Move over potato chips ~ tender sour cream and onion biscuits are packed with tangy sour cream and savory onion flavors, plus they’ve got layers for days!
These sour cream and onion biscuits are everything you love in a biscuit ~ they’re buttery, with a light and flakey texture. But what do they have that regular biscuits don’t have? Exciting flavor, that’s what. And plenty of it with everybody’s favorite combo: sour cream and onion. They crisp up beautifully on the edges, and those layers? Just wow.
Sour cream and onion biscuits play well with just about any meal you’ve got planned, just don’t be surprised if they steal the show. And they’ll be absolutely perfect with your Easter ham. (I can just imagine the day after sammies!)
sour cream and onion biscuit ingredients
This recipe is tweaked from Bon Appรฉtit. My tweaks amp up the sour cream and onion flavor; I add chives (the cutest little onion delivery package!) and my secret ingredient, a couple of teaspoons of ranch seasoning mix (the kind in the little packet.) In my experience the Bon Appรฉtit recipe needed a little extra moisture, so I’ve suggested a bit of milk to bring the dough together. You may or may not need that.
- all purpose flour
- unsalted butter
- sour cream
- could you use Greek yogurt for a lighter biscuit? Yes, but whole fat would work best.
- milk
- scallions
- the whole bunch, white and green parts go in.
- chives
- chives bring so much to the party, just snip them with clean kitchen shears!
- sugar
- baking soda, baking powder
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- ranch dressing mix
- this is my secret ingredient! I use just 2 teaspoons from the packet (save the rest for your next batch of biscuits.)
a one bowl biscuit recipe
- Whisk together your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Cut in the butter until it creates an even, sandy texture. You can do this by hand, or in the food processor. I prefer the processor because it’s quick and easy (20-25 pulses.)
- Stir in the onions and chives.
- Mix in the sour cream to form a crumbly dough.
the folding technique for sour cream and onion biscuits
These sour cream and onion biscuits are made with the ‘letter fold’ or ‘book fold’ method ~ a folding technique used in pastry making. You’ll pat out the dough into a rectangle, then fold the dough into thirds, like a letter, and then pat it back into a rectangle and fold it once more. This process creates distinct layers in the dough, which results in flaky tender biscuits.
I’m never a fan of extra steps in a recipe unless they really make a difference, and I think this little extra one-two-fold really does result in noticeable flaky layers.
If you can’t stand the mess, don’t make biscuits!
The dough will be crumbly and craggy, just go with it. The folding will be uneven, and it won’t look pretty, but power through ~ your biscuits will be worth it. Remember that biscuits require a light touch, so don’t knead the dough, just bring it together with your hands.
By the way I love cutting biscuits like this, in squares. That means there’s no re-forming of the dough, and no waste.
your reward…
Golden flakey mile-high biscuits that everybody will rave about.
how we’re serving our biscuits
Of course we love them straight out of the oven, and it’s almost ridiculous but I put a pat of butter on them because…well, because.
Alongside soups for sure: especially Split Pea Soup with Ham, Beef Barley Soup, Corn and Cheddar Cheese Chowder or Smoked Salmon Chowder.
With our holiday ham this Easter. And then of course we’ll make leftover ham sandwiches with them.
For breakfast with sheet pan eggs and homemade chicken apple sausage. Or use as a base for eggs Benedict!
sour cream & onion biscuit faqs
Can I make these biscuits gluten free?
- Yes, just use a good quality gf baking mix in the same amount as the all purpose flour.
Can sour cream and onion biscuits be frozen?
- Yes, you can freeze them baked or unbaked. To bake from frozen, just add a few minutes to the baking time.
What can I use in place of sour cream?
- You can use whole milk Greek yogurt, labneh, or a mix of yogurt and buttermilk. Just be aware that if you use buttermilk it has a thinner consistency than sour cream so you will use less to get the dough to come together without being wet or sticky.
Can I leave out the ranch mix?
- Yes, for sure. In that case, increase the salt by 1 teaspoon.
Can I use salted butter?
- Yes, but omit the extra salt in the recipe.
I don’t have flakey sea salt, can I use regular salt for topping?
- No! If you don’t have sea salt, or another finishing salt, just omit.
Can I add cheese to these?
- Yes, I’d recommend about 1/2-3/4 cup grated sharp white cheddar.
more easy bread recipes to try
Sour Cream and Onion Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 bunch scallions, (about 6)
- 3 Tbsp snipped fresh chives
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp ranch seasoning, (from a salad dressing seasoning packet)
- 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp coarse or kosher salt, (if using regular salt, reduce the amount to 1/2 tsp)
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly cracked
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 10 Tbsp cold butter, cut in pieces
- 1 1/4 cup sour cream
- a few drops of milk, cream, or water, if necessary to hydrate your dough.
- flaky sea salt for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Trim your scallions and thinly slice them, both white and green parts. Add the snipped chives and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, ranch seasoning, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and baking soda. I prefer to do this in my food processor, and I pulse to combine.
- Add in the butter, cut in pieces. If doing by hand, rub or cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand and there are no clumps of butter left. I do this in the processor, by pulsing 20-25 times.
- Add the scallions and chives and toss to combine. If using a food processor, now is the time to move to a bowl.
- Fold in the sour cream and mix until the dough starts to come together (it will be crumbly.) I found that my dough was very dry, so I needed to add a bit of milk to get it to come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and bring together with your hands. Pat it into an 8×4 rectangle.
- Fold one third of the dough into the center. Then fold again, just like a letter. Don't worry, this will be messy and not exact.
- Pat the dough into the 8×4 rectangle again and repeat the fold.
- Pat the dough back into the 8×4 rectangle.* Now slice the rectangle in half lengthwise. Then cut each half into 4 squares.
- Place the biscuits on the baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Brush the tops of the biscuits with milk or melted butter.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until risen and golden.
I made these and baked them the stated time and they were gooey/raw inside. I put them back in the oven and baked for a few more minutes and they were still gooey inside. I hesitated to bake longer since the bottoms were getting pretty brown. I measured the size and everything and they looked like yours going into the oven. Any suggestions about what I did wrong? Thanks so much!
It can be hard to troubleshoot without all the details, but a few things come to mind: Be sure you patted out your dough to a full 8×4 rectangle. Then slice into 8 biscuits. With your oven at a full 425F temp, those 8 biscuits, spaced out on your baking sheet, should definitely cook through. It might be an oven temperature issue?
This morning dawned cold, raw, dank, and as soon as outside bird chores were accomplished I made this without the onions/seasonings and they are wonderful for breakfast with gobs of fine butter and strawberry preserves.
Thanks for the review Sharon, I’ve been excited to try this method with other flavors, too.
Omg !! This is recipe amazing โฆ Everyone loved it! Thank you
Glad they worked out so well for you, I need to make them again, I’ve been craving them!
I just made these biscuits tonight to go with a chicken corn chowder, and they were delicious! I hadn’t made biscuits from scratch before, but these were so easy to do and they turned out great. Thank you!
I’m so glad, thanks for the review Jenn!
The biscuits are absolutely delicious and I love how easy they are to make. I did add the milk (about 1/8-1/4 cup) and the dough came together much better. The next time though, I will make them a bit smaller by cutting into 10 rather than 8.
These sounded really good but TASTED FABULOUS! I just took them out of the oven and they’re wonderful!!! Crispy crunch ~ but not hard ~ on the outside and tender and delicious on the inside. My husband and I split the first one and he immediately said, “these are really good!” We’re having them for dinner with oven roasted king salmon and fresh asparagus salad! ? YUM!!!
I have to make these! They look incredible! Question….can I use green onions instead of scallions? Is there much difference? If so, how many green onions? Thanks so much!!
They’re the same, just different names.