My husband grew up eating biscuits, but I didn’t, so when we first got married the learning curve was a struggle! My husband and I still laugh about the “hockey pucks” I would make! I eventually gave up. Several years ago I learned about the science behind cold fat and a hot oven and created our 3 ingredient biscuit recipe. This recipe is so easy my granddaughter regularly asks to make biscuits with me.
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3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe Video Tutorial
Why We Love Our 3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe
- Simplicity: This 3 ingredient biscuits recipe is incredibly straightforward, making it perfect for beginners or anyone short on time. Whenever we make chili or soup and need a side, I always think of this recipe, there is nothing better than having a warm biscuit on the side of any dish!
- Quick Preparation: Our biscuits are ready fast, allowing you to enjoy warm, homemade goodness without spending hours in the kitchen.
- Convenience: The small ingredient list means you likely already have everything you need in your pantry, so there’s no extra trip to the store. Heavy cream is something we stock regularly in our home because I use it in my coffee, but if you don’t keep it in your home, Trader Joe’s sells shelf-stable heavy cream as a seasonal product in the fall. You’ll still need to chill it in the fridge overnight if you pull it straight off the shelf. The cream needs to be cold for this biscuit recipe to work.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Self-rising flour – although this ingredient is a must for this recipe, I have an easy substitution using all-purpose flour (or 00 flour). Make a batch of self rising flour. It’s less expensive than buying it premade, and you’ll have it on hand whenever you need it. Mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp fine salt together and you’ll have the 2 cups of self-rising flour needed for this recipe.
- Heavy cream – heavy cream works the best for this recipe. If you don’t have heavy cream, try this swap instead: 1 cup (plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk mixed with 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter. Stir quickly while the butter is melted because it will solidify once it hits the cold milk. Place it back in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill again and give it a quick stir before use.
- Salt – just a little bit helps bring more flavor. Since there’s already salt in the self-rising flour, just a pinch is all you need.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
I love hacks that save on food waste! If you don’t regularly keep heavy cream on hand, you can freeze the leftovers! Freeze in whatever portions of heavy cream you’d like and defrost in the refrigerator the night before.
Love biscuit recipes? Try these!
Tender buttermilk drop biscuits use buttermilk instead of cream. Or, make these biscuits from self rising flour that use milk and butter. For a little spicy kick, try our jalapeno biscuits with cheese.
Tips For Making Perfect 3 Ingredient Biscuits
Read on to discover my 3 simple tips for creating the perfect from-scratch biscuits in only 20 minutes.
Baking Tip #1: The Flour
Initially, I thought self-rising flour was the secret ingredient for making the perfect biscuit. Then I began using organic flour, and I couldn’t find an organic self-rising flour. So, I did what anyone would do and turned to Google.
Through a little research, I found that soft winter wheat is an ideal flour for making biscuit recipes. It’s low in protein and has a lower gluten content.
A search for organic soft winter wheat brought me to organic 00 flour. I already use that for pizza dough. But, after testing it out on the 3 ingredient biscuit recipe, it’s now one of my favorite types of flour to use.
Although my daughter still uses all-purpose flour with success, so I recommend all-purpose or 00 flour. It is very important if you aren’t using self-rising flour to include 1 tbsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp fine salt in your 2 cups of flour to create “self-rising flour” for this recipe.
Baking Tip #2: The Fat
Heavy cream is high in fat and is easy to use. You could use a combination of butter and buttermilk or milk to get that amount of fat. But it requires more mixing.
Pouring in cold cream is just easier.
Here’s a quick comparison: heavy cream contains 36-40% milk fat, while whole milk has 3.5-4% milk fat. When making biscuits with just 3 ingredients, the right amount of fat is essential for the flakiest texture!
See our substitutions above for more information on a heavy cream substitute.
Baking Tip #3: The Techniques
The first important technique is folding.
The dough is patted out flat and folded like a letter several times over to create those beautiful layers.
The second technique to perfection is properly cutting the dough.
When cutting out the biscuits from the dough, simply press down and come straight back up. Try not to twist the cutter, as moving it side to side can seal the edges and stop your biscuits from rising.
How to Make 3 Ingredient Biscuits
- Keep cream in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Add self-rising flour and salt to a medium bowl. Pour in cold cream and stir with a heavy wooden spoon until mixed. Preheat oven to 475°F.
- Dump bowl onto a counter and scrape out any remaining dough or flour. Pat into a rectangle about 1.5” thick. Fold in thirds, turn 1/4 and fold again, continuing 3 times.
- Cut biscuits with a 3″ biscuit cutter. Press down and bring straight up. Do not twist biscuit cutter. Pat excess dough out, cut, and repeat process again.
- Place biscuits on a cookie sheet about 2″ apart. Bake on the center rack for 12 minutes, until golden. Brush with butter. Serve warm.
Recipe FAQs
Space the unbaked dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. This allows air to circulate around and between the dough, creating more rise!
If you want the most luscious results ever, brush the tops with melted butter after they come out of the oven. It will melt into the bread, resulting in a buttery flavor in every bite.
While we highly recommend the heavy cream, we understand not everyone keeps this stocked. Here is our substitute for heavy cream: To replace 1.5 cups of heavy cream, mix together 1 cup (plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk and
6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter. Mix immediately while the butter is still melted. It will begin to solidify when mixed with the cold milk. Put the butter and milk mixture in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill before use. Give it one more stir before using in the recipe.
You can make your own self-rising flour! Starting with 2 cups all-purpose or 00 flour, mix in 1 tbsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp fine salt. Now you’ve got the 2 cups of self-rising flour needed for this recipe.
These Recipes Made With Self-Rising Flour Are A Must-Try…
- Banana Bread With Self Rising Flour Recipe
- Self Rising Cornmeal Cornbread
- Almond Cranberry Scones
- Old Fashioned Sourdough Cake with Apples
If you tried this 3 ingredient biscuit recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
3 Ingredient Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour *See notes below for making with all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream *See notes below for more information
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Keep cream in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
- Add flour and salt to a medium bowl. Pour in cold cream and stir with a heavy wooden spoon until mixed. Preheat oven to 475°F.
- Dump bowl onto a counter and scrape out any remaining dough or flour. Pat into a rectangle about 1.5" thick. Fold in thirds, turn 1/4 and fold again, continuing 3 times.
- Cut biscuits with a 3" biscuit cutter. Press down and bring straight up. Do not twist biscuit cutter. Pat excess dough out, cut, and repeat process again.
- Place biscuits on a cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake on the center rack for 12 minutes, until golden. Brush with butter. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- How to make self rising flour with all-purpose (or 00 flour) mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp fine salt together. You’ll then have the 2 cups of self-rising flour for this recipe.
- Heavy cream works best, as a substitute try this swap instead: 1 cup (plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk mixed with 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter. Stir quickly while the butter is melted because it will solidify once it hits the cold milk. Place it back in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill again and give it a quick stir before use.
- Store leftover biscuits in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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Julie B says
Made these tonight with sausage gravy and they were amazing! So soft and tender inside with a nice flaky texture! I took your advice and brushed melted butter on the tops after baking. Seriously, the best biscuits I’ve ever made! We’re just under 6800 ft! I didn’t change the recipe at all, these baked tall and perfect. Thank you! 😊
Renae says
So happy to hear this!
Fran says
Any hint at how to make them at 8,500 ft in altitude?
Renae says
I’m sorry I don’t. Here is a my favorite resource for questions like that: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Mel says
Hi couple of things. Have you ever used 00 flour for the biscuits? I’m going to try that with this recipe. Also you say 475 degrees but in your video you say 500 degrees? Which is it. Thanks and have a beautiful day!
Renae says
Hi, yes, I have used 00 flour (see Easy Baking Tip #1: The Flour in the blog post). Just follow the directions for making your own self-rising flour, sustituting 00 flour for all-purpose flour. And, the correct temperature is 475ºF – initially I baked them at 500ºF, but after many rounds of recipe testing I found that the lower temperature makes more golden biscuits.
steve says
Looks like a good recipe. Since I’m newly diabetic will the recipe work with whole grain wheat flour or other flours?
Renae says
I have not made this recipe with whole grain wheat flour, but I believe someone here commented that they made it with gluten-free flour.
Christina says
Do you think these would work in a sausage gravy and biscuits casserole? The casserole calls for canned biscuit dough 🤢, cut into quarters and laid under the ender ingredients, then baked all together. I want to make my own biscuits for the recipe!
Renae says
They should! Let me know how it turns out.