These melt-in-your-mouth no milk biscuits are so tender and light without a single drop of milk.
It’s proof that you don’t need dairy to create flaky biscuits.
While homemade bread seems intimidating, biscuits are as easy as pie. Just mix, roll, and bake. Easy peasy.
So the next time you have a hankering for warm homemade bread, try these no-milk biscuits!
What Are No Milk Biscuits?
No milk biscuits are biscuits exactly as they sound. It’s a simple biscuit recipe that does not use butter or milk.
I know, it sounds a little strange. How can you create buttery biscuits without butter? Trust me, this recipe works!
These biscuits are so good, you won’t even realize they lack these seemingly crucial ingredients.
The dairy-free biscuit recipe I’m about to share yields a super moist dough that can’t be kneaded or rolled.
All you need to do is place them on a muffin pan and they’re ready to bake.
How easy is that?
Ingredients
What I love most about this recipe is it only requires a few pantry staples. Here’s everything you’ll need.
- All-purpose flour. No fancy flour is needed. All-purpose is a great choice for fantastic biscuits.
- Baking powder. The baking powder gives these biscuits a generous rise in the oven.
- Salt. A pinch of salt delivers flavor and also strengthens the flour so your dough binds together.
- Oil. To create flakey biscuits, you need fat. For this recipe, it incorporates oil (such as vegetable oil). However, you can also use shortening.
- Water. Traditional recipes use milk to create a soft dough, but today, we’re using water. It’s the liquid component that fuses everything together.
How To Make No Milk Biscuits
All it takes are five basic ingredients, 4 easy steps, and 30 minutes of your time.
Check out how quickly these biscuits come together! Don’t worry, I’ll get into more detail at the bottom of the page.
1. Prepare. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Make the dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, oil, and water. Mix until a dough forms.
3. Cut the biscuits. Generously flour the countertop, and roll the dough 1/2-inch thick. Then, using a cookie cutter or glass, cut out biscuits.
4. Bake. Arrange biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Dig in! Take them out of the oven, and dig in! These biscuits are best served right out of the oven.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some great tips and tricks to take these homemade biscuits over the top!
- Quality is key. With so few ingredients, be sure to use high-quality flour, baking powder, and oil. It makes a big difference!
- Check those expiration dates. Always check the expiration date of your baking powder, especially if you don’t use it often. Expired baking powder yields flat, dense hockey pucks!
- Spoon and level the flour. If you dump your measuring cup right into the flour, you’ll end up with more flour than you need. Dip a spoon into the bag, and dump it into the measuring cup.
- Sift it, too! This is an easy step to ensure your biscuit dough isn’t lumpy. After measuring the flour, pour it through a sifter so there are no stubborn lumps.
- Do not overmix. Be gentle when mixing the ingredients. You do not want to over-mix the dough because that will make tough and dense biscuits.
- Create a golden crust. Want your biscuits to earn a golden top in the oven? Before baking, brush them with a little dairy-free butter.
- Add fresh herbs. A tablespoon of your favorite herbs will make your biscuits smell and taste so much better. I love adding thyme, chives, garlic powder, and rosemary to mine.
- Make them healthier. Instead of all-purpose flour, you may also use whole-grain flour. It gives you the same great flavor but is also a lot healthier. Use whole wheat pastry flour for lighter and more tender biscuits.
How to Store
While biscuits are best right out of the oven, leftovers are easy to store. Follow these tips to have homemade biscuits on hand for breakfast this week!
- To Store. In an air-tight container, biscuits will stay fresh at room temperature for 2 days. Or, place them in the fridge where they will stay fresh for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze. Wrap individual biscuits in plastic wrap of aluminum foil and place them in the freezer, They will stay fresh for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, thaw them in the fridge overnight.
No Milk Biscuit Recipe (Dairy Free)
12
servings10
minutes15
minutes175
kcalThese no-milk biscuits are golden on the outside and light and fluffy inside. This vegan biscuit recipe proves you don’t need dairy for amazing bread!
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil or soft shortening
2/3 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 30 seconds. Roll to 1/2 inch thick. Use a circle cutter (or an upturned drinking glass) to cut the biscuits.
- Place the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with melted butter to help them brown.
- Bake at 450 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
- Enjoy!
How is it dairy free if you brush them with butter?
Hi William, the biscuits themselves don’t contain milk, but some people prefer to brush them with butter. You can feel free to use a diary-free alternative!
Hello
is it baking powder or baking soda that is added. in the recipe list you say powder, at the top you say to check the freshness of the baking soda you do….
so just to be sure, which one?
thank you 😃
Hi Denise, you’ll want to use baking powder for this recipe. Thanks for catching that!
Can I make these the day before and refrigerate the dough and bake the next morning? If so, do I let the dough come to room temperature?Thinking about these for Christmas Eve brunch for my dairy free, egg free granddaughter.
Hi Linda, yes, you can make these the day before! Just let the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes before rolling out and cutting (if you haven’t pre-cut them). This makes the dough easier to handle. Bake according to the recipe instructions, adding a few extra minutes if the dough is cold from the refrigerator.
Not sure if I measured incorrectly but all I could taste was baking soda 🙁
Hi Elizabeth, this recipe actually calls for baking powder, not baking soda. Did you maybe swap them by accident?
I just found this recipe using Google. My husband wanted biscuits, I was out of milk and didn’t want to go into town. Thanks for an easy recipe using what I had on hand.
Hi Jessie. So glad you liked the biscuits. This recipe has been a life-saver for whenever I run out of milk!
hello…I was looking for a mix with water recipe I could put in a zip lock or plastic water bottle for hiking. I have a mess kit I modified so that I can bake in it (four 2″ biscuits will fit in it or one big biscuit) I don’t want to carry milk or butter so this recipe would work. I’m gonna try it in the next week or two.
Hi Deran!
How did the biscuits turn out? I’ve never tried them on a hike, but what a great idea!
I have self rising flour, how would I adapt the recipe for that?
Hi Coral!
It’s super easy – just use 3 cups of self rising flour instead of all-purpose.
Also, omit the baking powder and salt.
So the final recipe would be:
3 cups self rising flour
6 tablespoons oil/shortening
2/3 cups water