Drop Biscuits are much easier to make than traditional biscuits, but they still have a light, fluffy interior and crisp, golden exterior. They require just 6 simple ingredients and take only 10 minutes to mix up. Serve these buttery biscuits with a weeknight meal, or a holiday dinner – they’re impressive and easy enough for both!
Published April 2022. Updated September 2023.
Lazy bakers rejoice – you can achieve a tender, flaky biscuit with half the time and effort! Introducing Drop Biscuits. Let’s dive in!
Why you’ll love these Homemade Drop Biscuits:
- Easy Biscuits – This easy biscuit recipe is simpler to make than traditional homemade biscuits, making it a great recipe for beginner bakers or anyone short on time.
- Tender Biscuits – This “shortcut” recipe still produces extremely tender, flaky biscuits with a slightly crisp exterior.
- Flavorful Recipe – Salted butter, and a blend of cheddar and gruyere cheeses add an incredible amount of flavor to these buttermilk drop biscuits!
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Baking Powder – Baking powder is our leavener in these biscuits, meaning it causes them to rise and become fluffy.
- Cheese – Use your favorite cheese! I used a mix of cheddar & gruyere.
- Milk – Use buttermilk for extra fluffy buttermilk biscuits, or 2% milk, whole milk, or any milk you prefer. Don’t go out of your way to buy buttermilk if you already have another milk at home.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Gluten-free – I have not tested a gluten-free version of this recipe. Let me know if you do!
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite trusted dairy-free butter and milk to make this recipe dairy-free and vegan.
- Variations – See variation ideas in the recipe variations section at the end of this post.
How to Make this Easy Drop Biscuit Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Cut Butter into the Dry Ingredients. Start by whisking together the flour, salt, and baking baking powder in a large bowl. Cut cold salted butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter, until you have pieces the size of walnut halves (some will be larger, some smaller) that are coated in flour.
Step 2: Finish the Biscuit Dough. Next, stir in your shredded cheddar and gruyere cheeses. Using a mix of these two cheeses adds so much flavor to these biscuits! Stir in the cold buttermilk last. You’ll have a slightly wet, sticky dough.
Step 3: Portion Drop Biscuits. Scoop the biscuits into a greased cast iron pan (any oven-safe pan works) using an ice cream scoop like this, or using a 1/4 cup measuring cup. The biscuits should be about 1/4 cup each, and you’ll have 8 total. This is why they’re called drop biscuits – you just drop them into the pan! No biscuit cutter needed.
Step 4: Bake. Bake until golden brown and crisp on top. Follow the bake time in the recipe below for the best results!
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
While your biscuits are fresh and piping hot from the oven, brush them with a little bit more butter, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and dig in! These biscuits are incredibly flaky and tender, even though we aren’t doing any of the extra steps of folding and turning the dough that traditional biscuits require.
These are best served fresh from the oven, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
Expert Success Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
- Baking Pan – I recommend using a greased metal pan or cast iron pan to bake these in. You can also use a parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a pinch.
- Wet Ingredients – Make sure to keep your wet ingredients (butter & milk) cold before adding them to the dough. When cold butter hits the heat of the oven, it produces steam which creates the flaky layers we’re looking for.
FAQs:
Yes. Bake in a 9×13 pan for a double batch, and bake a half batch in a 6-inch skillet or metal pie plate.
You sure can. See recipe variations just below this box.
Serve with soups, as a holiday side for Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. or serve with sausage gravy for a holiday breakfast.
Recipe Variations:
- Cheese – Use any cheese you like, as long as you use 2/3 cup total. Try mixing your favorite cheeses! Gouda, cheddar, gruyere, monterey jack, and colby jack would all work well.
- Mix-ins – Add 1/2 cup of cooked crumbled bacon to the dough if desired. You could also add some chopped fresh herbs.
Special Tools:
- Oven-Safe Skillet: This is a splurge purchase, but I love the 10-inch Staub Cast Iron Skillet. I use it in so many skillet recipes! However, any oven-safe skillet of similar size will naturally work just fine, like this Lodge option.Â
- Pastry Cutter – A pastry cutter makes cutting buter into dry ingredients a breeze! I use it often for fruit crisps, biscuits, and pie dough.
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More Side Dish Recipes to Love:
- Quick Bacon Green Beans
- Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Squash
- Puff Pastry Asparagus Tarts
- Easy Lamb Appetizer Cups
- White Cheddar Mac & Cheese with Brown Butter Breadcrumbs
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Wild Rice Salad
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
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Easy Drop Biscuits with Cheddar & Gruyere Cheese
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled 195 grams
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cold salted butter 57 grams
- 1/3 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup cold buttermilk Regular 2% milk or whole milk work too
For Serving:
- additional salted butter
- flaky sea salt, optional
- drizzle of honey, optional
Instructions
- Prep: Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet (or similar size oven-safe baking pan or dish) with butter and give a light spray of nonstick spray. Preheat your oven to 400° F.
- Make the Biscuits: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cold butter into tablespoon sized cubes, and add to the bowl of flour. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter (or a fork, or clean hands) until you have pieces of butter the size o walnut halves (some will be larger, some smaller). The butter pieces should be coated in the flour. Stir in the cheeses. Then, pour in the mlik, and gently stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you have a semi-wet, shaggy dough. You may need to add a bit more milk to help the dough come together. Add 1 tsp at a time to avoid making the dough too wet. It's ready when there are no dry crumbly bits left.
- Bake: Scoop biscuits from the dough using an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Each biscuit should have about 1/4 cup worth of dough. Place biscuits in the prepared pan, leaving a bit of space between them (see photo above). Bake for 17-20 minutes. Biscuits will appear cooked through and will be golden brown. You can gently break into one and lift the top (with a butter knife) to check that the inside is fluffy and cooked through, and that there is no wet dough left in the center.
- Serve + Store: Serve immediately, while hot from the oven! Brush a bit more melted butter over the biscuits, and add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, if desired. These are absolutely best when they're fresh from the oven, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 days, and gently reheated.
Nutrition
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