Looking for a delicious and comforting side dish? Look no further than these butter swim biscuits! Crisp and buttery on the edges, with a soft and fluffy interior, these biscuits are perfect for any meal of the day.
Whether you’re serving them up for breakfast or brunch, or serving them alongside a bowl of hot soup, these biscuits will be gobbled right up!
WHAT MAKES BUTTER SWIM BISCUITS DIFFERENT?
- Instead of butter in the dough like most homemade biscuits, these biscuits are baked in a melted pool of butter.
- Because you don’t have to cut in any butter, it literally takes about 3 minutes to whip up the dough. And you don’t need to use a biscuit cutter!
- Rather than being flaky inside like biscuits made with cold butter, they are incredibly soft and fluffy!
- Cooking them in butter makes the most delectable crispy crust. My family fights over the corner pieces!
- Be warned that they do take longer to bake than buttermilk biscuits baked on a cookie sheet. It took at least 30 minutes for the bottoms of my biscuits to brown.
HOW TO MAKE BUTTER SWIM BISCUITS
- BUTTER – Cut the stick of butter into slices and place in an 8×8″ baking dish. Place in the oven and turn it on to 425°. Let the butter melt as the oven preheats, but don’t let it burn!
- DOUGH – While the oven is preheating, make the biscuit batter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Use a plastic or wooden spoon to gently stir in the buttermilk just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
- ASSEMBLE – Remove the pan of butter from the oven and tilt to coat the sides of the pan. Use a large cookie scoop or spoon to drop 9 mounds of dough on top of the melted butter.
- BAKE – Return the pan to the preheated oven and bake the biscuits at 425° for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms have a golden crust.
- SERVE – These butter biscuits are best served warm, fresh from the oven. They are tasty plain, or slathered with your favorite jam.
PRO TIPS:
- Watch your butter carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. If you cut it into slices, it should only take 7- 8 minutes.
- Use a light touch when stirring in the buttermilk. If you over-mix the dough, your biscuits will be tough instead of light and fluffy.
- I recommend using salted butter, it definitely adds the best flavor!
- I found that my biscuits turned out best when I baked them on the lowest rack of my oven. That way the bottoms browned before the tops got too brown. You may need to experiment with your oven.
Yes, that will work fine. Your biscuits won’t be as tall, and you will need to reduce the baking time by a few minutes.
Fresh buttermilk does work the best, but in a pinch you can use a substitute. I like using a cup of milk whisked with 3/4 cup of sour cream. But you can use vinegar or lemon juice and milk. Simply add 2 tablespoons of either to your measuring cup, then fill to the 1 3/4 cup line with milk.
Storing leftover biscuits
These biscuits really are best eaten the same day you make them, but they will last for 2-3 days at room temperature if wrapped tightly or placed in an airtight container.
You can either wrap them in aluminum foil and heat them in an oven or air fryer for 10 minutes at 250 degrees, or pop them in the microwave for a few seconds.
I haven’t personally tried freezing the biscuits, but it should work just fine. Make sure they are completely cooled, then double wrap or place in a freezer-safe storage bag. They will last for 2-3 months.
Great ways to serve butterswim biscuits:
- These buttery biscuits are seriously delicious served straight from the oven, nothing added!
- You could also dip them into creamy soup like New England clam chowder or bacon corn chowder.
- Fill them with eggs, cheese, and bacon or sausage for some pretty tasty breakfast sandwiches.
- Serve them with homemade sausage gravy.
- They are so easy and so tasty, you could serve them as a side dish to just about any meal. Be prepared for lots of smiles around the table. 😉
- Break them in half and slather them with homemade jam or honey butter. Homemade raspberry or strawberry jam is our favorite!
More biscuit recipes:
- Cheddar Sausage Biscuits
- Traditional Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
- Easy Sourdough Biscuits
- Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits
Recipe first published March 30, 2023, updated April 2026.
Butter Swim Biscuit Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Turn your oven on to 425 degrees. Cut your cube of butter into slices and place them in a 9×9" square baking dish.
- Place the dish in the oven for a few minutes to melt the butter. Don't let it burn, it will only take a few minutes.
- While the butter is melting, prepare the biscuit dough. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cold buttermilk and stir gently, just until barely mixed together.
- Remove the pan of melted butter from the oven. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, drop 9 mounds of dough into the butter.
- As soon as your oven is preheated to 425°, return the pan to the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown on the top and bottom.
Notes
- If you prefer, you can just melt the butter in the microwave.
- For the best biscuits, use salted butter! Unsalted butter just doesn’t add enough flavor.
- Some recipes call for just spreading the dough on top of the butter, then trying to cut it into sections with a bench scraper, but I think the scooping method is much easier!
- I don’t recommend using unsalted butter for
- I’ve never had a problem with the butter spilling out of the pan, but you can place a cookie sheet underneath if you are worried. Just keep in mind that the bottoms won’t brown as well.
Nutrition
If you’re looking for the easiest biscuits that never fail, give butter swim biscuits a try – you may never go back to traditional biscuits again!
I cook breakfast for my mom every weekend. I usually just do canned biscuits but I made these for her and my family this time. They absolutely loved them! My mom kept saying how delicious they are and canned biscuits are now banned. Thank you for the recipe.
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I am so happy to hear that! It’s awesome that you make breakfast for your mom, and I’m glad they were such a hit. They really are so much tastier than the canned biscuits! 🙂
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These were absolutley delightful! They are tender and buttery, just so yummy!
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So glad you loved them, they really are incredible!
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Holy Hannah, these biscuits were so flaky and buttery – the perfect biscuit! I will be making these from here on out! Thank you!
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I hope they become a staple at your house like they are at mine. 🙂
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