Sweet Potato Biscuits – Who doesn’t love a fluffy, steamy biscuit fresh out of the oven, especially when slathered in butter? 😇 These golden beauties are a fantastic spin on a classic Southern recipe that your whole family will love. Trust me when I say there will be no leftovers.
As usual, a little Southern thrift turned a classic recipe into something equally amazing. Regular biscuits usually call for milk or buttermilk, which are perishable and sometimes expensive. Instead, this sweet potato biscuit recipe calls for sweet potatoes – a root vegetable that is cheap and abundant, not to mention flavorful.
Now, just because this is a thrifty recipe doesn’t mean it skimps on flavor. Honestly, this easy recipe for sweet potato biscuits is one of my favorites! It only calls for six ingredients, you can whip it up in a flash, and the biscuits turn out ultra-moist with an incredibly delicious earthy flavor that is second to none. 💯
How to Serve Sweet Potato Biscuits
There’s no right or wrong answer here. I love to make this sweet potato biscuit recipe as a side to savory meals like roast turkey or baked chicken leg quarters. But they work well with just about any meal you want to serve bread with. But I also love to make these for breakfast. A hot cup of coffee and a warm sweet potato biscuit slathered in honey butter or homemade jam is an amazing way to kick off the day if you ask me.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes – Mashed or pureed sweet potatoes make these biscuits moister and also give them a little extra flavor.
- Butter – A biscuit ain’t a biscuit if it ain’t buttery, am I right? 😜
- Flour – All-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe, but you could do half all-purpose and half whole wheat for a toastier version that goes well with the sweet potatoes.
- Sugar – I like my biscuits on the sweet side, so we are adding some sugar to this recipe. If you prefer a more savory biscuit, you can leave it out.
- Baking Powder – You’ll need a leavening agent, too. In this case, baking powder.
How to Make Sweet Potato Biscuits
Prepare the Dough
- Dry Ingredients – Sift together flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Cold Butter – Quickly grate the frozen butter into the bowl of flour and work the dough until the flour is crumbly with pea-size chunks. Let the bowl rest in the fridge if there is any wait time between this step and the next.
- Add Sweet Potato Puree – Make a well in the center of the bowl, add the mashed sweet potatoes, and stir until it barely comes together and looks a little flaky. Whatever you do, don’t overmix! Let your dough rest in the fridge for about 10 minutes while you prepare your surface for rolling out the dough.
- Knead – Sprinkle flour onto a board or clean surface. Take the biscuit dough from the fridge and put it on the floured surface. Then knead it 3-4 times – just enough for it to come together. You should still see flakes of butter in the dough, so be careful not to overmix it.
- Roll – Gently pat dough with your hands or roll it out to about ½” thickness. Fold the dough in half about 6-8 times to ensure flakiness. Go easy on the rolling in the process.
- Cut – After folding is complete, gently press the dough down until it’s about 1-inch thick and ready to be cut out. Use a 2- or 3-inch round cookie cutter or a glass rim to cut out the biscuits. Firmly push it straight down, then pull it up. Use your fingers to gently loosen the dough from the cutter and space them out equally across your prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat – Knead any leftover scraps of dough together and repeat until all of the dough is used up. The scrap biscuits might not look as pretty as the rest, but they will pass the taste test. 😉
Bake the Biscuits
- Bake – Lightly brush the biscuits with buttermilk or cream if desired and bake at 400℉/205℃ for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Melt More Butter – While they are baking, melt some butter.
- Serve – Remove the biscuits from the oven when done and immediately brush them with the melted butter and serve with honey, if desired. 🍯
Recipe Variations
- Turn this sweet potato biscuit recipe savory by omitting the sugar and adding cooked, chopped bacon. It makes a fantastic breakfast biscuit. 🤩
- Make a fall-inspired version of these biscuits by adding the warm spices of your choice. Cinnamon and nutmeg work well, or you could add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Mmm!
Tips and Tricks
- Grated butter ensures even fat distribution throughout the dough, making it light and fluffy, but it melts pretty quickly. If that happens, your biscuits could turn out tough or dense. That’s why it’s important to use frozen butter and rest the dough in the fridge. If you are worried this could be an issue when incorporating the butter with your hands, you can use a pastry blender to quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture. It might take a few minutes, but the heat from your hands won’t melt the butter.
- Always let your biscuits rest for a few minutes after removing them from the oven before serving. This allows time for the crumb to set and will keep the biscuits light and airy when you cut them open or bite into them. If you dig in without resting them, (1) you’ll probably burn yourself (speaking from experience here, lol), and (2) the biscuit will likely compress, making the dough feel chewy and not-so-scrumptious.
Make-Ahead Instructions
You can make these biscuits up to three days in advance. Simply store them in an airtight container at room temperature, then reheat them in the oven or microwave if you want them to taste freshly baked. Of course, they’re still pretty darn delicious, even at room temperature.
Serving and Storage Instructions
After giving them about five minutes to rest, serve the biscuits with your favorite jam, honey butter, or other spread.
Store sweet potato biscuits in an airtight container or sealable bag at room temperature for up to three days.
You can reheat sweet potato biscuits in the oven set to 300℉/177℃ for about 10 minutes. They’ll taste like they were freshly baked! Alternatively, you can give them just a few seconds in the microwave.
FAQs
You’re right. You could technically make biscuits with either ingredient. However, I prefer butter in my biscuits because it makes them moister. Plus, nothing beats that buttery biscuit flavor.
You may have overworked the dough. Go as minimal as possible, and be very gentle when folding and kneading so your dough will keep its light, airy texture after baking. It shouldn’t look totally smooth, and you should still be able to see flakes of grated butter throughout, even after kneading and folding.
Cold butter! Frozen butter is even better. And don’t let that butter melt while you work the dough. If you feel like it’s melting, rest the dough in the fridge before continuing with the recipe.
What Goes with Sweet Potato Biscuits?
Use them as a side with smoked turkey or roasted chicken, or add them to your Thanksgiving charcuterie board. These little biscuits never go unappreciated.
They also go great with breakfast foods. Serve them up with hot coffee and egg muffins or a Western omelet. So good!
More Melt-in-Your-Mouth Biscuit Recipes to Try
- Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits
- Butter Biscuits
- Southern Chocolate Biscuits and Gravy
- Fluffy Cathead Biscuits
- Easy Drop Biscuits
- Southern-Style Biscuits
Conclusion
There you have it! These are some of the easiest biscuits you’ll ever make, and they taste amazing to boot! What’s your favorite way to use sweet potatoes in bread? Share your thoughts below.❤️
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
- 3-4 tablespoons (50g) sugar
- 4 teaspoons (16g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, frozen and grated
- 1 cup (240ml) sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
Instructions
- Sift flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Quickly grate frozen butter into the bowl of flour. Alternatively, you quickly cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; this might take about 5 minutes. Your flour should be crumbly with pea-size chunks. Let the bowl rest in the fridge if there is any wait time.
- Make a well in the center of the bowl, add mashed sweet potatoes, and stir until it barely comes together. DO NOT OVER-MIX because you want those flakes. Let the dough rest in the fridge for about 10 minutes while you prepare your work surface.
- Sprinkle flour onto a board or clean surface. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on the board. Knead 3-4 times – just enough for it to come together. You will still see flakes of butter in the dough. Again don't overmix.
- Gently, gently pat the dough with your hands or roll it out to about ½″ thick.
- Fold the dough, repeating the folding process 6-8 times. This ensures flakiness, so go easy on the rolling process. After the folding is complete, gently press the dough down to 1 inch thick, ready to be cut.
- Use a 2- or 3-inch round cookie cutter or a rim of a glass to cut out the biscuits. Firmly push it straight down, then pull it up. Use your fingers to gently loosen the dough from the cutter and space them out equally across your prepared baking sheet.
- Knead any leftover scraps of dough and repeat until all of the dough is used up. They might not look as pretty as the rest, but they will pass the taste test.
- Lightly brush with buttermilk or cream.
- Bake at 400℉/205℃ for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. While they are baking, melt the butter.
- Remove the biscuits from the oven, immediately brush them with melted butter, and serve with honey if desired.
Tips & Notes:
- Grated butter ensures even fat distribution throughout the dough, making it light and fluffy, but it melts pretty quickly. If that happens, your biscuits could turn out tough or dense. That’s why it’s important to use frozen butter and rest the dough in the fridge. If you are worried this could be an issue when incorporating the butter with your hands, you can use a pastry blender to quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture. It might take a few minutes, but the heat from your hands won’t melt the butter.
- Always let your biscuits rest for a few minutes after removing them from the oven before serving. This allows time for the crumb to set and will keep the biscuits light and airy when you cut them open or bite into them. If you dig in without resting them, (1) you’ll probably burn yourself (speaking from experience here, lol), and (2) the biscuit will likely compress, making the dough feel chewy and not-so-scrumptious.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Sarah says
These biscuits turned out delicious and picture perfect! The detailed instruction was insightful as well as the pictures. I am an experienced bakers, but these are the best biscuits I have ever made. Thank you so much!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Sarah,
You’re very welcome! I’m absolutely delighted to hear that the biscuits turned out so well for you, especially given that you’re an experienced baker. That’s high praise indeed!
Detailed instructions and pictures can make all the difference, especially for recipes that require a bit of technique, like biscuits. I’m thrilled that you found them helpful.
Thank you for sharing your experience and your kind words. It’s feedback like this that makes the food community so enriching. Keep baking and keep enjoying! ️✨
Sharon says
Can I substitute whole wheat flour?
Imma says
Yes, you can. However, whole wheat flour is a lot thirstier, so I would use slightly less than 2 cups, instead of 2½ cups.