Best Vegan Biscuits (2 ways!)

Light and fluffy vegan buttermilk biscuits are quick and easy to make in under 30 minutes! Bake these tall, buttery vegan biscuits in the oven or the air fryer. Top with butter and cherry berry jam for breakfast or serve as a side dish with vegan gravy at Thanksgiving.

Why these Biscuits are the Best!

If you think vegan biscuits could never be as tender, buttery, and flaky as regular biscuits, you haven’t tried this biscuit recipe yet! Here’s why you’ll fall in love with this simple biscuit recipe: 

• Uses basic pantry ingredients. Convenient and inexpensive to make with only 7 basic ingredients (no dairy, no eggs).
• Quick and easy. Perfect for beginner and home bakers, you'll need only 1 bowl ! No mixers, rolling pins or special equipment to clean up! Plus they're ready in under 30 minutes.
• Sweet or savory side dish. An easy and versatile dairy free side dish to serve with any meal! Perfect for breakfast with tofu scramble or serve it instead of bread with vegan bolognese, vegan chili or soup.
• Air fryer option. Vegan biscuits baked in the air fryer are perfection! When it’s too hot to turn on the oven, pop the biscuits into the air fryer - you won't be disappointed! On days you don't feel like expending ANY effort, try this fabulous express Air Fryer Biscuits (Pillsbury ready made refrigerator biscuits) recipe - such a great alternative.

Ingredients for Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits

These plant-based biscuits come together quickly so gather up all the ingredients before you get started. Here’s what you’ll need: vegan butter/margarine, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, dairy-free milk (like almond milk, oat or soy milk) and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice). 

A Few Ingredient Notes

• Flour. All purpose flour works great for this biscuit recipe. 
• Butter. Because butter is a major flavor factor, use your best tasting non-dairy butter or margarine. I love Miyoko's Cultured butter for making homemade biscuits, but use any dairy-free vegasolid butter or margarine you have (not the soft or tub style).
• Dairy-free Milk. This biscuit recipe is made without milk (dairy), but it does have plain non-dairy milk - use any type you have on hand.
• Acid. No apple cider vinegar? No problem - use lemon juice or white vinegar instead.

How To Make Fluffy Biscuits without Milk

Biscuits are easy to make from scratch without milk, dairy or eggs! For the flakiest, most tender biscuits, it's best to keep the butter cold and the oven hot - let's dive right into the details . . .

1. Mix the dry ingredients: Preheat the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Cut in the butter: Cut the cold butter into cubes and work it into the dough using a pastry cutter, two knives in a scissor motion or the back of a fork until the butter is pea-sized and covered in flour. You can also freeze and grate the butter on a box grater.

3. Add wet ingredients: Make a well and add the vegan buttermilk. Stir until the dough comes together (it will be shaggy). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

4. Laminate the dough: Working quickly, fold the dough over itself and press down, fold and press, fold and press, grabbing the crumbly bits and pieces as you go. Maybe 10-12 folds should do it.
5. Cut the biscuits: Pat the dough into a circle about ¾ - 1” thick. Using a 2 ½” round cutter, cut biscuits. Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet with space between each biscuit. 
6. Oven baking: Bake in a hot oven for 12-18 minutes. Once the biscuits are fully baked, transfer to a wire cooling rack or slather with butter and eat immediately!
7. Air fryer baking: Bake in preheated air fryer for 7-9 minutes. It's almost impossible to believe how incredible these biscuits are in the air fryer!

Biscuit Variations

The best part about this vegan biscuit recipe? Its versatility! Sweet or savory, drop biscuits, square or classic rounds, oven or air fryer option, these biscuits are the best!

• Easy drop biscuits: stir in an additional 2 tablespoons of milk creating a thick, sticky batter. Drop heaping tablespoon portions of biscuit dough onto a prepared baking sheet. (Yield 12-15). Bake as directed until golden brown.
• Square biscuits: After the dough is patted into ¾ - 1” thick rectangle, slice using a sharp knife into ~3" squares. This is a popular shape for biscuits because there are no scraps to rework plus the shape works well for small lunch sandwiches.
• Soft sided biscuits: For soft sided biscuits, place the biscuit cutouts closer together on the baking sheet (1” apart) so they will touch as they bake which helps with the structure and height as well.
• Customizable add ins: Add ½ cup of grated dairy free cheese or raisins with the wet ingredients.
• Air fryer option: Biscuits in the air fryer cook in half the time and are spectacular! The texture is fluffy, flaky, ever so slightly crispy perfection!

The Secret to Tall Buttery Biscuits

Don’t be intimidated to make homemade biscuits - they’re quick and easy! Here’s my failproof biscuit making tips so your vegan biscuits turn out tall, fluffy and incredible every time:

• Test the baking powder: For tall fluffy biscuits, you need active baking powder. Here’s a quick test: sprinkle 1 teaspoon of baking powder over ¼ cup hot water. If it bubbles, it’s active; if not, don't use it. Also, check the expiry date!
• Cold butter: Cold butter produces the best results (leave in the fridge until ready to use). Here's why: The flour-coated butter creates pockets in the biscuit dough which puffs up around the butter and creates that irresistible tender flakiness. 
• Laminating the dough: Fold the dough on top of itself to create layers. This is done quickly so as not to melt the chunks of butter in the dough. 
• Tall Biscuits: I use a 2 ½" round for the perfect biscuit. My testing showed smaller biscuits didn't have enough base structure for the height. Same results when the biscuit dough was thicker than 1”.

FAQs

Here’s a few common questions about making baking powder biscuits from scratch (if you have any more, let me know!):

How to Serve

These dairy-free biscuits are irresistible when served straight out of the oven with butter, but here’s a few more ways to enjoy them:

• For breakfast or snack: Slather with some dairy-free cream cheese and a drizzle of maple syrup or vegan honey - add some fresh berries for the perfect vegan breakfast or treat. Or split the biscuit open and fill with vegan eggs, cheese, and sausage.
• For Dessert or Tea: Fill a vegan drop biscuit with non-dairy whipped cream and fresh berries or fruit compote for a delicious dairy-free dessert or afternoon tea.
• Side dish for dinner: Serve these easy dairy free biscuits instead of bread to accompany any vegan dinner. Or serve them at Thanksgiving smothered in mushroom gravy!

How To Store, Freeze, and Thaw Biscuits

Now that you’ve found the best no milk biscuit recipe out there, you don’t want them to go to waste. Here’s a few easy storage tips:

• Storage: Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Freezer: Once completely cooled, freeze baked biscuits in an airtight container or freezer bag for 2-3 months.
• Reheat: Of course fresh is best, but to reheat biscuits in the oven, place thawed biscuits in a 300º F oven for 4 - 5 minutes or until heated through. To reheat biscuits in the air fryer, cook at 300º F for ~2 minutes (the air fryers will all vary so keep your eyes on them the first time reheating biscuits). To reheat biscuits in the microwave, warm for 20 seconds and then in 10 second intervals until heated through. 

More Vegan Baking Recipes

For more delicious vegan treats, try some of these family favorites:

• Air Fryer Biscuits with salted maple butter
• Easy Chocolate Obsession Cupcakes
• The BEST Eggless Peanut Butter Cookies
• Epic Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Happy Baking!

Did you make my fluffy vegan buttermilk biscuits? I'd love to see them!
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