cornmeal with some larger pieces of butter.
Step 4: Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl and pour in milk.
Step 5: Mix until you have a shaggy dough with just a little bit of dry flour at the bottom.
Step 6: On lightly floured surface, fold dough over on itself just until smooth. Use your hands, or a rolling pin, to press out biscuit dough to about ½ to
¾ inch thickness.
Step 7: Use a floured 2-inch round cutter or cookie cutter to cut biscuits. Gather and re-roll your scraps and cut out as many biscuits as you can. Place biscuits on your prepared baking sheet.
Step 8: If you have time, put the biscuits into the freezer to chill up the butter while you preheat the oven to 450°F. Brush the tops with more milk, or an egg wash consisting of one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water.
Step 9: Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and well risen. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. I like to brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
(p.s. Despite not doing my cut-and-stacks, I still get pretty flaky biscuits because I put them into the freezer to firm up the butter and I'm pretty happy about that.)
Work smarter, not harder For those days when everything is just a lot, try making my Food Processor Biscuits. All the work is done in the machine, and then all you have to do is cut, and bake!
Cynthia's Helpful Tips
Most importantly, don't twist the cutter when cutting out biscuits. Doing so will compress the edges of the biscuits and they won't rise as high. Press straight down and pull straight back up!
If you don't have a biscuit or cookie cutter, resist the urge to use a drinking glass, or any old round thing, to cut out your biscuits. You need something sharp to cut them as this will also seal the edges and your biscuits won't rise as much, if at all. If you don't have a biscuit cutter, make square biscuits by cutting with a sharp chef knife.
Here are some more helpful tips:
- Use cold butter and cold milk - Cold ingredients help the biscuits rise taller and bake up more tender.
- Trust the dough, but adjust if needed - Flour can absorb liquid differently depending on how you measure, the brand you use, and even the humidity in your kitchen. If the dough absolutely will not come together, add a tiny splash more milk. If it feels sticky and wet, dust with a little more flour.
- Do not overmix the dough - Biscuit dough should look a little shaggy before you turn it out. If you mix until it is perfectly smooth in the bowl, you have probably gone too far.
- Chill first - if you have time, I highly recommend popping your tray of biscuits into the freezer for 15 minutes while you preheat your oven. This allows the butter inside of the biscuits to firm back up, giving you distinct buttery layers with a tender, fluffy interior.
Leftover biscuits? No problem. Use them to make strawberry shortcake, cover them in sausage gravy, or reheat them and serve with honey butter for a late night snack!
Recipe FAQs
Yes you can, and I sometimes do. Since buttermilk is thicker than whole milk, you will need to use slightly more buttermilk to get the dough to the right consistency. Start with one cup and add more if needed, a couple tablespoons at a time.
The most common reason is too much flour. Measuring with a kitchen scale is the most accurate method. If you measure with cups, spoon the flour into the cup and level it off instead of scooping directly from the bag. If the dough still feels too dry, add a small splash of milk.
Depending on how thick I roll the dough, and the size of my biscuit cutter, I can get up to 12 biscuits. If you want big 4 inch cathead biscuits, you can get about 6 with this recipe.
I like to serve biscuits warm, but wrap any leftovers or keep them covered for 2 days at room temperature. You can reheat for 10 seconds in the microwave, if needed.
Yes, you can freeze biscuits unbaked for up to 3 months. Remove desired number of biscuits from freezer and place on lined baking sheet. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt, if desired. Bake in a preheated to 425°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tall and golden brown. See my large batch freezer biscuit recipe for more details.
Take it easy For the easiest biscuits and gravy, try my 3 ingredient biscuits and gravy. Using just self rising flour, butter and milk, you can have a delicious biscuits and gravy on the table in less than 30 minutes!
Did you try this recipe?
Please consider leaving a comment with a ⭐️ rating below and tell me all about it! It helps me to continue to improve my content and lets others know what you think!
I appreciate it so much!
-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Simple Homemade Biscuits (made with milk)
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter very cold and cut in cubes or grated
- ¾ cup (183 g) whole milk, very cold, plus more for brushing
- Melted butter and flaky sea salt for finishing optional
Optional Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Mixing by hand
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and sugar.
- Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the cold butter directly into the flour mixture. Toss the butter into the flour as you go so the little pieces do not clump together.
- Use your fingers to gently rub and toss the grated butter into the flour until the mixture looks like very coarse crumbs with some small, flat pieces of butter still visible
Food Processor Instructions
- Place all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and kosher salt, along with cold butter cut into cubes into the bowl of your food processor.
- Pulse 6 to 8 times. You should end up with butter and flour the texture of very coarse cornmeal with some larger pieces of butter.
- Transfer to a large bowl.
Both methods
- Pour in your milk. Mix until you have a shaggy dough with just a little bit of dry flour at the bottom.
- Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to bring the scattered pieces of dough together, pressing lightly as needed without kneading.
- Fold dough over on itself just until smooth. Roll out dough to about ¾ inch thickness.
- Cut with floured 2-inch round cutter or sharp knife. Gather together your scraps and and re-roll and cut out as many biscuits as you can. Place on a parchment paper or aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
- Put the biscuits into the freezer to chill up the butter while you preheat the oven to 450°F. Brush the tops with an egg wash or more milk and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and well risen.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. I like to brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
Simply delicious.
Beautiful!
I made the buttermilk biscuits, the Greek yogurt, the cheddar biscuits and I just have to say every time Cynthia comes up with a new recipe I know I will try it! Every single recipe is so easy to follow and delicious!
Made these last week for my husband and he absolutely loved them… and always asks, is this recipe from Cynthia… 🤭 oh he already knows 😅. Thank you so much for your amazing recipes. 🤍
Thank you for always choosing my recipes ❤️
I made the milk biscuits from But First, We Brunch, and they were fantastic! The recipe was incredibly easy to follow, came together quickly, and the biscuits turned out soft, fluffy, and full of flavor. It’s hard to believe something so simple can taste this good. This is definitely going into my regular recipe rotation. If you’re looking for an easy, delicious homemade biscuit recipe, I highly recommend giving this one a try!
Made these biscuits for my husband this morning along with the milk gravy recipe. They were a hit!! So easy, love the step by step instructions. So happy we tried these!
Loved this recipe! Tender, fluffy, delicious biscuits! Will be making these often!!!
Finally! I have been trying various recipes and nothing has worked for me. A combination of making my own self rising flour, using the food processor, and ensuring I used a real cookie cutter were very helpful tips. Thank you for my new go to recipe!
Thank you for choosing my recipe!
Delicious and quick to make. I used the stacking method
Thank you so much!
This recipe was super easy and quick to whip up. And the biscuits were very yummy. Everyone loved them. I had to make them somewhat dairy free (lactose free milk, clarified butter for brushing the baked biscuits) for a friend with dietary issues and they still came out great and did not bother her stomach. Add yet another biscuit recipe to the arsenal! How am I to choose which one to make? Thank you Cynthia
This recipe was super easy and quick to make. They were very delicious. I used lactose free milk and they still came out great. Everyone enjoyed them.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them!
Such an easy recipe! I didn't think I would be able to make 1 batch let alone 2! Can't wait to pair them with your sausage gravy recipe for dinner tonight!
fantastic recipe! great as is. i have also had a handful of chopped jalapenos or berries from my garden for a weird twist that is always pleasant and refreshing. thank you for this base!
Okay so now I want to make a blueberry jalapeno biscuit!
So easy to make 3 ingredients that's it taste so good I didn't have the tool to cut the butter into the flour,so use I my fingers with a snap 🫰
Hi Cynthia, so I made your recipe for the biscuits they are very very delicious but the only problem I had was I couldn't get the dough to pull together so I added a couple cap fulls of milk and that seemsedf to do the trick! I don't own a food processor so that could have been my problem 😀. They're definitely tall and fluffy, and went great with my sausage gravy. I will definitely make these again
The dough may not always come together perfectly, depending on a number of factors. Did you weigh your ingredients on a scale? Everybody's "scoop” of flour is a little bit different, which is why I always include weight in grams. And did you know that not every measuring cup is exactly the same? I had a friend check flour by weight using 4 different measuring cups that she owned and there were differences between them of as much as 20 or 30g, which makes a huge difference in baking! Sometimes even the humidity in the room can affect the way the flour absorbs the milk, leading you to need to add a little extra. Great job in looking for the right texture and adjusting! That's what makes a great baker ❤️
I think it’s a 10 very easy to follow.
That’s great to hear! Thank you!
I made these biscuits but substituted unsalted butter with salted butter. They came out perfect and they are very delicious.I’ll be keeping this recipe as my biscuit recipe. Just like my grandmother used to make. I love them, they’re scrumptious!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us.
Comparing my biscuits to your grandmother's is the highest compliment! Thank you so much 🥰