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).
Making these for the first time and wondering if you can refrigerate or freeze to save for later. If so, which works the best and what is the best way to store them??
I know these will turn out great, I love all of your recipes. Thanks for sharing them!
Yes, they can be frozen. They will keep in the refrigerator, in a covered container, for about 4-5 days. Hope you love them, thank you so much!
Hello,
I tried these and they were delicious!! I was wondering (since you said not to use almond flour) would whole wheat flour work? And how would that change the nutrition
It might work with whole wheat flour but the biscuits will certainly be dense instead of light. You would have to calculate the nutrition using a tool, I don’t know how it would change it exactly, sorry! Glad you enjoyed them!
My familyand I love these biscuits.
I was just wondering why you suggest using a glass measuring cup for the buttermilk?
I’m so glad! You don’t have to, but for me it makes it easier, so I don’t have to use another bowl for the milk + vinegar. I just measure the milk right in the glass pyrex cup, and add the vinegar to it. Easy peasy. Hope that helps!
what sized biscuit cutter are you using? Thanks!
I believe I used a 3 inch biscuit cutter for these, though I have a variety of sizes.
These are such good vegan Southern biscuits! I have made both biscuit recipes and they are both good bug these are amazing. I also like your recipe fir no butter recipe but nothing quite like these.
Thanks!
Thanks Sharan! I’m glad you love the biscuits! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely love this recipe! So did my young children and carnivore husband. I used almond milk instead, all I had on hand. Next time I will use soy milk. Also didn’t have a biscuit cutter so a glass mason jar worked perfect and made 12 biscuits! Thank you so much Nora I am loving her page!
Hi Kassandra. I’m really glad you and your children love the biscuits! Thank you for using my recipes, and thank you for sharing! Happy cooking!
This recipe is fantastic. I’ve made these vegan biscuits so many times. My husband, who has a milk allergy, devours these every time. I usually stick with the soy milk because it curdles the best, but I have used extra creamy cashew milk and soy free earth balance for a friend of mine who is allergic to soy. Regardless, the biscuits turned out fluffy, flaky and extra tall every time. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I don’t know what I would do without it.
Hi Nicole. I’m so glad you are enjoying this recipe! Thank you for sharing!
These were delicious ( as are all of your other recipes I’ve tried) I used almond milk Instead of soy. I put my flour and butter mixture in the freezer for a few minutes after I crumble it to get it cold again and then add in the buttermilk. Also used my cast iron skillet to bake them.
Soo yummy!
Hi Neakai. I’m glad you enjoyed the biscuits! Thank you!
Added a bit more soy buttermilk and made them as drop biscuits. So good.
Oh my gosh! There’s fantastic! I used almond milk and Pure Blends avocado oil butter. I immediately made a second batch to freeze for later. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
I tried these and they’re so delicious! They sort of remind me of KFCs biscuits, but better! Though I havent had KFC in like 10 years, so I could be wrong haha.
This recipe will be up next. My husband is from the south and is constantly looking for biscuits on the menu of any vegan restaurant we go to. I’ve had success with them for shortcakes, but will def be trying these!
I hope you love them, they are gone so fast when I make them!
I make these gluten free and they by far the best vegan gluten free bread item I’ve ever made. Each time they get better!
That’s so great to hear!
Hi Nora! I made these recently and they were delicious, but a bit chewy. Is that just because they’re vegan and there’s not much getting around that? Or is there some variables I can try tweaking? For example, if I did a better job chunking up my butter instead of it being more in globules, could that help? Or if I used earth balance sticks vs tub, could the lower water content help? Thanks!
Oh no, they should not be chewy, but instead they are flaky, light, buttery and rich. I think it sounds like your vegan butter was not cold, if it was like globules as you said. Like it says in the first instruction, cut the butter into small pieces and place in the freezer to get it very cold. Also, don’t use your hands too much or the butter will again become warm and make the biscuits chewy instead of flaky. It’s really the same as making non vegan flaky biscuits. Hope that helps! I’ve used both the sticks and tub, they both work fine as long as it is cold.
Would these work if I used oat milk?
Yes, that is fine to use. I would use unsweetened and unflavored unless you want sweet biscuits.
Hi! I love your recipes but I don’t have vegan butter I only have I can’t believe it’s not butter and I don’t think that’s good for baking. Do you think I could sub the butter for cold coconut oil? Thanks Kelsey!
You probably could use cold coconut oil. Just don’t handle the dough too much with your hands (it will melt the coconut oil and make them less layered). Hope that works well and you enjoy them!
I made these for my husband and I am so glad I did. The biscuits were super easy to make and so delicious. Thank you so much.
I’m so glad you both enjoyed the biscuits, thank you!
Hi Nora,
Thanks so much for all your great recipes! I made these biscuits and they had great flavor. However, they never got golden brown on top, giving them the appearance of being raw, although far from it. I don’t have a brush, so I patted the buttermilk on with my fingers and baked them for 25 minutes, hoping the extra time would lead to some browning. Also, they were a bit a more crumbly, I’d say, than flaky. Any suggestions? Many thanks!
Megan
The trick to those flaky layers is using cold vegan butter that isn’t melted, not handling it too much, and doing the exact method of folding that I recommend. If you want them more brown on top, you could use a little melted vegan butter or oil.
Thanks! I did put the cubed butter in the freezer as the recipe calls, so perhaps I overhandled the dough when I folded it per your instructions. Thanks for the browning tip. I’ll give them another go soon because they were delicious!
Another hit! I haven’t made one thing on here that doesn’t work! My first attempt ever at biscuits. Thank you Nora! You help this vegan not feel deprived of anything.
Thanks so much for the great comment!!
OMG! Made these this morning and they are amazing. I used oat milk with 1 tbsp of lemon juice for “buttermilk” and King Arthur’s Cup for Cup Gf flour. They are absolutely perfect. I didn’t have a round cutter so I used Mickey Mouse (which my 2 year old will approve of!) and it made 14 biscuits. This will definitely be a staple in our house. Perfect for mini sandwiches…texture is perfect! Thank you!!!
You’re so welcome!! I’m glad they came out great!
These are excellent! I cut the recipe in half as there are only two of us. I didn’t have a biscuit cutter and I got 4 biscuits. They don’t look as perfect as yours but still good and impressive! I’m definitely making these for any holidays or dinner parties.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
These are great. Made these and your sausage gravy recipe and both came out really good! Making it much easier to eat a plant based diet! I used cashew milk instead of soy and it came out great.
Question: does folding the dough actually do anything? I did it twice, once folded and once just drop biscuits and they came out the same. I think you’d have to make the dough without butter and then fold with a sheet of butter to actually get the laminated flaky biscuit texture.
I’m so happy to hear it worked out for you, James! Folding the dough forms flaky layers in the biscuits. They aren’t quite as clean as true laminated dough, but I love the look of them!
Tried these tonight with collards greens and sweet potatoes. They are amazing! We are not vegan, but have had to cut down on animal fats for health reasons, and as a result (since my husband is vegetarian), we have ended up eating mostly vegan. Your blog has been a tremendous inspiration, turning something that seemed almost impossible to a joyous exploration of new foods for us. Thank you!
Wow! Thanks so much for the wonderful comment!!
Any way you could add glacé cherries to these? I’m desperate for a good vegan chatty scone (biscuit?) recipe.
I don’t see why not! Enjoy!
what size pan did you use so they are all touching?
I used a pan that is about 9 by 13 inches, but I didn’t use the whole surface of the pan.
Super easy, super delicious! Everyone loved them and will make again.
I’m so happy to hear that!