If you’re looking for a gluten free biscuit recipe that results in light, tender biscuits with a golden brown outside and a soft inside, then this is your recipe!
Being from the South, I’ve consumed my fair share of biscuits. Actually mine and probably 3 other people’s fair share of biscuits! They’re a staple for not only breakfast, but lunch, snack time and even dinner.
This recipe is for a basic gluten free biscuit. The beauty of it is that it’s simple to make and can be on your table in about 30 minutes.
How to make delicious gluten free biscuits
The key ingredients
There are a few essential ingredients that go into this glorious gluten free biscuit…
Cold butter – the colder the better. Just take it right from the refrigerator and start cutting it into the flour mix. Cold butter helps produce the tall rise you want with these biscuits.
Yogurt – not fat free yogurt. A plain, unflavored yogurt is what you’re looking for here.
Gluten free flour mix – here is the link to the preferred gluten free flour mix that has been tested. We use this one because it’s one we make it bulk and use for recipes like these biscuits and these dinner rolls.
How to Make a High Rising Gluten Free Biscuit: Cut in the butter
I first discovered how essential cutting in the butter was to a biscuit recipe years ago when I had a biscuit flop. And I mean really flop, like a pancake, from not cutting in the butter. For the best results, use a tool like the one pictured above. This allows you to really incorporate the butter into the flour mixture.
Roll the biscuit dough out
What could be more fun that rolling out bread dough with a rolling pin?! …I sense some laughing here.
But really, I think you’ll appreciate this recipe even more once I tell you that this biscuit dough rolls out really easily. It is not sticky and doesn’t require loads of flour to prevent it from adhering to the rolling pin. Just a few easy rolls should have it right at that 1″ mark you’re aiming for.
Cookie-cut the biscuits
Although I love a good drop biscuit, I am especially fond of cut biscuits. Something about their high rising shape just says, “Look at me, I’m a perfectly shaped biscuit!”
Cutting these beauties out is as easy as can be – just remember to dip the cookie cutter into flour before each cut.
As you know from my gluten free white bread, recipes that use convenient tools and ingredients make gluten free baking much easier.
Here are some essential tools for making these GF biscuits
Pastry cutter – this tool makes for some pretty easy prep work for these biscuits. You’d be surprised how often you use this handy tool!
Rolling pin – a good rolling pin makes rolling out dough so much easier! While the wooden ones are pretty to look at, I love my silicon one.
Biscuit cutter – another item you’d be surprised at how often you use – biscuit cutters work really well for cookies too!
Baking sheet – these non stick ones are ideal. And a 3 pack of them is even better!
So now that you’re craving biscuits, here is my basic recipe for tender, light gluten free biscuits. And if you enjoy it, will you give it a rating? 
Buttery Gluten Free Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 240 g gluten free flour mix about 1 3/4 cup
- 1 tsp. Xanthan Gum – or use a substitute for xanthan gum
- 3 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda
- 2 tsp. Sugar if you like a sweeter biscuit, add 1 tsp. more
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 6 Tbsp. Cold Butter cut into small pieces
- 1 Cup Plain Yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk to mix.
- Add the cold cut butter in with a pastry blender or fork, until the mixture resembles crumbs.
- Add in the yogurt and gently mix until the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat to 1” thickness.
- Cut the dough into 2 ½” squares or using a biscuit cutter. Place 1” apart on an ungreased baking pan (or pizza stone).
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Video
Notes
- A quick roll with the rolling pin is all you'll need with these biscuits.
- They're easy to get creative with for the shapes - they make great hearts and eggs!
- Alternatively, if you want round biscuits and you don’t have a biscuit cutter, use a tin can. Simply remove the top and bottoms of the can, stick it in some flour and use it as a biscuit cutter.
Nutrition
Initially published 3/1/2013
Want more delicious gluten free biscuit and roll recipes? Check these out:
- The Best Gluten Free Dairy Free Dinner Rolls
- Almond Flour Biscuits
- Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Gum Free Rolls
- Gluten Free Cheddar Bay Biscuits
And if you’re looking for some gluten free baking help, check out these tips:
- Alternatives to Xanthan Gum in Gluten Free Baking
- How to Substitute Xanthan and Guar Gum
- How to Substitute for Potato Starch and Potato Flour
Amber
I have a question. can you use this biscuit recipe for recipes that call for using Pillsbury biscuit dough for the recipe? I found this yummy Italian cheesy bread recipe that calls for one tube of ready to use biscuit dough but my husband has a Gluten intolerance/ allergy. It would be awesome to be able to use this recipe in place of the ready made stuff.
Chrissy Lane
Hi Amber,
I would definitely give it a try – I have a recipe for a bread that uses a tube of that dough, but it doesn’t work well when I substitute these gluten free biscuits. My particular recipe calls for dunking the biscuit pieces into a butter and herb mixture. For some reason, the biscuits just don’t hold up – need to do some experimenting with that one.
But that’s the only thing I’ve found these biscuits don’t hold up well for.
We’ll have do some experimenting and come up with an Italian bread – that’s a great weekend project. 🙂
I’ll post the recipe when I get it perfected.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Chrissy
annamaria
I have store bought gf flour. will that work instead of the light mixture? My son is 9 months old and I’m trying to find different things to make for him. I don’t want to spend a small fortune on all these different types of flour.
Chrissy Lane
Hi Annamaria,
What type of flour is it? The reason I ask is because if you have a brown rice flour and use all brown rice flour, the biscuits could turn out as hard as rocks.
A combination of flours is really best for this recipe. If you have a pre-mixed GF flour blend, then that is worth trying.
I have not tried them using a pre-mixed blend, but I would love to hear how they turn out.
Please share your results!
Cheers!
~Chrissy
Gaile
Could you use this recipe and just make drop biscuits? I’m always looking for the easy way.
Chrissy Lane
Hi Gaile,
Oh absolutely!
Just take the dough from right after it’s all mixed in and drop them onto your cookie pan from there.
Works like a charm!
~Chrissy
Zaida
Hi there!!
Can I substitue the yogurt with eggs?
Chrissy Lane
Hi Zaida!
I would not substitute eggs for the yogurt in this recipe.
It is a matter of consistency and it would alter the texture of the biscuits.
However, I am not one to shy away from a challenge, so this might be something to experiment with.
Hope this answered your question.
~Chrissy
shari
Is there a substitute for the Tapioca Flour in your light mix?
C.J. Brady
Hi Shari,
Absolutely – you can use potato starch or cornstarch as a substitute.
The idea is substituting ‘a starch for a starch’.
Hope that helps!
Samantha
Yummy, buttery goodness! I tried this recipe tonight with King Arthur all-purpose gluten free flour. I didn’t have any plain yogurt on hand, so I used about 7 oz. light cream. Divine! I’m so glad I came across this recipe! Thanks!
Samantha
I made these with King Arthur GF flour again for Christmas dinner. This time I used sour cream in place of yogurt. I had to add quite a bit of light cream to get it to dough form. They came out sinful! I have been gluten-free for over 10 months now, and I have missed biscuits so much. I don’t have to miss them anymore!
Chrissy Lane
AWESOME Samantha!
Thank you for the feedback – Wonderful to hear how much you enjoyed them!
They are delicious aren’t they?!
Tina
Hi There,
Is there any substitute for the potato flour? I have potato starch, can I use that?
Thanks in advance,
Tina
Chrissy Lane
Hi Tina,
In this recipe, for the potato flour, potato starch should give you the same consistency. Though that’s not always the case. But here it should be fine.
Hope that helps!
Cindy
Hi Chrissy,
I make southern buttermilk biscuits and I’m wondering if buttermilk can be used instead of yogurt?
Chrissy Lane
Hi Cindy,
You know I am all about experimenting with recipes, especially with biscuit recipes as sometimes you stumble upon a really good combination that way.
But with substituting buttermilk for yogurt – its a consistency thing, really. The buttermilk is more liquid than the yogurt, so the biscuits batter wouldn’t really be biscuit batter.
But, you’ve sparked my curiosity… let me see what I can come up with.
Give me a couple days to fit it into the ‘baking schedule’, but I will post it when I create the perfect buttermilk biscuit.
Ok?!
Merrit
Hi I’m excited to try this. I have problems with sugar. Does all these flours in the light mix turn to sugar in your system once ingested? Help
Chrissy Lane
I am no expert in nutrition, so I am hesitant to give you any recommendations.
There is sugar in the recipe however, so even though the flours may not necessarily cause you trouble, the sugar in the recipe might.
I will experiment more with sugar free recipes though, maybe we’ll find one that works better for you.
Tiffany
These were super awesome! We loved them! I used Gluten Free Mama brand of all purpose almond flour. Will be using this recipe a lot in the future.
Tiffany
I meant to add that I omitted the sugar and used plain Greek yoghurt with no issues.
Lyn
these are absolutely fantastic – I am newly gluten intollerant and have seriously missed bread type foods. They taste just fantastic, I had one recipe where there was an aftertaste. A long time gluten free friend said you get used to the taste. I drove to her place of work, brought her one of these fresh out of the oven and she couldn’t believe how great they taste. The added benefit the house actually smelled like something great was baking in the oven, I can’t thank you enough for the recipe.
portia
what can I use in place of the yogurt? I am dairy free at the moment.
Chrissy Lane
Hi,
To avoid the dairy here, you might try soy yogurt or even rice based yogurt.
Or you can try coconut cream… allow a can of full fat coconut cream to sit until the cream rises to the top, skim off what you need and use it 1:1 in place of the yogurt.
Hope that helps!
Tasha
Hi, my husband is extremely gluten intolerant and I’m always looking for recipes to offer variety in what he can eat. Can you substitute the cornstarch for more tapioca or potato starch? What would you suggest as a substitute for yogurt? Thanks!
Chrissy Lane
Hi,
Yes, substituting the cornstarch for more tapioca starch is fine.
And for the yogurt: you might try soy yogurt or even rice based yogurt.
Or you can try coconut cream… allow a can of full fat coconut cream to sit until the cream rises to the top, skim off what you need and use it 1:1 in place of the yogurt.
Thanks and hope that helps!
Laurel
For the butter – would you recommend the regular kind (salted) or the unsalted kind? I’ve got both in my fridge now so I just need to know which to grab.
Thanks for the recipe, it looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it out!
Chrissy Lane
I always use unsalted!
Thanks for asking!
Laurel
Made these and loved them, definitely going to be my new go-to recipe for biscuits!
Elizabeth
I made them! I made them! Wow, were these good! I didn’t have any yogurt so I used 2% milk (needed a little more than a cup). They came out perfect and tasted just right! Thank you SO much!
Chris
Hi – I am going to make the rosemary biscuits for T/G using the GF Light Mix Flour Blend. Is it really 3 Cups of Cornstarch? Sometimes there are misprints. Looks like everyone loves the above biscuits!!! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks
Chrissy Lane
Hi Chris,
Yes, I know it looks strange, but that is for the light GF mix. So this will make enough for you to keep on hand.
Let me know how they turn out!
viola
Hi Chrissy, I made these biscuits today. They were heavenly. I made the light flour mix from your recipe. However, I didn’t have the plain yogurt so I substituted it with 1 cup of sour cream and added buttermilk as needed (did not measure buttermilk). The biscuits were the best yet. I dipped them in syrup. I have been gluten free for 16 months now. I must try the flour mix in a pie and pizza crust.
Portia
can you freeze these to bake at a later time? If so how would you suggest doing it?
Leeann
Hello! I am newly GF. I would love to try these. Is there another flour to substitute for the white rice flour? I have sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca flour (aka starch), and potato starch. I also have coconut flour, but don’t want a coconut taste in the biscuits. Thank you so much!
C.J. Brady
Hi Leeann,
Well, the best substitute for the white rice flour would be millet flour. But you could try an equal combination of what you have on hand – like the sorghum and tapioca. But, having said that, I haven’t tried it 🙂 AND they will be different.
But I’m all for experimentation!
Let me know how they turn out!
Debbie
These are the best biscuits in the world. My husband says they are even better than the non gluten free ones I used to make a few years ago! They keep really well too! I use sour cream as that is what I usually have on hand.
JB
I don’t have potato starch/flour. What is a good substitute for the light flour mix?
Thank you…cannot wait to try!!!
C.J. Brady
Hi,
Substituting for potato flour is tough – you could try adding a little more rice flour to the mix. So yo are basically just taking it out and then adding a bit more of the other flours to accommodate.
Let me know how it goes!
KaraBells
do these come out with any grit in their texture? I keep experimenting with all these gluten free recipes and the baked good tend to always have an unfortunate grit in their texture that is hard to accept! No one has mentioned the texture being gritty in the comments, so I’m hopeful they don’t. I made a batch from another site this am that was white rice flour & a whole cup of cornstarch and they were gritty and had an odd taste, too. Hard finding great recipes to replace the old baked goods with gluten free. Hopeful with these babies! 🙂
karen
My biscuits did not stay high when baked.What happened ?I followed the recipe exactly .Help my Son wants biscuits &gravy. Thanking you in advance
C.J. Brady
Hi Karen,
So sorry to hear that. So I have a few things to try… try leaving them thicker when you cut them with the biscuit cutter. Try a thicker yogurt – I am experimenting with Greek yogurt, so that may make a difference. Also your oven temp – make sure it is heated to the right temp before putting them in the oven.
Those are just things off the top of my head – let me know how it goes!
Thanks for asking!
karen
I am going to try them again tomorrow thanks
cheridal
Was your baking soda and baking powder fresh? That can make a big difference!!
Susan
I was craving a biscuit & found this recipe! One of the best biscuits I have had in nearly 5 years since being gluten intolerant! Will definite make these again. I didn’t have plain yogurt so used Yoplait Greek yogurt which happened to be vanilla! It was all I had……but they were delicious! Came out soft, fluffy, and lightly browned on top. I spread a very small bit of butter on the tops before baking. Thank you soooo much for this recipe. Yummy!
C.J. Brady
Hi Susan,
Your enthusiasm made my Monday 🙂
Thanks – glad you enjoyed them!
~Christine
Amy
I tried these today. Didn’t have yogurt so I used sour cream, they turned out pretty nicely. I’m still looking for biscuits that can rise nicely and be flakey. If I had used the yogurt, would this have been the case with these?
C.J. Brady
Hi Amy,
So I can’t say for sure, but I’ve used greek yogurt on these and they did not rise as well as with the original yogurt. I’m testing out a buttermilk biscuit recipe that is a bit more flaky than this one. If all goes right, I should have it done by this weekend. That might give you more of the flake you are looking for… stay tuned!
Soo
Can I try this without any gums? Thanks.
C.J. Brady
Hi Soo,
Yes! Just follow the link to how to substitute for the gums –
Any questions, let me know!
Andrea
my son is allergic to corn, can I use more rice or tapioca flour?
Jason
I was wondering if you’ve ever used Cup4Cup gluten free flour? My wife had experimented with many fours and recipes until we found that. You can basically substitute the regular flour for Cup4Cup and it bakes exactly the same…except for biscuits! They just don’t rise and are a bit dry. Do you think your recipe would work if we replaced the 1 ¾ Cup Light Mix with Cup4Cup flour and omitted the Xanthan Gum, because it isn’t supposed to need any?
C.J. Brady
Hi Jason,
Thanks for asking! So here’s the thing with substituting out the flours – it is tough to predict what the result will be. Because the flours I use in the light mix, which is then used for the biscuits and some other recipes, I know how they will preform in a recipe. I know the combination works with some recipes and not with others (otherwise I’d use it all the time!).
Sometimes different types of starches perform differently with other types of flours.
So thats the long answer – the short answer is, give it a try and see. I’d be curious to hear your results.
Thanks!
Maria
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just made them but I used Bette Hagman’s all-purpose flour blend and used buttermilk since I didn’t have the yogurt. I’d like to send you the picture of the biscuits but don’t know how to add it on this comment.
I made these in a preheated, buttered, cast iron skillet and froze the shaped biscuits while the oven was pre-heating.
*Flavor was spot on – it has the tangy flavor like regular buttermilk biscuits
*texture was not the same as regular buttermilk biscuits but then again it’s very difficult if not impossible to achieve but the texture was good though , they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside
They didn’t rise that much but good enough to make a breakfast sandwich with ( which I will be definitely be doing tomorrow morning)
These would be great to make biscuits and gravy which is one of my favorite breakfast meals!
Valorie
The first recipe that I have tried that actually taste like a biscuit and feels like a biscuit. Light, fluffy and buttery. Thanks so much for the recipe. I wonder if using buttermilk instead of yogurt would be ok?
Margarete
Hello,
Can I freeze in dough form or even after they are baked? Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving.
C.J. Brady
Hi Margarete,
Thanks for asking.
Freezing them either way should be fine. Just wrap them so no air can get in and they should bake up nicely.
Hope that helps!
Stephanie
Do you have a link to the light mix recipe? I didn’t write it down. I love these biscuits but I need that flour recipe! Thanks
C.J. Brady
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for asking!
Here it is: https://zestforbaking.com/how-to-make-gluten-free-bread-flour-mix
Lillian
Where is the recipe for the light flour? I have looked and looked and can’t find it.
C.J. Brady
Hi Lillian,
Thanks for asking.
Here it is: https://zestforbaking.com/how-to-make-gluten-free-bread-flour-mix
I’ll make sure it’s more clear.
Christine
Lin
Hi I am sorry to ask you a question when you have had so many but I wonder if I can use coconut oil & coconut yoghurt instead of butter & normal yogurt as I am vegan. I have wasted so many expensive ingredients in the past trying to make something edible, so am a bit cautious having yet another go. Also I guess these ‘biscuits’ are more like we call scones ? Thank you for your patience.
Christine
Hi Lin,
Glad you asked!
So my general thinking is, if I haven’t tried something, I don’t recommend it. So I haven’t tried making them with coconut oil and yogurt, so I can’t say for sure what the end result would be.
But I’d be curious as to how they taste. I just can’t guarantee that they will taste the same.
These are definitely biscuits!
Hope that helps!
Christine
Linda Tanzini
Does the fat content matter in the yogurt? Maybe a silly question but sometimes the amount of fat can make or break a recipe. Thanks for all your delicious recipes, Linda
Christine
Hi Linda,
Nope, great question – Use either a low fat or full fat plain yogurt. I’ve even used Greek yogurt and they’ve turned out really well.. Just not the non fat – just doesn’t provide enough of fat content.
Thanks for asking!
Christine
Cherie
Great tasting and easy to make! I made one change and that was because I had no yogurt – I used buttermilk and they still turned out wonderful!
Christine
Hi Cherie,
Glad you liked them! Thanks for the suggestion!
~Christine
Sara
Amazing biscuits! This is by far the best GF baking recipe I’ve encountered 🙂
Christine
Thanks Sara! So glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
~Christine
Yolanda
I have made this 2 weekends in a row. Sooooo good. Loved it. Thx for looking out for us gf people. We want good food too. Thx Yoli
Christine
Thanks for the amazing review Yolanda! So glad you enjoy them 🙂
~Christine