Fluffy Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits

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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.

Okay, so they’re not the prettiest biscuits in the world, but as far as taste and texture goes, 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.

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 to Make Vegan Biscuits

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 and nothing to be concerned about. Pop the milk mixture into the fridge so it stays cold while you’re not using it.

• 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. 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.
• Brush your biscuits with some melted vegan butter after taking them out of the oven.

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

Can these biscuits be made gluten-free?

I’m really not sure, but I suspect an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would work.

How should I serve my biscuits?

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.

Can I make my vegan biscuit dough in a food processor?

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.