✔ Updated · fixed bake temp and biscuit count + new step photos
These copycat Popeyes biscuits are tall, flaky and salty-buttery, with crisp golden tops and soft layers that pull apart in your hands.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Keep the butter and buttermilk cold, fold the dough three times, and cut straight down without twisting the cutter.
It's a simple buttermilk dough, folded a few times and brushed with melted butter the second it leaves the oven.
Why You'll Love These Biscuits
- Flaky, pull-apart layers from a quick letter fold, no fancy lamination.
- Ready in 35 minutes, from mixing bowl to buttery biscuit.
- Great with everything: fried chicken, gravy, jam or a drizzle of honey.
What Makes Popeyes-Style Biscuits Different?
Popeyes biscuits are richer and saltier than a lot of homemade biscuits, with a crisp, buttery top and soft, flaky layers inside. This copycat-style version gets there with plenty of cold butter, a mix of buttermilk and milk, a few letter folds and a hot 425°F oven.
They're made for fried chicken. I serve them with Popeyes red beans and rice and Popeyes mashed potatoes for a full takeout night at home.
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Tips for Success
- Cold, cold, cold. Cold butter makes steam in the hot oven, and steam makes layers. I keep a stick of butter in the freezer for biscuit days and cube it straight from there.
- Handle the dough as little as possible. Stir just until it comes together. Overworked dough bakes up dense and tough, like a hockey puck with ambitions.
- Fold like a letter. Three quick folds give you those pull-apart layers. It takes less than a minute and it's the difference between a good biscuit and a great one.
- Straight down, no twisting. Twisting the cutter seals the edges and the biscuits can't climb. Dip the cutter in flour between cuts so it releases cleanly.
- Butter them hot. Brushing melted butter on biscuits straight out of the oven gives that glossy, salty top. A spoonful of honey stirred in is my favorite way to finish them.
The 3 Secrets From Our Video
Our step-by-step video shows exactly how to make this buttermilk biscuits. Watch it in the recipe card below; these are the three tips that make the biggest difference.
- Keep the butter cold, right up to the oven. Warm butter is the mistake behind almost every flat biscuit.
- Fold the dough like a letter. A few folds build the flaky layers.
- Don't twist the cutter, and bake them touching. Press straight down, and let the biscuits sit close together so they rise tall.
Popeyes Biscuits (Copycat)
10
biscuits20
minutes15
minutes205
kcal35
minutesCopycat-style Popeyes buttermilk biscuits: cold butter cut into flour, a quick buttermilk dough folded a few times for flaky layers, cut straight down and baked close together at 425°F, then brushed with melted butter while hot.
Ingredients
- For the Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes (1 stick)
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
1/4 cup cold milk
- For Brushing
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey (optional, for honey butter)
Directions
- Make the Dough
- Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and cut them in with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces of butter.
- Pour in the cold buttermilk and milk and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Don’t overmix; a few dry bits are fine.
- Fold, Cut and Bake
- Turn the dough onto a floured counter and pat it into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Fold it in thirds like a letter, pat it out again and repeat 2 more times. This builds the flaky layers.
- Pat the dough to 1/2 inch thick and cut out biscuits with a floured 2 1/2-inch cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Gently press the scraps together and cut again to make 10 biscuits.
- Set the biscuits on the baking sheet so their sides just touch, which helps them rise tall. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until tall and golden brown on top.
- Brush the hot biscuits with melted butter (stir in the honey first for honey butter, if you like). Serve warm.
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Variations
- Honey butter biscuits: stir 1 tablespoon of honey into the melted butter before brushing.
- Cheddar biscuits: fold 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar into the dough with the buttermilk.
- Drop biscuits: add 2 extra tablespoons of buttermilk and drop the dough by the spoonful; skip the folding.
- Breakfast sandwiches: split warm biscuits and fill them with a fried egg, cheese and sausage or bacon.
More Copycat Biscuits
Biscuits are a whole hobby in my kitchen. Compare these with my KFC biscuits, Bojangles biscuits and Cracker Barrel biscuits, or go cheesy with Red Lobster cheddar biscuits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Popeyes biscuits so flaky?
Cold butter in small pieces, a gentle hand and a few letter folds. The butter melts in the hot oven and releases steam that lifts the layers, while folding stacks those layers. In this copycat-style recipe, baking at 425°F with the biscuits touching helps them rise tall.
Can I make these biscuits without buttermilk?
Yes. Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1/2 cup of milk and let it sit for 5 minutes, then use it in place of the buttermilk. You can also thin 1/3 cup of plain yogurt or sour cream with milk to 1/2 cup.
Why are my biscuits flat?
Usually the butter was too warm, the dough was overmixed, the cutter was twisted, or the baking powder was old. Keep everything cold, mix briefly, press the cutter straight down and check that your baking powder is fresh.
Can I freeze Popeyes-style biscuits?
Yes. Freeze unbaked cut biscuits on a tray until firm, then bag them for up to 3 months and bake from frozen at 425°F, adding 3 to 5 minutes. Baked biscuits freeze well too; reheat them at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
How do I reheat leftover biscuits?
Wrap them loosely in foil and warm at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes, then unwrap for the last 2 minutes to crisp the tops. The microwave works in a pinch, about 15 seconds each, but they turn chewy as they cool.
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