Homemade buttermilk biscuits baked in a cast iron skillet are a staple of Southern cooking. In just 35 minutes, you'll have warm, tender, and perfectly flaky biscuits ready to serve with a generous dollop of butter. Visual guidance is provided for assembling the biscuit dough before baking!

My deep love for fluffy biscuits!
My gosh. There are just some things in life that are the ultimate comfort. A warmed-buttered biscuit is high up on that list!
As a Southern cook, this was one of the first things that my mom taught me to make - like any good Southern mother would. From using the bacon grease from the fridge stored in a mason jar (if you're from the south, then you know what I am talking about), to how to gently bring the dough together to not form a tough and dense biscuit, to baking them in a cast iron skillet that has been in our family for 100+ years.
There is so much tender care that goes into these. They are simple, easy, made in 35 minutes and with 6 ingredients, and taste like home. Never buy canned biscuits again!
‼️ Fun fact...I rarely buy buttermilk. When I need it for a recipe like this one or sweet buttermilk biscuits made with sugar added, I more often than not just make my own buttermilk at home as a substitute. It only requires 5 minutes and 2 ingredients, and works great here!






Add in the buttermilk and gently mix with a spatula until the dough has just come together. Do not over-mix!




Don't Throw out your leftovers!
Leftover biscuits will keep stored in an airtight bag for 3 days. But when they are on their last legs and getting a bit hard and stale, don't throw them out! Instead, save them for the following uses:
- Make homemade breadcrumbs: let the biscuits sit out on a baking sheet for 24 hours to harden and stale. Place in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbles with salt, pepper, and whatever herb of choice. Place on a baking sheet and toast at 300 for 10ish minutes until lightly golden brown - stirring halfway through. Store in an airtight container for a month or in the freezer for up to a year and use in any recipe calling for breadcrumbs.
- Use for baked southern-style cornbread and biscuit dressing around the holidays: let the biscuits sit out on a baking sheet for 24 hours to harden and stale. If not the holiday season yet, then place stale biscuits in an airtight ziptop bag in the freezer until the holidays or until needed. Remove and use in the dressing recipe that requires stale biscuits and cornbread!

Recipe
Oven-Baked Cast Iron Skillet Buttermilk Biscuits
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Description
Homemade buttermilk biscuits baked in a cast iron skillet are a staple of Southern cooking. In just 35 minutes, you'll have warm, tender, and perfectly flaky biscuits ready to serve with a generous dollop of butter. Visual guidance is provided for assembling the biscuit dough before baking!
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
- ¾ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Cup Crisco, Lard, or Shortening
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut in Crisco or shortening until the dough has pea-sized clumps in it and is crumbly.
- Add in the buttermilk and gently mix until the dough has just come together. Do not over-mix!
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and gently bring it together in a ball or round disk.
- With a rolling pin, gently roll out the dough until it is about ½-3/4" inches tall. With a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut straight down into the dough and lift up. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
- Rub either bacon grease or butter in a cast iron skillet using a paper towel.Place the cut biscuits into a greased cast iron skillet (the biscuits can be close together and touch).
- With the remaining dough, gently bring it together and pat it out into a disk again. Cut out more biscuits and place them in the skillet. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used - being careful not to overwork the dough during this process.
- Place the cast iron skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy immediately hot and fresh with butter, honey, your favorite jams.
Notes
- To grease the cast iron skillet, put a little bit of shortening, lard, or butter on a paper towel and spread around the skillet until the bottom and sides are lightly covered.
- Leftovers can be stored in a zip-top bag for 3 days. These make excellent breakfast sandwiches too. Pop in the microwave for 10 seconds to gently warm again.
- Use stale biscuits to make homemade breadcrumbs or Baked Southern-Style Cornbread and Biscuit Dressing.
How to Freeze
- Unbaked Biscuits: make and cut out the biscuits. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put in the freezer for 30 minutes to flash freeze. Store in a freezer-safe airtight bag or container and freeze for 6 months. To bake, place frozen biscuits in a greased cast iron skillet and bake at 450 for 17-20 minutes.
Baked Biscuits: Bake and cool biscuits. Place on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to flash freeze. Put the frozen baked biscuits in a freezer-safe ziptop bag sealed airtight for 6 months. To thaw - move to fridge for 24 hours before use. You can freeze stale biscuits as well to use in Cornbread Stuffing during the holidays.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 153
- Sugar: 1.3 g
- Sodium: 233.6 mg
- Fat: 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.9 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 2.7 mg
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Angie Haynes says
Just to tell you from 50 yrs experience (learned to make homemade biscuits at age 12. Buttermilk is good even after opened for 3 weeks. Buy the smallest 16 oz.. Enjoy some full fat Buttermilk. I've tried the vinegar thing, not really the same. Also, just use self rising flour, preferably the best, White Lily!!! Omg the best biscuits ever I use more than 8 oz Buttermilk in mine. Buttermilk can easily be used as a sub in MANY recipes! Google to see just how much. Happy baking!!!
Heather Bilyeu says
Hi Angie! My mom taught me how to make this recipe when I was little too 🙂 Isn't it fun we can keep these recipes going! And yes to buttermilk staying good in the fridge for longer than regular milk - the vinegar method just helps me when I am in a pinch and don't have any on hand. You can do what works for you/prefer. I definitely do both just depending on what I have on hand in the fridge and if I have prepped ahead of time haha.
Stan L. says
Never made biscuits with lard (or baked in cast iron) but I'm thinking that would be superior.
Will be trying this recipe.
As far as buttermilk, I keep a container of powdered buttermilk for recipes in my fridge. It lasts a long time.
Since it doesn't blend easily with water, I mix it with the dry flour. Then for the liquid ingredients, I just add water.
Heather Bilyeu says
Hi Stan - I have never done this recipe with buttermilk powder...you will have to let me know how it turns out!