This super easy biscuit recipe uses no shortening and no butter! It's quick to make and tastes DELICIOUS!
I'm staying at my sister's house for a couple of days and last night I REALLY wanted biscuits. I'm not a big biscuit maker and usually have used a box of Bisquick, but this recipe is VERY simple and uses only ingredients that most people would always have on hand.
Most times when you look in a cookbook or online for a recipe for biscuits it calls for shortening. If you're like me, shortening isn't something that's in the kitchen cupboard.
Technically the word shortening means “any fat that is solid at room temperature and used in baking” but most of us refer to Crisco (or a store brand equivalent) as shortening and when a recipe calls for shortening, that is almost always what they are referring to.
Some biscuit recipes will call for butter and I'm more likely to have that in the refrigerator, but sometimes there's no butter available either.
Instead of shortening or butter, this easy recipe uses standard cooking oil. That simple change makes it easy to make homemade biscuits without shortening OR a boxed mix! I have make biscuits with olive oil in place of the standard vegetable oil and they tasted amazing too.
Because this recipe is very versatile, you could use whatever oil you have in your kitchen for cooking.
Gold Medal, All Purpose Flour
Domino Premium Pure Cane Granulated SugarDavis Double Acting Baking PowderMorton Morton SaltCrisco, Pure Vegetable OilSilicone Spatula 4-piece Set
Easy Biscuit Recipe without Shortening
Biscuit Ingredients:
2 C flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 C oil
2/3 C milk
How to Make Biscuits without Shortening:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
Put the oil in a small bowl, add the milk, but do NOT mix together.
Move liquid into dry ingredients and stir until well blended.
Knead a couple of times (I just used a silicone spatula, not my hands) to form it into a ball.
Roll out dough to 1/2″ thick between two pieces of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Cut into 10-12 squares.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until very lightly browned. – – I spread the tops with butter for the last 2 minutes of baking.
Also try this Sour Milk biscuits recipe. It's great for using up milk that has just started to go sour:
Super Easy Biscuit Recipe with No Shortening
Ingredients
- 2 C flour
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 C oil
- 2/3 C milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
- Put the oil in a small bowl, add the milk, but do NOT mix together.
- Move liquid into dry ingredients and stir until well blended.
- Knead a couple of times (I just used a silicone spatula, not my hands) to form it into a ball.
- Roll out dough to 1/2" thick between two pieces of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Cut into 10-12 squares.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until very lightly browned. - - I spread the tops with butter for the last 2 minutes of baking.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 146Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 323mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information has been automatically calculated and may not be accurate.
Totallyscrappy says
Now, who doesn’t love a good biscuit?
Leslie says
Thanks! I’ve filed this recipe away for future use.
PsychoTwin says
I made these tonight. Loved them
kittyluv56 says
Loved them!!
b6830fd4-c850-11e0-9e20-000f20980440 says
Awesome
spazzie says
thanks they were a big hit with the family.Imade them to go with sunday Breakfast.:)
Anonymous says
So delicious!! I simply dropped spoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined pan (didn’t roll out or cut dough) and they turned out amazing with less work!
Anonymous says
Tastes oh-so delicious just took them out the oven!
Aiysha
Anonymous says
This was a lifesaver. I started making biscuits this morning and when I got to the shortening part there was none to be found. A quick Google search took me to you. I have to say these are much better then the ones I usually make. Thank you!
Jinxy and Me says
Yeah!! I’m glad it helped you out!
Anonymous says
Was in the same post as previous poster, wanted biscuits but had no shortening. Google brought me here. The only thing different I did was mix in some finely chopped garlic and a few sprinkles of canned parmasean cheese into melted butter and spread it over the top before baking. These were so good, a fight almost broke out over the last one, lol. Thanks much!!
Anonymous says
They were good, but a little to sweet for my taste, I will definetly make them again, but I will cut the sugar in half next time.
Dwight Towne says
Great easy recipe. we are on our second batch tonight! Thanks
Dwight Towne says
Thanks for the easy recipe. We are on the second batch tonight!
Anonymous says
I used this recipe tonight, I changed the recipe a little…Instead of oil, I used melted margarine. and instead of baking them, I rolled the dough out and used it for my Chicken N Dumplins…It was awsome!!! Thank You!! 🙂 Jackie House Springs, Mo
Anonymous says
The texture was great and they smelled wonderful but the taste of the baking powder was very prominent. Would it be possible to cut that in half?
Anonymous says
They were delishious just finish eatin them 🙂
and was easy to make
Thanks
Imree says
This comment has been removed by the author.
Imree says
I made these with dinner the other night, and my partner said they were better than store-bought! I didn’t have enough milk on hand, so I used 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup sour cream. I also cut the sugar in half as suggested. This is definitely going to be my go-to biscuit recipe from now on. Thanks!
Donna Rosales says
Just put them in the oven… Rolled the dough into a log and sliced it.. My son had a GREAT time helping me out this morning.. Can’t wait to see how they turn out.
Donna Rosales says
Just put these in the oven 🙂 I just rolled out the dough into a log and sliced it. My son (being autistic) had a GREAT time kneading the dough 🙂 Can’t wait to see how they turn out.
Sarah Beth Givens says
I made them today for breakfast, I didn’t have a rolling pin or a biscuit cutter so I used a cup they came out wonderful, my husband said I should make them all the time
antonia oliver says
thank you so much my biscuits are amazing jus saying and it’s all thanks to you!
antonia oliver says
thank you so much my biscuits are amazing jus sayin and it’s all thanks 2 you!
Eve says
Just made this recipe. It was well recieved! Thank you very much.
Victoria says
I’ve made this yummy recipe the past two days! Loved it!
Emma says
I woke up this morning craving biscuits and gravy and having a tight wallet I had to make do with what I already had and this recipe was perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Chrysa says
Yeah, Emma! I’m so glad it worked out for you!
Alicia says
I made these last night and my hubby LOVED them! Thanks for helping make my first time making homemade biscuits painless and a huge success!
Chrysa says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Kristy says
Well, did recipe to the “T” and made came out looking like cookies. Never rose. Super bummed. We are in CO, could
Elevation be the problem? Pls advise…
Thx!
Kristy
Patrick says
I can’t believe how well these turned out for such a simple recipe! I used almond/coconut milk and added 2-3 tbsp of Italian seasoning… superb! I’ll try some of the other variations the above commenters left. Thanks so much for posting this… it is going into the kitchen toolbox.
Chrysa says
The Italian seasoning sounds like a great idea, Patrick. I’ll have to try that. I’m glad you like the recipe!
Elena says
Looks so delicious! I am going to try this recipe. Thanks!
Barrie says
This is just what I’ve been looking for! I have my MIL’s biscuit cutter and will make these tonight with our steak dinner. Hubby will be in for a great surprise!
HB says
I love biscuits but almost never want to MAKE them. These look easy enough to try for sure, thanks for the post. I do have two questions though about this step:
“Put the oil in a small boil, add the milk, but do NOT mix together. Move liquid into dry ingredients…”
1) Should that be “small BOWL” instead of boil? and 2) Since some small amount of oil would be stuck to the bowl, and since you don’t mix the oil and milk, why not just pour the oil and milk directly onto the dry ingredients before mixing?
Chrysa says
Yes, it is a bowl. You could try making it the other way, but I have always made it the way listed so I can’t guarantee the results like that. Let us know how they turn out if you try it!
Lisa Brown says
I crave biscuits every now and then, want it with chocolate gravy 🙂 Easy recipe, thanks!
Crystal says
Is it veggie oil?
Chrysa says
Yes. Vegetable oil.
Shashank Tulsian says
Great recipe ! Thanks ! My kids just loved them and my wife just fell in love with them as much as she sent some of them to our neighbours for them to taste ! Thanks again !
Krystl says
I made these twice, the first time they never rose both times I followed the recipe but I used bacon grease instead of oil. The first time they never rose, and the consistency of the dough was like drop cookie dough (Which is not rollable), they tasted good, but came out flat… The second time I did the exact same thing, used bacon grease again, and this time the dough came out like it should, and they rose. I know I didnt make any mistakes the first time. Was the weirdest thing. Either way these came out yummy in the end. Making them again today and praying for good results!
Carol Nine says
This is a very good recipe to have. I always have oil on hand, but never have shortening.
Shannon says
These sound so good and thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
Priscilla S. says
I love how quick and easy this recipe looks! These are definitely ingredients I always have on hand.
aNgeLicA says
i just rolled mine into balls and baked them the same but for about 10 minutes and they were great!!!
Mari says
Wanted to make comfort food for my daughter who is feeling a little under the weather. Alas, no shortening! Looked to up “biscuit no shortening recipe” and found yours. Tasted great, super easy and I didn’t even have to knead with my hands (bonus!). I like that I can add other seasonings or herbs for variety and can use any oil. I used soy milk (lactose intolerant) and they were fine. Saving this for sure and my daughter liked them too with her soup. Thank you!
Chrysa says
Thanks for sharing that, Mari! This recipe has saved me a bunch of times when I didn’t have any type of bread in the house and wanted to make something easy!
Chris says
Interesting recipe. I didn’t know that buscuits were made out of shortening, so this was new to me. I thought you made them similar to a pie crust by smearing or cutting in butter but just with a leavener. I make a pressed pie crust with olive oil so I see how this could be just as good. Thanks.