These vegan biscuits melt in the mouth with layers of flaky, fluffy and buttery deliciousness. The recipe riffs off a classic buttermilk biscuit and it guarantees the best biscuits you've ever baked.
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Not just the best vegan biscuits - the best biscuits ever
These homemade vegan biscuits are often a top breakfast or dinner choice in our home. They are so delicious, they make any meal special. As the cook I also love them because they come together quickly with six pantry ingredients. And they take just 14 minutes in the oven to bake into melt-in-the-mouth yumminess!
Making biscuits is quite easy if you know how to handle pie dough. If not, you might have a small learning curve. But don't worry because I am going to make this really easy for you with step-by-step photos and detailed instructions.
When you make biscuits, there's one simple thing you need to keep in mind at all times: maintain all ingredients and working surfaces as cool as possible. That means -
- keeping the milk and vegan butter refrigerated until ready to use.
- using a fork, not your hands (which are warm), to mix the flour and the milk while forming the dough. You can use your hands to shape the dough into a disc.
- rolling the biscuit dough on a cool surface, like marble, if possible. If not, throw a baking sheet in the fridge, flip it over, and roll the biscuit dough on it.
The reason to do this is you don't want the butter to melt into the dough. Instead, you want little pieces of butter scattered throughout the dough. When the biscuits are in the hot oven, the bits of butter will melt, forming little pockets and creating those coveted layers.
Keep these simple tips in mind and you will be well on your way to mastering the most delicious biscuits you ever made and ate.
Just made these - simple and fabulous! - Kirsten
Recipe FAQ
Use two cups of gluten-free all purpose flour and a tablespoon of tapioca starch or tapioca flour. You can also add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum, if the flour doesn't already have some added to it. Proceed with making the dough as instructed. You might need more milk, because gluten-free flours tend to be thirstier. Once you have a dough, pat it into a circle half-inch thick on a floured surface using your hands. Bake the biscuits for 18 minutes.
Biscuits made with wholegrain flour won't be quite as fluffy. But if you want healthier biscuits, go for it.
We love these for breakfast with vegan butter and raspberry jam, or with a side of vegan scrambled chickpea eggs.
For lunch or dinner, use the biscuits to scoop up vegan meatball fricassee, vegan mushroom gravy or vegan beef stew.
My son enjoyed eating these biscuits on their own, for a snack.
Refrigerate leftover biscuits for up to four days. To freeze, flash-freeze the biscuits first on a baking sheet in the freezer. Then place in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to four months. Heat refrigerated biscuits in a 350-degree F/180-degree C preheated oven for 4-5 minutes or until warmed through. If reheating frozen biscuits, reheat 10-12 minutes, no need to thaw first.
Recipe card
Vegan biscuits recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon vegan butter (very cold, straight from the refrigerator. Cut into small cubes just before adding to flour)
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (cold, straight from the refrigerator. Use any milk of your choice. I used oat milk.)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Optional wash
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Mix the non dairy milk with the vinegar and set aside in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes to curdle.
- Place the flour in a bowl with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together.
- Add the butter to the bowl and, using a fork or a pastry-cutter, "cut" the butter into the flour until you have a coarse mixture with a few pea-size pieces of butter. You can also do this in the food processor--pulse the flour and butter three to four times, for five seconds each time, no more, until the butter has broken down into smaller bits.
- Slowly drizzle in the nondairy milk and vinegar mixture, and mix with a fork until the dough forms. If doing this in the food processor pour the milk through the feed tube while turning on the "pulse" button in short bursts. You may not need all of the milk.
- Form the dough into a disc.
- Wrap the biscuit dough in cling wrap, flatten into a disc, and place in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough about ½-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out biscuits. Roll up dough scraps and cut more biscuits. You should get about 10-12 biscuits.
- Place the biscuits at least an inch apart on a baking sheet. If using optional wash, which will give the biscuits a richer, golden color, mix the oil and milk in a small bowl and brush the tops of the biscuits with the mixture. Bake the biscuits for 14 minutes until fluffy and golden.
- Serve the vegan biscuits hot or warm.
Notes
- For flakier biscuits, refrigerate the biscuit dough for five minutes before cutting out biscuits.
- When you cut the biscuits, flour the cookie cutter lightly and don't wiggle it into the dough as you cut--cut straight down in a firm, decisive motion. This will help the biscuits rise better, with flaky layers.
- Roll the biscuit dough on a lightly floured surface. You want enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, and you should also flour your rolling pin as well as scatter a bit of flour on top of the dough to make rolling easier.
- Round biscuits are classic, but you can also use a square or rectangle cookie cutter. Why you'll love these vegan biscuits
Nutrition Information
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Anonymous says
Fabulous! Thanks for this recipie. After living in The South(southern US)I did not think it possible that the best buttermilk biscuits I'd taste would contain neither butter nor milk 🙂 . I followed the recipie exactly, though used all (2c) white whole wheat flour (didn't have any pastry flour) and instead of making sour 'milk' with vinegar, I used (plain) nondairy yogurt (in this case coconut-based). They were awesome. Thanks!
Noelle says
Just finished devouring 3 biscuits!!!!! They were so delicious! Thanks so much. I will be posting this on my website linked to you!
Anonymous says
Just made this recipe with a "chicken" pot pie, and this will definitely be bookmarked.
Vaishali says
Anonymous, how wonderful! Thanks for the feedback-- and a very happy new year to you and your family too.
Anonymous says
Dear Vaishali
Finally I got a chance to bake these biscuits this year a day b4 Christmas. These tasted heavenly. I used vegan butter and all purpose flour. My fiancee is an Omni and any non-veg food is on his top list. He loved these like anything and said he won't eat biscuits sold outside and even asked me to bookmark your recipe. He cooked Pav-Bhaji (only Bhaji :)) and we all friends enjoyed our dinner with wonderful vegan food including desserts.
Once again, Thank you very much and wish you and Desi and the Pets very happy new year. Keep writing as you get time 🙂
Vaishali says
Andrea, glad you liked them. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Andrea says
Oh my goodness, these are amazing! I'm from the south, where we have biscuits for breakfast with our sausage and eggs, or in the evening with dinner too. Since I've been vegan, I've been looking for a good recipe, and now I've found it - just made some and they taste incredible. Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Vaishali says
Hi unmadebed, The vinegar with the soymilk produces an acidic mix that acts and tastes like buttermilk. It helps make the biscuits fluffier.
unmadebed says
thanks for the recipe, but why did you use vinegar? just curious. and trying to figure out whether or not i can leave it out.
Kat says
Thank you! I've been looking for a good dairy free biscuit that has the qualities of good buttermilk biscuits. You have made my day 🙂
Vaishali says
Proud to be a vegetarian-- You don't mix in the butter thoroughly. You want it to be dispersed in small pieces throughout the flour so it will melt in the oven and create little flaky air pockets. That's the whole idea behind using very cold fat-- so it doesn't melt into the flour.
I would advise using vegetable shortening instead of butter to make these biscuits really flaky, but if you want to use butter, go ahead and use salted. But leave out the 1/2 tsp of salt in the recipe.
Proud to be vegetarian says
In the grocery stores near my house, I can't find the vegan butter in unsalted varieties. Should i try in health food store?
Proud to be vegetarian says
Is it really easy to mix cold butter with rest of the things?
Cham says
ha ha when I first reached in US I didn't understand the biscuit meaning... Love the way u vegan all the food! They are fluffy & perfect!
vegwife says
Those look fabulous! Love the golden color! Yum!
Pavithra Kodical says
Yummy biscuits..perfect with a cup of tea.I was also confused about difference between biscuit and cookie when i came to US 🙂
Trupti says
biscuits looks very delicious Vaishali. I am not a good baker so I don't know much abt patry flour. Which brand do u use for pastry flour?
Dershana says
This one's a keeper , vaishali! thanx.
Mihl says
I would totally call these scones. That's how confusing all these food items can be for a second language speaker. But no matter what, they sound delicious.
jayasree says
Biscuits looks wonderful,scrumptous. Nice click.
sowmya says
looks so fluffy and so perfect..must have been delicious,,.
Happy cook says
The looks so yumm, yeah i remember when i moved here it was als a big confusion cookies and biscuits.
Kitchen Flavours says
Wow yummy looking biscuits.
Vibaas says
Biscuits look perfect. Oh i still refer to cookies as biscuits and my son corrects me. He has accepted marie biscuits as biscuits though 🙂
Sharmila says
I have come across biscuits being described as used a part of a meal .. usually used to mop up that last bit of gravy .. I think that is the american version ... love the look of your 'stark naked' biscuits. 🙂 Can feel their discomfit under that glaring camera light. 😉
Sunshinemom says
Got that drift because I was having the similar thoughts the other day! There is a very thin demarcating line, or is it there at all? I thought they looked like scones too, and they look delicious!
Soma says
U amaze me Vaishalli! I love my Biscuits "Stark Naked" too:-) Only never thought of baking them with soymilk!
Indhu says
yummy... I love these biscuits.. Like you said, they can be had with jams, nutella or even with some spicy gravy 🙂
Yasmeen says
minus all the fatty butter milk,the biscuits look scrumptious and needless to say much healthier:)
Asha says
I love them too, I made biscuit and gravy for breakfast last Sunday. Looks orangy, fluffy and wonderful. Enjoy! 🙂