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There’s nothing quite like a fresh, warm, and flaky biscuit, especially when it’s made completely plant-based! Learn how to make the BEST tall, fluffy, and tender vegan buttermilk biscuits! They require only 8 simple ingredients and will be ready in about an hour! Plus, they’re great for the holidays!
This post is sponsored by our friends over at So Delicious Dairy Free.
The term “biscuits” has a few different meanings around the world, but here in the US it refers to a flaky and fluffy quick bread more similar to a scone than a traditional dinner roll. It’s made without yeast so it does not require any rising, and it can be enjoyed on its own or paired with many different sweet and savory recipes.
To make these biscuits, all you need is:
- Almond milk and apple cider vinegar to make a vegan buttermilk
- Vegan butter
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Sugar
- Salt
Cold butter cold butter cold butter— the key to perfectly flaky biscuits is cold butter! Our #1 tip is to place the butter along with the remaining ingredients into the freezer for at least 10 minutes before starting.
Vegan buttermilk plays an important role in this recipe as the acidity, in conjunction with the leaveners, helps the biscuits rise aka FLUFF UP. To make it, place 1 tablespoon of an acid (apple cider vinegar or lemon juice) in a 1 cup measuring cup. After that, fill the remaining space in the measuring cup with almond milk and set it aside for 1 minute to curdle.
My almond milk of choice is the So Delicious Organic Almondmilk with Cashew— it helped us create the perfect biscuits!
- Made with 6-ingredients
- Organic & Non-GMO
- Vegan
- No Preservatives
- No Added Sugar
- Carrageenan-free
- The bottle is made from renewable sugarcane and at least 80% plants. In addition to that, it’s also recyclable!
Here are a few things to keep in mine to guarantee success with this recipe:
- Cold butter will help result in flaky biscuits. To preserve the temperature of the butter, chill all of the ingredients and equipment in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
- Use quality ingredients— this will make a huge difference for the outcome of your biscuits and will yield the best result!
- Over-mixing the dough will result in tough biscuits. In other words, mix the dough just until it comes together and then stop!
- Don’t twist the biscuit cutter! Simply press down and pull up, that’s it. If you twist it, this seals the edges and the biscuits won’t rise as well.
Try these add ins for a extra more “umph”:
- 2 tablespoons (cooked and crumbled) vegan bacon, 1/4 cup vegan cheese and 2 tablespoons of chives
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder and 1/4 cup sliced scallions
- 1/4 cup chopped olives
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh herbs (finely chopped) and 1 tablespoon garlic powder
Here are a few ideas on how to serve these vegan buttermilk biscuits:
- With your dinner or holiday spread
- As a sandwich
- With vegan butter and jam and/or vegan honey (check out our Vegan Cinnamon Butter, Apple Butter and Homemade Chia Jam)
- Topped with Mushroom Gravy
- In strawberry shortcake
- Paired with some vegan fried chicken and maple syrup
- Used as a topper on skillet biscuit pot pie
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!
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Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits (Flaky + Fluffy)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: ~12 biscuits
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Learn how to make the BEST tall, fluffy and flaky vegan buttermilk biscuits with just 8 simple ingredients and about an hour of your time!
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) vegan butter, cold
- About 1 cup (250 mL) cold So Delicious Organic Almondmilk with Cashew
- 1 tablespoon (0.5 oz) apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) baking powder
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/8 teaspoon (10 g) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 g) baking soda
Instructions
- Remove your vegan butter from the refrigerator. Using a sharp knife, cut the butter into small cubes. Place the butter in a freezer-safe container and set it into the freezer to chill.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, add in the apple cider vinegar. Then, add in the almond milk until it reaches the 1 cup line. Mix together and allow this to sit to form vegan buttermilk. Place the almond milk as well as a large mixing bowl in the freezer and allow these to chill for 10 minutes. If needed, you can transfer the buttermilk to a large cup before placing it into the freezer to prevent spilling.
- Remove the bowl from the freezer and add in the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix together until well combined.
- Grab a food processor and add 3/4 of the flour mixture in. Remove the butter cubes from the freezer and add them in as well. Run the food processor on high for about 30 seconds to break down the butter and create a breadcrumb-like texture. You can also cut the butter in using a fork or a pastry blender. Simply add the butter into the flour mixture and use one of the two to “cut” the butter into the dry ingredients and create a breadcrumb-like mixture. Add the contents of the food processor back into the mixing bowl that has the remaining 1/4th of the flour mixture.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of the vegan buttermilk and set it aside in the refrigerator. Then, using a spatula, create a well in the middle of the flour mixture, add in the remaining buttermilk and then quickly and gently mix everything together, just until incorporated. Remember that this dough does not need to represent a bread dough! It is going to be crumbly.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and pour the dough onto it. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands, pat the dough into a rough rectangle about 3/4″ thick. Fold the dough into thirds, and then using a rolling pin (preferred) or your hands, gently roll the dough into another 3/4″ thick rectangle and fold it into thirds again. Lastly, roll the dough out until it is 1-inch thick.
- Using a 2 3/8″ biscuit cutter, closely cut the dough into circles. Be sure to only press and NOT TWIST the biscuit butter. Place the biscuits about 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheet and place that into the freezer for 10 minutes more. You can reform the scraps into more dough and cut those out as well, but we only recommend doing it once as the more you work the dough, the faster the butter will melt and the least desirable the outcome will be. To avoid leftover dough scraps, you can also cut the dough into squares or diamonds.
- Place the baking sheet with the biscuits into the freezer for 10 minutes. This chill will help the biscuits keep their shape as they are baking. Preheat oven to 430°F.
- Remove the biscuits from the freezer, brush them with the reserved buttermilk mixture, and place them into the oven for about 16 to 21 minutes, or until fluffy and golden.
- Remove them from the oven, and serve warm with vegan butter and apple butter. If you’d like, you can even brush the biscuits fresh out of the oven with some warm vegan butter for an extra touch.
- You can store any leftover biscuit at room temperature in an air tight container for several days, although they are best when fresh.
Notes
- We also suggest placing all of the remaining ingredients AND the tools that you will be using in the freezer for at least 10 minutes before starting.
- To make these ahead of time: We suggest making these up until step 8, but letting the biscuits chill in the freezer for 1 hour rather than 10- minutes. Then, place them into a freezer safe bag or container–you can actually keep in there for up to 3 months. When you are ready to bake them, preheat your oven to the required temperature and once it is preheated, place your biscuits onto the baking sheet and bake them for 19-23 minutes, or until golden.
- If you want to add a little more “umph” to your biscuits, try these extra add ins:
- 1/4 cup vegan cheese plus 2 tablespoons of vegan bacon (cooked and crumbled) and 2 tablespoons of chives
- 1/4 cup sliced scallions plus 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup chopped olives
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh herbs (finely chopped) plus 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- Although biscuits are fairly simple, there are a few must follow “rules” when you’re making them that will guarantee success.
- Keep everything chilled— the key to perfect flaky biscuits is having cold butter hit the hot oven when you set them in to bake. In order to keep the butter cold, you’ll also need to keep all of the other ingredients cold!
- Use quality ingredients— this will make a huge difference for the outcome of your biscuits and will yield the best result!
- Do not over mix the dough— keep in mind that biscuit dough is crumblier than bread dough and will not be the same! Mix it just until it comes together. Mixing it too much will result in tough biscuits.
- When cutting the biscuits, don’t twist the cutter! Simple press down and pull up, that’s it. If you twist it, this seals the edges and the biscuits won’t rise as well.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sides, Thanksgiving, bread
- Method: Oven
Disclaimer: The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional’s advice. This page may contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!
I have made vegan biscuits many times and used a couple of different recipes but none of them have risen this much and remained this soft. This required a bit more effort but were worth it in the end. I used Miyokos salted butter and it worked just fine.
I made this to go on top of a veggie pot pie filling and they were soooooo bomb. I misread and didn’t put the 2 tablespoons of reserved milk on top before baking, and added vegan butter and it was amazing. I may have also ignored some of the steps as far as keeping EVERYTHING cold because I didn’t have room in the freezer for a large mixing bowl, so I made sure to be extra careful when mixing and cutting. Definitely going to be making again.
Very toddler friendly/ approved! (That alone gets 5 stars. )
This recipe is AMAZING! So fluffy, moist, and flaky. Fun to make. Thank you!!
Made these for my family, they loved them! Excellent recipe! Would it work if I try gluten-free all-purpose flour?
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! We haven’t tested this recipe with GF flour, so it’s hard to say!
I just finished making these. They are delicious. I’m going to use them in my Thanksgiving dressing/stuffing tomorrow. Excellent recipe!
What brand of vegan butter did you use? Usually I buy Miyoko’s but I’d like to try the one you use here because I haven’t had great luck baking with that brand with some recipes.
We use earth balance sticks for this recipe and it works perfectly 🙂
Can you use Oat Milk?
Yes you can! Just make sure it’s unsweetened 🙂
This is one I have yet to try but it seems the part about “remove butter cubes from the food processor” should be ‘remove from freezer’ – no? Thanks again for sharing this recipe!
Hey Irene,
Thanks for point this out! Yes, it should say from the freezer. Updated the recipe 🙂
Ok I still didn’t fully comprehend certain parts of this recipe but no biggie. I obviously understood most of it, as it was a success! This will now be my ingredient list & freezing guideline for vegan biscuits. Yum so light & flaky! Thanks.????
Hey Ana,
Glad the recipe worked out. I just updated the recipe to make it a little bit clearer. Essentially you’re supposed to process 3/4 of the mixture and then add it back into the same bowl with the other 1/4 of the mixture. Hope that makes sense 🙂
these biscuits turned out really good, I just have to say your website drives me crazy. I just about left just because every time I scrolled down it defaulted to the top of the recipe. Using mobile version, after pressing the “skip to recipe” link, it KEEPS skipping to the top of the recipe no matter where I scrolled. Might want to fix this bug to make it more user friendly. Also I added garlic powder and pepper, and chilled for 6 hours before baking because I was prepping dinner.
Hey, Thanks for the heads up on this. We are working to resolve the issue now. Glad you enjoyed the biscuits!
Hi. Why are we only using 3/4th of the flour? Why not make less to begin with? And in the instructions it says to “remove butter from the food processor” and I think you meant freezer/fridge! Thanks!!!
I’m an idiot an read it wrong. Lol. Sorry!!
No worries!! Glad you figured it out, I hope you liked it 🙂
I guess I am an idiot too cuz that part of the recipe definitely confuses me. Anyhow you figured out so you should be proud of yourself. I sadly have not but I will try it out anyway & see what happens. It is fun to experiment. I think the main thing is to keep everything chilled. ????????♀️
Can you use any other plant-based milk, such as soymilk, to make the vegan buttermilk?
Yes, any unsweetened plant milk will work for this recipe 🙂
These turned out perfect! Be sure to follow all the steps for chilling because that really is the true way to make a perfect biscuit!
We are so glad that you liked it! 🙂
Can u make this the day before and put in freezer overnight before baking… although this isnt labor intensive I am working night shift Monday and coming home Thanksgiving morning so I wanna make it easy for myself so I can enjoy the day… Happy Thanksgiving ????????????
Yes, you can definitely make the dough ahead of time. We suggest making these up until step 8, but letting the biscuits chill in the freezer for 1 hour rather than 10 minutes. Then, transfer them into a freezer safe bag or container. When you are ready to bake them, preheat your oven to the required temperature and once it is preheated, place your biscuits onto the baking sheet and bake them for 19-23 minutes, or until golden brown!
Should I defrost the biscuits at all before baking? If I made them ahead.
No! You don’t need to because that will melt the butter and may make them less fluffy.
Amazing recipe