Name: Cheddar Chive Buttermilk Biscuits (Southern US Recipe)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 325 g plain flour (spooned and levelled if using cups); 3 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp baking soda; 1 tsp sugar; ½ tsp garlic powder; ¾ tsp salt; 125 g butter (very cold); 80 g cheddar cheese (or gruyere, shredded); 2 tbsp fresh chives (chopped); 250 ml buttermilk (very cold)

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Sharp cheddar, punchy chives, and buttery layers for days. These flaky buttermilk biscuits are Southern comfort food at its finest. Whether you’re serving them for brunch, Sunday night dinner, or straight from the tray, this is an easy, versatile recipe that every baker needs in their repertoire.

Why You’ll Love These

Ridiculously flaky: I mean it when I say these biscuits are FLAKY. I use a simple folding technique to create tons of delicate layers which puff up beautifully in the oven.
The ultimate comfort food: These biscuits come out of the oven steaming hot, with a golden crust on the outside and soft, buttery layers on the inside. If you’re lucky, you might even get a bit of a cheese pull. They’re the kind of food you reach for when you need something cozy, familiar, and soul-satisfying.
So versatile: There aren’t many meals that wouldn’t be improved by the presence of a cheesy buttermilk biscuit. You can serve them up as a side dish with soups, stews, or Sunday roasts (they’re especially heavenly with pumpkin soup!), use them as a vehicle for breakfast sandwiches, or bring them along to your next picnic or bbq.
Easy to make: Don’t be intimidated by all the rolling and folding, this is a super simple, beginner-friendly recipe that comes together in under 45 minutes (including the chilling time). Plus, if they look a little rustic, it just adds to their charm!

Flat lay of ingredients for homemade cheddar chive biscuits, including flour, butter, buttermilk, shredded cheddar cheese, and fresh chives.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Plain flour gives the biscuits their structure. I always use plain, all-purpose flour for biscuits, so I have complete control over the ratios of baking powder and baking soda. Remember to use the “spoon and level” method if measuring the flour with cups, otherwise your biscuits might turn out dense.
Baking powder: after lots of experimenting, I’ve found the perfect amount of baking powder that, when combined with baking soda, gives the biscuits the best possible rise, without imparting a bitter taste.
Baking soda reacts with the buttermilk, neutralising some of the tangy flavour and producing light, tender biscuits.
Sugar: a tiny bit of sugar is added to round out the savoury notes and help with browning.
Garlic powder: garlic complements the oniony flavour from the chives. For extra garlicky biscuits, you can also stir a little garlic powder into the melted butter before brushing it over the tops.
Salt adds a savoury depth to these biscuits. Without salt, biscuits can taste flat or bland.
Butter — the key ingredient for flaky biscuits! Use unsalted butter and make sure it’s ice-cold before starting.
Cheddar cheese: use a good-quality cheddar cheese that you grate yourself. I like vintage, English cheddar for its sharpness. You can also substitute with Gruyère, or any other hard cheese.
Chives: fresh chives are always best. If you can’t get them, substitute with scallion stalks or 2 teaspoons of dried chives.
Buttermilk gives the biscuits their slight tangy flavour and makes them super fluffy, much like it does in buttermilk pancakes. It is widely available and can be found in pretty much any big supermarket here in Australia. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make a DIY version by adding 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar per cup of milk and letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.

*For precise measurements, please refer to the recipe card below

Close-up of a cheddar chive buttermilk biscuit split open with melting butter in the centre, surrounded by more biscuits, a butter knife, and fresh chive stalks.

Cheddar Chive Biscuits: Step by Step

1. Keep everything cold – For flaky biscuits, you need to keep your butter and buttermilk as cold as possible (more on the science of this below). Pour your buttermilk out into a measuring jug and pop it in the freezer, along with the cubed butter, about 10-15 minutes before you plan to start making your biscuit dough. Take each ingredient out only when you are ready to use it.

2. Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan/425°F).

3. Combine the dry ingredients – Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, garlic powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Flour mixture in a mixing bowl with visible pea-sized pieces of cold butter evenly distributed throughout.

Shredded cheddar and chopped chives being stirred into flour mixture, with a metal cheese grater visible in the background.

4. Cut the butter into the flour – Add the partially-frozen butter to the flour mixture. Use either a pastry cutter or your clean hands to work the butter into the flour until it resembles course sand. You should still be able to see small pieces of butter throughout — ideally no larger than the size of a pea. These pieces of butter are essential for creating layers.

5. Add the cheese and chives – Gently fold in the shredded cheese and chopped chives until evenly distributed.

Buttermilk being slowly poured into a well in the centre of the flour mixture.

Crumbly biscuit dough in a mixing bowl, ready to be turned out onto a floured surface for shaping and layering.

6. Mix in the buttermilk – If the buttermilk has frozen over on top, break up the ice with a spoon first. Make a well in the centre, and slowly pour in the ice-cold buttermilk. Mix just until it comes together into a crumbly dough. It will look dry in places and wet and sticky in others. This is what you want — the dough is not meant to form a smooth, cohesive ball.

Biscuit dough on a floured countertop, patted into a rectangle.

A rectangle of biscuit dough, with one short end folded in towards the centre, and a bench scraper resting nearby.

7. Create layers – Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface, making sure to include any loose crumbs from the bowl. Do not knead the dough. Instead, you want to gently bring it together with your hands, and press it into a rough rectangle, about 3 cm (1 inch) thick. Take one short side of the rectangle and fold it towards the centre, then fold the other short side over the top (this is called a trifold or a letter fold). Rotate the dough 90 degrees, then pat it back into a rectangle. Repeat this process 3 more times to build light, flaky layers.

Rounds of biscuit dough cut out on a floured surface using a circular cookie cutter.

8. Roll and cut – Roll or pat down the dough until it is about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick, being careful not to press too hard and compress the layers. Cut the biscuits using a 2-3 inch round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. Make sure you press the cutter straight down into the dough. Twisting can seal the edges and prevent a good rise. Gather the scraps, gently press them back together, and cut out the remaining biscuits. You should end up with 6-8 in total, depending on the size of your cutter.

9. Arrange the biscuits on a lined baking tray, making sure they are touching. If you plan to bake in a cast iron skillet, you’ll need to chill the biscuits on a tray or plate first, then transfer to a lightly greased skillet right before baking.

10. Chill the biscuits – Place the biscuits in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, if time allows. This helps to re-solidify any butter that has softened from handling.

Hand brushing buttermilk onto biscuits with a pastry brush, arranged in a cast iron skillet ready for baking.

Top-down view of cheddar chive buttermilk biscuits in a cast iron skillet, fresh out of the oven.

11. Bake – Brush the tops of the biscuits with more buttermilk (or an egg wash), and bake them on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes, or until they turn a nice, golden brown colour.

12. Garnish and serve – These biscuits are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven. Before serving, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with some more chopped chives!

Cheese and chive buttermilk biscuits resting on brown parchment paper, topped with fresh chives, with a ramekin of melted butter blurred in the background.

Tips for Tall, Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

I’d hate to count how many batches of homemade buttermilk biscuits I’ve made in my life. They’re the ultimate low-effort, high-reward bake, and without a doubt one of my favourite things to pull fresh out of the oven. Naturally, I’ve spent years perfecting the techniques that deliver incredibly flaky, sky-high biscuits every time. And now? You get to reap the benefits of my trials and tribulations (lucky you!). Here are a few of the things I’ve learned:

Use cold fats

Biscuits layers are created when small pockets of butter melt and release steam in the oven, puffing up the dough. To make this happen, the butter needs to stay in a somewhat solid state until it reaches the oven. That’s why it’s important to start with very cold, even partially frozen, butter and to chill your dough right before baking. Using ice-cold buttermilk also helps keep the overall temperature low.

Do not overwork the dough

This is a dough that needs to be handled as little as possible. Overmixing or kneading the dough will cause the butter to melt and the gluten to develop, leaving you with chewy, gummy biscuits. It’s totally fine if your dough looks rough or shaggy — it actually means you’re on the right track.

Cut straight down (do not twist)

When cutting your biscuits, press the cutter straight down into the dough, then lift straight up. If you use a twisting motion, you risk squishing or smearing the layers, and the biscuits won’t puff up properly.

Place the biscuits close together

Biscuits are top-heavy and prone to toppling over in the oven. We don’t judge a biscuit by how it looks around here. That said, arranging the biscuits so that they are touching is an easy way to ensure they can support one another while they rise. I also like using a cast iron skillet because its high sides provide support for the exposed, outer edges of the biscuits — not to mention, it crisps up the bottoms nicely!

Bake in a very hot, preheated oven

Biscuits need to be baked at a high heat to quickly melt the butter and generate the steam needed to make them rise. Allow your oven plenty of time to heat up, and use an oven thermometer if you have one to check the temperature. Try not to open the oven door until the biscuits are nearly done, at which point, you can rotate the tray or skillet for even browning.