These all-butter Air Fryer biscuits are so flaky, soft, and completely made from scratch. An easy, homemade recipe that is so simple to make!
Our homemade Air Fryer biscuits are made with only a few simple ingredients that I bet you already have on hand – no shortening involved! Just like our Air Fryer Churros and Air Fryer Donuts, this baking recipe is made completely from scratch but
They bake up in minutes and get crispy and flaky on the outside and tender and soft on the inside!
These biscuits are SO delicious and easy to make from scratch even if you’re a beginner. I’ve included lots of tips and step by step instructions to make it easy for you! You won’t buy canned biscuits ever again, after trying my simple recipe – I promise!
Why make this recipe
- Only 6 simple ingredients – no shortening needed!
- Taste so much better than canned biscuits
- Lots of tips so they will be a hit on the first try
- Mile high, buttery, and flaky biscuits- just PERFECT!
Ingredient Notes
Here is an overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe.
- Flour – Use all-purpose flour and measure it by spooning it into the measuring cup and level it with a knife.
- Baking Powder – Leavening agent for this recipe!
- Sugar – I don’t like overly sweet biscuits so 1 tsp is plenty in my opinion. But feel free to add up to 1 Tbsp if you prefer them sweeter.
- Salt – Very important for the flavor, nobody likes bland biscuits!
- Butter – The butter needs to be very cold, put it into the freezer for 15 minutes before using it. I use unsalted butter, so I can control the amount of salt. If you want to use salted butter, reduce the amount of extra salt you add.
- Milk – I use whole milk but 2% milk or buttermilk work too. The milk needs to be very cold just like the butter!
How to make this recipe
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found at the bottom of the page on the printable recipe card.
- Prep: Preheat your Air Fryer to 390 F. Some Air Fryers don’t need to be preheated, check your manual.
- Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together. (Image 1)
- Add Fat: Grate the ice-cold butter using a box grater or cut butter into small cubes and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork. (Image 2) I prefer the grater because it’s a lot easier and faster.
- Add Liquid: Pour in the cold milk (Image 3) and stir gently with a fork until just combined. (Image 4) The dough will look shaggy and lumpy.
- Fold dough: Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and use your hands to press dough together into a rectangle. (Image 5) Fold dough over a few times and flatten it with your hands to get it into a 1-inch thick layer. (Image 6)
- Cut biscuits: Cut 6 biscuits from it using a 2 ¾″ round biscuit cutter. (Image 7 & 8) Press scraps together to use up all the dough. Don’t twist the biscuit cutter, just push it down, this helps the biscuits to rise and get extra flaky.
- Air Fry: Transfer biscuits to the Air Fryer basket, you don’t need to grease it or use parchment paper. Air Fry for 9-11 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the biscuits are cooked through. Brush biscuits with melted butter and serve.
Look at those beauties! Because we use all butter in this recipe the biscuits rise mile-high and brown nicely all around because of the milk solids that caramelize during baking.
You might also notice that I couldn’t wait and already ate a biscuit before taking the photo on the right, they are just that tasty!
Expert Tips
- Make sure your ingredients are very cold! This is key to flaky biscuits that bake up mile-high.
- I recommend grating the butter, but you can also cut it into small cubes and use a pastry cutter or fork to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture.
- Do NOT overhandle the dough! Biscuits get their flakiness and texture from reducing the amount of gluten that develops during handling the dough.
- Do NOT use a food processor or stand mixer for this recipe! They make it too easy to over-mix the dough, which results in tough, dense biscuits.
- You actually want to see some butter pieces in the dough, because during baking they will melt and create little pockets of flakiness. The dough will not look homogenous like cookie dough.
- Don’t use a rolling pin to flatten the dough! After folding the dough use your hands to flatten it.
- Don’t open the Air Fryer for at least half the baking time, this helps the biscuits rise.
- To bake these in the oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and bake biscuits for about 14 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Remember every air fryer runs a bit differently, watch your biscuits and check on them.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can cook canned or refrigerated biscuits in the Air Fryer. Preheat your Air Fryer to 320 degrees F and bake biscuits (in batches depending on the size of your Air Fryer) for 11-13 minutes.
For perfect biscuits that are tender, fluffy, and flaky, you want to keep gluten development to a minimum. Ingredients that are not cold enough, over-mixing the dough, and overhandling can all increase gluten development and result in tough and dense biscuits. Also, make sure your baking powder is fresh and that you don’t twist the biscuit cutter because that fuses together the layers.
Shortening is cheaper and easier to work with than butter, but biscuits made with shortening don’t rise as high and don’t brown as much as all-butter biscuits. Butter biscuits on the other hand are flakier, have golden tops because the milk solids in the butter caramelize, and tend to be sweeter. Which one is better, is a question of taste, but I prefer all-butter biscuits.
What to serve with Air Fryer Biscuits
These Air Fryer Biscuits taste delicious on their own smothered with some butter or topped with jam. But they also make a great side for stews, soups, or other entrees, here are some suggestions:
Leftovers
These Air Fryer biscuits taste best fresh out of the oven but will keep for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Freezing
These all-butter biscuits also freeze well. Put the cooled biscuits in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat in the Air Fryer at 350 F for a few minutes if desired.
More Air Fryer Recipes
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Air Fryer Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold plus more for brushing
- ¾ cup milk, full fat or 2%, very cold
Instructions
- Preheat Air Fryer to 390 F.
- Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together.
- Grate butter using a box grater or cut butter into small cubes and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork.
- Pour in milk and stir gently with a fork until just combined.
- Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and use your hands to press dough together into a rectangle. Fold dough over a few times and flatten it with your hands to get it into a 1-inch thick layer.
- Cut 6 biscuits from it using a 2 ¾″ round biscuit cutter.
- Air Fry for 9-11 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Brush biscuits with melted butter and serve.
Notes
- Make sure your ingredients are very cold! This is key to flaky biscuits that bake up mile-high.
- You can use full-fat or 2% milk. Buttermilk works too.
- I recommend grating the butter, but you can also cut it into small cubes and use a pastry cutter or fork to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture.
- Do NOT overhandle the dough! Biscuits get their flakiness and texture from reducing the amount of gluten that develops during handling the dough.
- Do NOT use a food processor or stand mixer for this recipe! They make it too easy to over-mix the dough, which results in tough, dense biscuits.
- You actually want to see some butter pieces in the dough, because during baking they will melt and create little pockets of flakiness. The dough will not look homogenous like cookie dough.
- Don’t use a rolling pin to flatten the dough! After folding the dough use your hands to flatten it.
- Don’t open the Air Fryer for at least half the baking time, this helps the biscuits rise.
- To bake these in the oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and bake biscuits for about 14 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Remember every air fryer runs a bit differently, watch your biscuits and check on them.
Lisa says
After looking for a recipe that sounded good to try in the air fryer, I found this lovely recipe :) Just fresh from the fryer, and they turned out so yummy- I think this is my(new) favorite way to make them!!Thanks for sharing this great recipe!!!
Ron says
They turned out good but there was way too much salt.
Julia Foerster says
Did you perhaps use a tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon? This recipe calls for 1 tsp (teaspoon).
Jen says
I know our Ninja air fryer cooks faster than most, so I pulled the first 4 out at 8.5 minutes, and they were very dry. I cooked the last 2 for 6.5 minutes, and the outside was plenty done while the inside of 1 had a tiny bit of goo. Next time I’ll try 8 minutes at 350. I would recommend a note on how to substitute self rising flour (which is simpler if you have it), and I disagree with the note to not use a food processor. I usually use the food processor to cut the butter into flour mixture only, and then mix in the liquid by hand, and I’ll do that the next time I make them. Grating the butter was a pain! (It’s over handling the dough once the liquids have been added that develops the gluten and toughens them.)
Davit says
Try using frozen butter
Karen B. says
Excellent, lofty rise–my new go-to biscuit recipe!
Linda Marentette says
If you follow the directions as written, they will come out PERFECT!
Thank you for sharing <3
Lynn says
I just made these gluten free they are wonderful
Katie Bee says
These were easy and came out perfect at 9 minutes. I brushed the tops with cream and sprinkled some sugar on top and they were wonderful with jam.
Crissy says
Hi 9 minutes was that in air fryer or oven, just curious?
Marietta says
SO good!! This will be my go to biscuit recipe. Husband thought they were awesome!
Purnima says
Great recipe! Biscuits came out nicely brown and flaky.
Terry L.G. says
Biscuits came out good. Didn’t rise as high as yours but tastes great! Thank you for the recipe as this was my first attempt at making Biscuits from scratch.
Susa says
Recipe did not come out as biscuits. It was more like pancake batter.
I cooked at 400 for 8 minutes.
Julia Foerster says
Something must have gone very wrong if the dough was like pancake batter! Are you sure you measured everything correctly?
Marcia says
Well I waited- and my AF didn’t do it’s magic but I think I should have spaced them apart instead of close together bc they did not rise.. however it’s the bakers fault and not the recipe- that dough was the best I’ve made and they did bake but they were dense bc I didn’t do it exactly what the recipe said.. however it had a wonderful taste!! So it’s gets a 5 bc I’m proud of myself for baking a homemade biscuit in my AF- bc I don’t have an oven! The recipe was wonderful but the baker- well not so much! Lol still I conquered something I didn’t know if I could do so I’m happy!!
Julia Foerster says
Sorry, Marcia, they didn’t come out as they should. Spacing them out will definitely help but also make sure that your baking powder is still good and that you don’t twist the biscuit cutter while cutting out the biscuits. It also helps to freeze the butter.
Marcia says
These biscuits look beautiful! I’m making them now- your recipe was great- I did add a smidge more buttermilk- so now I wait and pray my AF does it’s magic!!
Isabel says
A bit dry but yummy. Practice makes perfect. I’ll be better prepared next time.
tom Hickey says
Very good. Best biscuit recipe I’ve tried. Thanks for sharing. I did add buttermilk powder and next time I’ll go 9 min.
Chrissie says
So so good and so easy to make these will be my new go to!
Diana Lewis says
Best biscuits I ever made.
Hubby very happy!!🌞 Me too!
Earl says
Great recipe and sooooo easy to make!! Your instructions were very easy to follow. I highly recommend this recipe to everyone!!
Mary says
Easy to make. Your instructions were very helpful. My husband really liked the biscuits. Looking forward to making some more of your air fryer receipes!
Allison says
These are easy and delicious!