Southern-Style Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits are tall, ultra flaky and buttery! They have so many layers, and are easy to make in just 30 minutes.
These are the best dang biscuits I’ve ever had, vegan or not! They have layers upon layers of tender, flaky, buttery goodness and they bake up nice and tall. Just like my soft Vegan Dinner Rolls, these biscuits are easy to make and even easier to eat.
I love to eat a warm homemade biscuit with a bit of vegan butter and jam, but I’ve also made an awesome breakfast sandwich using a vegan sausage patty and a slice of vegan cheese.
Or serve them with some coleslaw and vegan baked beans for a delicious meal. You can have amazing homemade vegan biscuits in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Unsweetened soy milk + apple cider vinegar – This is your vegan buttermilk. I like unsweetened soy milk best here, but almond milk or another non-dairy milk will work fine. Just make sure it’s unsweetened and not vanilla flavored.
- Flour – Use regular all purpose flour for the very best results. You can substitute a quality gluten free flour mix (such as King Arthur Measure for Measure flour), but results will vary.
- Baking powder – Necessary for making them rise nice and tall!
- Sugar – Just a little bit is needed. Leave it out if needed, or replace with coconut sugar.
- Salt
- Vegan butter – This is an essential ingredient for these buttery biscuits. Use vegan butter sticks if possible, as the tub butter can be greasy and not as firm. The vegan butter should be very cold, in fact you will place it in the freezer for a few minutes before using. My favorite brands? I like Earth Balance, Miyoko’s and Country Crock.
How to make vegan biscuits
(This is a visual overview, please see recipe card below for full amounts and instructions)
First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a pan with parchment paper. Place the vegan butter in the freeze for a few minutes. Combine the dry ingredients either in a large bowl OR food processor.
- Add cold vegan butter to dry ingredients, either in the food processor or a large bowl.
- Pulse or cut with a pastry cutter until crumbs form.
- If you used a food processor, dump the mixture into a bowl. Pour the vegan buttermilk into the bowl, saving a few tablespoons for brushing the tops.
- Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Scoop it onto a lightly floured surface and gently form into a rectangle shape.
- Fold one side into the center, then the other.
- Turn it a half turn, and flatten again gently into a rectangle. Repeat two more times. This is what makes all those flaky layers!
- On the last turn, flatten to about 1 inch thick and cut into circles using a biscuit cutter.
Place on the prepared pan, touching each other. This helps them bake up nice and tall.
Brush a little extra vegan buttermilk on the tops, and bake for 15-20 minutes until tall and golden. Enjoy warm!
Tips for perfect vegan biscuits
- Use cold vegan butter sticks, not margarine or tubbed butter. And make sure it’s truly very cold (don’t skip the freezer step). If not, the biscuits won’t be flaky.
- Be careful not to over mix the dough. Over mixing means the biscuits won’t rise much.
- Do not over bake! Trust me, I’ve done this and ended up with hockey pucks. Bake until just slightly golden brown, any more and they will get very hard as they cool.
How to store and freeze biscuits
Keep leftover biscuits covered at room temperature for 3-4 days, or a few days longer in the refrigerator.
They also freeze well. Place them in a freezer safe ziplock bag and freeze. Simply thaw or warm in the microwave for a minute whenever you want a fresh biscuit!
What to serve with buttermilk biscuits?
- Vegan Chicken (as a vegan chicken biscuit sandwich!)
- Easy Vegan Gravy
- Biscuits and Gravy – My absolute FAVORITE way to enjoy these delicious biscuits!
- Vegan Butter and jam or Vegan Nutella
- Tempeh Bacon or Tofu Bacon
- The Best Tofu Scramble
- Alongside a hearty soup or stew, such as Vegan Stew or Lentil Soup.
Southern-Style Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
Vegan Buttermilk
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
The Rest
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 tbs) cold vegan butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or lightly spray with oil). Measure 1/2 cup (8 tbs) vegan butter, cut into small pieces and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. You want the butter to be very cold for flaky, tall biscuits.
- In a glass measuring cup, combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to curdle. This is your vegan buttermilk.
- Add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl or food processor. Whisk or pulse to combine. Now add the vegan butter pieces to the dry and either cut into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter OR pulse several times in the processor until coarse crumbs form. If you used a food processor, dump the mixture into a large bowl.
- Pour the vegan buttermilk into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients, saving a little bit for brushing on the tops (about 2 tablespoons). Gently stir until almost combined, but do not over mix. It will not be a clean ball of dough at this point, and it will be quite moist and sticky. See photos above in post for a visual reference.
- Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently work it together with your hands, shaping it into a rectangle. Flour your hands to prevent sticking, and sprinkle a little flour on the dough if it's very sticky. Just do not add too much, or the biscuits will be dry.
- Gently flatten the dough into a rectangle, then fold one side into the center, then the other side. Turn the dough a half turn, and flatten again into a rectangle shape. Repeat the process two more times. This is what makes all those wonderful layers!
- On the last folding, gently flatten the dough until it's about 1 inch thick. Cut into circles using a biscuit cutter, and do not twist the cutters. Try to get as many biscuits the first time. Re roll any scraps until you have 10-12 biscuits.
- Arrange them so they are touching on the pan, this helps them bake up tall. Brush the tops with the remaining buttermilk and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top and tall. Serve warm with a dab of vegan butter and jam.
- Cover any leftover biscuits and keep at room temperature for 3-4 days, or a bit longer in the refrigerator. They freeze well, too.
Notes
- You can substitute almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk or possibly even oat milk for the soy if desired. Make sure the milk is unsweetened and unflavored.
- I have not tested these with gluten free flour, but it might work okay with a quality gluten free blend. Almond flour will not work.
- I used Earth Balance sticks for the vegan butter, but other brands work just as well (such as Melt or Miyokos).
I did it! Made these for Thanksgiving. Read the comments and notes and made sure to bake at 400 for 15 minutes only. Did they look pretty and flakey like Nora’s? Nope. But did they taste good? Yes! My dough was super sticky so I had to add flour. That may have taken away from the layers. 🤷♀️ Thank you for another winner! I plan to perfect these soon…
My family and I loved these! I decided to make them last minute and only had half the amount of butter I needed so I used half coconut oil that was solidified and it worked awesome! I ended up just making them square so I didn’t have to re roll any of the dough. Definitely making these again!
Thanks for sharing your baking experience! I’m thrilled the biscuits turned out wonderful for you! I appreciate your awesome review! Happy cooking!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe. We use it all the time and have been for years. Thank you!
Delicious biscuits! I doubled the recipe and our kids ate almost all of both batches. I used silk next milk (if you haven’t tried it, its amazing!) I will definitely be making these again.
I am thrilled the biscuits were a hit! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora,
My sister in law makes your biscuits and they’re always so amazing!
Now, I am going to make them for a baby shower. A few questions
Can I make these ahead of time and freeze them unbaked? Or should I keep them in the refrigerator unbaked. I was thinking of making them in a Friday to bake Sunday morning?
Also, have you tried using pastry flour is all purpose best?
Wonderful, I’m so glad they were a hit! I haven’t tried freezing the unbaked dough before baking, but I’m sure it would be fine. Just add a few extra minutes to the baking time! I also haven’t tested them with pastry flour so I’m not sure if it will work. Happy baking!
I started making these without an inventory of ingredients…. So, I made them with 1/2 the all purpose flour and 1/2 almond flour. Lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar. Almond milk instead of soy. I also don’t have a biscuit cutter. So, the shape was off for sure. However, the taste and consistency were on point! Simple and delicious recipe!
Hi Lynnea! I’m so glad the biscuits turned out great with the substitutions! I sure appreciate your fantastic feedback. Thanks for sharing your baking experience!
These biscuits are my go to!!!!! I can’t stay off your site bc your recipes are top notch! I bit into the biscuit this morniiiiiiing….. wooooooo weeee!!!!! Light, buttery, just all around delicious. They don’t even need jelly or gravy. They can be eaten alone.
I love it! I’m thrilled you love the biscuits! I appreciate your stellar review and feedback! Thanks for using my recipes! Very encouraging!
The recipe was quite easy to follow. The biscuits were textbook flaky and were equally as yummy. I am a biscuit lover and would recommend this recipe highly and without reservation to any and everyone!!!
I’m so glad you loved everything about the biscuits! Thank you for your fantastic review and feedback!
I’ve made these several times and adapted them some. My experience is that full fat coconut milk works best – add water to can of milk when you need a full 2 cups. I always double the recipe because they don’t last. They rise beautifully and have great lamination. I’ve also added roasted, chopped jalapeños and cheddar cheese shreds -rave reviews from non-vegans. As always, great success with Nora’s recipes!
Thank you for your fantastic review and feedback! I love your add-in ideas for the biscuits!
Delicious as always. I’ve been baking these biscuits for years. To get them nicely golden, I put first the buttermilk and then some oil on the tops. If there are puddles of buttermilk on the baking tray, then I place the biscuits on top of them so the bottoms are a little bit crunchy.
Thank you Nora! 🙂
Your biscuits sound amazing! Thanks for taking time to share your fabulous feedback and review! Happy baking!
So I made these today. A few things to note. The main thing is I halved the recipe so could test one batch and have another one just in case. When I went to add my buttermilk it wasn’t liquidy enough at all so I had to add extra buttermilk. I found that an extra 1/8th seemed to do the trick. Didn’t want it too soggy. Word to anyone who wants to halve the recipe. Don’t. When you roll the dough out and start cutting the extra dough away you don’t want to keep folding the extra dough to use the rest. It will cause your biscuits to not be as flaky and in my case my biscuits didn’t rise as high. Also I left out the sugar for my taste but I do think it could use a little more salt. I just wish we could get the same lamination as with real butter. Oh well.
Do you think I can prep the biscuit dough a day in advance and refrigerate it?
Yes, you can store the unbaked biscuits overnight in the fridge, then bake the next day. 🙂
What we did at the restaurants is make your dough minus the buttermilk. You can store that in the fridge for a decent amount of time. When you’re ready just mix in the buttermilk and roll.
Hi Nora…I sent you a message on facebook…I didn’t realize I could comment here lol. I wanted to incorporate sweet potato in the biscuits. How would you recommend I do that? I don’t want to mess with the integrity of the biscuits. Thank you in advance 😁
Hi Dawn, yes this is the best place, I don’t always catch everything on social media. I’ve never tried adding sweet potato to these biscuits so I’m honestly not sure! I’ll have to do some testing and maybe post a new recipe for sweet potato biscuits, that sounds fabulous. 🙂
Excited to make these! Just wondering if I should be using salted or unsalted butter. Thanks!
Hi Mandee. I prefer to use unsalted butter. Enjoy!
Nora, your recipes never fail me. Made some this morning and they are perfect!
Thank you, Kaela! I’m so glad the biscuits turned out perfect for you!
Hi! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I used Schär gluten free bread flour mix , and they came out pretty well! Not as flaky as they might be with real flour, but they rose nicely and were quite fluffy and tasty. I refrigerated the dough for a bit to get it a little extra cold, and next time i’d probably use slightly less liquid.
these biscuits are my favorite and so so easy!! delicious recipe, nora!!!
They turned out perfect!
I did turn the oven down to 400 but same amount of time!
Hi Erin. That is awesome! Thanks for your terrific feedback!
I have made the recipe 3 times. I am using gluten free flour. I roll them thicker because they are not rising. They are dry & like hockey pucks. I have increased the milk to no avail. When I bake it it does not brown & takes about 35 minutes. Do you have an adaptation using gluten free flour?
Sorry, I have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour. It may not be a simple swap here, unfortunately.
hi, @tammy, i’ve had some similar baking let-downs with GF flours over the years. i would recommend trying a different flour mix, as a successful gluten-free baking project really starts with the ratio of starch to protein. i made this recipe with schär’s bread flour mix, and the biscuits came out really fluffy. not the perfect texture but a pretty good start. when rolling out and folding the dough, this can also overwork a GF flour mix. so you could try doing less folds, or put a little sprinkle of butter (frozen and then grated finely) between the folds. it also helps to stick the dough in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before working it. for the browning, you anyway, maybe you’ve already tried all this, but hope it’s helpful to some extent!
Every time I make these, the top of the biscuits are too hard. Should I lower the temp or add more milk?
Yes, I would try lowering the oven temperature to 400ºF and see if that helps.
Lowering the temperature helped. And I added an extra half cup of plant milk. They were perfect, thanks Nora!
I made these to top a pot-pie soup and used Einkorn all-purpose flour (which is very low gluten and perfect for biscuits) and Miyoko’s vegan butter. Because I used Einkorn, I reduced the vegan buttermilk by about 1.5 Tbls. I don’t have a biscuit cutter and was in a hurry, so I gently cut them into squares with a metal pastry cutter. They weren’t quite as tall as yours appear to be, but my husband, a biscuit lover, said they were the real deal. Thanks for the well-explained, delicious recipe and the helpful photos!
Should the milk be room temp or is cold ok?
Yes, room temperature milk is always recommended in baking. It helps the biscuits bake evenly. Hope this helps!
Cold Milk & Butter work best for biscuits. The steam when they bake in the oven will help them rise more!
Can I sub all purpose white flour with spelt flour instead ?
I haven’t tried it, but it might work okay. I don’t know that they will be as fluffy and light though, spelt flour has a different texture.