These Homemade Air Fryer Biscuits are so quick and easy to make and they come out perfect every single time! Wonderfully fluffy, these traditional biscuits are a great make ahead side.
This post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclaimer here.
The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.
Traditional Southern buttermilk biscuits have just got a makeover! Baking them in an air fryer makes the whole process so quick and easy and they come out oh so delicious! Make a double batch and freeze half, I enjoy them with so many meals!
Years ago I had the opportunity to make Bonjangles Biscuits at their test kitchen. I learned so many awesome tips and tricks and now I can share my own perfect biscuit recipe with the world.
These biscuits go great with my Instant Pot Sausage Gravy for breakfast or my Air Fried Chicken for lunch or dinner.
If you love easy biscuit recipes, you will love these mayonnaise drop biscuits.
How To Make Homemade Air Fryer Biscuits
Gather your ingredients. You'll need self-rising flour, unsalted butter and shortening (cut into small pieces), and buttermilk. Make sure everything is cold.
Add flour, butter, and shortening in a large bowl and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to mix in butter and shortening. You could also use 2 forks. The flour mixture should still have chunks of butter and shortening that are the size of small peas.
Make a space in the middle of the bowl and pour in the buttermilk.
Use a wooden spoon and mix the flour and buttermilk until it is combined and is a soft and sticky dough.
Flour a clean countertop (with about 2 tablespoon of flour), marble slab, or large cutting board and pour the dough onto it. Flour your hands and gently knead the dough one or two times until it’s smooth. Pat the dough out into a square that’s about ¾ an inch thick.
Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter, flour it, and cut out biscuits.
Remove the scraps from around the cutouts. Use remaining scraps and mold them into the biscuit cutter. Don't bother rerolling the dough, this is much easier and allows the biscuits to avoid being overworked.
Place bicsuits on air fryer parchment sheet liners (or a piece of parchment paper cut to fit your air fryer) about 1 inch apart.
Air Fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 9 – 10 minutes and golden on top. Brush with melted butter and serve.
How long do they keep?
Once the biscuits have cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container. They will keep at air temperature for about 2 days and up to a week in the fridge. You can also freeze the baked biscuits and thaw them at room temperature.
Can you bake them in the oven?
These biscuits come out wonderfully in the air fryer, but they can also be baked in the oven if that's what you have. Simply bake them in an oven at 450F on a lined baking sheet for around 14 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
What do you serve with them?
These air fryer biscuits are super versatile and a great accompaniment to most meals. You can of course serve them with the traditional country white gravy, but I also love to serve them as a brunch with scrambled eggs, with a side salad, or smothered with fruit preserves or compote! They're also great with any Southern Dinner. I always have a batch ready to go!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- All ingredients must be cold for these biscuits to work and rise. If it’s taking you longer than expected to shape your biscuits or if they start to feel extra sticky, do the optional step and stick them in the fridge to get them cold again.
- These are freezer friendly. Bake them in your air fryer or oven straight from the freezer for the same amount of time.
- I like to use self rising flour to cut down on the amount of ingredients needed. If you use all purpose flour, mix in 3 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt to the flour.
More Easy Air Fryer Recipes
- Blueberry Biscuits
- Air fryer Egg Rolls
- Fried Chicken Tacos
- BBQ Air Fryer Ribs
- Marinated Air Fryer Vegetables
Homemade Air Fryer Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups Self-rising flour plus ¼ cup for flouring the board and biscuit cutter
- 3 Tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 2 Tablespoon shortening cut into small pieces
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted for topping
Instructions
- Add flour, cut butter, and cut shortening and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to mix in butter and shortening. The flour mixture should still have chunks of butter and shortening that are the size of small peas.
- Make a space in the middle of the bowl and pour in the buttermilk. Use a wooden spoon and mix the flour and buttermilk until it is combined and is a soft and sticky dough.
- Flour a clean countertop (about 2 tablespoon of flour), marble slab, or large cutting board and pour the dough onto it. Flour your hands and gently knead the dough one or two times until it’s smooth. Pat the dough out into a square that’s about ¾ of an inch thick.
- Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter, flour it, and cut out biscuits. You should get about 8 biscuits.
- Optional step: Place your biscuits in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to ensure they stay cold.
- Place biscuits on an air fryer parchment sheet liners (or a piece of parchment paper cut to fit your air fryer) about 1 inch apart. Place in air fryer basket and air fry on 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 9 - 10 minutes and golden on top. Brush with melted butter and serve.
Notes
- All ingredients must be cold for these biscuits to work and rise. If it’s taking you longer than expected to shape your biscuits or if they start to feel extra sticky, do the optional step and stick them in the fridge to get them cold again.
- These are freezer friendly. Bake them in your air fryer or oven straight from the freezer for the same amount of time.
- I like to use self rising flour to cut down on the amount of ingredients needed. If you use all purpose flour, mix in 3 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of fine salt to it.
- I prefer a combo of shortening and butter in my biscuits but you can use all butter if you aren't a fan of shortening.
Deb says
Turned out VERY good, just like the picture!
Tanya says
Thanks so much Deb! So glad you liked them 🙂
Cherie says
FYI do not use parchment paper in your air fryer! Mine caught on fire!!
Tanya says
Hi Cherie, you have to make sure the food is placed on the parchment liner and it does not touch the heating elements on the top. Also, parchment paper and foil paper are fine in the air fryer. I would not use wax paper. My rule of thumb is if it's oven safe, it's fine for the air fryer.
Lynette says
My oven is waiting for parts. These are excellent biscuits and prove that the air fryer is a useful kitchen too.
Laura Schricker says
can you make up the biscuit dough and then without baking them could you freeze the biscuit dough and would you thaw them or use them frozen and follow the same cooking method?
Tanya says
Hi Laura, you can freeze them and air fry/bake from frozen. They will need an additional minute or two from frozen.
Carole says
Do you preheat the AF or just put the biscuits in the cold unit?
Tanya says
I didn't preheat.
carol hanks says
Thank you for posting this recipe! They not only were the best biscuits I have ever tried and picture perfect! My circuit board went out on my oven and I had made beef stew, now what am I to do, try out that Ninja Airfryer combo of course! Happy ending looking forward to trying your e-book
Tanya says
Thanks Carol! So glad you liked them 🙂
Jill Devereaux says
Can I use all butter and no shortening? Thanks, can’t wait to try and will post results.
Tanya says
Hi Jill, yep, you sure can. I've used all butter and it was perfectly fine. I just like the crumb and taste of the butter/shortening combo a little more, but both very good.
Candice says
What air fryer is your favorite air fryer?
Tanya says
Great question! I like basket air fryers the best. It's hard for me to pick an all-time favorite but my 3 top ones are the Bella Pro 5.3 qt, the Cosori 5.8qt, and the Philips Avance XXL.
Sarina Clements says
We have dietary restrictions so I substituted Smart Balance and plant butter for the butter and shortening. I'm also a lazy cook so I just kneaded the dough in the bowl and just kinda patted out some biscuit shapes lol THESE WERE PERFECT! Soft, fluffy and full of flavor. They didn't even need any butter or preserves. I loved that I could have them going in the air fryer while I cooked the rest of the meal too. This is my new biscuit recipe. As far as I'm concerned, there is no other!
Tanya says
Thank you for the feedback Sarina! So glad you liked the biscuits 🙂
Angel Butler says
Hi Tracy, I made your biscuits serveral times but this time I don't have buttermilk. Can I use regular milk instead? Would it still turn out the same without using buttermilk?
Tanya says
Hi Angel, it'll still be a biscuit without the buttermilk but it won't have the same exact taste or texture. You can make a buttermilk substitute by adding 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes.
Tylyn says
@Tanya,
Use lemon juice and milk mixture to make your own buttermilk! That’s what I do!
Denise Clarkson says
HI, I made this tea biscuits this morning, very good but the bottom of the biscuits weren't brown and so I put thim back in bottom up. I baked them for another 2 min. I used parchement paper as mentioned in the recipe, would that be the reason they didn't brown?
Tanya says
Hi Denise, if the parchment paper didn't have holes in the bottom then that's probably why. You can try that kind or just grease the basket and not use any parchment paper. I use air fryer parchment liners so the biscuit bottoms stay flat and don't stick to the basket.
Candi says
My heating element broke into pieces this morning, but I was set on making biscuits. These turned out great! I think this may be my new preferred method to make biscuits!
Tanya says
Thanks Candi, so glad the biscuits worked out for you. So sorry to hear about your heating element.
Kell says
I did these as a drop biscuit and they turned out fantastic as well.
Linda H says
Thanks for providing the instructions for regular flour. Self rising flour tends to be regional and not the norm for some climates.
I love your recipes.
Tanya says
No problem and thank you 🙂 I agree, it's so easy to make self-rising flour at home too.
Barey says
@Tanya, So, what is the formula for self-rising flour at home? I’ve recently started playing with an air fryer. You are a big bunch of help! TY?
Tanya says
Hi Barey, mix 1 cup all purpouse flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt to make self-rising flour substitute.
Linda says
I really like your recipes. Thanks for being so generous and sharing them. I've looked three times and I can't find the temperature for air frying in your narrative or recipe instructions. Share please.
Tanya says
Thanks Linda. My apologies, 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I've updated the post 🙂
Troas says
Can you use aluminum foil to lay the biscuits on
Tanya says
Yep, you can.