A good fluffy and flaky biscuit is a southern American classic and a staple at every thanksgiving meal. There are several recipes that use milk, buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Every thanksgiving meal that I planned for I could find thousands of recipes to help me make that perfect biscuit. My child would look at it and ask me if she could have it and I was heartbroken to say no. As an EczeMOM I was on a mission to make the perfect flaky biscuit for my child.
There are many vegan biscuit recipes out there and the few I tried was just not flaky enough or buttery enough. Many vegan recipes used nut-based milk or nut-based flour. Be mindful, not every recipe can be converted to vegan version just by substitution. There are some essential extra steps you need to take to make sure the food tastes similar to its traditional counterpart.
- Making the buttermilk: There is no such thing as vegan/allergy friendly buttermilk, we all know that. Your goal is to make the plant-based milk as close to buttermilk as possible. In this recipe I added apple cider vinegar to full fat oat milk. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar available you can substitute it with a different acid like lemon or white vinegar. I used apple cider because it has great health benefits and why not add some nutrition to the otherwise guilty pleasure. The acid curdles the milk and makes it ever so slightly sour and also reacts with the baking soda to add air into the biscuit to make it fluffy.
- Choosing the right milk: There are many plant-based milks that you can use for this recipe however, not every milk is nut free. For folks that have no allergies you can use almond milk here. I used Oatly’s full fat milk because I felt that it was the closest to the texture & creaminess of whole milk, thereby adding more richness to the biscuit.
- Vegan butter: I used Earth balance vegan butter because that is what I use for my kids. A traditional biscuit recipe requires you to add cold butter to the flour and break it into pieces. With earth balance I felt that the butter is still soft if you leave it in the fridge causing it to melt in the flour while mixing it. In my second attempt I put the butter in the freezer which helped the butter from not melting into the flour and creating the flaky texture.
- How to cut the biscuit: When using your biscuit cutter be sure to push it straight down into the dough do not twist the cutter back and forth. Cutting it straight down helps retain the layers in the biscuit.
- Milk wash: Before placing into the oven brushing the top with some kind of liquid helps retain the moisture and also helps the top get nice and golden. Many recipes require you to apply an egg wash which creates a beautiful golden-brown color. You can achieve a similar result just by replacing the egg with Oat milk or vegan butter.
- Garlic Herb sauce: Now I am a die-hard fan of Red lobster biscuits, the buttery and garlicky topping on the biscuits take the home run for me and I have been wanting to re-create it. If you like your biscuits simple in all its glory just skip this step and brush the top of the biscuit with a generous spoon of butter.
Vegan Garlic Buttermilk biscuits
Flaky, buttery, garlicy goodness that can be enjoyed for breakfast or as a thanksgiving side. It's Dairy-free, Nut-free, & Egg-free
Ingredients
Biscuit
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¾ cup Full fat Oatmilk I used Oatly
- 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar can substitute white vinegar or lemon juice
- 7 tbsp Frozen Vegan butter I used Earth balance
Herb Butter Sauce
- 2 tbsp Vegan Butter
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
- ½ tsp Onion powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Dried parsley
Instructions
Making the Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 450 °F (232 °C), add apple cider vinegar to Oatmilk give it a mix and set aside in the refrigerator (This makes vegan buttermilk).
- In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients from the Biscuit category.
- Cut the frozen butter into small cubes and using your finger combine the two until only small pieces of the butter remain, leaving you with a sand like consistency. Be sure to do this step quickly as you don't want the butter to melt.
- Add the Oatmilk mixture to the dry ingredients and using a wooden spatula mix it until its combined.
- Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it very quickly. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky
- Flatten out the dough using your fingers and fold it like a book. Repeat this step 5 times this creates the layers in the biscuit.
- Brush the top with the remaining 2 tbsp of Oat milk
- Bake at 450° for 12-14 minutes or until fluffy and golden brown.
Herb Butter Sauce
- In a small bowl melt 2 tbsp of butter, add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, sugar, & parsley to the warm butter and mix well to combine.
Finish & Serve
- Remove the golden biscuits from the oven and with a spoon pour the herb butter sauce on to each biscuit. Serve Immediately!
Notes
- Read through the entire recipe before you start cooking. Be sure to have all the ingredients ready to go, as this recipe is quick.
- Leave the butter in the freezer until the last minute, I find earth balance vegan butter tends to be very soft when left in the fridge and melts very quickly.
- If your butter starts to melt while mixing take the whole bowl and pop into the freezer for 10 minutes.
Wow, tried this recipe, very flaky, absolutely wonderful
Glad you liked it!
So made this recipe and i was surprised how flaky it was. thank you!