Fluffy, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth vegan biscuits! You'll be amazed at how soft and buttery these are — you'd never guess they were dairy-free.
These are the best vegan biscuits you can make. Scratch that: they've the best biscuits you can make (vegan or not!).
Check out those flaky layers! These babies are soft, tender, buttery and delicious.
I had some trouble producing some attractive biscuits, and I'm kind of glad: I made batch after batch in an effort to make pretty biscuits, each time refining the recipe. I think I've finally created the perfect homemade vegan biscuit.
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Ingredients You'll Need
You only need a handful of ingredients to make these dairy-free biscuits!
- Non-dairy milk. You can use just about any variety that's unsweetened and unflavored for this recipe — soy milk, oat milk, almond milk or cashew milk would all be great choices. Full-fat coconut milk in a can is the only variety to avoid here. For guidance, read my guide to dairy-free milks.
- Apple cider vinegar. This is for making our vegan buttermilk. You can substitute with another type of vinegar if needed. Refer to my guide to apple cider vinegar substitutes to select the best option.
- Flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose wheat flour. Substitute with any other variety at your own risk!
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Organic sugar. Using sugar that's organic will keep the recipe vegan.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. You should be able to find this near the regular butter in your store's refrigerated section. Look for brands like Miyoko's and Earth Balance.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Before getting started, I highly recommend chilling your milk and sticking your butter and mixing bowl (preferably glass or stainless steel) in the freezer to chill. Keeping everything cold is one of the tricks to making perfect, flaky biscuits.
Stir your milk and vinegar together in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. This is your vegan buttermilk. It might curdle — that's totally fine. Chill the mixture in the fridge while you start mixing your dry ingredients.
Stir your flour, baking powder, soda, sugar and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Grab your butter and cut it into six to eight chunks, then place them in the mixing bowl with your dry ingredients.
Use a pastry cutter, fork, or a couple of butter knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture. The goal is to cut the butter into tiny pieces and get each one coated in flour. Keep going until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Work quickly to avoid warming up the butter.
Now use a spoon to make a well in the center of your flour mixture, and pour in your cold vegan buttermilk. Stir to form a dough. You'll probably see some bits of butter in the dough — this is a good thing!
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a square — about 9 x 9 inches. Be gentle while working with the dough — you don't want to over-develop the gluten, which can lead to biscuits that are tough and chewy rather than flaky and tender.
Fold your square in half, then press and shape it back to its original size. Repeat the shaping and folding process two times more. This is how we're creating layers.
After folding the dough for the final time, use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about ½ inch thick.
Take a biscuit cutter, dip it into some flour, and cut the dough into biscuits. Try to avoid twisting the cutter (flouring it will help with this), and be efficient with the placement of your cuts, to minimize rerolling.
Tip: If you don't have a pastry cutter a round cookie cutter will work, or use a drinking glass as a template and cut your dough with a sharp knife.
You'll have some dough left. Some people will tell you not to reroll your excess dough, because biscuits from your second roll won't be quite as tender and flaky. Personally, I can't handle the idea of wasting all that dough, so I always reroll it, but do what works for your. Another alternative is to use a knife to cut square biscuits, so there's no scrap.
Keep cutting and rerolling until all the dough is used, but again, be efficient — each batch will be a little less tender than the last.
- For the flakiest vegan biscuits, keep your ingredients and tools cold. Chill your mixing bowl, pastry cutter, vegan butter, and non-dairy milk before getting started.
- Avoid handling the dough with your hands, as this will warm it up quickly. If your dough or ingredients are warming up to where the butter starts to soften, pop everything in the freezer for a few minutes to bring the temperature back down.
Arrange your cut biscuits on a baking sheet and brush the tops with some non-dairy milk, which will act as a vegan egg wash. Bake the vegan biscuits until they're golden brown and fluffy.
Optional step: For extra flaky biscuits, pop the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze the dough for about 1 hour before baking.
Brush your biscuits with some melted vegan butter after taking them out of the oven.
Make-Ahead Option
Your biscuits can be made up to three months in advance and frozen before baking. Simply place the cut out biscuit dough rounds on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, then place the entire baking sheet in the freezer. Once the biscuits are frozen solid, remove them from the baking sheet and transfer them to a freezer bag or airtight container before placing them back in the fridge.
When you're ready to bake them place your frozen unbaked biscuits back on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake them according to the recipe. You don't even need to add anything to the bake time!
Leftovers & Storage
These biscuits will keep in an airtight container or sealed bag at room temperature for about 3 days, or in the freezer for 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm really not sure, but I suspect an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would work.
So many options! You could serve your biscuits for breakfast topped with vegan butter and jam. Serve them as a side dish, alongside a big bowl of chili or some vegan ribs, or topped with vegan gravy. Or make biscuit sandwiches! Try subbing them for the English muffins used in these vegan breakfast sandwiches.
You can, just be careful not to overmix the dough, which is easy to do with a food processor and can result in tough biscuits. (Hand mixing is my preference!) Starting with step 3 of the recipe, mix your dry ingredients in the food processor bowl, then use an s-blade to cut the butter in by pulsing the machine. Drizzle in the liquid ingredients while you continue to pulse the blade.
More Vegan Breads
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📖 Recipe
Fluffy Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk, chilled, plus more for brushing
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan butter, chilled (preferably frozen), plus more for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Stir the milk and vinegar together in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Place it in the fridge to chill while you mix your dry ingredients.
- Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. (Note 1)
- Cut the butter into 6 to 8 pieces and add them to the bowl with the flour mixture.
- Use a pastry cutter or a couple of butter knives to cut the flour into the dry mixture. Work until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Use a spoon to form a well in the flour mixture, then pour the milk mixture into the well. Stir just until the ingredients are incorporated and a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into an approximately 9 x 9 inch square. Fold the square in half to form a rectangle, then press and shape it back to its original size. Repeat the folding and shaping process twice, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about ½ inch thick.
- Cut the dough into biscuits using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, dipping the cutter into flour before cutting each biscuit. (Note 2)
- Arrange the cut biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least an inch of space between adjacent biscuits.
- Reroll any excess dough and cut it into additional biscuits. (Note 3)
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with dairy-free milk.
- Bake the biscuits until fluffy and golden brown on top, 12 to 14 minutes.
- Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack when the biscuits are finished baking, then brush the tops with a bit of melted vegan butter.
- Let the biscuits cool for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
- The dough can be made in a food processor if preferred (although I recommend hand mixing). Combine the dry ingredients in the food processor bowl, add the butter pieces, and cut them in by pulsing the machine. Continue pulsing the machine and add the liquid ingredients. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
- A round cookie cutter can be used if you don't have a biscuit cutter. You could also use a drinking glass as a template and cut around it with a sharp knife.
- For extra flaky biscuits, you can optionally pop the entire baking sheet into the freezer for about an hour before baking. If you'd like to bake your biscuits from frozen at a later time, transfer the biscuits (once frozen) to a freezer bag or airtight container. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
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Hi! Can the dough be made a day ahead? If so, how would you recommend storing it? Its for a dessert, and I'd like to pop them in while my guests are eating dinner.
You can! Your best bet is to cut the biscuits and then freeze them. Note 3 below the recipe has details on this method. Then when you're ready you can just bake them from frozen (no need to alter the bake time or temperature). They actually come out flakier when they've been frozen. :)
Have you prepared the recipe, made the yet to be baked biscuits and frozen them on the cookie sheet or baking pan sheet, then taken them out of the freezer, let them thaw briefly and then baked them at 425 or 450? for a meal another day?
I haven't, but I have done it with other biscuit recipes in the past, so I can't see why it wouldn't work here! I've always taken them straight from the freezer to the oven (no thawing). I'd bake them according to the recipe with just a couple extra minutes in the oven if needed. Next time I make these I'll make a note to give this a try so I can add specific instructions to the recipe.
Hello, quick question: do these keep well? Can I make them the day before I plan on serving them?
Thanks!
You can! They'll have the best flavor and texture on the day they're made, but they'll be fine for up to 3 days as long as you keep them in an airtight container.
Absolutely beautiful biscuits, definitely a family favorite.
I made these exactly as recipe specifies. They are doooo delish!!! The dough was so tender I knew they would be good. Definitely a kreeper.
Turned out fabulous! I baked mine at 450.
Can I substitute coconut oil for vegan butter?
I wouldn't risk it - vegan butter is a mix of oil, water, and a few other ingredients, so it wouldn't be a direct substitution. I'm afraid I haven't attempted it myself so I can't tell you how to make it work.
Not for biscuits, but coconut oil is awesome for pastry or pie dough. IMHO.
I have made them with a plant based butter, melt, and they came out EXCELLENT!!
first time i made biscuits and they came out beautifully. thank you.