These homemade 3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe Without Milk are pure comfort — soft, fluffy, and full of buttery goodness. And guess what? No milk needed! Just 7 simple pantry ingredients and you’re on your way to the coziest biscuits ever. These drop biscuits are amazing with tomato gravy or a drizzle of honey butter… seriously, love at first bite.
Ever gone to make biscuits and realized you’re out of milk—or worse, it’s gone bad? Don’t worry, I’ve got you. This easy biscuit recipe comes to the rescue when you’re in a pinch, and the best part? You won’t even miss the milk. These biscuits come out perfectly fluffy, warm, and totally satisfying every single time.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Fall in Love with These Biscuits
- So easy, it’s almost magic – No rolling, no cutting, just scoop and bake!
- Only 7 ingredients – All pantry staples you probably already have.
- No milk? No problem! – You won’t even notice it’s missing.
- Buttery, fluffy, golden perfection – Comfort food at its finest.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are a few quick tips and swaps to make these biscuits just right:
- No honey? No worries! Just use a tablespoon of white or brown sugar instead — both work beautifully.
- Out of vinegar? Swap it with lemon juice. The acidity mimics the tang of buttermilk, just like in this buttermilk bread.
- Grating the butter: Once your butter is nice and cold, grab a box grater. I like to do half with the fine side and half with the coarse side — it gives you those magical pockets of melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- That honey butter finish: Just stir together melted butter and honey (yes, it’s that simple!) and brush it over the warm biscuits. It’s sweet, rich, and absolutely irresistible. For more tips, check out The Kitchn’s guide to honey butter.
How to Make Drop Biscuits Without Milk (the easy, cozy way!)
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Little tip: That parchment paper keeps your biscuits from sticking and makes cleanup a breeze.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk the water, honey, and vinegar until the honey is fully dissolved.
Trust me, this step adds such a lovely flavor balance!
Step 4: Add your grated butter to the dry mix and stir until it’s evenly distributed.
Step 5: Pour in about half of the water mixture and stir gently.
Step 6: Add the rest of the water mixture and stir just until a sticky dough forms.
If it feels a little too wet, don’t panic — just add a tablespoon of flour.
Step 7: Scoop out heaping spoonfuls of dough (about 2 tablespoons each) and drop them onto the baking sheet. You’ll get around 15 biscuits.
Step 8: Bake for 16–18 minutes, or until the tops start to turn that beautiful golden brown.
Keep an eye on them — you want them golden, not dry!
Bonus Tip: Brush them with melted butter or honey butter while they’re still warm. It adds that extra little touch of magic.
Rosie’s Real-Life Tips for the Fluffiest Drop Biscuits Ever
- Work fast! Cold butter and cold water are the secret to that irresistible fluffy texture. Don’t overthink the shape — they’re supposed to look rustic and a little imperfect. That’s part of their charm!
- Stop mixing when it’s ready. The moment your dough comes together, put down that spoon. Overmixing = tough biscuits, and nobody wants that.
- Freeze your butter. While you’re getting everything else ready, pop that grated butter into the freezer. It makes a big difference!
- Sticky is okay. This dough is meant to be a little messy. But if it’s too wet, just sprinkle in another tablespoon of flour. Easy fix.
- Don’t walk away while baking. The second those tops start to turn golden, they’re done. Overbaking dries them out, and we want soft, buttery perfection.
FAQs
How do you store leftover biscuits?
Once they’ve cooled completely, pop them into an airtight container or zip-top bag. You can leave them at room temp for a day or two, or keep them in the fridge for up to a week. Want to bring back that just-baked magic? A quick warm-up in the oven or toaster oven does the trick — maybe even with a little butter on top!
What’s the difference between rolled and drop biscuits?
Great question! Rolled biscuits are the ones you pat or roll out, then cut into circles — they’re a little more structured and layered. Drop biscuits are way more relaxed — no rolling, no cutting. You just scoop and plop the dough right onto the baking sheet. They’re rustic, quick, and oh-so fluffy.
Why are my biscuits flat?
That usually means your baking powder wasn’t quite doing its job — maybe it’s expired, or you didn’t use enough. Another culprit? Warm butter. If the butter melts before baking, you lose all those little pockets of steam that make biscuits rise tall and proud.
Why are my biscuits tough?
It almost always comes down to overmixing. Once your dough comes together, you’ve got to stop stirring! Overworking the dough builds too much gluten, which leads to dense, chewy biscuits — and we want tender and flaky instead.
3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe Without Milk
Equipment
- food processor (You can also use a large bowl and a pastry cutter to mix the ingredients.)
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring spoons
- spatula
- half sheet pan /cookie sheet
- parchment paper
- Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
- 3 cups self-rising flour
- 6 tbsp cold fat (You can use butter, lard, tallow, or even cold, rendered sausage grease or bacon fat.)
- 1 cup cold water (You can also use apple juice or another clear liquid with a mild flavor. For a supper biscuit, you can use cold chicken bone broth or beef broth.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Add flour and fat to the food processor and pulse 3 to 4 times quickly until the fat is about the size of peas.
- Then add the liquid (slightly slowly) while your food processor is mixing. You may not need all the liquid depending on what you use. For example, if you're using water or thin juice, you'll need slightly less than 1 cup (about 2-3 Tbsp less). If you're using thick broth, you'll need 1 whole cup.
- Mix just until the dough comes together into a ball. (This is quick.)
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and dust the paper with flour.
- Scrape out your biscuit dough onto the parchment paper.
- Dust your clean hands with flour and gently press and spread the dough into a rectangle shape the best you can. If your hands start to stick, dust them with more flour.
- Cut the dough with a pizza cutter into 12 biscuits.
- Spread out the biscuits on the cookie sheet.
- Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 15 minutes until they are golden brown.
