If you love biscuits, you will want to try my newest gluten free biscuits recipe. I tested five different gluten free flour blends and I am sharing the results so you can make the most delicious biscuits any time! I also include a vegan gluten free biscuit option!
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This has been a fun project for me and my whole Fearless Dining family. I made five sets of biscuits with five different gluten free flour blends. Every biscuit tasted delicious except one.
If you love biscuits as much as we do, you will want to try these Gluten Free Cheese Biscuits too! This biscuit recipe is also great as a topper for my Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie recipe!
Just for fun, I did a separate batch baked in my air fryer. I did not count this air fried biscuits batch in my gluten free flour test. I include air fryer instructions in the recipe card for those who are interested in using their air fryer.
The test parameters:
To test what would be the best gluten free flour blend to use for making biscuits, I used the popular, New York Times All-Purpose Biscuit recipe.
I tested these gluten free flour blends: Better Batter Artisinal Gum Free Blend, King Arthur Measure for Measure, Cup4Cup, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Blend, and Just About Food Gluten Free Whole Grain Flour.
I used these guidelines to maintain consistency through each flour tested:
- The same recipe for each.
- I used the same cookie sheet lined with clean parchment paper for each test, and the same size biscuit cutter for each biscuit. The dough for each was pressed down to 1 ½ inches high for all of the biscuits.
The results:
If you have been wondering what is the best gluten free flour blend for biscuits, I have the answer for you! Of the gluten free flour blends I tested, Cup4Cup gluten free flour turned out the best in this biscuit recipe. Every brand performed well and they all had nice flaky layers, but none rose as high or tasted as light and fluffy as the Cup4Cup flour blend.
I found Just About Food Gluten Free Whole Grain Flour for about $5 a bag at our local Grocery Outlet store. I figured it was worth trying because the blend was whole grain and healthier than many starchy mixes. This brand of gluten free flour was so bad and left such a bad taste in the biscuits, I tossed the bag and biscuits. Don't buy it if you see this one.
Gluten free flour blend notes:
Most of the gluten free flours behaved in a similar way when mixed with the other ingredients. I did not measure the flour amount by weight as each blend needed tweaking Here are a few things that stood out:
- King Arthur Measure for Measure - The gluten free biscuit dough was wetter than the other flour blends. It didn't affect the amount of rise but the dough spread out a little more than others when baking. I didn't add additional flour but I did use about 2 teaspoons of flour sprinkled on the top so I could press the dough down enough to use the biscuit cutter.
- Better Batter Artisinal Gum Free - I had to add 2 tablespoons of additional milk so the biscuit dough wasn't too stiff.
- Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Blend - I felt the dough was workable without additional flour or milk.
- Cup4Cup - The biscuit dough this flour made was fine without adding any extra flour or milk.
- Just About Food Whole Grain Gluten Free Blend - I had to add almost ½ cup additional flour because the biscuit dough was so wet with just 1 cup of milk. Again, this flour was terrible and I don't recommend using it.
Are you ready to make some gluten free biscuits?
Ingredient notes:
- Gluten free flour - Use one that I tested or another. Just make sure it contains xanthan gum. If not you will need to add a teaspoon to your mix.
- Baking powder - This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of baking powder. Be sure to use aluminum-free baking powder. Regular aluminum baking powder will leave a metallic aftertaste. I used Thrive Market Aluminum-Free Baking Powder. Other brands of gluten free baking powder without aluminum include Rumford, Argo, and Bakewell Cream. You can also make your own DIY gluten free baking powder by mixing 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
- Butter - Use regular butter or vegan butter. Just make sure the vegan butter is very cold if you use it.
- Milk - I like to use whole milk. You can use non-dairy milk, but be sure to use one that is not sweetened or flavored. You can also use buttermilk if you prefer gluten free buttermilk biscuits. If you want to use buttermilk, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to your milk.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk the ingredients to blend them. Add the 5 TBSP of cold butter.
Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter into the flour. Many wonder if they can use a food processor to cut the butter in. I find a food processor overmixes the butter in and you lose some of the flaky layers.
Step 2: Your flour mix will look like it has crumbs like this photo.
Step 3: Add the milk and mix.
Step 4: Your dough should look similar in consistency to this.
Step 5: Put the dough on wax paper. You may want to dust it with a tiny bit of gluten free flour. It depends on which gluten free flour blend you use. Press to 1 ½ inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out biscuit shapes from the dough. If you prefer, you can use a large ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to make drop-style biscuits.
Step 6: (*Note, this photo is from a test batch I made in the air fryer. You will put your biscuits onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.) Brush the top of each biscuit with milk. This will help your biscuits get that nice golden color on top.
Step 7: Bake at 425º F for 15 minutes.
Step 8: Here are the test batches. I baked one at a time so each cooled on the wire rack then was transferred to another tray while the next set cooled.
Variations:
There are so many delicious ways to vary the flavor in this gluten free biscuits recipe. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Add minced garlic and add 1 extra tablespoon of butter.
- Top the biscuits with honey
- Use some herbs like rosemary or thyme. You can grow a lot of herbs in your kitchen window for baking and cooking.
- Sweeten things up with brown sugar and cinnamon swirled into the batter.
Check out my fun Gluten Free Biscuits Web Story too!
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can easily make this vegan by using vegan butter and dairy-free milk.
You will know the biscuits are done baking when they have a light golden color on top.
You can definitely make these as gluten free drop-style biscuits. Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the dough and drop it onto a cookie sheet.
I like to use butter for baking biscuits. You can use shortening, but I find the very best fat is a European butter like Plugra is best.
These biscuits will keep fresh for up to 3 days. I advise freezing the extras and then reheating in a microwave oven,
More gluten free bread recipes:
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📖 Recipe
The Best Gluten Free Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 2 tablespoons aluminum free baking powder * see note
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter COLD
- 1 cup milk * see note
Instructions
- Add your dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk the ingredients to blend them. Add the 5 TBSP of cold butter.
- Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter into the flour. Many wonder if they can use a food processor to cut the butter in. I find a food processor overmixes the butter in and you lose some of the flaky layers. Cutting in the cold butter is what helps make the flaky layers!
- Add the milk and mix into a nice dough ball. It should be wet, but workable.
- Preheat your oven to 425º F.
- Put the dough on wax paper. Depending on the gluten free flour blend you used, you may want to dust the wax paper with a tiny bit of gluten free flour. It depends on which gluten free flour blend you use. Press to 1 ½ inch thickness. (Dust the top of the biscuit dough with a small amount of gluten fre flour as needed.
- Use a biscuit cutter to cut out biscuit shapes from the dough. If you prefer, you can use a large ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to make drop style biscuits.
- Brush the top of each biscuit with milk. This will help your biscuits get that nice golden color on top.
- Bake at 425º F for 15 minutes.
Notes
- In my test, I tested the following gluten free flour blends: Cup4Cup, Better Batter Artisinal Gum Free Blend, King Arthur Measure for Measure, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Blend, and Just About Food Gluten Free Whole Grain Flour (DON'T use this one blend, it was horrible!)
- If your blend doesn't contain xanthan gum or psyllium husk as a binder, you need to add 1 tsp xanthan gum.
- You need to use VERY cold butter.
- This recipe calls for 2 TBSP of baking powder. Be sure to use aluminum-free baking powder. Regular aluminum baking powder will leave a metallic aftertaste. I used Thrive Market Aluminum-Free Baking Powder. Other brands of gluten free baking powder without aluminum include Rumford, Argo, and Bakewell Cream. You can also make your own DIY gluten free baking powder by mixing 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
- If you want to make this dairy-free, use non-flavored/sweetened dairy-free milk and vegan butter.
- Each brand is a little different. Better Batter I needed to add 2 TBSP of milk to the biscuit batter.
- If you prefer to use buttermilk, you can, or add 1 TBSP of lemon juice to your milk.
- These biscuits will keep up to 3 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
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Karon S. Peterson
Sandi, I baked your gluten free baking powder biscuits this evening. They are wonderful and so simple and quick to make and bake. Thank you so much, They taste wonderful!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you enjoyed them. I know you had said you missed biscuits. They are also good with cheese mixed into the dough. :-).
Karon S. Peterson
Sandi, well, of course I messed up my comment! I should have used the name of the biscuit, you can change it if you want. I should have said I baked your recipe for The Best Flaky Gluten Free Biscuit this evening and it was so good! So quick to mix and bake and tasted so good! I will always use it now. Thank you!
Lisa
Hi Sandi, you are spot on with the name of these biscuits. “The Best Flaky Gluten Free Biscuits “ recipe is for certain, everything I have missed in a GF biscuit (flaky, tender and tasty) and I am delighted to have found this one! I used Cup4Cup and was quite pleased with the results. My biscuits looked just like yours! The dough came together quite easily with my Danish Dough Whisk. Now I have a GF biscuit recipe that can be made in a pinch to go with chowders, soups, stews and our beloved sausage gravy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! ~ Lisa
Sandi Gaertner
You made my day coming back to tell me you loved them. Thank you Lisa!!
Heather
Hi Sandi,
Corn(starch) isn't compatible with my body, but I'm interested in making my own baking powder. Would it still work without the cornstarch? or is there an alternative ingredient to the cornstarch? Thanks so much!!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Heather, I would think potato starch would work. I haven't tested it but they have the same consistency.
Linda Caylor
Over the last 6 years, I have tried numerous GF biscuit recipes. Can't stand the ones with eggs or ones with sugar. So this morning I tried your original recipe but did cut ingredients in half. Didn't like the smell of baking powder. (plus, my electricity went off for about 5 minutes). So, I made a second batch except that I used your recipe for homemade baking powder. The dough was light and fluffy, totally unlike all the other recipes. The only complaint I have was, the biscuits tasted a little salty. So, I'm going to cut back on salt and keep this recipe. Think I've found a Keeper! thanks so much !
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Linda. I suspect the baking powder smell is if you used one with aluminum. The homemade one is so much better so I am glad you used it.
Amy
These look and sound delicious! I can’t wait to make them. Thank you!!! Quick question for you…which Bobs 1:1 did you use? The 1:1 Baking blend in the blue bag or the other one with garbanzo bean flour?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Amy, I used the Bob's 1 to 1 in the light blue bag :-).
Stacie
I made these this morning. Took a little longer to cook completely. They were light & fluffy, but not right on point. Not sure if it was my bajing powder or using 2% milk was the right choice to use, but that's what we drink. I did use Bob Mills 1 to 1 light blue bag. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Stacie, in looking at the photo of the ingredients, it is because you used a baking powder with aluminum. I recommend using an aluminum-free brand or make your own DIY gluten free baking powder by mixing 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
April
My first time making biscuits. These are delicious. I used Cup 4Cup. I will say my biscuits didn’t rise like yours. I think I pressed the dough too thin because I got 11 biscuits out of the recipe. Next time I’ll leave them thicker. Thank you.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi April, It isn't a lot of flour for 11 so I think you are right to make them thicker next time.