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These butter swim biscuits are the easiest homemade biscuits you’ll ever make! They come out with crispy, golden edges and a soft, fluffy center every single time! Everything comes together in one bowl – no kneading, no rolling pin, just mix, pour, and bake in a bath of melted butter. Yum!
I’ve been seeing butter swim biscuits trending on social media for years now. I’ve been obsessed ever since I saw everyone adding buttermilk biscuit dough into a pool of butter and baking it – it blew my mind. Because we love butter right?! Recently, I made a chocolate chip butter swim biscuits recipe and everyone loved it so much, I figured I’d make the classic version, but add my own spin (ya’ll know how I do!!).
Butter Swim Biscuits: Easiest Biscuits Ever.
These are not your traditional biscuits. They’re just as delicious but SO much easier to make. Everything comes together in one bowl, in about 5 minutes flat. Baking the biscuits in butter gives them crispy edges and a buttery crust on top. When you take a bite, you’re met with a nice crunch and smooth, fluffy biscuits on the inside. They’re absolutely incredible.
Table of Contents
Notes From My Kitchen
I tested these every which way because “good” wasn’t cutting it—I was after that perfect, fluffy texture. No gummy centers. No burnt tops. Just buttery, golden biscuits that come out right every time. Here’s what made the difference:
- Lower oven temperature: most butter swim biscuits recipes bake their biscuits at 450 degrees F, however, whenever I did this, I noticed that the tops of the biscuits would become too dark/almost burnt before the inside was finished cooking. So I lowered the oven temp to 425 degrees F and they cooked absolutely PERFECT.
- Reduced Buttermilk and more BUTTER. Ok here me out – a lot of recipes I made were too soft. Like… gummy. So I fixed this problem by reducing the buttermilk and adding more butter. This boosts caramelization (aka crisp edges) and a biscuit that’s still fluffy but doesn’t just melt when you bite it.
- A touch of oil in the biscuit batter keeps them moist for days. (this one is a game changer!)
- Added in some baking soda! This may sound small but hear me out – *food science alert* most butter swim biscuits recipes skip the baking soda. But since we’re using buttermilk, that acidity needs something to react with. Adding baking soda gives these buttery biscuits a better lift and a softer texture.
👉 If you love biscuits like me, you have to try my cheddar bay biscuits or southern biscuits and gravy next!
Ingredients Needed
(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)
All-Purpose Flour is ideal. You want a flour that’s sturdy enough to give these biscuits structure, but still tender enough to keep the crumb soft and fluffy (not dense or dry).
Baking Powder and Baking Soda – this combo is what gives you that perfect rise. Baking powder handles the lift, while baking soda reacts with the buttermilk for an extra boost and better texture.
Sugar. No, these won’t be sweet. Sugar helps balance out the salt and rich flavor, and it also helps the biscuits brown (aka caramelize) as they bake. Don’t skip this!
Buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to give you tall, fluffy biscuits with a soft, tender crumb and just a little tang to keep things from tasting flat.
Salted Butter (of course) this is where all that rich, buttery flavor comes from. It also creates those golden edges and soft texture we’re after.
👉 Pro tip: add a drizzle of honey on top, fresh out of the oven – it’s NEXT LEVEL.
How To Make Butter Swim Biscuits
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Melt butter separately in a microwave safe bowl.
Step 2: Stir in buttermilk and oil until a soft dough forms. It’s ok if the dough is lumpy, mix until there’s no patches of flour.
Step 3: Pour melted butter into the baking dish and spread biscuit dough on top of the melted butter.
Step 4: Cut and bake. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 9 squares, pour more melted butter on top. Bake on the middle oven rack until golden brown on top with crisp, buttery edges and a soft, tender center.
Expert Tips for The Best Butter Biscuits
- Don’t overmix! The biscuit dough may look lumpy when combined, but that’s exactly what we’re looking for! If you mix until perfectly smooth, they’ll be dense and tough biscuits.
- Use real buttermilk! In a pinch, you can make your own homemade buttermilk with lemon juice and whole milk – but it’s just not the same. For that signature buttery taste and texture, acidulated buttermilk from the store is best!
- Let them cool slightly before cutting, about 10 minutes – this helps it cling to the biscuits instead of sliding off.
Recipe FAQs
If your biscuits are gummy, they’re likely underbaked or you added too much buttermilk. Bake until the biscuits are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Butter swim biscuits are a no-roll biscuit recipe where the dough is baked in a pool of melted butter, creating crispy edges and a soft, fluffy center.
No, the end result won’t be as fluffy. Buttermilk adds acidity, which reacts with the baking soda to help the biscuits rise and turn out soft and fluffy. Regular milk doesn’t have that same acidity, so your biscuits can end up flatter and less tender. It also adds a subtle tang that balances all that butter, without it, the flavor falls a little flat.
Cutting the dough before baking helps the biscuits cook evenly and creates those clean, pull-apart edges. It also allows the butter to seep down into the cracks, giving you those crispy, golden sides on every piece. If you skip this step, the center can bake up more like one solid slab instead of individual biscuits.
It all comes down to the butter and the bake. Make sure the dough is sitting in a full layer of melted butter and bake at the right temperature so the edges can properly caramelize. Cutting the dough before baking also helps the butter reach more surface area, giving you those signature crisp, golden edges all around.
More Biscuit Recipes
Appetizers
Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits
Breakfast
Homemade Biscuits and Gravy
Breakfast
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Appetizers
Bacon Cheddar and Thyme Biscuits
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If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Butter Swim Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups (437 g) All Purpose Flour, (sifted)
- 2 1/2 tbsp (31 g) Sugar
- 4 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 cups Whole Fat Buttermilk
- 1 tbsp (14 g) Oil
- 1/2 cup (113 g) Salted Butter, (melted)
- 2 tbsp Salted Butter, (for pouring on top)
- Honey, (for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl and pour into an 8×8 baking dish. 1/2 cup Salted Butter
- In a large bowl, combine all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk together until combined, then pour in the buttermilk and oil. Mix until a lumpy dough forms and there's no patches of flour, about 30 seconds. 3 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 2 1/2 tbsp Sugar 4 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt 2 cups Whole Fat Buttermilk 1 tbsp Oil
- Add the dough to the pan on top of the melted butter. Gently spread the dough out in the pan so that it's in one even layer. Pour additional 2 tbsp of melted butter on top. 2 tbsp Salted Butter
- Bake for 30-35 minutes on the middle oven rack, until the tops are golden brown. Stick a wooden skewer into the center biscuit and if it comes out clean, the biscuits are done. Let the biscuits cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with a drizzle of honey.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
