You will love these easy homemade biscuits!
Say goodbye to canned biscuits forever!
This recipe is a winner. It’s quick, easy, inexpensive, and so practical.
Best of all, you control what ingredients go in it, unlike canned biscuits that you buy at the store.
Homemade Biscuit Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold butter, shortening, or coconut oil (I used all coconut oil in the last batch and it worked well, but they did taste a little coconut-y.)
- 1 3/4 cup milk
How to Make Homemade Freezer Biscuits
1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
2. Add in the shortening or butter and mix until crumbly. (You can use a stand mixer or food processor to save time and effort).
3. Add in the milk and mix until a shaggy dough ball forms.
4. Roll dough onto a floured surface and cut it into several biscuits, being careful not to twist the biscuit cutters, as that can create flatter biscuits (just press the biscuit cutter down and pull it right back up again).
5. Combine scraps, roll them out again, and cut more biscuits — continuing this process until all the dough is used up.
6. Preheat oven to 450ºF and let biscuits rise while the oven preheats (or freeze for later — see instructions below).
7. Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes.
8. Enjoy with butter, honey, and/or jam!
How to freeze homemade biscuits:
To Freeze: Flash freeze cut biscuits on a cookie sheet for 1-2 hours. Then remove and place in an airtight freezer bag.
To Bake from Frozen: Pull the desired number of biscuits out and let them thaw for 30 minutes to an hour.
Bake at 450 degrees for 8-12 minutes. (You can bake them straight from the freezer but they won’t rise much.)
Freezer Biscuit FAQs
It could be that your baking powder is expired, but the more common issue is overworking the dough. When you play with the dough, it gets warm, and when the dough gets warm, the “fat/butter” starts to melt into the flour, causing the biscuits to be flatter.
Dry and crumbly biscuits are often caused by adding too much flour. Always start with a little less flour than the recipe calls for — it’s OK for the dough to be a bit sticky.
Easy Homemade Freezer Biscuits
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup cold butter can also use shortening or coconut oil
- 1¾ cup milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
- Add in the shortening or butter and mix until crumbly. (You can use a stand mixer or food processor to save time and effort).
- Add in the milk and mix until a shaggy dough ball forms.
- Roll dough onto a floured surface and cut it into several biscuits, being careful not to twist the biscuit cutters, as that can create flatter biscuits (just press the biscuit cutter down and pull it right back up again).
- Combine scraps, roll them out again, and cut more biscuits — continuing this process until all the dough is used up.
- Preheat oven to 450ºF and let biscuits rise while the oven preheats (or freeze for later — see instructions below).
- Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes.
- Enjoy with butter, honey, and/or jam!
HOW TO FREEZE BISCUITS
- Flash freeze cut biscuits on a cookie sheet for 1-2 hours. Then remove and place in an airtight freezer bag.
HOW TO BAKE FROM FROZEN
- Pull the desired number of biscuits out and let them thaw for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Bake at 450 degrees for 8-12 minutes. (You can bake them straight from the freezer but they won’t rise much.)
Nutrition
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I would love to see what they look like after baking. Thanks.
I wonder if this could be converted to a keto friendly recipe by substituting almond flour?
I’m not sure! That’s a great idea, though! -Meg, MSM Team
If you give it a try let us know how it turns out! -Jordan, MSM Team
So, I made these biscuits last Wednesday and to my husband’s horror, froze them all. I made them exactly to your recipe using butter. We went camping and decided to try them out. I placed them in a pie tin to thaw and then placed the pie tin inside a Dutch oven on top of canning rings. We cooked them with briquettes to make the temperature 450 F and left them on for 12 minutes (elevation about 6500). These were awesome! Very flaky biscuits, loved by all!
That’s so great! Thanks for sharing your experience with them! -Jordan, MSM Team
Can I use bacon fat instead of the shortening?
I’m not sure! You could certainly try! -Meg, MSM Team
This is a rather old post, so I don’t know if anyone will answer, but I just made these biscuits and have a question.
I made a 1.5 batch of dough, and I got 24 biscuits. I used a wide mouth mason jar to cut my biscuits. I am wondering if I made them too thin and wide. I am wondering how thick to roll out the dough next time and what size cutter is best to use. I have never made homemade biscuits before, so I was unsure.
Thanks!
I haven’t made this recipe yet but other homemade biscuit recipes I’ve tried were calling to be rolled to 1/2 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter or something 3 inches wide. Hope this helps.
Yes dough should be about 1/2 inch tall. No wider than 3 inch. Personally I like 2 1/2 inch wide. I keep a sealed container in my fridge that is a mixture 50/50 real Lard & Salted Butter to use for baking. Easy to make: measure then bring to room temp, mix them completely. Fill sealable container, label put in fridge.
On homemade biscuits, you dont roll the dough. You’ll crush it & it wont rise. Once it comes together, turn it out onto floured board & pat it down gently, until you feel it start to resist. Dont handle your dough too much, itll make tough biscuits.
That may be true, but I just made these for the first time…rolled them as the directions stated.
They rose perfectly fine, we’re flaky and tender.
Could you use non dairy milk? Like almond milk? I don’t keep dairy milk on hand ?
Do you know if you can let them thaw overnight in the fridge or in a warm place (oven, microwave)?
In the fridge works fine. I have done this myself.
Thank you for your reply 🙂
How thin do you roll the dough?
Has anyone tried this using gluten free flour?
So is it baking soda or baking powder?! I see it says baking powder, but I think soda for rising…or am I mixed up?
I would say baking powder since that is what is added to flour to make self-rising (as well as salt).
Can you use these in place of vanned biscuits in things like monkey bread and casseroles?
I want to know too!
I have done exactly this for a breakfast bake casserole. Defrosted them overnight in the fridge and cut up the next morning for use in the dish. Turned out fine, just bake at temp for casserole recipe. Obviously check it as oven temps can vary a bit, just to be sure.
Yes, you can. I use store bought bread dough instead of biscuit dough for monkey bread though.
Reading through the comments and saw some posts about using softened butter. I always thought you were supposed to use very cold butter and shortening?
So which way is it? Cold or softened butter/shortening? Just want to know before I make these. I’m looking forward to having homemade biscuits in the freezer. Thanks!
When I make my mom’s buttermilk biscuits, I always use softened butter. You may have to be careful to not make the butter while incorporating and not over-mix. Over-mixed dough won’t rise.
Oh, very cold butter (and ice water) is used for crusts, not biscuits 🙂
Cold fat makes for flakier biscuits!
Use very cold butter for biscuits, too. It will then melt while it’s baking instead of while mixing, resulting in flakier, fluffier, buttery biscuits. I only use butter in mine, and they come out beautiful every time. As a note, Southern Living magazine’s test kitchen suggests freezing and grating the butter. I don’t go that far; I like the look of the butter in my biscuit dough, the same as in my pie crusts.
When baking, you should use room temperature milk, eggs, butter. I just saw this on Rachel Ray last week.
Mil and eggs at room temp are fine but butter should be cold. Sorry, Rachael is wrong on that one.
I made these with coconut oil…and post thaw they DO NOT rise and so then clearly aren’t flaky. Did anybody else have this problem? Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi, I was wondering if the frozen biscuit could be turned for other purpose such as pizza dough, or other switch up using biscuit recipe? Thanks. Will try this out soon.
Just made these this Saturday and baked this week! WOW…so GOOD. so easy and cheap to make too! Thanks for this.
(I posted a review on my blog too. 😉
Do you Have pictures after baking? if so, what is you’re url? 🙂
How long can you keep them in the freezer?
Thanks for the recipe. They were super fluffy and moist. I didn’t have all purpose flour. So, I used self rising and omitted the salt and baking powder. I also added 1 tablespoon of vinegar to milk to give more of a buttermilk taste. I used vege shortening this time but will go with butter next time and maybe a tablespoon of sugar.
So glad I found this recipe….no more frozen biscuits from the store for us! I do use 1/2 cup shortening – 1/2cup butter and I replace 3/4 of the cup of milk with buttermilk. Also, just a spoonful of sugar…shhhh! Thaw them about 15 minutes or so, rise nicely every time! Love these biscuits!
I just made these and they didn’t rise. I followed the directions exactly. Any suggestions?
First things that I can think of are: 1) You used baking powder, not baking soda, right? and 2) You used 2 Tablespoons of it, not 2 teaspoons?
Other than that, all I can think of is to not twist the biscuit cutter as you’re making the biscuits. Just press straight down and then lift it straight up. Twisting it might cause the dough to seal itself around the sides and prevent it from rising much while baking.
But your recipe says Baking Powder, NOT baking soda!!!
She was confirming you WERE using baking powder and NOT baking soda.
I’ve been watching the Great British Baking Show…when I made these to use the same day (not freezing them), I made sure to not over work the dough, and when the first batch went into the oven, I wrapped up and refridgerated the ball of dough. After 45 min of resting in the fridge, you can see that the same batch of dough rose twice as tall!
So what is it now Baking Powder or Baking Soda , and Tablespoon (as per recipe) or teaspoon ?
Thanks for sharing this recipe <never thought of freezing biscuits .
Baking powder and Tablespoons! It does take a lot though. That is roughly the recipe that this Georgia girl has used all her life. Although the unit of measurement for the crisco is “about a chicken egg worth”!
You may want to make sure they are touching. I know the ones you purchase in the store they warn you they will not rise if they are not touching.
Check your expiration date on the baking powder. I throw away more than I use!
These are the best and easiest biscuits ever!!! I’ve made them 3 times since Mother’s day already. Mmmm
Have you tried this recipe with buttermilk?
I just made these!! They worked out great! Can’t wait to try them out when I pull them out of the freezer. 🙂
Do you have any pictures post thaw and baking? Just wondering how fluffy they get after all that.
I don’t have a picture but they come out perfectly fluffy after thawing em out
Can you thaw them overnight in the fridge?
I’m wondering the same thing…
I was looking for “after” pictures as well to see how much they rise. It’s a lot of ingredients to hope for the best.
Frozen biscuit straight in a cold 325 degree oven works well for me they rise fine
I was looking for a ” quick” way to make real shortbread for strawberry shortcake. I added 1/4 cup sugar to the recipe and it worked perfectly. Now I can serve shortcake at a moment’s notice. We have a large berry patch and this is a favorite treat around here.
That’s a great idea! Thanks, Suzy!
If you substitute self-rising flour for the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt, will they still rise after freezing?
It seems like 2 Tbsp of baking powder to 4 cups of flour wouldn’t make them rise very much. If you roll them to 1″ thick or so, Joe tall are they when they are finished baking? I love biscuits and make them a lot but my recipe does have sugar in it. I’ve never tried making them without the sugar but they are also great as a shortcake with fruit and cream. ?
This is perfect. The strawberries in my backyard are going to be ripe any day now. To have homemade biscuits in the freezer, ready to be made into shortcake is perfect! Thank you for the brilliance. I’ll be making a batch or 2 today.
How thick was your dough when you rolled it out? I made these last night and think I might have rolled them to thin as they didn’t seem to rise much.
I should add that they were otherwise great 🙂
I’d say to make them at least an inch.
That was my problem. Mine were 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Thank you!
Not sure if its been asked yet or not, but was wondering how it would work if I put them in fridge the night before to use at breakfast time? Would it give it too much defrost time?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work!
I have been making these since Crystal first posted about trying them. I have found shorting and butter both work great. I look forward to trying it with coconut oil.
I usually don’t have time to to thaw, so I bake frozen. I have found if you want to still have them “rise” when you bake frozen you need to roll them thicker. There is a fine line when it come to the thickness. If you roll them too thick, the center won’t bake.
Okay, just made these and they were AMAZING! I used butter and halved the recipe. I was just really hankering carbs and had none in the house so I didn’t freeze. Thanks, Crystal!
Has anyone made these using white whole wheat flour or a combo of regular and whole wheat?
I’m thinking to try it this week and will let you know how it turns out!
I have used a 50/50 mix and they came out okay. I like using just unbleached flour better.
I now have a bag of these beauties in my freezer and am hoping for a snow day to try them out 😉
I have been using this recipe for many years and I almost always use buttermilk. Using regular, thinner milk will give you a crispier biscuit. Rolling the dough out and folding it over a couple of times before flattening it out again will produce the flaky layers. Also, instead of the mixer, I use a hand pastry blender to dice up the butter into the flour before adding the buttermilk. It seems to work out better if I don’t let the butter get too soft. You can also pinch off a small bit of dough, roll it in your hand and then flatten it out slightly on the bread pan if you aren’t a big fan of rolling out the dough. My grandmother would add a small bit of sugar (maybe half a cup) to the flour and then proceed in the same way to make shortbread for strawberry shortbread dessert.
What great suggestions! I so going to try adding sugar for shortbread.
I have been DYING for a recipe like this! The tube stuff is way too high in sodium for our diets, and I can adapt this easily. Thank-you!!
Do you have a gluten free verison?
I made these tonight with my little 2.5 year old helper girl. Originally she was very excited about using the rolling pin, but once we got going it was cutting out the biscuits with a cup that she really enjoyed.
I forgot to take my butter out of the fridge to soften first, so I just cut it up into small tabs and then let it run in my kitchen machine with the dough hook for a few minutes. My dough was really sticky and never really did form a ball. Once I turned it out onto the floured table and added just a small sprinkling of flour over it, it did fine.
We froze most of them, but I baked a small batch and we had them as a snack before bed. Very easy! I’ll definitely make these again.
I made a batch of these the other night. I used EP coconut oil as well as a combination of all-purpose flour & white whole wheat flour (1/2 of each). I baked some right away & froze the rest. My 14 yr. old son said they taste like McDonald’s biscuits. (Not sure how he knows that since we rarely go to McD’s, especially for breakfast, LOL!)
His comment gave me the idea to make egg & cheese biscuits. I tried that this morning, using some of the biscuits I had frozen. What a BIG hit w/my teenage sons & hubby! (Adding a bacon slice would also be delicious!) Next time I’ll be trying them w/sausage to make sausage biscuits.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Trying it right now…
I’d like to keep these on hand for our church’s meal ministry. They’d be very convenient to share frozen for meals delivered ready to bake, or quickly bake before a hot meal delivery.
Do you think these biscuits could be used to substitute in recipes that call for refrigerator biscuit as a dough (if used before freezing)?
Example: Take refrigerator biscuits, separate and flatten then top with a small filling and pinch together before baking.
Yes, I definitely think so.
Great! I can’t wait to try these as both biscuits and to try to sub in recipes. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Can you use the homemade baking mix in this recipe?
I am sooo making these. Could you just form the dough into a log and then slice it instead of cutting them out? I think I am going to try it
If using butter, should it be softened to the consistency of shortening (Crisco)?
Yes — good question.
I used coconut oil and it was so solid that when I added the milk it was just a soupy mess! About 30 seconds in the microwave and handmixer turned it into a nice dough! Just in case anyone else is using really hard cocnut oil 😉 They look beautiful in the oven and my daughter is having a blast with the small handful of scraps making a nest for her toy puppy.
I wonder if they rise really high when they cook? I’ve tried to make biscuits in the past and they just turn out so flat!
Could you substitute buttermilk for the regular milk?
Yes, that should work — and they might even taste better!
Awesome! Thank you!
Can’t wait to try these!
Can I use olive oil and do I have to freeze them or can it go straight in the oven. Thanks for posting 🙂
I don’t know that olive oil would work since it’s not more of a solid oil. However, you could try and let us know.
And yes, they can go straight into the oven if you prefer.
TY 🙂
I was wondering how long these will keep in the freezer?
I’d say up to two months if in an airtight freezer bag.
I too have some of these in my freezer right now! soo good!
WOOHOO!! Is that Oberweiss milk I spot?? Yum! We just had our delivery yesterday!
Those look delicious and simple! I love the ingredients compared to the store bought brand. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
My biscuit recipe calls for 3/4 cup of milk. I add an additional 1/4 cup for a total of 1 cup milk, then spread the dough in a prepared pan & bake 15-20 minutes for an 8 x 8″ pan. The above recipe is double the ingredients, so should do a 9 x 13″ pan if adding an additional 1/2 cup milk. The pan biscuits save roll out & a little counter clean up time. I’ve never tried freezing them though.
You can also pat out biscuit dough on your baking pan, cut2″ square biscuits with a knife or pizza cutter (like you do scones), then bake.
Thanks for the creative suggestions! I’ll have to try that sometime soon!
You’re very welcome!! I love $ & time savers!!
Your photographs for this entry are very good. Nice job!
Thanks so much! I’m having fun experimenting with my camera!
These just went on my pre-baby freezer cooking list. Thank you! I’ve never tried freezing biscuits for fear they wouldn’t rise afterward.
These sound great! However, I am a little bit weird with my biscuit recipe. I simply substitute the amount they call for butter or shortening with fat free plain yogurt. They turn out delicious and easy to cut out. And much more healthy!
Thanks for the tip!
I keep meaning to try this! I am going to head over to the printer right now and do it. I know later in the day it will seem like to much effort to drag my laptop out and turn it on and print out the page (I am too messy of a cook to bake with a laptop on my kitchen counter). Yep I am that lazy…well that and I am trying to stay off the computer except for set hours and once my laptop is up and running it is really hard to stick to that goal.
Any basic biscuit recipe can be shaped, frozen and stored for later use. Or you can refrigerate shaped biscuits for a day before baking if they are well wrapped. A period of resting actually helps to relax the flour and solidify the fat, resulting in a flakier final product.
Victoria…another Pinterest post I loved, might just be what ya need too! A hanger with clips (the one you hang a pair of pants on). Hook the hanger on an upper kitchen cabinet knob, and hang the recipe page on the clips *slappin forehead* Whatta concept! 🙂
I use this same recipe, they are delicious! And my Grandma taught me, so I’m very fond of making these with her. 🙂 I love adding homemade jam or gravy to them.
Thanks for the recipe, will be trying this one! We use expeller-pressed coconut oil, which won’t give the coconut taste in your foods. 🙂 Just a tip!
Yeah! Thanks for the recipe. I’m just getting back into making less processed foods so this is a nice baby step.
I have some of these in the freezer as we speak (or rather write!)
I like how simple they are to make, how few ingredients there are and how perfect they are for my dairy/nut allergy children!
I too used coconut oil for the shortening and there was a bit of residual flavour … but no one here complained!
Michelle
Has anyone tried to make these or a version of these using rice milk or some other non-dairy milk?
I think it would work. Let us know if you try it!
I make them with soy milk with no problems.
I use unsweetened soy milk. I think even regular might give them a slightly sweet taste (which would be fine for breakfast biscuits but maybe not dinner).
You know, they don’t take that long to make, why freeze them and then wait 30 minutes before baking, just make them and bake them, we do it all the time.
You absolutely can. However, I *love* having the ease of not having to worry about mixing anything up on a busy day!
If I don’t freeze them, can I bake them as soon as I roll them out or do I have to let them rise? Sorry I have never baked from scratch 🙂 LOL
Yes!
Yum, thanks Crystal! I was just going to look for a recipe like this and you posted! Do you take your scraps and re-roll for more biscuits? I am just curious. Some people don’t as they claim the re-rolled biscuits are tough. Personally, I have never thought it a big deal.
Yes, re-roll the scraps… I can’t tell a difference if they’ve been re-rolled.
Try cutting them in squares…. no need to re-roll then.
LOL – that’s one of those things you never think of doing but makes soooo much sense when somebody points it out to you… square biscuits from now on. 🙂
Master level in the kitchen! Wish I had thought of this years ago!
If I’m in a hurry, I use a pizza cutter to make the biscuits into squares instead of circles. Saves a lot of time not having to re-roll the dough. 🙂
Yes, square/rectangle biscuits taste exactly the same as round ones and are much quicker 🙂
Is coconut oil healthy. Just asking. I was wondering can you use canola oil?
For consistency, you want to use a solid for the fat, thus butter, lard, shortening, coconut oil. I know there is more to it than this, I just can’t think of it right now. 😛
I actually sub in fat free plain yogurt for the oil or butter – still taste great without the fat.
Canola is almost always GMO (genetically modified).
A solid fat will make a more crumble-y mixture rather than a dough-y misture before you add the milk. The crumbles are what make biscuits flakey and a biscuit rather than a roll.
Trader Joes doesn’t sell GMO products, so canola from them should be fine 🙂
I don’t believe Trader Joes sells canola oil.
I just checked. I have trader joes canola oil in my pantry 🙂
If it’s not organic I would be very wary.
The other thing to consider is, canola is very high in Omega 6 which is bad when taken in too great a quantity to Omega 3s.
But you’re only eating biscuits, not a whole meal of canola oil. You should be safe.
Coconut Oil gets a bad rap sometimes, but it is actually widely believed to be quite good for you. A little internet research will provide you with a wealth of information on all its potential benefits. We use it whenever possible and have found the good hype to be true.
Yes, coconut oil is MUCH healthier than canola oil. Read about it on http://www.100daysofrealfood.com. Also, best to use whole wheat flour over all purpose.
What type of milk do you use? And did you use whole wheat flour for the biscuits?
Any kind of milk should work. I used whole milk because that’s what we usually have on hand. I’ve not tried whole wheat flour yet, only unbleached. If you try it, let us know!
If you use expeller pressed coconut oil, it won’t taste coconut-y :). Looking forward to trying this and substituting almond milk for milk!
Yum i needed this recipe
My favorite part of the post is your adorable biscuit making helper. What a cutie pie!!
I’d love to see a pic of how they turned out once they were cooked!
Me too! 🙂
Me too!
Me too!
How long can you keep in freezer?
I’d also like to see the finished, baked product!
Perfect! Thank you for such nice recipes. A question though , do I use all purpose flour?
I am assuming you use AP flour and not self-rising because there is baking powder in it.
Try straight from the freezer but, let the sides touch in the pan…this may solve the rising problem. Thank you for the recipe! :0)
oh, this does look simple; can’t wait to try them!
they look easy enough if you happen to have a kitchenaid mixer on hand, but what to do if you aren’t fortunate enough to have an electric mixer ???
No problem, I have made biscuits n yeast bread by hand all my married life. Working on 60 years.