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Our small batch biscuits recipe is a perfect example of biscuits for two, ideal for whenever the craving strikes. This quick biscuit recipe comes together in just 5 minutes of prep and bakes in 15 minutes, leaving you with warm, buttery biscuits in no time. Enjoy them for breakfast, dinner, or alongside your favorite soup – these tender treats are a delightful addition to any meal.

three drop biscuits in a bread basket.

After trying this easy biscuit recipe, explore more with our herb-filled Buttermilk Biscuits, luxuriously buttery Butter Swim Biscuits, rich Cheddar Biscuits, and the herb-infused Biscuit with Sausage Gravy.

Why You’ll Love This Biscuit Recipe

  • Effortless: No rolling or cutting required—just drop and bake!
  • Quick: Ready in 20 minutes from start to finish.
  • Versatile: Pairs beautifully with a wide range of dishes.
  • Scalable: The recipe doubles easily for when you have more mouths to feed.

RELATED: 20 Single Serving Breakfasts Worth Waking Up For

biscuits on a white plate sliced in half and topped with jam.

What Are Drop Biscuits?

Biscuits are a classic American side dish, known for their flaky, soft texture. Drop biscuits, a fuss-free variant, save you the time and effort of rolling and cutting. Just drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet, and you’re good to go.

Ingredients

flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, salt and milk on a table.

Recipe Variations

Feeling creative? These biscuits offer a blank canvas for culinary artistry.

  • Cheese & Herb Biscuits: Add shredded cheese and herbs like chives or parsley.
  • Spiced Variation: Include a pinch of cayenne pepper for a bit of heat.
  • Blueberry Biscuits: Add fresh blueberries for a sweet twist.
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How To Make Biscuits For One Or Two

These step-by-step photos and instructions help you visualize how to make a small batch of biscuits. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.

  1. Get the oven ready: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). To prevent sticking, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
dry ingredients for biscuits in a mixing bowl.
  1. Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
biscuit mix with pieces of butter mixed in.
  1. Cut in the butter: Add cold, chopped butter to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work quickly to rub the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse sand.
biscuit dough in a mixing bowl.
  1. Add the milk: Now, pour in the milk and stir it just until the dough comes together. You don’t need to overdo it here, just mix until there are no dry bits left.
four unbaked biscuits on a baking sheet.
  1. Shape the biscuits: Grab a large spoon and scoop out portions of the dough, dropping them onto your baking sheet. Leave some space between each biscuit for them to expand in the oven.
baked drop biscuits on a baking sheet.
  1. Bake until golden: Pop those biscuits in the oven and bake them for 10-12 minutes, or until they’re nice and golden brown. That’s your cue to take them out and enjoy!

Expert Tips

  • Cold Butter Is Key: To achieve flaky biscuits, you must use cold butter. The steam generated when it melts in a hot oven creates pockets in the dough, making the biscuits airy and flaky.
  • Don’t Overmix: Overmixing the dough will develop too much gluten, making your biscuits tough rather than tender. Combine the ingredients until they just come together.
  • Use a Preheated Oven: Always put your biscuits into a fully preheated oven. This immediate high heat helps the biscuits rise quickly, setting the structure and locking in flakiness.
  • Space Wisely: Make sure to space the biscuits close but not touching on your baking sheet. This helps them rise upwards rather than outwards, ensuring a taller, fluffier biscuit.

Serving Suggestions

These biscuits are versatile and pair beautifully with a variety of dishes. From savory to sweet, the options are endless.

four drop biscuits on a blue and white towel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I freeze biscuits?

Yes, just make sure to thaw before reheating.

What is the best way to incorporate butter into the flour mixture?

There are two effective ways to blend butter into your flour mixture for perfect biscuits. First, you can dice the butter into small pieces and chill them in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to mix. Then, employ a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour. Alternatively, you can use your fingers to manually blend the butter and flour. Simply press the mixture together until it takes on the texture of damp sand.

How do I make buttermilk biscuits?

If you’re using buttermilk instead of regular milk in this biscuit recipe, keep in mind that buttermilk is thicker. To make buttermilk biscuits, you may need a bit more than the 1/2 cup called for with regular milk. Start by adding about 1/2 cup of buttermilk and increase gradually until you reach your desired dough consistency.

Can I use self-rising flour in this biscuit recipe?

Yes, you can. Self-rising flour contains flour, baking powder, and salt.
While it’s hard to predict the exact ratios of flour to baking powder to salt, you will most likely still get great results. Just be sure to leave out adding any additional baking powder and salt until you’ve seen how it turns out with your particular brand of self-rising flour.
To get the best results, I recommend following the recipe using all-purpose flour.

More Small Batch Breakfast Ideas

Expand your breakfast repertoire with these delightful single serving or small batch options:

What To Do With Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

For information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our recipes, please visit our FAQ page.

For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.

If you’ve tried this easy biscuit recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.

Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!


Your Cooking For One Source
Because you’re worth it

Small Batch Drop Biscuits

4.84 from 42 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 17 minutes
Servings: 4 biscuits
If you've ever wanted to make a small batch of biscuits, this recipe is for you. See how quick and easy it is to make fluffy & delicious biscuits for one (or two). 

Watch How To Make This

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons salted butter , cold, cut into ¼-inch pieces
  • ½ cup milk
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Instructions 

  • Heat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
  • Toss butter into the dry ingredients. Working quickly using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut butter into flour until it resembles coarse sand.
  • Add the milk and stir just until the dough comes together.
  • Using a large spoon, drop spoonfuls of the batter onto baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Notes

Expert Tips
  • Cold Butter Is Key: To achieve flaky biscuits, you must use cold butter. The steam generated when it melts in a hot oven creates pockets in the dough, making the biscuits airy and flaky.
  • Don’t Overmix: Overmixing the dough will develop too much gluten, making your biscuits tough rather than tender. Combine the ingredients until they just come together.
  • Use a Preheated Oven: Always put your biscuits into a fully preheated oven. This immediate high heat helps the biscuits rise quickly, setting the structure and locking in flakiness.
  • Space Wisely: Make sure to space the biscuits close but not touching on your baking sheet. This helps them rise upwards rather than outwards, ensuring a taller, fluffier biscuit.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 203kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 379mg, Potassium: 84mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 325IU, Calcium: 45mg, Iron: 1mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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4.84 from 42 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




103 Comments

  1. AnnaB says:

    This is probably the last biscuit recipe Iโ€™ll ever use. Next time Iโ€™ll leave out the sugar tho, I donโ€™t like sweetness in my biscuits as we usually have them with soup. They were soft, fluffy and very good. ( I had added about 1/4 finely grated cheddar to the dry ingredients) I got six small biscuits from the recipe. Excellent, thank you!

  2. Precious Lowe says:

    These were perfect, easy to make and so good. I only wanted a few and was so glad I found this. I didn’t have milk, used water ๐Ÿคญ and they still came out lovely.

  3. Janier L. says:

    I didn’t really have high expectations… I’m not even a biscuit person. I just wanted something quick to eat with some scrambled eggs for breakfast. These biscuits were soft and moist with a delicious crunchy texture on the bottom. Paired well some pineapple passionfruit jam. I made them with almond milk and I can imagine how good they would be with buttermilk. These will definitely be added to and stay in my rotation.

    1. Joanie Zisk says:

      I’m so happy you enjoyed the biscuits. Thank you so much for your feedback.

  4. Sheila Danner says:

    I have also used this to make dumplings for chicken with mixed vegetables! It is so delicious! It all disappears! Yummy as biscuits as well!!

  5. Molly says:

    I made biscuits with stoned ground wheat flour, they were soft and delicious

  6. Heather says:

    I am a certified foodie who LOVES breakfast food. Unfortunately, my husband does not share my breakfast food passion, so I needed to learn how to make smaller portions. My traditional recipe would not turn out right when I cut it in half, so I searched and found this one. I subbed the milk with sour cream and the are the BEST BISCUITS I have ever made!!!!!
    So moist and buttery. I am making them again this morning and every morning!

  7. Ronda says:

    They were a hit thanks from SD Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe…

  8. LuLu says:

    Thank you for the recipe. Ive been making biscuits for…a long time. Ive tried countless recipes and I have created my own as well. Your recipe is going at the top of the list! Perfectly delicious!!!

  9. Paige Kittles says:

    Okay, I’m showing my age here but I’ve just gotta say these were the bomb diggity. I did change a few things but that’s because I seem to be incapable of leaving well enough ALONE.

    Regardless, I added 1/4 tsp Hungarian Paprika to the mix (eh I didn’t taste it at ALL. I’ll do more next time). I also added a handful of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Instead of a sheet pan, I used a small cast iron skillet. I divided the mix into 4 equal parts, dusted with flour, and placed into the parchment-lined cast iron skillet. After 8 minutes, I turned the dial up to 450 and checked after 2 minutes, then another 2 minutes and they were PERFECT! Incredibly fluffy, perfectly flaky biscuits. Yum! Thank you!!!

  10. Ellen says:

    I could marry these biscuits. I add 1/4tsp of smoked paprika in the dry mix and a handful of shredded cheese with the milk.
    Donโ€™t sweat how small the butter is- I try to cut into little strips then cubes, and with a little hand mush it works out just fine. I ended up baking for probably 14-16, and cranked the heat to 450 at about 12.