With their buttery layers and salty-savory goodness, these might just be the best bacon cheddar biscuits you’ve ever tasted!
Loaded with freshly grated cheese, crumbled bacon, and plenty of butter, they’re light, tender, and oh-so-flaky.
In the last few weeks, they’ve become my Sunday morning go-to, and my family is still not tired of them.
If anything, I have to double the recipe so we have some throughout the week!
Why You’ll Love These Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
Fun Flavor Twist: Between the smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, and fresh chives, these biscuits deliver irresistible savory flavor in every bite. And they’re such a fun alternative to standard buttermilk biscuits.
Versatile Side Dish: Serve them for breakfast with eggs, beside soup for lunch, or with any number of main courses for dinner. There’s never a wrong time to serve cheesy bacon biscuits.
Freezer Friendly: Make and portion the dough, then freeze for later. That way, you’ll have them on hand whenever you need. You’ll thank yourself on busy weeknights or lazy weekend mornings.
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of the biscuit dough, providing structure.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: The powerful leavening duo responsible for much of the rise.
- Kosher Salt: To keep things balanced.
- Frozen Unsalted Butter: This is how you get those flaky layers. Frozen butter melts slowly in the oven, creating steam pockets as the biscuits bake.
- Buttermilk: This tangy tenderizer reacts with the baking soda and ensures a tender crumb.
- Bacon: Thick-cut bacon provides a hearty texture and irresistible meaty flavor
- Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese: Aged cheddar brings serious attitude and an addictive sharpness that complements the bacon.
- Fresh Chives (optional): Finely chopped chives add freshness and a subtle oniony note to round out the rich biscuits. They also give them a lovely pop of color.
How to Make Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
These biscuits are the perfect blend of flavors and textures. And those tender layers practically melt in your mouth.
Luckily, they’re also easy to make. Here are the steps:
1. PREP: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C), and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. COMBINE: Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the grated butter, bacon, cheese, and chives; toss gently.
3. MIX: Make well in the center, add the buttermilk, and stir to form a shaggy dough.
4. FOLD: Turn the shaggy dough onto a floured surface; knead lightly and press into a rectangle. Fold the dough like a letter (in thirds), roll it flat, and repeat the fold. Chill for 10-15 minutes (optional).
5. CUT: Press the folded dough to 1-inch thickness and cut it into portions with a knife or cutter. Place the portions on the baking sheet.
6. FREEZE: Chill biscuits on the sheet in freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
7. BAKE: Brush melted butter or buttermilk over the tops, add extra cheese if desired, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly, and then serve warm.
How to Fold Biscuit Dough
We fold biscuit dough to create flaky layers. The dough rises as the butter melts and releases steam during baking, ensuring a tender texture.
If you’ve never done it before, don’t worry. It’s super simple.
1. First Fold: Imagine the rectangle divided into three equal parts lengthwise (like a letter ready to be folded into an envelope). Fold the right third of the dough over the middle third.
2. Second Fold: Fold the left third over the newly overlapped center (your dough is now folded like a letter in an envelope).
3. Flatten & Repeat: Gently press or lightly roll the dough out into a rectangle again, maintaining the 1-inch thickness. Repeat the folding process: right third over the middle, left third over the right.
After the final set of folds, press or roll the dough out to the desired thickness (usually about 1 inch). Cut into biscuits using your preferred cutter and bake.
Tips For the Best Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
As easy as these are to make, there are a few critical things to remember. But if you read these tips, you’ll be fine!
- Use cold ingredients. The trick behind flaky biscuits is to use cold or frozen butter and cold buttermilk. If they’re too warm, they won’t rise as much in the oven.
- Grated butter hack. Instead of gently rubbing cold butter into the flour, just freeze and grate it. It’s so much easier and gives you the best texture.
- Be gentle. Mix the dough with a spatula or fork until it’s shaggy, then very gently press it together on the counter. The more you handle the dough, the more it warms and the tighter the gluten becomes.
- Extra cheese. Be generous with the cheddar. I like extra on top, but that’s up to you.
- Chill the dough. After the folds, chill and rest the dough to keep the butter cold, and so the gluten can relax. Then, chill the portioned biscuits, too, to help them rise higher.
- Cut the dough properly. When cutting biscuit dough, be it with a cutter or knife, make straight-down cuts. If you twist or pull, the layers will crush and stick together, keeping them from pulling apart and rising properly.
- Use a biscuit cutter or knife. Blunt cutters, like the rim of a glass, squash the edges and keep the dough from rising. So be sure to use a proper biscuit/scone cutter or a sharp chef’s knife.
- Brush with butter. For extra flavor, brush the baked biscuits with melted butter. Or try this yummy garlic butter!
- Variations. Try different cheeses like pepper jack or Gruyere, use turkey bacon or chorizo, or add roasted garlic or diced jalapeños to the dough.
How to Store
Biscuits are best enjoyed the day they’re made. The longer they sit, the less flaky they become.
To Store: Transfer cold leftovers to an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, refrigerate for up to 1 week.
To Freeze Unbaked Biscuits: Portion and freeze the dough before baking on a sheet tray. When solid, transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
To Freeze Baked Biscuits: Place completely cooled biscuits in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw in the fridge overnight before enjoying.
To Reheat: Bake unbaked biscuits from frozen at 450°F for about 20 minutes. Reheat leftover biscuits at 300°F oven for 10-15 minutes or in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
Note: leftovers are best served warm as it helps to soften them.
More Breakfast Recipes To Try
Strawberry Scones
Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
Biscuit Bread
Morning Glory Muffins
Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
12
servings20
minutes18
minutes326
kcalWith their buttery layers and salty-savory goodness, these might just be the best bacon cheddar biscuits you’ve ever tasted. Yes, really!
Ingredients
4 cups (480 grams) all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup frozen unsalted butter, grated
8 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled, and cooled
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, optional
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the frozen, grated butter, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, and chopped chives (if using) and toss gently to coat everything in the flour.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the cold buttermilk. Stir with a rubber spatula or fork until a shaggy dough forms. It should be floury, not a smooth ball of dough.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead 3-4 times, then gently press it into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Fold into thirds, overlapping each layer like a letter, then repeat. If possible, cover and chill the dough for 10-15 minutes.
- Press/roll the dough one more time into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Cut out the biscuits with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter and place on the baking sheet. Gather the scraps, re-roll, and cut out more biscuits.
- Freeze the biscuits for 15 minutes. Then brush tops with melted butter or buttermilk and add extra cheese, if desired.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown on top. Cool for 5-10 minutes and serve warm.
Notes
- Letter-fold alternative: Press the dough into a rectangle and cut it into three evenly sized pieces with a sharp knife. Stack, roll, and repeat.
- Keep it cold: Chill the dough before cutting, and chill the biscuits before baking. This is essential for the flakiest, fluffiest biscuits.
- Cut into squares: To keep from handling the dough too much, cut the biscuits into square portions with a sharp knife.
