The Best Whole Wheat Biscuits

Name: The Best Whole Wheat Biscuits
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 cups whole-wheat flour (or whole-wheat pastry flour); 4 teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; 4 tablespoons butter (cold, unsalted); 1 cup milk (any kind)

133 Reviews / 4.4 Average

This homemade whole-wheat biscuit recipe is so quick and easy—plus it has only 5 ingredients! Make sure to bake a double batch to freeze for later and pull out for breakfast or dinner. They go great with homemade gravy or even jam.

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homemade whole wheat biscuits on a plate — Warm, whole wheat biscuits, fresh from the oven

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Why I Love These Homemade Biscuits

There are so many reasons to love these biscuits! First of all, they are super easy to make and no special equipment (like a food processor, rolling pin, or biscuit cutter) is necessary.

It takes no more than 20 or 25 minutes to make them from mixing the dough to pulling them out of the oven. Then once they are done they're moist and flakey and are so tasty (c’mon, look at the picture—you know you want one!). And best of all, they can be tossed in the freezer for later.

It honestly couldn’t be easier ... so go ahead and throw away that refrigerated tube of dough you bought from the grocery store!

Featured Comment

I am so happy to say that these turned out beautifully! Puffed up, flaky, tasty.
- Devon

Ingredients for Whole Wheat Biscuits

Whole-Wheat Flour - Whole-wheat pastry flour is a great lighter choice for this recipe.
Baking Powder - Be sure your baking powder is fresh, otherwise they might not rise.
Salt - A ½ teaspoon of salt is all it takes.
Butter - Make sure to use cold butter.
Milk - You can use any kind of milk for this recipe, but I used organic whole milk.

cutting out homemade biscuits with a cookie cutter — You can cut out your biscuits with cookie cutters or a drinking glass

How to Make Whole Wheat Biscuits

Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk with a fork.
Cut the butter into small pieces and mix it into the dry mixture.
Mash the butter pieces into the mixture using the back of a fork. It's okay if the mixture just looks like tiny butter chunks covered in flour. You can also use a stainless steel dough blender.
Pour in the milk and stir to combine.
Knead the dough with your hands 8-10 times, but do not over-knead it.
Pat it flat on a floured surface so that it's an even ¾" thickness.
Cut out circular shapes using a drinking glass upside down, or you can use a cookie cutter.
Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for about 10-12 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.

Easy 3 Ingredient Biscuit Recipe With Self-Rising Flour

Self-rising flour is just regular flour with baking powder and salt already added to it. Some people prefer it for southern style recipes like biscuits because it saves on prep time, and you don’t have to stock as many ingredients.

To make these biscuits with whole wheat self-rising flour, simply omit the baking powder and salt. You’ll be left with an easy 3 ingredient biscuit recipe!

The amount of baking powder in self-rising flour and this biscuit recipe may differ; if you find your biscuits don’t rise with self-rising flour, add an additional teaspoon of baking powder to the mixture.

Biscuit Recipe FAQ

What flour makes the best biscuits?

If you've seen our Real Food Rules, you know we prefer 100% whole grain flours (check out my post on understanding grains to learn more). For this recipe, you can use whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour (recommended)! We stay away from refined grains such as white flour and all-purpose flour.

Are whole-wheat biscuits healthy?

These are a much healthier version than the store-bought biscuits, by far! And as long as you stick to the recipe and use whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, these are definitely good for you. Plus, making anything from scratch is always a better choice so that you know exactly what ingredients are being used and there are no unwanted preservatives or added sugars.

Can you freeze leftover biscuits?

Yes! That's the best part about these biscuits, they freeze and reheat beautifully. So make a big batch, let them cool completely, and freeze a bunch in a gallon zip lock freezer bag. Then the next time you want to add a biscuit to your breakfast, lunch, or dinner they are ready to go.

How do you reheat frozen biscuits?

You can throw the frozen biscuits in the microwave or toaster oven on the bake setting. This makes for a quick addition to dinner for those busy weeknights.

Healthier Toppings for Homemade Biscuits

If you like biscuits and gravy: Swap out the traditional sausage and white flour gravy with homemade gravy made from roasting pan drippings.

For biscuits and jam: Use homemade jam or opt for 100% pure store bought varieties with no added refined sugar.

Breakfast biscuit sandwich: Make a healthier version of this fast food breakfast at home with egg, cheese, and your choice of meat.

Other yummy real food biscuit spreads: Honey, natural peanut butter, homemade whipped cream, fruit, and butter.

Why Your Homemade Biscuits Didn’t Rise

If you’re new to making homemade biscuits it might take a bit of practice to get a perfect light and fluffy texture. Here’s some of the most common reasons whole wheat biscuits don’t rise properly and what you can do to correct it.

Old Baking Powder

First, check to make sure your baking powder hasn’t expired, especially if you don’t bake often. Even if it's not expired, baking powder loses its potency about 6 months after opening. This can be even shorter if the container isn’t airtight.

To test baking powder, add ¼ teaspoon of baking powder to ½ cup of hot water. Good baking powder should activate and fizz when it hits the water.

Over Kneading the Dough

It’s important to knead the dough by hand as few times as possible when you make homemade biscuits. Mixing in an electric mixer or over kneading will make the dough rubbery, which doesn’t bake well.

Butter Too Warm or Oven Too Cool

When you place biscuits in the oven the cold butter heats up and produces steam. This steam adds air between the biscuit layers which, along with the baking powder, helps biscuits rise.

For best results, make sure your butter has been chilled before adding it (straight out of the fridge), don’t let dough get too warm while you work it, and wait for the oven to preheat fully before baking your biscuits.

Weather or Altitude

If you’ve tried everything and still can’t get your biscuits to rise your altitude or the weather might be to blame.

In areas with high humidity baking ingredients can draw moisture in from the air, which affects their performance. Even if you’re not in a humid area, a string of rainy weather can have the same effect too. If this could be the issue, try making some adjustments for baking success.

Altitude is another issue for baking; it can affect how baking powder reacts and how quickly liquids evaporate. Since baking is a chemical reaction, even small differences in how ingredients react can have a negative effect on your baking.

Try a Different Whole Wheat Biscuit Recipe

If you want to try other biscuit recipes, check out these super fluffy biscuits using buttermilk instead.

Other Whole Wheat Biscuit Recipes