The Best Gluten Free Drop Biscuits – 5 Ingredients

5 from 5 votes
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These Gluten-Free Drop Biscuits are easy to make and don’t require complicated folding and layers. Just combine the ingredients in the correct order, scoop out into a cast iron pan, and bake. This gluten-free biscuit recipe gives you fluffy biscuits in less than 30 minutes with just 5 ingredients. Find out the secret to truly the best GF drop biscuits EVER!

Gluten Free drop biscuits in a cast iron pan

Gluten Free Drop Biscuits Highlights

  • The outside of these drop biscuits is golden brown from the cast iron pan, but irresistibly soft and fluffy on the inside. The perfect balance.
  • Mix the dry ingredients and then layer in butter, and then liquids. No need for a food processor or stand mixer.
  • Easy to modify if adding savory flavors like bacon, chives, cheese, or any herbs. Check out our recipe for cheddar and jalapeño gluten free biscuits.

Because our kids are gluten free we don’t want them missing out on some of the finer things in life… like great baked treats! So we go out of our way to bring the same buttery and rich texture of traditional flour drop biscuits to a gluten-free drop biscuit recipe. After much trial and error we found is that the wrong type of flour will lead to biscuits that are too dense or, worse, taste like cardboard. The correct flour blend is an absolute must for successful gluten free biscuits! Trust me.

So the most important factor is using the best possible store bought gluten-free cup for cup flour blend. The second is using buttermilk for the additional fat content in addition to the butter. These are the best biscuits we have made, gluten-free or traditional flour. I’m not kidding. But the secret is in the flour blend. This easy drop biscuit recipe will be in your recipe box for years to come.

Ingredients for Gluten Free Drop Biscuits

Ingredients for gluten free drop biscuits on a sheet pan

These 5 simple ingredients are all that is needed for the best gluten-free drop biscuits.

  • Gluten-Free Cup for Cup Flour (we use Caputo Fioreglut Gluten Free Flour)
  • Baking Powder
  • Kosher Salt
  • Unsalted Butter
  • Buttermilk

Gluten Free Flour

Not all cup for cup flours have the right density or grain size for the right texture.

  • We strongly recommend that you make this recipe with Caputo Fioreglut Gluten Free Flour. This gluten-free flour brand is from Italy and the grind is more like “00” flour you see often with Neapolitan pizzas. It is the best GF blend we’ve ever used (and we’ve used pretty much all them all).
  • If you can’t find Caputo, then Bob’s Red Mill GF 1 to 1 Baking Mix is the next best flour to use and is commonly found in most grocery stores. But for this recipe the Caputo has far superior results.

Both recommended flour mixtures have Xanthan Gum (or equivalent) in the mix, so there is no need to add any additional ingredient for elasticity.

Preparation

  • Be sure the cast iron pan is oiled.
  • Preheat the oven prior to making your biscuits so the butter and milk stay cold.

Buttermilk versus Regular Milk

The acid in the Buttermilk and baking powder help with the flavor and texture of the drop biscuits. While you can use whole milk as part of the fat component, we strongly recommend using Buttermilk for this recipe versus regular milk.

Equipment

  • Cast Iron Pan – We strongly encourage a cast iron pan to allow the base of the biscuits to get that golden crust underneath and on top. Optional – Use a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. But the crust you get from using cast iron is what we want for the overall exterior.
  • Pastry Cutter – It makes it easier to get the butter into smaller pea-sized chunks. Otherwise you can use a fork and your hands.
  • Large Ice Cream Scooper – It’s the easiest way for even sized biscuits.

How to Make The Gluten Free Drop Biscuits

For best results you want to combine the dry ingredients first, then combine with the COLD butter. After the butter gets the right texture, you finish with the buttermilk until incorporated.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is heating up, take your stick of butter and cut it up into smaller pea sized pieces. Place the small pieces of butter in a medium bowl and place back into in the refrigerator (to stay cold).
  2. In a large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Add the cold butter pieces into the dry ingredients and begin to combine with a fork or pastry cutter. As you combine, the flour begins to incorporate with the butter which will melt as it cooks for the fluffy texture (and buttery flavor). Then add the remaining wet ingredients (which is the buttermilk). Stir with a wood spoon or sturdy spatula until combined.
  3. Begin to form biscuits using your ice cream scooper and place biscuits into the cast iron pan. You should get 8 biscuits. Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits start to turn slightly golden. Then remove from the oven and serve.
  4. Optional: As soon as you remove the biscuits from the oven, melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (we use the microwave) in a small bowl and then brush the melted butter onto the tops of the biscuits. Then sprinkle some kosher salt or finishing flake salt onto the biscuits.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

A gluten free drop biscuit cut in half

Modifications

  • You can add savory ingredients like chives or bacon. Do this after you mix in the buttermilk.
  • You can add something like cheddar cheese as well. If adding cheese, do so after adding the buttermilk.

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5 from 5 votes

Gluten Free Drop Biscuits Recipe

The BEST gluten free biscuit recipe with airy center and crusty golden brown outside.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Servings: 8 biscuits

Equipment

  • 10 inch Cast Iron Pan (Be sure it's well oiled)

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups Gluten Free Flour blend, (We use Caputo Fioreglut Gluten Free Flour)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
  • ½ cup Unsalted butter, cut into pea sized cubes.
  • 1 ¼ cup Buttermilk

Optional

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is heating up, take your stick of butter and cut it up into smaller pea-sized pieces. Place the small pieces of butter into a medium bowl and place back in the refrigerator (to stay very cold) until you're ready to add them to the flour mix.
  • Combine: In a large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Add the cold butter pieces into the dry ingredients and begin to combine with a fork or pastry cutter. As you combine, the flour begins to incorporate with the butter, which will melt as it cooks for the fluffy texture (and buttery flavor). Then add the remaining wet ingredients (buttermilk). Stir with a wood spoon or sturdy spatula until combined.
  • Bake: Form biscuits using your ice cream scooper and place biscuits into the cast iron pan. You should get 8 biscuits. Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits start to turn slightly golden. Then remove from the oven and serve warm.
  • Optional: As soon as you remove the biscuits from the oven, melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (we use the microwave) in a small bowl and then brush the melted butter onto the tops of the biscuits. Then sprinkle some kosher salt or finishing flake salt onto the biscuits.

Notes

Notes: If you are cooking with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Mix we used the same portions. The cook time was longer (average of 30 minutes) versus 25.
When using Bob’s Red Mill: After adding the butter, we used a fork to incorporate the flour and butter and then used our hands to squeeze as well then added the buttermilk. We did not have to do that with the Caputo because the texture is so fine.
Optional: Melt butter and then brush onto the finished biscuits and sprinkle with a little of the finishing salt.

Nutrition

Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 636mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 416IU | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American, southern
Servings: 8 biscuits
Calories: 226
Keyword: drop biscuits, gluten free drop biscuit recipe, gluten free drop biscuits
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Vindulge

About Mary


I'm Mary, a wine/food/travel writer, Certified Sommelier, mom of twins, former vegetarian turned BBQ fanatic, runner, founder of Vindulge, and author of Fire + Wine cookbook. Thanks for stopping by!

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1 Comment

  1. 5 stars
    I just made these biscuits with that flour mix. They turned out great! I was amazed that they were soft & fluffy yet didn’t crumble a lot like a lot of gluten free baked goods do. Thank you for the recipe! Will make again.